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Tag: Phyllis Hill

Black Southern Women’s Collaborative Condemns Supreme Court Decision Limiting Mass Protests

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For Immediate Release

April 22, 2024

BATON ROUGE – The Supreme Court recently announced it will not hear Mckesson v. Doe. This decision leaves in place a lower court order that effectively eliminated the right to organize a mass protest in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. The Black Southern Women’s Collaborative (BSWC) has previously spoken on the dangers of limiting constitutional rights to protest in opinion pieces from Ashley Shelton who leads the Power Coalition for Equity & Justice in Louisiana and Tameka Greer who leads Memphis Artists for Change in Tennessee. You can read those pieces here and here. If you report on this issue, Shelton and Greer, and other members of the BSWC are available for comment.

“The Constitution’s first amendment protects our rights to freedom of speech and to peaceably assemble; despite this, we see efforts to criminalize protests rather than address the reason people are protesting in the first place,” Greer said. “This is deflection. Policymakers shouldn’t be punishing those who exercise their right to demand answers for their grievances.”

“This ruling undermines the heart of the U.S. Constitution,” Shelton said. “Anti-protest laws are not about safety. If they were about safety, my First Amendment rights would enjoy the same protection as my Second Amendment rights. Instead, these policies are specifically designed to silence Black people, persons in poverty, and persons from marginalized communities. If we do not resist such measures, we will see escalating campaigns to silence Black people, people of color, religious minorities, and others. Once that happens, we will have no way to challenge laws that relegate many to second-class status.”

“All people deserve to live in a society that sees and responds to their needs,” said Nsombi Lambright Haynes, executive director of One Voice and a member of the BSWC. “Preventing the right to gather sends the message that our communities have no right to remedy injustice. The courts are telling the American people that we must accept injustice today, tomorrow and forever. Such messages eliminate confidence in our democracy and in our judiciary.”

“This latest play demonstrates extreme white supremacist governing,” said Phyllis Hill, founder of the BSWC. “It is in line with other efforts to strip away our rights, such as Roe vs Wade. They are stripping away our rights and eliminating our right to voice dissent through voting.”

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Fourteen Leaders You Should Get to Know This Black History Month

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Heroes don’t always wear capes. And the most amazing leaders don’t always receive the recognition and applause that they deserve.

This Black History Month we honor the leaders who paved the way for future generations while also recognizing contemporary advocates who are doing the same. Below is a list of several leaders in communities across the country who are making a difference one day at a time. 

California

Glenn Harris is the president of Race Forward and has over 25 years of experience working on racial and social justice issues with community groups, foundations and government agencies. Prior to joining Race Forward, Glenn served as President of the Center for Social Inclusion, which merged with Race Forward in 2017. He also supported the start of projects similar to the Race and Social Justice Initiative across the country and helped found the Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE).

Florida

Rev. Rhonda Thomas. Thomas is the executive director of Faith in Florida and a member of the Black Southern Women’s Collaborative. She who created a toolkit and asked churches to teach Black history after Gov. Ron DeSantis restricted the teaching of African American history. She recruited 500 churches from Florida and 20 other states to teach the curriculum. In addition to this latest project, Thomas has been a long time advocate on gun violence prevention. She lost a nephew to gun violence and was also present in the aftermath of the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida to offer pastoral care to young people and their families. Learn more here.

Georgia

Kendra Cotton. Kendra is the chief executive officer of New Georgia Project Action Fund and its affiliated organization, New Georgia Project. She is a member of the Black Southern Women’s Collaborative. She is a lifelong Southerner and has spent her professional career promoting civic engagement and advocating for underrepresented communities to become more involved in our democracy.

Phyllis Hill. Hill is the national organizing director for Faith in Action. She also founded and runs the Black Southern Women’s Collaborative, which is designed to support the leadership and ingenuity of Black women executive directors in the South. She believes that Black women are often sought out for their talents without recognition of their struggles. In founding the Black Southern Women’s Collaborative, Hill sought to create a safe, supportive space where Black women could be seen and known. The group includes the executive directors of the New Georgia Project, Memphis Artists for Change, the Power Coalition for Equity and Justice, One Voice, Faith in Florida and fellows in Alabama. Learn more here and here.

Maryland

Dr. Sabrina N’Daiye. Dr. Sabrina is an author, psychotherapist and trauma expert. She is the founder of the Heart Nest Center in Baltimore, MD. She works with communities that have experienced a natural disaster or mass shooting, helping them process their experience and move towards healing. N’Diaye also works with persons who are living with HIV/AIDS to help them process their diagnosis, live fruitful lives. She is most proud of her work inside prisons where she works with men and women to process the trauma of incarceration and find healing and hope.

