ATL Advocacy at the State Capitol
For the third consecutive year, IMAN mobilized dozens of organizers and leaders at the Georgia State Capitol for Justice Day. Throughout the day, IMAN leaders and Green ReEntry cohort members shared their firsthand experiences navigating the criminal justice system. Their narratives—and those of their mothers, children and other family members—highlighting incarceration’s layered impacts spurred deep interest from local legislators.
We also joined our partners at New Georgia Project, which works to increase voter turnout and protect voting rights, and RestoreHER—an organization fighting to protect the dignity of incarcerated women and support their transitions back home—at the Capitol to strengthen a collective platform advocating for our united interests. RestoreHER founder Pamela Winn shared her harrowing experience being shackled while pregnant to illustrate the constant violence faced by incarcerated women. Ms. Winn’s powerful testimony inspired bipartisan support, and IMAN Atlanta organizers joined her advocacy for House Bill 345. The bill recently passed through the Georgia Senate and House of Representatives, and will prohibit the shackling of pregnant imprisoned women once it is signed into law.
Just days after the horrendous attacks on the Muslim community in New Zealand, IMAN Atlanta returned to the Capitol for Muslim Advocacy Day to continue advocating for communities negatively impacted by inequitable legislation. Staff, leaders and Green ReEntry participants stood alongside community partners from Georgia Justice Project, CAIR Georgia, and Muslim Women’s Professional Network. Organizing Fellow Amirah Kahera spoke on the importance of maintaining unity in spite of adversity, and invited Muslim Advocacy Day participants to engage more deeply with IMAN’s larger #FightFearBuildPower efforts.
IMAN Atlanta also recently hosted its annual Community Organizing Training, which introduced a diverse group of emerging leaders to our organizing principles and strategies. During this intensive two-day training, attendees reflected on the vital connections between intergenerational and interfaith leadership, and learned core skills needed to facilitate relational meetings. Those leading the training also drew connections between prophetic example and that of past civil rights leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King and Malcolm X to demonstrate effective coalition building. After completing the training, participants were invited to continue honing their community organizing skills at IMAN Atlanta’s weekly Grassroots Power Hours.
To learn more and get involved with IMAN Atlanta’s organizing efforts, please contact atlanta@imancentral.org