Last September, the Alliance for Early Success sponsored a powerful trip to Alabama designed to help child and family advocates gain a deeper understanding of how systemic racism and injustice continue to shape policies and systems today. The journey planted a seed that continues to grow. For staff at Advocates for Children of New Jersey (ACNJ), the experience was both profound and catalytic.
They returned home determined to keep the conversation going.
And in April, ACNJ brought members of the New Jersey Legislative Black Caucus (NJLBC) on a similar pilgrimage to deepen relationships and advance equity-centered policy.
Instead of hosting its typical annual grantee meeting last year, the Alliance for Early Success offered nearly 200 representatives from state early childhood advocacy organizations the opportunity to travel to Montgomery and participate in the Alabama Experience, a powerful three-day journey through key historical sites. Teams visited locations where enslaved Africans once walked before being held in pens and sold on the auction block. They also stood at landmarks of the civil rights movement—sites of some of the nation’s most intense and bloody struggles for justice. In addition, participants learned about the Indigenous tribes native to Alabama and their enduring history and contributions. Grantees witnessed firsthand the painful legacy of racial injustice and the ongoing persecution of Indigenous and Black communities. Guided small group discussions—led by racial equity experts—provided space for reflection, processing, and meaningful dialogue.
This shared journey sparked critical conversations and empowered advocates to return to their communities committed more than ever to advancing anti-racist, equity-centered policies and practices.
For Dr. Winifred Smith-Jenkins, ACNJ’s Director of Early Childhood Policy and Advocacy, and Shadaya Bennett, Senior Legislative Analyst, the trip was deeply motivating. “I left that experience wanting to figure out how I, as an individual in my position, can make some kind of change and be unapologetic about raising the alarms around how [systemic racism and inequality] still affects us today, and what we need to do to progress forward,” Bennett said.
With that vision in mind, she proposed a similar journey to Alabama—this time, with legislators.
The ACNJ-led pilgrimage was a transformative and impactful experience that strengthened bonds between legislators and advocates while reinforcing their shared commitment to equity. The group visited historical sites, including Kelly Ingram Park in Birmingham, the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, and the Dr. Richard Harris House, the Southern Poverty Law Center, the Mothers of Gynecology Monument, and the Equal Justice Initiative Legacy Sites in Birmingham.
“Sitting in a house where John Lewis and Martin Luther King once stood — being in those spaces, hearing those stories, looking at those pictures —was very powerful,” said Smith-Jenkins.
Throughout the journey, legislators and advocates were deeply moved and connected through their shared experiences. They built deeper relationships through moments of reflection and mutual vulnerability, both during scheduled sessions and informal conversations.“The members that came have been working together, some of them for many sessions or years, but we saw a deeper connection because they have never experienced something like this together,” Bennett shared.
NJLBC members not only strengthened their relationships with one another, but also built connections with members of the Alabama Legislative Black Caucus. Although NJLBC members visited the Mothers of Gynecology Monument on their own, the powerful imagery and history it represented continued to resonate. Later that evening, over a shared dinner with Alabama legislators, the conversation turned to maternal health. The monument, a tribute to enslaved Black women subjected to involuntary medical experimentation, sparked dialogue about how the historical abuse of Black bodies continues to shape Black experiences today, particularly in the context of the maternal health crisis.
In the United States, Black women are three times more likely than white women to die from pregnancy-related causes. During the dinner, legislators from both states explored policy solutions, including expanding more comprehensive implicit bias training in maternal health and birthing spaces. Alabama leaders were particularly interested in New Jersey’s Medicaid reimbursement model for doula care and are now working to adapt the legislative language for a similar bill. Both caucuses have pledged to remain connected, with a potential follow-up gathering in New Jersey, to continue exchanging perspectives and policy ideas.
Advocates in early care and education, maternal and infant health, and family support must recognize their work is inextricably tied to our nation’s history of injustice and systemic racism,. Smith-Jenkins says. “Advancing equity-centered policy development, organizing, and advocacy is vital to improving outcomes for all children and families — and to laying the foundation for lasting, transformational change.”
Experiences like the Alabama trip not only strengthen relationships between advocates and legislators but also ground their work in equity and elevate the visibility and credibility of advocacy organizations like ACNJ. NJLBC members now have a deeper understanding of ACNJ’s mission, greater awareness of the connection between systemic racism and early care and education, and increased trust that those in leadership will work and lead authentically.
Encouraged by the impact, ACNJ is now exploring which other groups may benefit from similar learning journeys.
“Creating opportunities for children and families to thrive means confronting how our systems continue to perpetuate oppression— from the devaluing of care work to inequitable access to quality and affordable education,” said Mimi Aledo-Sandoval, a Senior Policy Director at the Alliance for Early Success who works closely with advocates in numerous states, including New Jersey.
“While every state is different, we all feel the weight of our nation’s history and its profound consequences on the present. I am thrilled that our partners in New Jersey learned so much from the Alabama Experience and chose to share that journey with policymakers. It’s already contributing to positive outcomes. ACNJ was our first grantee to return to Montgomery, but hopefully, they will not be the last.”