Arion Long. After developing a uterine tumor, Arion went into septic shock and eventually lapsed into a coma. Pregnant at the time, her daughter was stillborn. Arion entered her first pitch competition for Femly two weeks after being released from the hospital. While physically and emotionally depleted, she was on a mission to ensure women and girls had access to safe feminine care products. Her sister attended some of Arion’s early pitch competitions to hold her hand and help her stand up. To date, Arion Long has raised more than $2.8 million for her company, Femly, from more than 50 pitch competitions. Femly offers organic period care via dispensers in public restrooms, schools and other establishments. She also patented dispensers that can see and recognize pigmented skin. Learn more here. 

James Wahls. Wahls is an impact investor with Mission Investor Exchange. He also founded and runs the Revolve Fund, a philanthropic initiative dedicated to catalyzing businesses led by people of color. Since many people of color have less disposal income, launching and sustaining a business can be a challenge. Revolve seeks to help businesses with capital but also the network access that would propel their long-term success. He founded the Revolve Fund in March 2022 as a pilot project. He received funding  in March 2022 with funding from institutions such as JPMorgan Chase, Open Society Institute – Baltimore, PNC Bank, and the Rockefeller Foundation. With the Maryland Philanthropy Network as fiscal sponsor, the fund offers recoverable grants to businesses with a social purpose and nonprofits. The hope is that the funding and associated support can help businesses led by people of color get on firm footing before having to repay or return investments. To date, the fund has raised more than $1.9 million and deployed more than $560,000 in capital and technical assistance. Learn more here.

John Holdsclaw IV. Following George Floyd’s tragic murder in 2020, scores of organizations, corporations, financial institutions, and retailers pledged to give their time, money, and resources to close the racial wealth gap. However, the further we move from that summer of racial reckoning, we see less commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Companies have cut their DEI programs, and many people have stopped talking about investing in Black businesses and communities. But Holdsclaw is working hard at community uplift through the entity he founded, Rochdale Capital, an emerging community development financial institution (CDFI). Rochdale works with key stakeholders – such as the Revolve Fund – to increase opportunities for co-op and community ownership in under resourced communities. Rochdale funded Iowa’s first Black-owned grocery store, All In, with a $400,000 loan. Learn more here.

Danielle Torain. Torain is an attorney and leader in the philanthropic space. She previously led the Open Society Foundations’ Baltimore office, OSI-Baltimore. Prior to that, she worked to get resources into the hands of Black and people of color-led organizations in Baltimore with stints at the Baltimore Children and Youth Fund, The Annie E. Casey Foundation and Frontline Solutions. Upon learning that OSI-Baltimore would wind down its funds, Torain raised $20 million in combined contributions to ensure the grantees she long supported at OSI-Baltimore would not be left in a compromised position. She single-handedly ensured that these organizations – which often struggle to find support – had a longer runway to identify other philanthropic partners. Learn more here.

 

Mississippi

Nsombi Lambright-Haynes is an experienced executive director with a demonstrated history of working in the non-profit organization management industry. She is the executive director of One Voice, and a member of the Black Southern Women’s Collaborative. She’s done significant work to expand access to the ballot, and promote civic engagement. 

Ellen Reddy is the executive director of the Nollie Jenkins Family Center in Lexington, Mississippi. She is on a mission to educate parents, policymakers and community members on the dangers of corporal punishment. She has noted, “We need a different vision for our children and schools. That vision must include safe spaces for young people.” Reddy has passionately outlined the fear that children experience when they are beaten at schools or at home. She has advocated other models for positive parenting and has broadened the debate around discipline. Learn more here.

New York

Sally Vonner. Sally Vonner is the General Secretary and CEO of United Women in Faith. United Women in Faith is the largest denominational organization for women. In her capacity as General Secretary, Vonner supports programs that center the needs of women, children and youth. Her organization is active in the fight to end the school to prison pipeline. They also work to advance climate justice and ensure a just transition to renewable energy. 

