Dear Leadership Alabama members,
As we shared with you on Monday, June 1, Leadership Alabama recognized the need for more action on social justice and racial equality. Without question, we are in a difficult time demanding heightened leadership, action and results. To provide that leadership, the Leadership Alabama Commission on Race and Equity (LACRE) was created in August, and a planning committee has been meeting since then to work through the charge and to identify commission members. We were hoping to convene in person, but due to ongoing COVID restrictions, our gathering was cancelled. We are now planning virtual meetings to begin this important work.
The commission is comprised of 28 LA and Alabama Leadership Initiative (ALI) leaders who are passionate, committed and focused on identifying, prioritizing and offering solutions to the inequities endured by our citizens that directly impact the growth and future prosperity of Alabama. Gordon Martin, LA’s immediate past chair, has played a key role in the commission’s formation, and we are honored that LA members Tyrone Fenderson of Mobile, a past LA chair, and Laurie Weil of Montgomery, a civic leader and LA Class III member, have graciously accepted the call to co-chair LACRE. Please click here to see the list of members serving on the commission.
The action plan, objective and desired outcomes are described below in the commission’s “Charge.” As it pertains to our planned listening sessions (paragraph 2), we will schedule in-person sessions throughout the state for LA members and other community leaders once we are able to safely convene at large gatherings. Each session will be thoughtfully and strategically facilitated by two LA members, John Saxon (LA Class XXX) of Birmingham and Liz Huntley (LA Class XXIII) of Clanton.
All information pertaining to LACRE and its work will soon be featured on the LA website under “About Us.” The creation of the web page is in its final stages. Additionally, the retreat programming for all upcoming LA and ALI classes will incorporate key facets of LACRE’s mission, community conversations and objectives.
