Fall Speaker Series

"Problems of Mass Incarceration & Sentencing in Alabama"
Sunday, Sept. 21. Guest Speaker: Callie Greer
Join us in Trinity Commons Student Center at 9:15am for our second fall guest speaker.

Callie Greer, Community Navigator for Alabama Appleseed and a longtime community organizer based in Selma

This Sunday, we are honored to welcome Callie Greer, Community Navigator for Alabama Appleseed and a longtime community organizer based in Selma. She brings decades of experience advocating for low-wealth Alabamians, for Medicaid expansion, and against the death penalty. Callie’s recent work leading MAAVIS (Mothers Against All Violence in Selma) bridges the gap between survivors of violence and justice-involved people, embracing restorative justice practices to address violence and over-incarceration.

Callie was born in Montgomery, in the kitchen of a home on Day Street. She developed a gift for cooking at a young age, learning from her great-grandmother who lived through slavery. Callie has overcome numerous obstacles, including drug addiction and incarceration. She raised her son Mercury, who had a college basketball scholarship, then was killed by gun violence. At the trial, she refused to demand a harsh prison sentence for her son’s assailant, telling the judge, “I have forgiven him, and I ask that you have mercy on him.

Callie has a brave history of advocating for Medicaid expansion in Alabama. Her daughter, Venus, died from breast cancer that went untreated because she was uninsured. Callie has testified before congressional committees, been featured in national magazines, and appeared on CBS Soul of a Nation. She is active in the Poor People’s Campaign and has been involved in advocacy efforts led by Greater Birmingham Ministries, the Aspen Institute, Project Hope of Abolish the Death Penalty, Alabama Arise, and the Selma Center for Nonviolence.

Each presentation this fall is free and open to the public, so we invite you to spread the word! Please join us and spread the word!