North Alabama Showed Up: Voices from Montgomery’s Special Session
Debra Jackson (above) spoke at a Senate committee meeting on Thursday, asking, “What crime did we commit?”
North Alabama showed up in Montgomery this week during Alabama’s special session on redistricting and voting representation.
Community members rode buses, spoke during committee hearings, joined public actions, and made sure our voices were present in the room while decisions were being made.
This is what a civically engaged community looks like.
Learn more HERE about this Saturday’s National Day of Action for Voting Rights in Montgomery. Get on the bus!
White Girl Goes to the AL State House to Protect Black Voting Rights
It was so early in the morning when we started getting on the bus, but there was excitement in the air. I had never been to any capital building in Montgomery before, so I had no idea what to expect. This Alabama native girl/woman was amazed at the welcome we received, not just by democratic lawmakers but by everyone in the State House. There were so many- Good morning’s, Nice to see you’s, and Glad to have you here’s- I was shocked. Coming from Huntsville, having had experience going to and speaking at City Council up here, I and my fellow activists are so used to being treated with disdain, like we don’t belong. I tell you what, on this trip down to Montgomery with United Women of Color I felt I had a right to be where laws are made. For the first time, I felt like it was actually THE PEOPLE’S HOUSE.
I thought, however, how long have black people felt like they didn’t belong in our law making processes??! After we have made some strides, their votes are STILL being erased. How, it actually doesn’t matter, how they may be greeted, if agenda’s are getting pushed through that eradicate their voices?
To say I was impacted by the Black representatives who spoke with us is most definitely an understatement. These individuals are there doing the work and for them to take time out of their day, with efforts to inspire us to keep going, was poignant. When we were led in the chant that is Assata Shakur’s poem- “We have the duty to fight for our freedom…” tears streamed down my face. This poem- that we used to say at protest, this poem- that has been my favorite thing to chant with others, this poem- was the pinnacle of our journey to Montgomery for me. We yelled this poem together, Black, Brown, White, Gay, Queer, Trans… we yelled Assata’s words together in our state capital building. In OUR PEOPLE’S HOUSE.
I haven’t always done this work, but since I started, my life has been transformed. I see now how essential it is for us as white folks to stand up for our Black friends. ESPECIALLY in the South. As Angela Curry, my dear friend, said this well-known phrase the other day- “So goes the South, so goes the nation.”
Let’s show them we are done with their bullshit gerrymandering.
- Iris Joanna
IN THE NEWS …
WHAT YOU NEED TO DO NOW
Listening and reposting is not enough. We need folks moving.
Sarah Colletti addresses a Senate committee in Montgomery on Thursday, May 7, 2026, after riding down with UWOC on the bus.
🗳 Vote on Tuesday, May 19
Make your plan now, and make sure your people have one, too.
📞 Call your legislators and ask questions
Ask them why Alabama taxpayers should pay millions more for confusion and another election process.
📅 Schedule meetings with your elected officials
Don’t just complain online. Sit down with them and make them explain their votes to the community.
🗣 Talk to your folks
A lot of people still do not understand what is happening. Help them connect the dots.
✊🏾 Show up
Whether it’s meetings, trainings, rallies, hearings, or community conversations—presence matters.
If we are not at the table, we are on the menu.
Let’s move.
SIGN UP for this Saturday’s National Day of Action for Voting Rights in Montgomery HERE.
(5/11/2026)
