At The Root Collective

Urge Senators and Members to Reject ICE Funding and Invest in Communities We need you to take action NOW! On September 30th, the House and Senate will be reaching their government funding deadline. Given the short timeline and disagreements between the two political parties...

📢 Take action! 📢 As the House and Senate continue to work on 12 spending bills for fiscal year 2026 both chambers are planning to increase funding for ICE adding onto the $45 billion ICE just received in the reconciliation bill.

NO MORE money for Trump's cruel plans.
Act now: bit.ly/noicefunding

It's not too late to write in to the APLS board about their transphobic and unconstitution admin code changes, no matter where you are in the state; just write and sign a letter using Read Freely's online template by **12pm tomorrow, 10/14**, and they'll deliver your letter by the 4:30pm deadline.

Come see me at Gold Sprint TODAY to get your written comments to the APLS board on time!

CORRECTION: I'll be at Gold Sprint tomorrow, Sun. Oct 12, 11am-5pm!

Come see me at Lowe Mill on the patio between doors 14 and 15!

Palestinian civil society reacts to the Trump-Netanyahu genocidal plan Nothing less than freedom, justice and self-determination!

Nothing less than freedom, justice and self-determination!

Palestinian civil society reacts to the Trump-Netanyahu genocidal plan with 5 fundamental points.

Read more ⬇️ loom.ly/KStXm2A

Simplified transcript:

SPLC AL. Learn about threats to our libraries - Join us!

Thurs. Oct. 9, 2025
6-7:30pm
Huntsville, AL

RSVP: splcenter.org/huntsvilleforum

@readfreelyal.bsky.social, Empowering Women's Causes, and @altrac.works

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🔗: https://www.al.com/news/2025/10/alabama-special-olympics-event-needs-600-volunteers-and-time-is-running-out.html 
The Madison County Special Olympics at Milton Frank Stadium is less than three weeks away, but organizers are still in need of hundreds of volunteers.

We need you to speak up for libraries and the trans community this week! Come meet us at the following locations to submit a public comment to our state library board (APLS) against transphobic code changes. We'll have postcards, talking points, and materials to help you write and submit your public comment at: The Diversity Center at Shenanigans Wed., 10/8, 9:30am-2pm Thurs., 10/9, 9:30am-2pm Lowe Mill 1st Floor by Poftà Bunà Sat. 10/11, 3-7pm Sun., 10 12, 11am-7pm Public comments accepted until 4:30pm on 10/14. Can't make it in person? Follow the QR code: bit.ly/4gub7gz

There's still time to write a public comment in opposition to the transphobic state public library code changes! More info at bit.ly/4gub7gz

Two Years of Genocide Two Years of Resistance Week of Action Event Schedule Huntsville, AL October 3| Poster Making & Film Screening: "Gaza Fights for Freedom." Fri, Huntsville Islamic Center Community Hall, 6 PM October 4 | Palestine Table @ International Festival (iFest). Sat, Jaycee Building, 11 AM - 4 PM October 5 | Protest for Palestine: Two Years of Genocide. Sun, Big Spring Park, 3 PM October 8 | Let's Talk Palestine! History 101 and Q&A Panel. Wed, Madison Masjid Prayer Hall, 6 PM October 11 | Kite-Flying & Palestinian Poetry Reading. Sat, Big Spring Park, 11:30 AM Join us in a global week of action for Gaza!

There are still a couple events left in this year's week of action for Palestinian liberation, brought to us by the Young Palestinians of Huntsville and the Muslim Student Association at UAH! 🇵🇸

Policy as an Advocacy Tool: Tips for Booksellers, Librarians, and Community Advocates. Monday, October 6, 2025. 3:00 p.m. CT. Register today! Pictured are Sarah Lamdan, Philomena Polefrone, and Christine Emeran, along with the Unite Against Book Bans, National Coalition Against Censorship, and American Booksellers for Free Expression logos.

Free #BannedBooksWeek webinar.
Join experts on Mon, Oct 6 at 3 p.m. CT to explore how policies can be a powerful tool for fighting censorship in libraries, bookstores, and communities and how advocates can use policies in their work.
See details + more free events: https://www.ala.org/bbooks/events

Huntsville-Madison County Educational Forum Join this educational forum, conducted in partnership with Read Freely Alabama, Empowering Women’s Causes and Alabama Transgender Rights Action Coalition. Details WhenThursday, Oct. 9, 2025 Time6-7:30...

Join @splcenter.org, Empowering Women's Causes, @altrac.works, and @readfreelyal.bsky.social on Thursday, 10/9 for an educational panel titled "Recognizing the Divisive Concepts Used Against Public Libraries." More info and registration at www.splcenter.org/huntsville-f...

All we need is 2 minutes of your time to fight what would be a massive blow to trans folks, especially our youth. Come find me outside Dragon's Forge today!

Have you written to the APLS board to tell them to reject the proposed code changes which would ban trans-positive materials from Alabama libraries?

Come see us and @at-the-root.bsky.social at Lowe Mill (in Huntsville) tomorrow; we’ll help you write to the APLS board. You CAN make a difference!

Is a version of this available on the website somewhere? I tried searching the resource library but couldn't find it.

