It’s an Election Year, so things will be lively during the 2022 Legislative Session, Jan. 11-April 26, in Montgomery, AL., according to political observers. What’s more, the Alabama legislature is arguably the most powerful political force in the state because the state GOP holds a supermajority in both houses of the legislature, which give legislators the ability to over-ride a gubernatorial veto. 

To learn about the most progressive – and worrisome — bills that activists and lobbyists are watching, join MAD?Make A Difference, Tuesday, Jan. 11 for a special panel discussion, from noon to 1 p.m. Central, via Zoom, held in collaboration with H.I.V.E. Alabama.

You must register in advance for this meeting. Click here to register: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIvc-CqqD4sEtVJzVCY89pdyAlvNG1kWHy3

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing the Zoom details for joining the meeting. This email is generated automatically, but Zoom can experience delays. Don’t wait until the last-minute to register. 

Here is your chance to hear from at these 3 amazing panelists and ask questions:

Presdelane (Pres) Harris, Alabama Arise Organizing Director: Pres has worked for Arise since 1994 and has a B.S. in justice and public safety from Auburn University at Montgomery and an M.S. in management from Troy University. She has lived in Montgomery her entire life and enjoys spending time with family and friends, working in her church, superhero movies, ocean cruises and mountain cabins in the wintertime. Alabama Arise is a statewide, member-led organization advancing public policies to improve the lives of Alabamians who are marginalized by poverty. Membership includes faith-based, community, nonprofit and civic groups, grassroots leaders and individuals from across Alabama. Alabama Arise has released its policy roadmap for 2022 and set its Lobby Day as Feb. 15. For more information, follow Alabama Arise on Facebook.

Rhonda Pendleton, Alabama State Legislative Lead, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America: A Pennsylvania native, but long-time Alabama resident, Rhonda first became involved with Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense with the start-up of the Huntsville group in 2018. After volunteering with various Moms efforts locally and state-wide, she took on the role of volunteer state legislative lead in early 2021, coordinating the group’s first virtual advocacy day in March. Moms works with Everytown for Gun Safety to promote evidence-based solutions to end gun violence. For more information about Moms in Alabama, follow them on Facebook.

Dana Sweeney, Statewide Organizer for Alabama Appleseed Center for Law & Justice: Dana travels all across the state sharing Appleseed’s research, building relationships, and connecting people with opportunities to take action as the group fights for a better future. Dana has lived in Alabama for his entire adult life and dreams of making this the Sweet Home that we all deserve. Alabama Appleseed is member of the national Appleseed Network, which includes 18 Appleseed Centers across the U.S. and in Mexico City. Appleseed was founded in 1994 with the mission to develop and help sustain a network of advocacy centers that address local issues and develop and promote practical, systemic solutions. To learn more about AL Appleseed, follow it on Facebook.

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!

“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:

• Sen. Linda Coleman-Madison (D-District 20);
• Robyn Hyden, Executive Director of Alabama Arise;
• Dana Ellis, State Lead for Moms Demand Action, Alabama Chapter;
• Akiesha Anderson, Policy Director, and Dana Sweeney, Statewide Organizer, both of Alabama Appleseed

You must register in advance for this meeting. Click here to register! After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing the Zoom details for joining the meeting.

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!

Traditionally, each woman is handed a sunflower at graduation. Sunflowers grow fast, are heat resistant, and each one produces thousands of seeds. It’s an apt symbol for Emerge Alabama’s mission to recruit and train resilient, qualified women to run for office. RSVP for the event and/or purchase a sunflower for the incredible women in the Spring 2021 cohort here!

“The Hill We Climb”
Amanda Gorman

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.

3. Mail your request form and ID copy to your county courthouse.

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.”

5. Your county courthouse will mail you your absentee ballot.

6. Complete your ballot. You will need two witnesses or a notary to sign your ballot envelope.

7. Mail the ballot back to your courthouse. Must be postmarked by November 2nd or hand delivered to your courthouse by noon on November 3rd.

Click here for all the the good info! If you are planning on voting absentee, please don’t delay!! #bethechange #VOTE

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

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Click here for sample ballots. A list of candidates is below.
(I = Incumbent, * = Unopposed, elected)

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The Alabama Primary Run-off Election is Tuesday, July 14, 2020.

• There is a run-off In Jefferson County on the Democratic ballot for Jefferson County Treasurer between Eyrika Parker and Rod Scott.
  • Jefferson County’s Democrat ballot
  • Jefferson County’s Republican ballot
  • Other county run-off election ballots

Deadline to request an absentee ballot: Thursday, July 9th

• Request a ballot here.
• Attorney Chris Christie recently did a presentation for our friends with the Vestavia Democrats on absentee voting. Click here for the video presentation and here for the informational handout.
• 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