Alabama Forward is a critical race theory-aligned coalition that supports a variety of Alabama-based left-of-center voter engagement projects and member groups.

Background

Alabama Forward was founded in 2021 by activist Evan Milligan as a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) charitable nonprofit organization in Montgomery, Alabama. The group has member organizations, which are a mix of left-of-center Alabama-focused organizations, local affiliates of national organizations, and national organizations active in Alabama voter engagement operations. Alabama Forward also runs four projects: Shake the Field, Shine a Light, the Statewide Transformation Asset Mapping Project (STAMP), and Voter Engagement. ^{1 2 3}

Projects

Shake the Field

Shake the Field is a website targeted at Alabamians aged 18 to 45. Mainly, the site offers contact and location information regarding organizations aligned with Alabama Forward through an interactive map display and search function. Additionally, the website publishes a blog, often featuring material from Alabama Forward’s member organizations. ^{4 1}

Shine a Light

The website for Alabama Forward describes the Shine a Light project as a “community-building effort” meant to address the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. As of August 21, 2023, the website for the project, shinealabama.org, displayed an un-customized default WordPress template, dated to June 30, 2023. ^{5 2}

The Statewide Transformation Asset Mapping Project (STAMP)

The Statewide Transformation Asset Mapping Project (STAMP) is a data collection project of Alabama Forward that solicits information from Alabama organizations via a survey accessible on the organization’s website for the purpose of better coordinating and funding aligned voter engagement efforts in the state. ²

Voter Engagement

Alabama Forward’s Voter Engagement project offers resources to member organizations that engage in at least four hours per day for at least six days per week of digital and on-the-ground voter-registration efforts. For instance, per the organization’s 2021 tax filing, Alabama Forward gave grants worth $25,000 each in connection with the project to Faith and Works and Greater Birmingham Ministries, two of Alabama Forward’s member organizations. ^{6 2}

Funding

Alabama Forward received over $300,000 in grants from the Southern Poverty Law Center‘s Vote Your Voice initiative. ⁷

Member Organizations

Member organizations of Alabama Forward, which are eligible for support from the organization’s Voter Engagement project provided they meet its requirements, include a variety of aligned Alabama-based left-of-center organizations, such as ¡HICA!, the Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice; Alabama Arise, the Alabama Justice Initiative, Alabama Rivers Alliance, Faith in Action Alabama, Hometown Organizing Project, Rollin’ to the Polls (a project of the Montgomery Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority), Greater Birmingham Ministries, and Transform Alabama. ⁸

State affiliates of national organizations that are members of Alabama Forward include Planned Parenthood Southeast, the American Civil Liberties Union Alabama, the Alabama NAACP, and the Alabama Poor People’s Campaign. ⁸

National organizations that are members of Alabama Forward include, the Black Voters Matter Fund, Faith and Works, the Human Rights Campaign, Jobs to Move America, the Southern Poverty Law Center, the Ordinary People Society, and United Women of Color. ⁸

Leadership

Evan Milligan is the founder and executive director of Alabama Forward and an advisor to the left-of-center Fund for New Leadership. Previously, Milligan worked with the Federation of Child Care Centers of Alabama. Notably, Milligan was also the named plaintiff in Allen v. Milligan, a 2023 U.S. Supreme Court case, which produced a ruling that Alabama’s 2022 congressional district map violated the Voting Rights Act. ^{7 9}

Kynesha Brown is the chair of Alabama Forward’s board of directors and the public relations manager of the Alabama Education Association teachers’ union. ^{10 6}

1. “About.” Shake The Field. Accessed August 21, 2023. https://www.shakethefield.org/about/
2. “Projects.” Alabama Forward. Accessed August 21, 2023. https://alforward.org/project/
3. “Alabama Forward.” ProPublica. Accessed August 21, 2023. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/853077637
4. Blog. Shake the Field. Accessed August 21, 2023. https://www.shakethefield.org/blog/
5. Homepage. Shine a Light. Accessed August 21, 2023. https://shinealabama.org/
6. Alabama Forward. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax. (Form 990), 2021. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/853077637/202223199349331717/full
7. Akers, Kinsely. “Alabama Civil rights Activist Secures U.S. Supreme Court Voting Rights Victory.” Southern Poverty Law Center. July 28, 2023. Accessed August 21, 2023. https://www.splcenter.org/news/2023/07/28/alabama-civil-rights-activist-scotus-victory-voting
8. “About.” Alabama Forward. Accessed August 21, 2023. https://alforward.org/about-2/
9. “Evan Milligan.” Fund for New Leadership. Accessed August 21, 2023. https://fundfornewleadership.org/advisors/evan-milligan/
10. “AEA Administration.” Alabama Education Association. Accessed August 21, 2023. https://myaea.org/aea-administration