Dr. Omolara Uwemedimo. Dr. Omolara is a pediatrician and co-founder of Strong Children Wellness. She is founder of Melanin and Medicine where she coaches physicians on how to do their work more sustainably. After being hospitalized and diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, she realized that she needed to approach medicine differently. She co-founded Strong Children Wellness to bring practitioners to patients. Rather than asking families to go from appointment to appointment to have their and their child’s needs met, Strong Children’s Wellness brings practitioners to the community. In their model, children can see a pediatrician, a therapist or psychiatrist if they need one and families can receive social services, all in one building. This cuts down on time, travel costs, requests for paid time off. It centers the patient and ensures better service for children and families. Learn more here.

Oregon

Eric K. Ward. Eric is a Senior Vice President at Race Forward. He is a nationally-recognized expert on the relationship between authoritarian movements, hate violence and preserving an inclusive democracy. He has over three decades of leadership experience in community organizing and philanthropy. He is an in-demand speaker, media source and commentator.  

Black Southern Women’s Collaborative Weigh in on Redistricting in States Such as Georgia, Florida, and Louisiana

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For Immediate Release

Oct. 30, 2023

ATLANTA – On Thursday, October 26, U.S. District Court Judge Steve Jones declared that Georgia’s current maps violated the Voting Rights Act and must be redrawn by Dec. 8. Gov. Brian Kemp ordered a special session on Nov. 29 to begin the map-drawing process. The Black Southern Women’s Collaborative, which includes founder Phyllis Hill; Kendra Cotton, CEO of the New Georgia Project; Nsombi Lambright-Haynes, executive director of One Voice; Tameka Greer, executive director of Memphis Artists for Change; Rev. Rhonda Thomas, executive director of Faith in Florida; and Ashley K. Shelton, president and founder of the Power Coalition for Equity & Justice, released the following statement:

“For years, Black women have been organizing against unfair and inequitable redistricting maps,” Cotton said. “We have done this even as we have gone to great lengths to educate our communities on how they could engage in the process. The federal court ruling in Georgia, and the Supreme Court rulings in Alabama and Louisiana affirm what we’ve said all along, the state and congressional districting lines in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Louisiana disproportionately harmed Black voters.”

“We have repeatedly urged elected officials to create fair maps while also educating voters on how they could engage in the redistricting process,” Shelton said. “In Louisiana, we launched a tour where we went city by city to explain the process in accessible terms. We, along with partners and allies, also filed a legal challenge to Louisiana’s maps which diluted the voting power of Black voters. Our work has shown that when Black women organize, Black communities benefit. It is imperative that donors and foundations continue to get resources to Black women who have time and time again proven to be defenders of democracy.”

The victory for Black voters in Georgia follows similar wins in Louisiana and Alabama where the Supreme Court ruled those states’ maps violated Black voters’ ability to elect candidates of choice. Ohio advocates are also preparing to put a measure on the ballot that would allow ordinary citizens as opposed to politicians to draw state legislative lines.

“The right to vote is sacred,” Hill said. “And from coast to coast, Black women organizers have been pushing back on attacks that undermine the right to vote and democracy itself. From experience, we know that when we fight, we will win.”

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This National Voter Registration Day, the Black Southern Women’s Collaborative to Focus on State-Level Voter Purges

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For Immediate Release

Sept. 18, 2023

ATLANTA – The Black Southern Women’s Collaborative (BSWC) will celebrate National Voter Registration Day, on September 19, by engaging Black communities around the threat of voter purges, and by registering Black communities to vote. The network of Black women organizers in the South is also highlighting the ways in which their group is pushing back. The BSWC includes Kendra Cotton, executive director of the New Georgia Project; Rev. Rhonda Thomas, executive director of Faith in Florida; Nsombi Lambright, executive director of One Voice; Ashley K. Shelton, president and founder of the Power Coalition for Equity & Justice; Tameka Greer, executive director of Memphis Artists for Change; and Phyllis Hill, BSWC founder and national organizing director for Faith in Action. They released the following statement:

“Studies show that 60% of eligible voters are never asked to register,” said Rev. Rhonda Thomas, BSWC member and executive director of Faith in Florida. “Given the many people who have been removed from the voting rolls, we want to spend National Voter Registration Day engaging as many people as possible and ensuring they register to vote or confirm that their registration is up to date.”

Faith in Florida will celebrate Nation Voter Registration Day in Eatonville, Florida. Eatonville is the oldest black town in the United States. Incorporated on August 15, 1887, by 27 black men, it was one of the first self-governing all black municipalities in the United States.  

Faith in Florida’s goal is to register 200 voters and encourage 100 people to encourage at least 100 people to complete the vote by mail applications. “We hope to expand the electorate in 41 counties,” Thomas said.

