Hello Mobile Environmental Justice Champions!
Keep reading below for upcoming community events and important news!!
Please save the date for the next Mobile Environmental Justice Action Coalition Community Meeting:
Monday, July 13, 2026
5-7pm
VIRTUAL MEETING
Credentials will be shared in a reminder email sent on the morning of our next meeting – to receive credentials, please sign up to receive this newsletter via email!
Click “Continue Reading” to SEE THE WHOLE NEWSLETTER!
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MORE 2026 ELECTIONS ARE COMING UP!
‼️Despite the racist chaos that has played out in Montgomery this year, our Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen has ruled that the election calendar will proceed as planned. Check out the important dates below and TUNE IN if you care about your rights!
🗳️ Check your voter registration status: myinfo.alabamavotes.gov/voterview/
🗳️ Register to vote or update your registration: sos.alabama.gov/alabama-votes/voter/register-to-vote
🗳️ Check in with your family and friends to make sure they are both registered where they live AND have a plan to vote on election days!
You can find out more about the candidates in your districts and about how to vote here: www.vote.org ‼️
ARE YOU AWARE that local, Mobile-area civil rights organizing is critical to how the Voting Rights Act was implemented nationwide? 👀 Google “Mobile v Bolden” to learn more about the contributions to the legal protections that we ALL enjoy by those who came before us.
ABOUT THE AUGUST 11, 2026 ELECTION:
‼️If you live in Congressional District 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 7, there will be NO Democratic Primary in August (the contests only have one Democratic candidate). If you live in Congressional District 1, 2, or 7, there will be a Republican Primary for Congress. All CAN vote in the Republican primary if they wish. This is not considered “crossover voting” and you will not miss an opportunity to vote for any Democrats.
This August 11 election is to decide who will appear on the ballot for the November 3, 2026 General Election. No other local or statewide items will appear on the August 11 ballots.
The Republican Primary U.S. House Alabama District 1 will feature Lucas Burger, Jerry Carl, Austin Sidwell, and John Mills.
The Democratic candidate for U.S. House Alabama District 1 is Clyde Jones.
This is what the August 11 and November 3 Alabama Election Map for US Congressional Representation looks like after the racist changes that the Alabama legislature enacted and the US Supreme Court upheld:
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RECURRING MONTHLY EVENTS
2nd and 4th Tuesdays and Saturdays of every month – The Africatown Food Bank distributes free food aid boxes on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays and Saturdays of every month. Volunteers to help load and distribute boxes are always welcome! Contact Rochelle Williams (plateaupacers@gmail.com) or Daphnee Frieson (daphnee.frieson@icloud.com) let them know your interest!
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All month long, Tuesdays thru Saturdays, 10am-5pm – The incredible Africatown Heritage House is open to the public and is FREE to all Mobile County residents. If you haven’t already visited, please do take the time to walk through the spellbinding exhibit space and experience the power of Africatown’s history, past and present in the form of “Clotilda: The Exhibition at the Africatown Heritage House”.
This month’s Heritage Lecture Series speaker is Elizabeth Theris-Boone on the topic of “Genealogy: How to Get Started?”.
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Tuesday, June 16, 5pm – The Africatown Redevelopment Corporation (ARC) conducts its monthly board meeting publicly at Africatown Hall (2201 Papermill Road) on the third Tuesday of every month at 5pm. For more info about the ARC: https://www.atownrc.com/
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No Green Drinks in July – Mobile United hosts a Mobile Green Drinks “monthly happy hour for environmentally thoughtful folks” 2026 meetup series at Braided River Brewing Company, 420 St. Louis Street, Mobile, AL 36602.
Networking begins @ 5 p.m.
5:45-6:15 – presentation and Q & A with the presenter
6:15-6:30- Learn about the loads of upcoming environmental action opportunities around Mobile
7:00 – Stay for trivia fun or not!
