Rodney Pelt
Rodney T. Pelt’s roots are grounded in West Alabama. He was born in Tuscaloosa, reared in one of the poorest counties in Alabama. Although miles away from greater opportunities, Rodney didn’t allow his surroundings to determine his direction. At an early age, he joined the military; this allowed him to expand his mind and discover the possibilities he knew existed as a young man. Ultimately, he served 16 years and is now a retired Army veteran.
During his time with the military, he determined he wanted to share these lessons and serve on a smaller scale, having an individualized and thus greater impact. He aimed to return to his roots, West Alabama (Tuscaloosa), and fertilize the minds of the young men and women in his native community. In 2011, he founded Mind Changers, Inc., a non-profit organization established to motivate, empower, and encourage young men and women through mentoring and various resources.
Updated
Feb 24, 2021
Amazon Workers Fight To Unionize Draws Help From Around The World
Labor groups across the country and beyond are joining the effort to create a union at an Amazon facility in Alabama, which would be a first in the U.S.
Roughly a hundred organizers have been calling workers from Amazon’s Bessemer, Alabama, warehouse in recent weeks, making the case for why they should unionize. The robust phone-banking operation reflects the high stakes for organized labor as workers at the facility consider forming the first Amazon union in the U.S.
The organizing effort extends well beyond the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU), which would represent the facility’s employees. The phone campaign includes around 20 organizers on loan from the AFL-CIO, the influential labor federation that includes 55 unions. A dozen nurses who recently unionized their hospital in North Carolina also have been pitching on the effort, calling workers to tell them large-sc
Alabama exports primed for rebound in 2021 after pandemic challenges
By Jerry Underwood February 15, 2021
The Port of Mobile, Alabama’s only deepwater port, moves about 54 million tons of cargo per year. It s a key component of the state s logistics infrastructure. (APM Terminals)
In an unparalleled and unpredictable year of global trade, Alabama’s exports of goods and services in 2020 totaled $17.13 billion.
Reflecting the declines in export volumes recorded by nearly all states, as well as the nation, Alabama’s total exports registered an overall decline of 17.6% in 2020 compared to the prior year, according to new government trade figures.
At the same time, a number of Alabama’s export categories experienced growth in 2020. Additionally, in spite of the global downturn, Alabama’s export total last year is more than 10% higher than the figure for 2010.
Feb 09, 2021 By Carolyn Coons
Photo courtesy of the Arts and Humanities Council of Tuscaloosa. Teaching artist Ruth O Connor and fourth grade teacher Linda Hargrove co-lead a visual art/ELA arts integration lesson at The Alberta School of Performing Arts in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The pARTners Project will use the Arts Endowment award to develop a plan to increase access to arts education.
In its name and its mission, the pARTners Project emphasizes collaboration.
The project, a partnership between the West Alabama and Greater Birmingham Arts Education Collaboratives, aims to address inequalities in arts access in West-Central Alabama, with a special focus on pre-K through 12th grade students in rural areas still feeling the effects of segregation and white flight. It is a recent recipient of an Arts Education Collective Impact grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.
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In pouring rain and 40° weather, over a hundred community members, local union rank-and-file, journalists and activists from across the southeast gathered in a muddy lot between a gas station and a Waffle House to attend Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union’s Feb 6 rally in solidarity with the Amazon workers at the BHM1 fulfillment center in Bessemer, Alabama, fighting to form the first U.S. Amazon union.
The rally was organized by RWDSU to mark the beginning of the voting period on Feb 8, when Bessemer’s Amazon workers will start to cast their votes via mail-in ballots.
Some people traveled to Bessemer from as far as New Orleans and Boston to attend the rally. Attendees were offered free pizza paid for by Senator Bernie Sanders in an act of solidarity. Organizers provided free signs and placards. Hundreds of lawn signs were placed along the road, which attendees were encouraged to place in their front yards.