Written by Raiana Kelly, AADM Contributing Writer
December 2020
Looking Back on 2020
Despite COVID-19, 2020 was a busy year for the Athens Anti-Discrimination Movement (AADM). We’ve been working hard to push forward racial justice initiatives, provide resources for the Athens community, engage students and youth, and find innovative ways to make things work during a year that has been like no other. Here is a brief summary of some of our accomplishments and activities for 2020.
Racial Justice
In response to police violence across the US, AADM hosted several Justice for Black Lives protests this summer to raise awareness about the unjust treatment of Black Americans by law enforcement, to demand reforms in local police conduct, and to push for a community police advisory board. After pushing for many years, a community police advisory board was finally established, and several AADM board members now sit on the police review board.
Teen Social Justice Club
During the nationwide movement for racial justice, AADM took the members of the Teen Social Justice (TSJ) Club on a trip to Fort Yargo where they discussed how they felt about the Black Lives Matter movement, received feedback on their thoughts, and learned how to process their emotions. The TSJ club members also took a fishing trip in which they were provided all the necessary tools and were given instructions on fishing by a professional.
Athens Freedom Fund/Bailout Support
The Athens Freedom Fund received massive support from our local community members and businesses. Thanks to your generous support, we’ve been able to offer bail relief to several Athens citizens, provide legal defense for community members in need, provide safe and sanitary rides for voters on election day, host candidate town halls to provide information during the critical election season, provide tutoring and and activities for Athens students, and much more!
Tutoring Program
In an effort to keep students on track and engaged in their schoolwork during COVID-19, AADM launched a brand new tutoring program in April!
From April to June, before the summer break, we had 50 volunteer tutors and served 35 students, logging 120 tutoring hours in the spring! During the summer, the tutoring team took a break, but 3 tutors continued working with their students privately during the summer break.
When the program resumed in August, we had 33 volunteer tutors, plus an additional 200 UGA tutors to work with students at Alps Road Elementary school! As of mid-November, we were able to serve a total of 39 students in the fall, logging over 47 tutoring hours.
Community Service
Whether your interest in community service is independently driven, for school, or court mandated, AADM has community service opportunities to help you give back to your community through activities that correlate with your interests and skills. This program is geared toward high school students and adults, and this year we’ve been able to serve about 100 clients, offering a variety of different services including volunteering with AADM, writing blog posts about social justice issues and personal experiences with the criminal justice system, attending protests, writing reports, working with local organizations, and more! At least 30 clients have graduated from the program, completing all 40 hours from start to finish with AADM. In the near future, we plan to expand the program by partnering with other organizations and agencies to provide even more volunteer opportunities, so stay tuned!
Criminal Justice
This year, we hosted a Know Your Rights and Criminal Justice Reform community discussion in which attendees could ask questions and learn about their rights when interacting with law enforcement, learn about the cash bail reform ordinance, our pre-arrest diversion program, and the community police review board.
AADM received numerous complaints about alleged mistreatment of inmates occurring in the ACC jail. In response, AADM hosted a Justice for Inmates rally to raise awareness about the issues affecting our incarcerated community members and assisted those families with addressing the problem.
Voting Initiatives
In preparation for this year’s critical election season, AADM hosted numerous virtual town halls and “meet and greet” sessions with candidates for local offices. We canvassed neighborhoods of our most marginalized communities to register people to vote, and provided resources and information about the elections to voters. We also brought back our “Get on the Bus and Vote” initiative, providing safe and sanitary rides to the polls for those that needed one, and made a specific effort to register youth voters.
Anti-Discrimination Advocacy
We held a discussion on slavery and symbols of the Confederacy, and continued our long-standing fight for the removal of the Confederate monument in downtown Athens. In August, that fight finally came to an end when the monument was removed.
The Women’s Empowerment Brunch returned in 2020 with a brand new virtual attendance option! Mokah-Jasmine Johnson facilitated conversations on breaking racial barriers by leading discussions on mental health, black women matter, and building sisterhood across color lines.
COVID-19 Relief
For individuals and families that experienced food insecurity during COVID-19, AADM provided drive-thru food pick-ups in which we provided vegetarian and meat options, and free items to stock your fridge and pantry.