Reverend Welch moved to Montgomery in 1985 and sparked a decades-long fight to revitalize the neighborhood surrounding his church in an affordable and inclusive manner. Since then, the Greater Washington Park neighborhood has been transformed. Families are moving back, and people who previously couldn’t own a home now have the chance to achieve that milestone. Though there’s still work to be done, the neighborhood achieved what many others can’t: rebuilding without displacement.

The use of solitary confinement, or administrative segregation, in prisons is facing pushback across the country. In Alabama, a federal judge tasked the Department of Corrections to investigate how other states are reforming their use of solitary confinement – especially for those with mental health concerns. Recognizing that isolation often leads to increased bad behavior, states such as North Dakota and Colorado have placed stronger limitations on the use and deployment of administrative segregation.

What started out as a private phone line in a person's house to talk to people suffering from HIV/AIDS has now turned into a mobile e-health clinic that provides both education and medical support. The Medical Advocacy and Outreach Selma clinic aims to eliminate barriers, such as geographical location and stigma, for those with HIV/AIDS while also acting as a touchpoint for those with other primary and mental health care needs.

Chattanooga's solution to revitalize the city through private-public collaborations could help Montgomery and similar cities do the same. Chattanooga is able to reinvent itself and attract startups and entrepreneurs willing to work together for a common goal, rather than competing.

Alabama's Historic Prattville Redevelopment Authority has emulated the successful downtown revitalization project in Columbus, Georgia, in an effort to address vacant industrial sites and a blighted downtown. Through a collaboration with local entrepreneurs, a private real estate company, the Chamber of Commerce, and other departments and members of the local government, the HPRA is transforming the small city. Several local business prepare to open, the old cotton gin mill will open new apartments, and recent community events demonstrate an increasing public interest in a revitalized downtown Prattville.