Part 1: Various community organizers and activists collaborate to discuss the Grassroots Coalition - Birmingham's "Black Agenda" and the Woodfin Administration report.

Find out more about the Grassroots Coalition at: http://www.grassrootsbham.com

Represented:

• Celida Soto Garcia
• J. Robert Burton
• Majadi Baruti
• Avee Shabazz
• Spencer Bowley
• Richard A. Rice
• Julia Juarez
• Richard Dickerson
• Eva Melton
• Brian Rice
• Martez Files

On June 24th 2020, Sybil Arrington-Scarbrough sent out an e-mail to the Neighborhood Officers on behalf of Mayor Randall Woodfin. This e-mail discusses how he endorsed our Black Agenda in 2017 when running for Mayor.

The Black Agenda was written by the Grassroots Coalition through a series of public input sessions from residents and community leaders throughout Birmingham. The Black Agenda focuses on eliminating poverty by emphasizing sustainability, community owned economies, and expanding black wealth; criminal justice reform; education; health and wellness; affordable housing; and transparent, accountable and responsive local government.

In 2018, members of the Grassroots Coalition, and our partners, helped develop the Social Justice Transition Team Plan. We spent months, and thousands of hours developing national best practices for implementing short and long term policies that aligned with both the Black Agenda and Birmingham's 2013 Comprehensive Plan.

The "Black Agenda Progress Report" that the Woodfin Administration released yesterday was not created with any consultation of the creators of the Black Agenda. It's release was unilaterally taken without any communication as to the oversight and transparency of the items listed and we believe it to be a misrepresentation of the work the Woodfin Administration has done regarding the Black Agenda.

In addition, it is a misrepresentation of his relationship with the Grassroots Coalition and our partner organizations.

#gentrification #AffordableHousing #RandallWoodfin