Alabama Rapid Response Mutual Aid Fund. Support our immigrant neighbors! Your donation will go directly to immigrant families impacted by ICE detention. Help keep families together and make Alabama a more humane, welcoming, and livable place for all. For more information and to make a donation, visit https://bit.ly/ALrapidresponse. Together we are strong!

The Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice is building an Alabama Rapid Response Mutual Aid Fund for families impacted by ICE detention. Learn more and donate at bit.ly/ALrapidrespo....

Liberals made a habit of throwing the most marginalized under the bus to save their own skins. Now, all that was allowed against the disenfranchised is impacting them, and suddenly, there has never been a greater need for revolution. It's time for those abandoned by their supposed allies to lead.

They know the realities of the system because they weren't able to ignore its violence. We should be amplifying their voices because they have been forced to develop survival strategies for decades, if not centuries. We owe them the power that has been systemically stripped from them.

If you were shocked by the speed at which fascism took root, then you haven't been listening to those most system-impacted. Octavia Butler was less of a prophet and more of a sayer. Her superpower was speaking truthfully about her reality. It was a reality that most of America tried to ignore.

Register at bit.ly/HSVPostcardParty25

Correction: the meeting is TOMORROW, Tuesday 9/23

Alabama's state library board (APLS) is attempting to change the administrative code that determines public libraries' eligibility for public funding, placing transgender naterials for minors at risk. Link to take action or read on for more info: bit.ly/4gub7gz

Transphobia is okay, but trans acceptance is not? The proposed change deems "any material that promotes, encourages, or positively depicts transgender procedures, gender ideology, or the concept of more than two biological genders" as "inappropriate" for patrons under the age of 18.

The passage of this code change would require Alabama public libraries to remove all trans-positive materials from their youth collections or else forfeit state funding.

Want to do more? Sign up to speak at the public hearing in Montgomery on October 21, 2025, 10am. Email Vanessa Carr at vcarr@apls.state.al.us by 4:30pm October 14 to get on the list.

Alabama is targeting trans books, and we're teaming up with @altrac.works and @rainbowtrouble.bsky.social to fight back. We need YOU to send a letter to the APLS by Oct. 14 to OPPOSE these changes. Learn more and find our letter-writing resources, including printable postcards, at bit.ly/4gub7gz

Overlooked victims of 1963 violence to be honored in Birmingham: ‘We need to remember’ The new initiative includes a lecture series and effort to create a memorial for Virgil Ware and Johnnie Robinson, who were killed the same day as the 1963 Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bombing.

While the four girls killed in the Sixteenth Baptist Church bombing are well known, stories of Virgil Ware & Johnnie Robinson, who were killed the same day, have remained largely untold. Historians have formed a new institute to tell their stories & more. www.al.com/news/birming...

Literacy Pep Rally! Let's get hyped for a year of reading and writing together! Join Kwame Alexander and surprise special guests for a 30-minute, FREE virtual fun-fest with book talks, real-time q&a, special announcements, and more.

First Book and Kwame Alexander's nonprofit One Word at a Time are joining forces for a Sept. 16 Literacy Pep Rally—a free, 30-minute virtual rally bringing authors into classrooms, libraries, and homes nationwide. Registration closes 9/15!
https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/literacy-pep-rally

Orange graphic featuring an intricate, bright pink papel picado design at the center. The graphic is titled “Latine Heritage Month: A Reading Guide.”

Today marks the first day of #LatineHeritageMonth! We’ve put together a (non-comprehensive) reading guide to help grow your TBR this Latine Heritage Month – and beyond!

Blue, pink, and purple Illustration with flora and text that reads, “gender affirming care is suicide prevention.”

Blue pink, and purple illustration with flora and text that reads, “the world is a better place with trans people in it.”

It’s Suicide Prevention Awareness Month and, like every month, we’re here for our trans siblings.

Here’s what we want you to know:
☎️ Gender affirming care is suicide prevention.
☎️ #SafeHotlines don’t call the cops without explicit consent.
☎️ The world is a better place with trans people in it! 🏳️‍⚧️✨

Abbreviated image transcript:

On 9/11/25 we will present a resolution to the HSV City Council acknowledging the value and contributions of immigrant communities and remind leaders that HPD's mission includes defending everyone's Constitutional rights.

Rally 4:30pm
Mtg 5:30pm

305 Fountain Cir SW

They’re accepting public comments by mail through October 14. The public hearing will be October 21. Please write in and show up to oppose this blatantly transphobic, anti-youth, inhumane proposal.

Alabama Public Library Service Alabama Public Library Service

The APLS has published a proposed rule change to remove "any material that promotes,
encourages, or positively depicts transgender procedures,
gender ideology, or the concept of more than two
biological genders" from public libraries' youth collections.

aplsws2.apls.state.al.us/publications...

APLS Letter On July 16th, John Wahl, chair of the Alabama Public Library Service Board, and the Alabama Republican Party, sent a letter to library directors across the state advising them to “take immediate steps...

The APLS will meet next month to try and codify the removal of all "positive depictions of trangenderism [sic]" from public libraries. Tell them NOW that this is not what we want for our neighbors, communities, and libraries!

actionnetwork.org/petitions/ap...