For more info about Mobile United: https://www.mobileunited.org/
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Sunday, July 26, 4pm – The Mobile NAACP will conduct its General Membership meeting in person at Truevine Missionary Baptist Church, 1850 Dr Martin Luther King Jr Ave, Mobile, AL 36617. The mission of the NAACP is to achieve equity, political rights, and social inclusion by advancing policies and practices that expand human and civil rights, eliminate discrimination, and accelerate the well-being, education, and economic security of Black people and all persons of color.
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ONGOING – “The Africatown Experience Boat Tour” unveils the remarkable story of the Clotilda, the last known slave ship to bring enslaved Africans to the United States, by taking participants directly to the site of the scuttled ship at Twelve Mile Island in the Mobile Delta.
Private group reservations are available, contact Chiquitta Howard with Africatown Freedom Tours at 251.374.6767. This is more than a sightseeing tour—it’s a chance to reflect on history, honor the past, and celebrate the enduring spirit of a community.
For more information, including other future dates and to reserve your spot, visit: Blakeleypark.com/:
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ONGOING (First Saturday of every month at 9am) – Despite federal funding cuts, the STEMMing The Tide / AL-YASS program will continue as a monthly Professional Development Series for Alabama Educators, including those in the Mobile County Public School System!
Alabama educators are invited to join STEMMing The Tide and AL-YASS (Alabama Youth Action for Sustainability Summit) for a monthly professional development series focused on helping teachers embed citizen science into their classrooms and connect students with real-world environmental research. These sessions will provide practical classroom ideas, resources, and opportunities to connect with community partners along the coast and across Alabama!
We will meet virtually on the first Saturday of each month at 9:00 a.m. via Zoom starting in September.
To stay connected or learn more, please reach out to klanier@uab.edu or AlabamaYAS@gmail.com. You can also visit the STEMMing The Tide website at https://stemmingthetide.weebly.com/.
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UPCOMING SPECIAL EVENTS
& UNIQUE OPPORTUNITIES
July 10-12 – The Clotilda Descendants Association’s annual Landing Event and Ancestors Festival will be taking place alongside the first Africatown Middle Passage Convening, the annual Africatown Plateau-Pacers’ community walk & kickball game, the Africatown Heritage Preservation Foundation’s Swim Program, tours of the historic Mobile County Training School – MCTS Alumni Association Whippets Den and a Lantern Walk, a tent revival at First Hopewell Missionary Baptist Church, kayak tours at the new Lewis Landing Park by the Mobile Baykeeper, guided tours to the Clotilda wreck site by ALL Things Africatown / Africa Town Freedom Tours / What You Say! Touring, and much more!
These events are all happening at various venues throughout Mobile County, Alabama across Friday, Saturday, and Sunday!
With so many events happening in Africatown this weekend, here’s a decent breakdown of all the opportunities to come out and join in the observations, celebrations, games, food, prayers, and history in the making.
All listed events are OPEN TO THE PUBLIC, though a handful of events REQUIRE RSVP and/or TICKETS (links are listed below)! NO RSVP/TICKET LINK? JUST SHOW UP!
