We Speak Events
Trump and the Real Game at Play
The Bible Belt is on religious holiday this Monday: it’s the college football national championship game in Atlanta, which is basically Sabbath for the Deep South everywhere.
By 3:00 p.m., all Atlanta, Fulton County, and state government establishments will close. By 4:00 p.m., most schools and college campuses will be a ghost town; students and teachers alike will be skipping class.
By some time midafternoon, the President of the United States of ‘Murica himself will touch down in Atlanta for the biggest college game of the year.
By 8:00 p.m., millions of eyes will be glued to TV screens nationwide to see the Georgia-Alabama kickoff in this fateful throw down.
But part of the sport will not even be what’s happening on the field; it’s all the implications of what’s happening in the stands, the city, and how it reflects the state of our country.
45 is not just attending to “roll tide”; he is there to shake hands, kiss babies, and remind his core voter base who “made America great again.” Come Monday, the Mercedes Benz stadium will be a field ripe with current supporters and future votes, and Trump is coming to harvest.
According to Forbes, Trump won all 11 SEC states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas. To no one’s surprise, the heartland of college football was almost unanimously red.
So underneath the festivities, the occasion will also be fraught with political tension.
The National Anthem is sure to be a patriotic show like no other, with the NFL’s ongoing battle with peaceful protest sparked by Colin Kaepernick. Monday also marks the first day of Georgia’s Legislative session for the year, which will touch on tighter bills for hate crimes and sexual harassment.
As diverse as they are, each of these issues have been hot topic buttons in the country’s conversation. With 2017 came a reckoning for sexual harassment in the workplace, as well as a re-awakening for women rights. Civil rights bled into sports arenas, as athletes like Kaepernick took a knee for injustice, or took a stand against the current administration like NBA star Stephen Curry.
Trump has been a clear adversary in these political fights, publicly endorsing Alabama candidate Roy Moore despite several sexual harassment allegations. Or his even more public Twitter temper tantrums against Curry and protesting NFL players in general, calling for those “sons of bitches” to get in line and just play the game.
Meanwhile, this will be taking place in a city which recently elected its second black female mayor, while buckling under the pressure of gentrification and a rapidly changing demographic.
All of this social strain will be simmering just below the turf Monday night.
It will be sport, politics, and bitter rivalries till the clock strikes zero in the last quarter. There will be blood, and there will be one hell of a game.
But while we’re clinking beers and placing bets, stay woke to the real game at play here.
God Bless these “United” States of America, and may the best team win.
We Speak Events
Atlanta Screening of The Alabama Solution Brings Together Panel of Advocates, Leaders, and Community Voices
ATLANTA, GA — Community leaders, advocates, and residents gathered in Atlanta for a special screening of the Oscar-nominated HBO documentary The Alabama Solution, an evening centered on film, dialogue, and community engagement around issues of justice and incarceration.
Hosted at 2345 Cheshire Bridge Road NE, the event brought together organizations and community members for a formal evening of reflection and conversation following the powerful documentary. The film, co-directed by Andrew Jarecki and Charlotte Kaufman and co-produced by Alex Duran, offers an intimate and unfiltered look into Alabama’s prison system.
At the heart of the documentary are the voices of justice-impacted individuals Melvin “Bennu” Ray and Robert “Kinetik” Council, whose experiences shed light on the realities inside the prison system while challenging viewers to consider deeper questions about accountability, dignity, and reform.
Following the screening, a panel discussion brought together leaders and advocates working in justice reform and community outreach. The conversation was moderated by Bridgette Simpson of Barred Business, who guided the dialogue with panelists representing several organizations committed to addressing issues within the justice system.
Panelists included Gerald Griggs of the NAACP, Kimberly Jones of Fork the System, Octavious Holiday of the Positive Outreach Development Society, Kevin Marshall of The Marshall Law Group, LLC, Kathryn Hamoudah of the Southern Center for Human Rights, and Christopher Willars of The Life Unit Inc.
Each panelist offered insight shaped by their work in advocacy, legal reform, and community engagement. Their perspectives highlighted the far-reaching effects incarceration can have on families and communities, while also emphasizing the importance of awareness, accountability, and continued dialogue around the issues presented in the film.
The screening was supported by several organizations dedicated to justice and civic engagement, including One for Justice, Dream.org, Barred Business, the Southern Center for Human Rights, The Life Unit, the Center for Civic Innovation, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), and the Free Atlanta Abolition Movement.
The evening also served as a moment of connection for those in attendance, including family members and advocates whose lives have been impacted by the justice system. Through film and conversation, the gathering created space for reflection and for communities to engage with the realities highlighted in the documentary.
As conversations continued after the screening, the event underscored the power of storytelling to bring people together, raise awareness, and encourage deeper consideration of issues that often remain unseen by the public.
As momentum continues to grow around conversations sparked by the documentary, organizers are encouraging community members to take an additional step by supporting efforts aimed at protecting justice-impacted individuals from discrimination.
Advocates are currently inviting the public to sign a virtual petition card supporting the establishment of a statewide Protected Class Ordinance in Georgia, which would help ensure justice-impacted individuals are protected from discrimination in employment, housing, and opportunity.
You may find and share the virtual petition here:
Statewide Protected Class
https://www.theprotectedclassnetwork.org/sign-our-petition
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