Published 6:00 pm Tuesday, August 5, 2025
- Photos courtesy of Faith in Action | Marchers gather for a rally at the Lowndes County Courthouse.
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Community called to demand leaders address sewage crisis
On Saturday, July 26, Faith in Action Alabama hosted a march and rally to raise awareness about the Trump Administration’s funding cuts, a decision potentially impacting Lowndes County’s raw sewage crisis.
The day’s events kicked off at Mount Zion AME Zion Church in Hayneville, where Dr. Agnes Lover of St. Paul AME Church in Montgomery led marchers in prayer, calling for the faith community to stand together and bring attention to social injustice.
“It takes all of us to have a united voice to bring attention to all of the social injustice that’s happening each and every day in our country,” Lover said.
Earlier this year, the Administration cut funding earmarked to help Lowndes County address its raw sewage crisis, an issue posing a significant public health risk for Black Belt area residents. Faith in Action Alabama planned Saturday’s rally to raise awareness and hold public officials accountable for addressing the problem.
The organization views the funding cut as an attack on some of Alabama’s most vulnerable residents. Advocating for the issue to be addressed is about working to ensure the lives of Lowndes County’s residents are being honored.
People came from across the Black Belt and from as far away as Baltimore came to march from Mount Zion church to the Lowndes County Courthouse. Organizers said the event brought attention to the Trump Administration’s decision to eliminate $27 million in what was earmarked as DEI (diversity, equity, inclusion) funding and to urge leaders to take action.
Ahead of the event, Bishop Francine Brookins, who is the vice-chairman of the Pan-Methodist Commission said, “This is a public health emergency that cannot be ignored. For years, frontline residents—led by advocates like Catherine Coleman Flowers — have sounded the alarm about this preventable crisis. Yet, despite the urgent need, federal funding for vital mitigation has been withdrawn, leaving families exposed to dangerous pathogens and environmental hazards.”
Faith in Action Alabama is an organization committed to action, refusing to stand ideally and witness circumstances it describes as a community’s basic right to health being denied. They are asking people in the community to join the movement to eliminate this injustice and ensure that every family in Lowndes County — and across the nation — can live free from the threat of raw sewage and environmental harm.
The rally concluded back at the church. Marchers were encouraged to contact state and federal representatives to demand the necessary leadership to secure funding for continued efforts to solve Lowndes County’s wastewater crisis.
The march and rally were sponsored by the 5th Episcopal District of Christian Methodist Episcopal Church (CME), 9th District African Methodist Episcopal Church, Alabama-Florida Episcopal Area of the AME Zion Church, Faith in Action Alabama, Good People Vote, the Pan-Methodist Commission, Resurrection Catholic Missions, and Shake The Field.
A dinner and dialogue meeting will be held on Thursday, Aug. 14, at 5:30pm, at Mt. Zion AME Zion Church in Hayneville, hosted by Faith in Action Alabama, to discuss further action steps.