Insights on Why Montgomery, Why Now
The ECFC Fall 2025 Member Meeting & Alabama Learning Tour brought members together in Montgomery and Selma. These are places where the legacies of enslavement, racial terror, segregation, and resistance are not abstract concepts but living history. Speakers reminded us that the policies, systems, and inequities we navigate today are deeply shaped by that history, and that understanding place is essential to understanding the present.
Throughout the opening session, members were invited to consider how history and community leadership inform the work of philanthropy. Speakers drew direct connections between past struggles for justice and today’s efforts to expand opportunity for families, uplift provider leadership, and strengthen movements for justice and belonging. The stories shared stressed how parents, educators, and community leaders have long built power in the face of structural barriers, and how their leadership continues to shape policy and possibility for children today.
Site visits further grounded this connection. At the Equal Justice Initiative’s Legacy Museum, National Memorial for Peace and Justice, Freedom Monument Sculpture Park, and other historic locations such as the Rosa Parks Museum and the Dr. Richard Harris House, members encountered the realities of racial violence, economic exploitation, and resistance across generations. These experiences, along with the Mothers of Gynecology Monument, McRae Learning Center, and Freedom Rides Museum, were not passive; they prompted deep reflection on how philanthropy shows up, and what accountability looks like in communities that continue to grapple with the consequences of those systems.
Small-group conversations and facilitated discussions wove these experiences together. Participants heard from local leaders such as Ms. Sadie Moss, Ms. Barbara Barge, Dr. Valda Montgomery Harris, Dr. Christine Spear, and others whose personal and family histories intersect directly with the Civil Rights Movement. Their stories illuminated how courage, strategy, organizing, and community infrastructure supported families then—and what today’s movements can learn from that work.
Across the Learning Tour, several themes emerged consistently:
- History is not separate from the work. Understanding the conditions shaped by racial violence, economic exclusion, and discriminatory policy is essential for funders seeking to advance early childhood equity today.
- Community leadership is central to change. Parents, providers, and organizers have long driven transformation, often without adequate recognition or resources. Their stories, shared throughout the week, emphasized the importance of resourcing those closest to the work.
- Relationships and solidarity strengthen movements. Members reflected on what it means to stand with communities, especially in moments of political tension, retrenchment, and attacks on equity.
- Courage and action are required. Speakers described the need for funders to use their influence intentionally: to move resources, shift narratives, and support structures that sustain power-building for families.
During the closing session, members returned to these themes with an emphasis on abundance, responsibility, and what it means to act in solidarity. Speakers discussed the urgent challenges facing families—from economic hardship to harmful policies—and the need for philanthropy to approach its work with clarity, honesty, and a commitment to collective care. They also made clear that frontline leaders often take significant risks without adequate legal, financial, or organizational protection. For many, especially immigrant-serving leaders, standing up for their communities comes with real threats and no safety net. Funders can help close this gap by resourcing legal support, organizational capacity, and the protective infrastructure that allows leaders to continue doing their work safely and sustainably.
The Learning Tour also offered concrete takeaways for funders:
- Deepening investment in community-rooted, power-building organizations.
- Creating opportunities for shared learning among staff, boards, and partners.
- Supporting movements focused on civil rights, economic justice, and reproductive justice, and understanding how these intersect with early childhood.
- Building and sustaining relationships across lines of race, class, and identity, recognizing that trust and connection are essential to long-term systems change.
For members who were not able to attend, this reflection offers a window into how place-based learning can shape strategic thinking, deepen commitments, and strengthen community accountability. Our Alabama Learning Tour accentuated the importance of understanding history, elevating community leadership, and working collaboratively toward a future where children and families—especially those most historically marginalized—can thrive and flourish.
These insights are shared as a resource to continue conversation, strengthen philanthropic practice, and help guide values-driven action long after the gathering concluded.