Stories

Democracy/Civic Engagement

  • Signs of Progress in 2017

    There’s no denying the past year brought formidable challenges for the organizations and networks working tirelessly to increase social and economic justice across the South. As our grantee partners embark on another year striving to shape a more equitable future, it seems especially important to reflect on a few of the victories they achieved.

    Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice...
    Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition
  • We Stand with the Dreamers: Our Statement on DACA

    The Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation strongly opposes plans to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which enables 800,000 young people to study and work in the United States without fear of deportation.

    Often called “dreamers,” the youth enrolled in DACA were brought here as children; for many, America is the only country they’ve ever known. Rescinding...

    Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice
  • Investing in Opportunity: Georgia’s Civic Engagement Network

    Like much of the South, Georgia is a racially diverse state rapidly growing even more so. Thanks in part to booming immigrant and refugee populations, it is projected to become majority-minority by 2025. And like its neighbors, Georgia has more than its share of challenges, including political representation that is not truly representative and persistent poverty, which is most acute in rural...

    Georgia STAND-UP
  • Sharing Just Transition Lessons Half a World Away

    As any map will tell you, Australia is a long way from Appalachia. Despite the distance and differences, their coalfield communities share striking similarities: the fossil fuel industry’s problematic political power, economic challenges, and mining-related environmental and health concerns. As in Appalachia, there is a growing dedication to a just transition from a single extractive industry...

    Latrobe City Hard Hats
  • Celebrating a Year of Successes

    As we begin a new year, we’d like to toast all of our grantee partners across the South for a very successful 2016. Here are a few of the year’s achievements:

    The Georgia Budget and Policy Institute led the successful opposition to a tax-cut plan that would have damaged the state budget and eroded funding for schools and other services. Late in the legislative session, lawmakers...

    Coalfield Development Corporation