Athens for Everyone is a left-progressive political organization with over 1000 members fighting for social and economic justice and transformational change oriented toward action at the local and state level. We do this work through community organizing, issue advocacy, and participating in elections.
Our Victories
- Helping reverse the Clarke County Sheriff’s Cooperation with ICE alongside DIA, AIRC, and many more
- Helping Win Living Wages for part-time county government employees with the EJC
- Helping to elect the most progressive Mayor and Commission in ACC history on May 22, 2018.
- Changing the dialogue with our Member Driven Platform, Candidate Questionnaires, Endorsements, Voter Guides, and Elected Official Report Cards, and more.
- Helping TSPLOST win in a landslide, and gaining Bus service along US-29
- Winning Sunday bus service back for all Athenians
- Co-organizing J20 – The largest public protest in Athens history
- Helping defeat the State School Takeover Amendment
- Helping to elect Deborah Gonzalez and Jonathan Wallace to the state house
Our Work
- Engaging the community, changing the dialogue and advocating for issues through countless events, rallies, workshops, lobbying days and demonstrations.
- Empowering our membership with our Member Driven Platform
- Informing the public with our Candidate Questionnaires
- Coalition building with activist groups like the Athens Anti-Discrimination Movement (AADM), Athens Immigrant Rights Coalition (AIRC), and Dignidad Inmigrante en Athens (DIA).
- Championing progressive candidates through campaigning, endorsements, and A4E’s voter guides
- Holding elected officials accountable with our Elected Official Report Cards
- Informing and calling the community to action with our Legislative Action Network
- Initiatives including our Education Campaign, Housing Justice Initiative, and GAIN (Green Athens Initiative).
A4E works to ensure that our community’s policies, ordinances, and laws work for the common good, combating historical and present inequalities along lines of class, race, sex, gender, ability, and religion. We rely on donations and volunteer work to make this change. Join us, and together we will build an Athens that works for Everyone!
What are we fighting for
We want to create a city where no one goes bankrupt to pay for medically necessary treatments, no one is severely limited by not having adequate transportation, and rape culture is a thing of the past. We want to build a community that strives for equality and inclusion, that abhors violence against women and minorities, that stands for the marginalized and disenfranchised, that seeks to realize safe streets everywhere, and that respects our natural environment.
Why our task is urgent
Athens, Georgia has a poverty rate of 38%, a graduation rate of 69%, and one of the highest levels of income inequality in the country. Yet Athens is home to one of the most prestigious universities in the South, gives out enormous corporate tax-breaks, and routinely sees its infrastructure and development projects tailored to the most well off. The social and economic disparities in Athens are simply unacceptable. We can do much better.
How we are fighting
Through face-to-face interactions, government lobbying, candidate development, social and traditional media and direct action, we hope to get more people involved in the community and engaged in the political process.
Why we will succeed
We are made up of dedicated volunteers who believe in the necessity of economic and social justice. We are concerned people like you. We are your co-workers, your neighbors, and your friends. With your help we will make an Athens that is truly for everyone.
Membership
We are a member-driven organization. If you would like to become a member of A4E, you can register here.
After registering, members must qualify by one of two methods before they can vote at our annual meeting:
- Membership by Participation (requires 3 volunteer hours per year)
- Membership by Dues (requires $60 per year)