“This is a moment to dialogue with voters about their registration, their plans for voting, and the reasons our votes matter,” said Tameka Greer, BSWC member and executive director of Memphis Artists for Change. “We are also engaging voters who are at risk of being purged from the voting rolls and encouraging them to check their registration status.”

“One vote may seem insignificant, but every vote is an opportunity to help create the future we envision,” said Nsombi Lambright, BSWC member and executive director of One Voice. “It is part of a larger strategy, but it is a component that cannot be overlooked or ignored. “We will use this as an opportunity to not only sign up new voters but to reclaim voters pushed out of the system through purging.”

To date, One Voice has collected lists of inactive voters from six circuit clerks offices and are actively pursuing the remaining 76 counties in Mississippi.

“The ballot booth is another opportunity to ensure our demands are met and that the evil of systemic racism is confronted and dismantled,” said BSWC member and founder and president of the Power Coalition for Equity & Justice Ashley K. Shelton. “Every election matters, which is why it’s crucial that we avail ourselves of moments like National Voter Registration Day to engage with voters and prepare them to turn out on election day.”

“We have an awesome opportunity to continue the work of those who came before us, and to simultaneously organize to make life better for those who will come after us,” said Kendra Cotton, BSWC member and executive director of the New Georgia Project.

The New Georgia Project has registered 41,000 people to vote since January 2023, and intends to register an additional 300 people on National Voter Registration Day.

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Black Southern Women’s Collaborative Warns of Growing Threat of Voter Purges

Posted on

For Immediate Release 

Aug. 1, 2023

Black Southern Women’s Collaborative Warns of Growing Threat of Voter Purges 

ATLANTA – The Black Southern Women’s Collaborative (BSWC) today warned about the growing threat of voter purges, which deny Black and brown citizens’ right to vote. The network of Black women organizers in the South is also highlighting the ways in which their group is pushing back. The BSWC includes Kendra Cotton, executive director of the New Georgia Project; Rev. Rhonda Thomas, executive director of Faith in Florida; Nsombi Lambright, executive director of One Voice; Ashley K. Shelton, president and founder of the Power Coalition for Equity & Justice; Tameka Greer, president of Memphis Artists for Change; and BSWC founder Phyllis Hill, national organizing director for Faith in Action. They released the following statement: 

“Modern day voter suppression comes in many different forms – precinct and DMV closings, cuts to early voting, restricted absentee ballot processes, moving polling places, etc.,” Hill said. “But one of the most sinister forms of voter suppression is voter purges.”  

In Mississippi, BSWC member One Voice submitted an Open Records Request seeking information on persons who have been purged. It also is urging voters to double check their registration status.  

Voter purges have occurred across the South for decades, but the Supreme Court case in Husted v. A. Philip Randolph Institute fueled the practice. “Consequently, election officials are no longer accountable to the very voters they are removing from the rolls – Black and brown people,” Lambright said.  

In Georgia, 191,000 people may be purged from the voting rolls. “We know that voter purges are not about list maintenance,” Cotton said. “They are a far-right strategy to win elections.”  

The New Georgia Project is creating a list of persons who didn’t vote in the 2020 or 2022 elections and will encourage them to double check their election status.  

 Even as communities face voter purges, Black women – including the BSWC – are engaged in strategic and intentional organizing to defend the right to vote. “We are highlighting this and other heinous practices because we want our communities to maintain or regain their right to vote,” Thomas said. 

The BSWC is calling, texting and sending postcards to those who have been purged to make them aware and encourage them to register to vote.  

  In Tennessee, 100,000 Shelby County residents have been purged without notification.  

“Voter purges are an unethical use of power to remove citizens’ right to vote,” Greer said. “Not using your right to vote should not enable state officials to rescind the right to vote. It is your right, whether you use it or not. With 1 in 5 (20%) Black Tennesseans unable to vote, it is crucial that the Shelby County Board of Elections immediately stop all purges. The organization I lead, Memphis Artists for Change, launched a Swerve the Purge campaign to help protect the right to vote and to challenge purges.” 

In Louisiana, the Power Coalition for Equity & Justice is encouraging voters to double check their registration status, while it is urging election officials to publicize in local newspapers the names of persons purged. They are also asking officials to inform the organization of the places they are targeting for voter purges.  

“We plan to send postcards to voters encouraging them to double check their registration status and to register to vote if they’ve not already done so or if they’ve been removed from the rolls,” Shelton said. 

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