Join us for Homewood’s first Unity Celebration on Saturday, July 17th from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. sponsored by H.I.V.E. Alabama, The Listening Project, White Homewood for Black Lives, and more! This celebration marks 1 year of equity walks in Homewood and we look forward to celebrating with you. Join us for popsicles, family friendly activities, and a community equity walk at 11 a.m. We will have literature about our groups as well as other organizations working towards racial equity in our area.
If you have walked with us before, have seen us on the street or on Facebook, or just want to come out to celebrate with your neighbors, we hope to see you there!
Happy Pride month!! To celebrate, we’re showing love for our neighbors and raising money for the Magic City Acceptance Center and all the wonderful work they do for our kids.
Signs are $20 with all proceeds going to MCAC. Please Venmo payment to @Kristin-Rezek-1.
Ordering will close this Friday, June 4th at 12 p.m. with signs available for pick up in Homewood mid-week next week. If you have any questions, let us know. Thank you!!
“You win some, lose some, and wreck some,” said race car driver Dale Earnhardt. And that may be the verdict on the 2021 Legislative Session in Montgomery, AL, according to politicians, political observers, and activists.
H.I.V.E. is thrilled to join MAD?Make A Difference on Tuesday, May 18th for a virtual lunch-time panel discussion, from 12 – 1 p.m. via Zoom.
You will hear from five amazing speakers with their take on this year’s session:
H.I.V.E. is thrilled to join MAD? Make a Difference Alabama and other amazing progressive groups to host Emerge Alabama’s Virtual Graduation on Wednesday, May 26th at 6 p.m. Help us celebrate another cohort of brilliant Emerge Alabama women graduating!
When day comes, we ask ourselves, where can we find light in this never-ending shade? The loss we carry. A sea we must wade. We braved the belly of the beast. We’ve learned that quiet isn’t always peace, and the norms and notions of what “just” is isn’t always justice. And yet the dawn is ours before we knew it. Somehow we do it. Somehow we weathered and witnessed a nation that isn’t broken, but simply unfinished. We, the successors of a country and a time where a skinny Black girl descended from slaves and raised by a single mother can dream of becoming president, only to find herself reciting for one. And, yes, we are far from polished, far from pristine, but that doesn’t mean we are striving to form a union that is perfect. We are striving to forge our union with purpose. To compose a country committed to all cultures, colors, characters and conditions of man. And so we lift our gaze, not to what stands between us, but what stands before us. We close the divide because we know to put our future first, we must first put our differences aside. We lay down our arms so we can reach out our arms to one another. We seek harm to none and harmony for all. Let the globe, if nothing else, say this is true. That even as we grieved, we grew. That even as we hurt, we hoped. That even as we tired, we tried. That we’ll forever be tied together, victorious. Not because we will never again know defeat, but because we will never again sow division. Scripture tells us to envision that everyone shall sit under their own vine and fig tree, and no one shall make them afraid. If we’re to live up to our own time, then victory won’t lie in the blade, but in all the bridges we’ve made. That is the promise to glade, the hill we climb, if only we dare. It’s because being American is more than a pride we inherit. It’s the past we step into and how we repair it. We’ve seen a force that would shatter our nation, rather than share it. Would destroy our country if it meant delaying democracy. And this effort very nearly succeeded. But while democracy can be periodically delayed, it can never be permanently defeated. In this truth, in this faith we trust, for while we have our eyes on the future, history has its eyes on us. This is the era of just redemption. We feared at its inception. We did not feel prepared to be the heirs of such a terrifying hour. But within it we found the power to author a new chapter, to offer hope and laughter to ourselves. So, while once we asked, how could we possibly prevail over catastrophe, now we assert, how could catastrophe possibly prevail over us? We will not march back to what was, but move to what shall be: a country that is bruised but whole, benevolent but bold, fierce and free. We will not be turned around or interrupted by intimidation because we know our inaction and inertia will be the inheritance of the next generation, become the future. Our blunders become their burdens. But one thing is certain. If we merge mercy with might, and might with right, then love becomes our legacy and change our children’s birthright. So let us leave behind a country better than the one we were left. Every breath from my bronze-pounded chest, we will raise this wounded world into a wondrous one. We will rise from the golden hills of the West. We will rise from the windswept Northeast where our forefathers first realized revolution. We will rise from the lake-rimmed cities of the Midwestern states. We will rise from the sun-baked South. We will rebuild, reconcile, and recover. And every known nook of our nation and every corner called our country, our people diverse and beautiful, will emerge battered and beautiful. When day comes, we step out of the shade of flame and unafraid. The new dawn balloons as we free it. For there is always light, if only we’re brave enough to see it. If only we’re brave enough to be it.