FRIDAY, JULY 10
9:00–10:30 AM — Africatown Middle Passage Convening Kickoff at Lewis Landing, 1365 Conception Street Rd, Mobile, AL 36610
Sponsor: Africatown Middle Passage Convening
10:00 AM–5:00 PM — Open House at Africatown Heritage House (free to Mobile County residents), 2465 Wimbush St, Mobile, AL 36610
Sponsor: Africatown Heritage House
11:00 AM–3:00 PM — Landing Event and Ancestor Festival at the Robert Hope Community Center Park, 850 Edwards St, Mobile, AL 36610
Sponsor: Clotilda Descendants Association
3:30–5:30 PM — Open House at Mobile County Training School Den, 800 Whitley St, Mobile, AL 36610 (far east end of building)
Sponsor: Mobile County Training School Alumni Association
6:30–8:00 PM — Community Revival at First Hopewell Missionary Baptist Church, 664 Shelby St, Mobile, AL 36610
Sponsor: Area churches
SATURDAY, JULY 11
10:00 AM–6:00 PM — Food Trucks at Kidd Park, 800 East St, Mobile, AL 36610
7:00–11:00 AM — 5th Anniversary Community Walk and Kickball at Kidd Park, 800 East St, Mobile, AL 36610
Sponsor: Africatown Plateau Pacers
8:00–9:30 AM — Africatown Bridge Landing Ceremony at 101 Bay Bridge Road, Mobile, Alabama 36610 (on the Mobile River west bank under the Africatown Bridge)
Sponsor: Clotilda Descendants Association
9:00 AM–12:00 PM — Fishing and Kayaking at Lewis Landing (all materials provided at no cost, first come first serve, for ages 9+, all skill levels welcome), 1365 Conception Street Rd, Mobile, AL 36610
Sponsor: Mobile Baykeeper
9:00 AM–5:00 PM — Africatown Swim Program (drop in to learn more) at the Kidd Park Pool, 800 East St, Mobile, AL 36610
Sponsor: Africatown Heritage Preservation Foundation
10:00 AM–12:00 PM — “Social Justice and Strategies for Engagement” Young Leaders Summit at Africatown Hall, 2201 Paper Mill Rd, Mobile, AL 36610
Sponsor: Operation Understanding DC
1:30–3:30 PM — Cruise to Site of the Clotilda Wreck, depart from Mobile Riverfront at the Mobile Convention Center parking garage (downtown, directly on the Mobile River), 1 S Water St, Mobile, AL 36602 (PURCHASE TICKETS HERE)
Sponsor: ALL Things Africatown, What You Say! Touring, Africatown Freedom Tours, Blakeley State Park
1:00–3:00 PM — Preservation/Documentation Workshop at Africatown Hall (REGISTRATION REQUIRED HERE), 2201 Paper Mill Rd, Mobile, AL 36610
Sponsor: Africatown Middle Passage Convening
4:00–5:30 PM — Closing Convening and Next Steps Session at the Mobile County Training School Den, 800 Whitley St, Mobile, AL 36610 (far east end of building)
Sponsor: Africatown Middle Passage Convening
6:00 PM — Lantern Walk, starting at Mobile County Training School, 800 Whitley St, Mobile, AL 36610
Sponsor: Mobile County Training School Alumni Association
SUNDAY, JULY 12
10:30 AM — Worship Service at Union Missionary Baptist Church, 506 Africatown Blvd (formerly Bay Bridge Rd), Mobile, AL 36610
Sponsor: Clotilda Descendants Association, Union Missionary Baptist Church
8:00 AM–3:00 PM — All Churches Open to Visitors
~~~~~~~~MORE DETAILS~~~~~~~~
For more info on the Clotilda Descendants Association Landing Event and Ancestors Festival activities: https://theclotildastory.com/2026-landing-event-and-ancestor-festival/
For more info on the Africatown Middle Passage Convening activities: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/africatown-middle-passage-convening-tickets-1988334390687
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ONGOING, RFQs due August 9, 2026 – From The Clotilda Memorial team: “The Alabama Historical Commission has launched a national call for a memorial honoring the last known African captives trafficked to the United States through the transatlantic slave trade: the 110 individuals forced aboard the Clotilda. This project represents a significant cultural investment in public memory by honoring the enduring legacies of those who experienced displacement, enslavement, and discrimination.
The selected artist or artist team will be tasked with creating a work that reflects the depth, resilience, and generational impact of the Clotilda survivors, while establishing a lasting public installation for reflection, education, and collective healing.
We ask that you share this opportunity with artists and organizations within your network who are equipped to engage work of this historical and cultural magnitude.
The Request for Qualifications (RFQ) is available here:
https://TheClotildaMemorial.info/call-for-artists/
Submissions are due August 9, 2026, and applications may be completed and submitted here. Finalists will advance to a Request for Proposals (RFP) phase and will receive a $2,000 honorarium to develop a proposal. The total project budget is $2,000,000.
