KFTC Blog

Our community lost a strong leader the 7th of this month with the passing of April Browning. Her strong voice for justice and equality could be heard on many fronts.  In about every speech April gave it often started out with, "First and foremost, I'm a mom." She said in one interview, "My son Elijah . . . makes every day worth living and special . . . That's the first and most important thing you need to know about me."  She went on to explain, "But after that, it's really important to me to take initiative to make my community a better place - for Elijah and everyone else."

April was a board member of Central Kentucky Council for Peace and Justice.  She was the inspiration and one of the founders of Occupy Lexington in 2011.  Her voice was heard at the rallies organized by Kentuckians Against the War On Women.  She was a spokesperson around the restoration of voting rights for former felons in Kentucky and for Kentuckians For The Commonwealth. 

April was born in Flint, Michigan, but grew up in Central Kentucky.  She understood first hand the struggle of low-income parents in Kentucky.  She understood first hand being denied rights as a former felon for a mistake long past paid for. She understood the struggle of the 99% against the 1%.

In her words, "I am politically active and I feel that my voice as well as thousands of other Kentuckians' voices should be heard. ... I'm fighting for progress across the board and this fight is personal."

We mourn the loss of her leadership and activism, but her spirit will remain with us as the struggle continues.

One of the most powerful ways our members spoke out this legislative session was in prayer. Pastor Anthony Everett from Nia Community of Faith in Lexington led three Witnessing Wednesday prayer vigils in the lobby of the Senate offices to lift up HB70 and the issue of restoring voting rights to former felons once they served their time. The vigils took place at 11:30 a.m. on March 12th, 19th, and 26th and included prayer, song, testimony, and information about the issue. More than 40 people gathered at the last vigil, including Senators Reggie Thomas, Alice Forgy-Kerr, and Gerald Neal, highlighting the bi-partisan support for this issue. The vigils brought together advocates from across the state, including members of KFTC, The Council of Churches, Fairness, Kentucky Student Environmental Coalition, faith leaders from various denominations and faith traditions, and more. People across the state and nation were invited to pray and could join the vigil on livestream.

“The idea of the Promise Zone is encouraging,” said Elizabeth Sanders, Letcher County Steering Committee Rep., back in January. “We have a vision for a future for eastern Kentucky and know we have a lot of promise here in the mountains. If the resources from the federal government through the Promise Zone will coordinate with things like the SOAR Initiative and other existing and future programs, we may begin to see some steps toward the change the people of eastern Kentucky have been ready for and working toward.”


Since KFTC’s Appalachia’s Bright Future Conference in Harlan nearly a year ago, some big announcements and initiatives have surfaced to build wider support for a just economic transition in eastern Kentucky.

Governor Steve Brashear and 5th District Congressman Hal Rogers worked together to launch the SOAR initiative with a well-attended summit last December, and in January we welcomed the declaration of eight eastern Kentucky counties as federal ‘Promise Zones’. Since then, KFTC members have worked hard throughout the 2014 Kentucky General Assembly to lift up our best opportunities for statewide legislation and stay connected to all these efforts to guide the economic future of eastern Kentucky.

Last week KFTC members of the Harlan and Letcher chapters turned out for listening sessions to guide the regional plan of the federal Promise Zones. On Tuesday evening in Harlan, local members represented nearly a third of the 70 or so people who turned out at the Harlan Center. In the same room that hosted large group discussions at Appalachia’s Bright Future conference, Harlan countians shared a vision of hope and possibility.

Visions of parks, small businesses, trails and renewable energy made their way to large newsprint at the front of the room as a microphone was passed from table to table. Much of this spoken feedback was from young SKCTC students who traveled from the nearby community college campus with their entire evening class for the listening session.

Benham’s City Manager and longtime KFTC member Roy Silver shared the outline of an evolving "Benham Energy Project" collaboration between the city, Benham Power Board, COAP (Christian Outreach with Appalachian People) of Harlan, and KFTC. 

Earlier this month the Jefferson County Chapter of KFTC partnered with Network Center for Community Change (NC3) to host a Legislative Call-in Party focused on House Bill 70, the bill that seeks to restore voting rights to former felons who have paid their debt to society. KFTC members joined  NC3 members at their office to call the Legislative Message Line (1-800-372-7181) and leave messages for their senators and all senators asking them to recede to the House version of HB70. Members also took to social media to encourage their friends and family to do their part to support HB 70.