Every day is Election Day!! The general election on Tuesday, November 3rd is fast approaching and you are able to vote in person at your county courthouse or by mail. The League of Women Voters has a very helpful sheet with more info here.
Voting Absentee In Person
1. Go to your county’s courthouse (click here to find your county and your absentee ballot request form). ** Please call them beforehand to confirm hours and process.**
2. Bring your application form and a valid form of ID to show (no copy needed). You may also get a ballot request form at the courthouse.
3. If you are voting absentee due to COVID concerns, please check the box “I have a physical illness or infirmity which prevents my attendance at the polls.”
4. You will be provided a ballot and instructions at that time.
Voting By Mail
1. Download your county’s absentee ballot request form here.
2. You will need to include a photocopy of your ID.
4. If you are voting absentee due to COVID concerns, please check the box “I have a physical illness or infirmity which prevents my attendance at the polls.”
We’re sad to say the Meet the Candidates Forums have been cancelled. HIVE is and always will be committed to educating ourselves and our neighbors on issues important to our community. We will continue to champion voter information and engagement in a positive, supportive manner. We’re so proud of ALL who step up to run for office and for those striving to make our city the best it can be.
Read more below to learn about the upcoming elections and to see information on all the candidates. And visit www.cityofhomewood.com/elections and Vote411.org for all the goodness.
Thank you for being engaged in the process. #beinformed #befabulous #VOTE
Click here for sample ballots. A list of candidates is below.
(I = Incumbent, * = Unopposed, elected)
Please note you may vote absentee in the run-off election if you are concerned about COVID-19. Please check this box on your absentee voting application: “I have a physical illness or infirmity which prevents my attendance at the polls.”
Currently, a copy of your valid photo identification must be submitted along with this application.
Deadline to return completed absentee ballot:
By mail must be postmarked no later than Monday, July 13th and received by the Absentee Election Manager no later than noon on election day. In-person must be received by 5 p.m. on Monday, July 13th
Friends,
The past several weeks have been heavy on our hearts as our nation mourns yet another life stolen away by injustice. But we also see the light in our friends who are leading, educating, serving, and organizing all around us. Below are several ways to listen, learn, and help.
Alabama Rally Against Injustice
Leading solidarity rallies all over the state. Follow their Facebook page for more info and to donate.
Be a Blessing Birmingham
Executive Director Star Robb works tirelessly to serve our neighbors (she’s also been taking care of protestors on a nightly basis, paying bail, and staying until everyone is released). Click here for more info and to donate.
Also, Star’s been working on a special campaign to purchase a mobile shower unit for our homeless neighbors. Please donate and share.
Faith in Action Faith in Action Alabama is calling on the Birmingham City Council and Mayor Woodfin to redirect funds from the Birmingham Police Department budget to other social services including their Peacemaker Campaign to support anti-gun violence street outreach strategies. PLEASE CALL Mayor Woodfin and city council members at (205) 254-2000.
Jefferson County Memorial Project JCMP hosts Ethics of Remembering, on Saturday, June 20th from 9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. This community conversation will explore community memory, political memory, and how to seek justice by remembering what was forgotten. Join JCMP and panelist, Rev Jennifer Sanders, Dr. Brandon Wolfe and Rev. Michael Malcom as we discuss the ethics of remembering. Click here for more info.
STAIR Birmingham
Through one-on-one tutoring, STAIR Birmingham works to close the reading gap by empowering students with the tools to read better. STAIR is still working hard with virtual tutoring, read aloud videos, and a special Pages for the Pandemic book drive. Can you help get 10 books into the hands of 250 STAIR students? Click here to donate!
We’re sad to say the Meet the Candidates Forums have been cancelled. HIVE is and always will be committed to educating ourselves and our neighbors on issues important to our community. We will continue to champion voter information and engagement in a positive, supportive manner. We’re so proud of ALL who step up to run for office and for those striving to make our city the best it can be.
Alabama Rally Against Injustice
Be a Blessing Birmingham
Faith in Action
Jefferson County Memorial Project
STAIR Birmingham