The memorial will be developed through a collaborative process with descendants of the Clotilda survivors, residents of Africatown, and the connected diasporic communities. This will ensure the final work is grounded in lived experience, nuanced understanding of history, and community voice.”
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Thursday, July 16, 2026, 5:30-7pm – “Join us on July 16 for an update on the Africatown Welcome Center! 📢 City representatives will share information on the center’s progress, upcoming milestones, and the vision for creating a welcoming destination that celebrates Africatown’s rich history, culture, and legacy.
Attendees will also have the opportunity to learn how they can play an active role in preserving and sharing Africatown’s story for generations to come. The meeting will begin at 5:30 p.m. at the Robert Hope Community Center, 850 Edwards St, Mobile, AL 36610.”
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July 17-20, 2026 – The Harambee House Citizens for Environmental Justice will host the 4th annual Southeast Environmental Justice Summit at the Grand Hyatt Buckhead in Atlanta, GA:
”The 4th Annual Southeast Environmental Justice Summit will convene community stakeholders, advocacy organizations and groups, federal and local government agencies, public and private sector companies and leaders, climate and clean renewable energy advocacy groups in the 8 states and 6 Tribal Nations (GA., FL., NC., SC, TN, MS, AL, KY, and 6 Tribes) of EPA’s Region 4 to collaborate on advancing climate and environmental justice for everyone.
Summit Goals:
- Continue to build upon the Southeast Regional 10-Year Strategic Action Plan
- Bring together federal, state, and local leaders to envision environmental protection for us all.
- Bring together frontline and fence line leaders from across the Southeastern US.
- Direct funding and investment in community-driven projects, programs, and jobs.
- Workshop community projects for partnership and funding readiness.
Who Should Attend:
- Community members
- Neighborhood Planning Units (NPU presidents, officers, members)
- Neighborhood Associations (NA presidents, officers, members)
- Students and Youth
- Non-profit advocacy organizations and groups
- Private sector corporations
- Local and federal government agency staff
- Grassroots groups
- Higher Education
Book your discounted hotel:
https://www.hyatt.com/events/en-US/group-booking/ATLGH/G-HABE”
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Saturday, July 18, 2026, 10am-3pm – The Africatown Redevelopment Corporation (ARC) will host an “Opening Doors to Homeownership Resource Event at the Robert Hope Community Center, 850 Edwards St, Mobile, AL 36610, lunch will be provided to all who RSVP here:
”Join us in person for ARC’s Opening Doors event and get the scoop on owning your own home! Free community event on homeownership, credit, estate planning & wealth building. Connect with lenders, credit counselors, attorneys etc..
The Africatown Redevelopment Corporation, in partnership with the NAREB Mobile Association of Real Estate Brokers, invites you to join us for our annual Opening Doors to Homeownership event, a community-focused event designed to empower individuals and families with the knowledge and resources needed to build wealth through homeownership.
Homeownership remains one of the most powerful ways to build generational wealth. This event helps consumers and community members retain, restore, obtain, and grow wealth through real estate.
Whether you are a first-time homebuyer, renter, voucher holder, or someone seeking to preserve family property, this event will provide the guidance and resources you need to gain financial stability.
Ready to take the first step towards owning your own place? Join us in person for ARC’s Opening Doors to Homeownership event! Get tips, resources, and support all in one spot. Whether you’re just curious or ready to dive in, we’ve got you covered. Don’t miss out on this chance to learn and connect!”
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Saturday, July 25 from 1-5pm: The Africatown Heritage House will host Culture Fest 2026 at the amazing Africatown Heritage House at 2465 Wimbush St, Mobile, AL 36610.
“Join us for a powerful day of celebration, community, and culture at Culture Fest 2026 in historic Africatown! On Saturday, July 25 from 1–5 PM, experience an afternoon filled with engaging activities, enriching moments, and soul-stirring entertainment that honors the African American experience and celebrates the enduring legacy of Africatown.
