All over the American South, civic-minded people are working to improve communities by building coalitions and breaking down barriers to opportunity. The recent commemorations on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, honored the sacrifices of those who marched 50 years ago and the gains they brought to bear on our society. Many of those brave...
On the occasion of the 50 th anniversary of the Bloody Sunday march in Selma, Grantmakers for Southern Progress convened a funders’ delegation to learn about a diverse coalition of groups supporting structural change in Alabama today. At the Alabama Department of Archives and History in Montgomery, the funders heard from representatives of a robust network of statewide organizations working...
This week, the nation’s attention will turn to the South as 100,000 people alight on Selma, Alabama. The crowds commemorating the 50 th anniversary of Bloody Sunday will include U.S. presidents, members of Congress, civil rights heroes, grassroots organizers, celebrities, blacks and whites, Democrats and Republicans, rich and poor.
The pilgrims will pause to remember the day law...
On January 9, 2014, 300,000 people in and around Charleston, West Virginia, woke up to a licorice-like odor emanating from their tap water. Thousands of gallons of coal-processing chemicals had spilled into the Elk River, plunging nine counties into a state of emergency. Health officials issued warnings against drinking, cooking with or bathing in the water.
Government leaders were...
The Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation is pleased to welcome Justin Maxson as its new Executive Director. Maxson’s leadership experience and dedication to helping communities achieve greater social and economic justice will be profound assets to the Foundation.
Since 2002, Maxson has served as President of the Mountain Association for Community Economic Development in Kentucky, where he...
