ORGANIZING A CONFERENCE OR WORKSHOP (9 POINTS)

On Friday, March 6, the Health Advocacy Initiative of the Social Justice Program hosted an Advocacy Day at the Georgia State Capitol. Since January, my team and I have been monitoring the progress of the current legislative session, meeting with lawmakers to inform them about bills of interest, and mobilizing students in the Atlanta University Center to increase their civic engagement. This session, the Initiative focused on the lack of efficient health insurance options and the lack of healthcare options for often-overlooked groups, like the 200,000 uninsured residents or rural and elderly community members with a lack of access to affordable and accessible services. During our Advocacy Day, we prepped our attendees to “Go to the Ropes,” in which they were able to pull lawmakers out of session and gauge their support for live bills granting greater access to these essential services. We also watched the session in the House of Representatives so our student attendees could witness how bills are voted on. To close the event, members of our team delivered speeches during our press conference, which was livestreamed and attended by multiple representatives and senators. To feel the support from the village we’ve been building through our many visits to the Capitol and partnership with other organizations like YWCA of Greater Atlanta, the American Civil Liberties Union, BLKHLTH, the NAACP, and the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus was a testament to the amount of effort we’ve dedicated to an incredibly important cause. In addition, I enjoyed the opportunity to lead a cohort of students new to advocacy; they approached the challenge of engaging with legislators, strategizing on how to gain their support for issues, and embodying the flexibility and determination that advocacy in this field requires with an admirable amount of confidence and eagerness.

By: Lorna Morris