Bring your family and friends and enjoy a vibrant atmosphere where culture, history, and community come alive. From live performances to interactive experiences, Culture Fest 2026 offers something for everyone. Admission is FREE! Come be part of a day of joy, reflection, and connection—where the spirit of Africatown shines and all are welcome!”
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FEATURED NEWS STORIES:
📚 09/28/25 – MEJACoalition.org – A Hog Bayou Fit for Africatown’s Future – Check out MEJAC’s blog about Africatown’s Hog Bayou! “With momentum for long-term investment building, Africatown environmental advocates identified a lack of data about the safety of Hog Bayou and sought assistance from the Mobile Baykeeper, the Environmental Integrity Project, the Sierra Club, and the Center for Applied Environmental Science to help us identify potential risks and challenges that may come along with the sort of increased public access to Hog Bayou that advocates and residents have sought for years.”
📚 04/10/26 – InsideClimateNews.org – As the Alabama Legislature Adjourns, Environmentalists See a Silver Lining – Citizens defeated a measure ending PSC elections, though lawmakers passed a different type of anti-democratic utility regulation changes and other restrictions on environmental protection from toxic exposures for Alabamians during the 2026 session.
📚 05/19/26 – InsideClimateNews.org – Alabama Coal Ash Lawsuit Can Continue, Appeals Court Rules – “The lawsuit challenges Alabama Power’s plans to leave more than 21 million tons of coal ash in an unlined pond at the head of the Mobile-Tensaw Delta, an area sometimes called “America’s Amazon” for its rich biodiversity.
📚 05/26/26, MEJACoalition.org – Doing it Differently: Hard Earned Lessons from Engaging with a Proposed AI Data Center on the Africatown side of Prichard – This is a deep dive into the proposed AI Data Center on the Africatown side of Prichard presented by MEJAC after many hours of deliberations, Africatown community consultation, and an actual tour of the company’s other data centers in Atlanta.
📚 05/26/26 – Fox10TV.com – Alabama Port Authority says it is not pushing to remove tunnels under Mobile River – “In response to questions from FOX10 News, port spokesman Jason Johnson released a statement: ‘We appreciate Congressman Figures’ continued efforts to support infrastructure improvements at the Port of Mobile. At this time, we are not aware of any plans to remove the George Wallace Tunnel or the Bankhead Tunnel.’”
THE LATEST NEWS STORIES:
📚 06/01/26 – AL.com – Why are Alabama state offices closed today? – “The holiday honors a man who wasn’t born in Alabama and only spent a handful of months here as CSA president.” Jefferson Davis’s Birthday is one of three Confederate-related holidays in Alabama.
📚 06/01/26 – AL.com – New industrial site threatens revival of historic Africatown: ‘We have to protect ourselves’ – “Mobile County property records show Rogers Group purchased the land from Northport-based Parker Towing Company. Prior to the sale, Vulcan Materials Company leased the land for a similar purpose. Next door is the H.O. Weaver and Sons asphalt plant. Residents of Chin Street have complained of polluted air and noise.”
📚 06/01/26 – Fox10TV.com – Proposed data center in Prichard draws mixed reactions – “Edged Energy reports the proposed data center will feature a closed-loop cooling system. It is designed to use virtually no municipal water once fully operating.” Ramsey Sprague with MEJAC said skepticism is understandable but emphasized evaluating each project on its own merits.
📚 06/01/26 – AlabamaReflector.com – More cities are pressing pause on data centers as local backlash grows – “Hearing backlash from residents, cities and counties across the country in recent weeks have blocked planned data centers amid concerns over rising electricity prices and environmental harms.”
📚 06/01/26 – AL.com – TVA grappling with data center costs as load expected to double by 2030 – “The Tennessee Valley Authority is figuring out how to bring data centers onto its power grid while keeping costs low for customers.” In February, the TVA sent a letter about a possible rate change related to data centers.
