Despite left-wing media and local activists' attempts to sow division over immigration issues in Albertville, the community has come together to support each other and find solutions.
A mix of white, Haitian and Hispanic residents and pastors gathered near downtown Albertville on Sunday to hold a community prayer meeting in multiple languages to foster unity and prosperity for the city.
Mount Calvary Baptist Church pastor David McMillen estimated 150 to 200 residents showed up for the event, which he described as a "sweet" moment for the town to unite around a contentious matter. He said churches, including those in the Hispanic and Haitian communities, have been leading the way in responding to the city's ongoing issues with immigration.
"The approach to the 'Immigration Issue' is not guided by a desire to oppress. The response is one of advocacy," McMillen told 1819 News. "Since the response is largely being led by local churches, the attitude is in no way 'racist' but rather redeeming. Jesus said in Matthew's Gospel, 'In as much as you have done it unto the least of these, you have done it unto me.' The issue is not one of "racism" but rather the need to find a balance among the cultures present in Marshall County. By God's grace, we will."
Jeff Lamour, a local Haitian American businessman, organized the prayer meeting with First Baptist Church pastor Chris Johnson. Lamour said he had been working to unite the community's Haitian pastors around the immigration issue. He said he and Johnson decided a prayer meeting was the best method of getting more people involved in a positive way.
Lamour said the community's and city leadership's response to immigration issues had improved over the last several weeks after tensions were near an all-time high over buses seen dropping off Haitian migrant workers in town.
"Things did get a lot better as far as people working together. That was my original vision," Lamour said.
Still, there have been some who have tried to abuse the Haitian community and migrant situation "to get their way" and become the center of attention, Lamour said.
"This group wanted us to do this march. This other group wanted us to [protest.] I was just in the middle of it trying to make sure we are doing the right thing, and the leaders are making the right decisions," he said.
"I think we as a community are winning the battle because there's a battle for clout, for people who just want to be at the center of the thing," he added. "I feel like the city is working hard… The city government really, really cares about the community. A lot of those people don't get credit for what they're doing."
Albertville resident Gerilynn Hanson, who has organized a nonprofit, Transitioning Tomorrow Today, to help the migrant community, said the prayer meeting was a good event and showed the community's true heart for the immigrant population.
"I said from the beginning, it's never been about race. And it hasn't been. We're working with all the Haitian leaders. We're working with the Hispanic leaders. We're working with all races," Hanson told 1819 News.
Hanson referred to a recent AL.com opinion piece trying to paint Albertville residents as racists by connecting some off-color remarks made online and at a previous community meeting to a Confederate Civil War memorial at the Marshall County Courthouse downtown.
"They continue on their one little narrative. It doesn't matter what we do," she said. "It does matter how we prove them wrong time after time; they're just stuck on what they're paid to say."
Hanson said neither the opinion piece nor accusations made by local left-wing activists merited a response and that people should judge her and the community by their works rather than media talking points.
State Rep. Brock Colvin (R-Albertville) also defended his hometown against accusations of racism, claiming it was a leftist narrative meant to ignore real issues.
"Our town is not a racist town," Colvin told 1819 News. "That is what I've learned in this immigration discussion is people on the left seem to struggle with the fact and cannot understand that being concerned about immigration policy does not make someone racist. They do not understand that… I don't care if these people were from Mississippi or Australia, Haiti, Egypt, or China; that doesn't matter. It's the issues that impact the community that come along with it, and what I mean by that is our schools and our infrastructure."
Colvin expressed concern about how overcrowded classrooms, language barriers and a lack of teachers affect students and education.
"This all started with the initial Hispanic [migrant] wave probably 20 years ago," he said. "Our schools still have not yet recovered from that wave, and now they're hit with a new shot from the Haitian immigrant wave. That's what I'm trying to get the message out, there is there are real impacts of immigration, illegal and legal. We can't just turn a blind eye."
SEE: Albertville: How lax immigration policy drastically changed the character of an Alabama town
He continued, "We already have a shortage on affordable housing, and then we have a mass influx of people move here. So that's the thing about immigration. There's nothing racist about bringing these issues up and how they're impacting our community."
Colvin emphasized that small towns have limited resources and capacity to handle a rapid influx of people moving in regardless of race or origin. He said it was "frustrating" to be labeled a racist by those on the left for trying to address these issues.
"They'd rather us just ignore it so we don't hurt anybody's feelings," Colvin said.
Lamour said he plans to continue educating the immigrant community about local laws and ordinances and hopes to keep the positive "momentum" the city is seeing with future prayer meetings going.
To connect with the story's author or comment, email daniel.taylor@1819news.com or find him on X and Facebook.
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