📚 06/03/26 – InsideClimateNews.org – In the Wake of Georgia’s Blue Wave, Alabama Changed Its Utility Regulation Elections. This Black Democrat Is Suing. – “No Black Alabamian has ever served on the state’s Public Service Commission. Sheila McNeil has a plan to change that, and she’s taking Alabama to court.”
📚 06/03/26 – InsideClimateNews.org – In Alabama Primary Elections, Incumbent Utility Regulators Feel the Squeeze of High Energy Prices – “Alabamians face some of the highest electricity bills in the nation. They’re bringing their frustrations to the ballot box.”
📚 06/10/26 – InsideClimateNews.org – On the Historic Route From Selma to Montgomery, an AI Cloud Looms – “In this rural Alabama community, some residents can’t flush their toilets. Developers want to build a state-of-the-art data center next door.”
📚 06/12/26 – InsideClimateNews.org – Trump’s EPA Unlawfully Cancelled Environmental Justice Grants, Judge Rules – “The decision voided the EPA guidance to terminate the $2.8 billion grant program. But it stopped short of requiring the agency to resume administering it.”
📚 06/12/26 – AL.com – South Alabama residents loudly reject proposed data center: ‘Community has spoken’ – “Around 200 people attended the meeting, despite no air conditioning in the Prichard City Hall auditorium. And the heat almost certainly did not help calm residents who are fiercely opposed to the data center.” Ramsey Sprague noted the challenging meeting conditions.
📚 06/15/26 – NonprofitQuarterly.org – Community Benefit Agreements: A Tool for Building Stronger Democracies – “The need for America to build quickly and at scale has become a lively debate amongst pundits and policymakers alike but proponents fail to recognize citizens’ loss of faith in both political and economic institutions.”
📚 06/16/26 – Grist.org – The ‘Super El Niño’ Is Here. What Happens Next Could Upend Food Systems Worldwide – “The oceanic phenomenon known as El Niño, which increases temperatures worldwide, has officially begun, according to U.S. weather forecasters at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Meteorologists have warned that this could be the strongest El Niño this century.”
📚 06/17/26 – AlabamaReflector.com – Gov. Kay Ivey makes four appointments to the Alabama Public Service Commission – Gov. Ivey appointed Lt. Gen. Ron Burgess (ret.), former Farmers Telecom CEO Fred Johnson, Maynard Nexen attorney Demarcus Joiner, and Alabama State University President Quinton T. Ross Jr. to fill the four seats HB 475 added to the PSC.
📚 06/17/26 – InsideClimateNews.org – Alabama’s Self-Proclaimed ‘AI Watchman’ Unseats Incumbent Public Service Commissioner – “Former Alabama State Auditor Jim Zeigler narrowly won the GOP runoff against incumbent Chris Beeker III for the Place 2 PSC seat, marking the second incumbent PSC commissioner ousted amid public anger over Alabama’s high electric bills.”
📚 06/17/26 – E360.Yale.edu – An EPA Researcher Details the Agency’s Assault on Science – “In January 2025, the Trump administration began shutting down projects within the EPA’s independent science division that touched on climate change and environmental justice.”
📚 06/18/26 – InsideClimateNews.org – Alabama Limestone Quarry Reaches Settlement – “Residents of the small north Alabama community of Belle Mina are breathing easier after reaching a settlement with a limestone quarry they said was disrupting homes and churches.”
📚 06/18/26 – TheGrio.com – Trump DOJ Targets Illinois City’s Reparations Program for Black Residents – “The Trump administration’s Department of Justice has moved to block Evanston, Illinois’ landmark reparations program joining an existing lawsuit arguing the program unconstitutionally distributes public benefits based on race.”
📚 06/19/26 – VirginiaMercury.com – Juneteenth reminds us of Black Americans’ long struggle for education following end of slavery – “Congress enacted the 13th Amendment on Jan. 31, 1865, abolishing slavery. It was not until June 19, 1865, that word of the amendment reached enslaved people in Galveston, Texas marking Juneteenth’s origin.”
📚 06/25/26 – InsideClimateNews.org – Alabama Seeks Permit to Fill Wetlands, Streams for Controversial Highway Project – “The state now estimates that the Birmingham Northern Beltline project will cost $6.19 billion.”
📚 06/25/26 – Fox10TV.com – Study reveals how genetics and environment shape disease risk – Penn State research shows environmental factors like air pollution can increase disease risk more than inherited genes, offering hope for prevention through environmental policy.
📚 06/25/26 – Soul-Grown.com – Mobile’s Africatown: the story of the Clotilda slave ship and its survivors – A review of the Africatown Heritage House and some of the Africatown story.
📚 06/26/26 – AlDailyNews.com – Report: $25M investment in public transportation would generate $100M federal funding and improve workforce participation – A report commissioned by Alabama Arise found that state investment in public transit could leverage federal grants and boost workforce participation; “You can’t get and keep a job if you can’t afford to get to work.”
📚 07/01/26 – AL.com – Alabama seeks artists for $2 million Clotilda Slave Ship memorial honoring survivors – “Alabama is funding a memorial to honor the survivors of the slave ship Clotilda, and officials are now seeking artists to design it. The Request for Qualifications is open through August 9.”
📚 07/01/26 – ArchitectMagazine.com – What Do You Build in the Shadow of the Last Slave Ship? – “In Africatown, Alabama, Tall Architects is designing new housing in a community founded by survivors of the Clotilda, asking whether architecture can honor history without turning it into a monument.”
📚 07/02/26 – InsideClimateNews.org – A New York Heat Wave Meets a New Political Climate – “Seeking to sow unity amid a pending heat crisis, New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani reaped a whirlwind of right-wing rage. The mayor urged residents to adjust thermostats and reduce electricity use.”
📚 07/02/26 – AL.com – Clean air rules relaxed for 3 Alabama plants with violation history: ‘What about the people?’ – “Keisha Brown says she sometimes can’t sit on her porch in Birmingham because the air is so smoky and hazy with windows sometimes coated in residue from nearby industrial facilities.”
📚 07/03/26 – ABCNews.com – Court clears way for Trump admin to ‘immediately’ replace slavery exhibit in Philadelphia ahead of July 4 – “On the eve of America’s 250th birthday, an appeals court cleared the way for the Trump administration to revamp the slavery exhibit at the President’s House in Philadelphia in ways critics say minimize slavery’s brutality.”
📚 07/03/26 – LagniappeMobile.com – AI data center coming to Calvert – “An AI data center company plans to build a $6 billion complex on 95 acres of land in northern Mobile County. The Calvert Infrastructure Hub will feature two buildings supporting artificial intelligence and cloud programs.”
📚 07/04/26 – AL.com – From Africatown to Benin: Clotilda heirs’ historic African citizenship honors roots – “Cassandra Lewis’s path to citizenship in the African country of Benin began decades ago. As the youngest of nine children, she grew up listening to her father recount stories passed down from Clotilda survivor Kossola “Cudjo” Lewis.”
📚 07/04/26 – BelfastTelegraph.co.uk – Paths to freedom: A civil rights trail across Alabama – An international travel-and-culture feature on Alabama’s civil rights trail including stops in Montgomery, Selma, Birmingham, and Mobile/Africatown.
📚 07/05/26 – AL.com – Rent keeps going up in Alabama: Which cities pay the most – “Just like the temperature, rent in Alabama is on the rise. In cities across the state, Alabamians pay an average of about $1,500 in rent in 2026. This is nearly twice what residents paid in 2015.”
📚 07/05/26 – AL.com – Mobile enforces strict rules as short-term rentals surge; permit denied – “Joan Hendrix was hopeful that her simple, one-bedroom shotgun house on Kentucky Street in Mobile’s Oakdale neighborhood would win approval to become a short-term rental. Despite support from Council President C.J. Small, the City Council unanimously rejected her request for a permit.”
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Thank you for all you do to champion Environmental Justice in Mobile & everywhere!