AlICIA esTER
MISSISSIPPI DELTA, 2022 - 2023
The actress and filmmaker Alicia Ester was born and raised in Arkabutla, Mississippi, but considers Memphis—where she first performed on stage, and where she was first cast in a major movie—her chosen home. As an artist, producer, Southerner, and Black woman, she feels a responsibility to seek truth, transparency, and vulnerability in telling the stories of her community—to investigate and celebrate their connective fabric and collective history, and to prevent the erasure of their stories. In 2018, she was cast in the Memphis-based film Uncorked, produced and directed by Insecure's Prentice Penny. Since then, she has been on movie and TV sets nationwide, both as an actress and behind the camera, in projects such as ABC's Queens and Hallmark's Christmas in Harlem. Ester co-founded the non-profit M.F.A.C.T., which provides tools and training for potential crew members and production personnel to thrive in the film and television community. She feels a particular responsibility to the community of Memphis: to aid anyone she can reach in getting closer to their dreams.
Alongside Clayborn Temple, Alicia is currently in post production of a documentary that will cover the history of black Memphis, the Sanitation Workers Strike, and Clayborn. With over 27 interviews across the country, the documentary is set to be completed in summer 2023.
CULTURE HUB
Historic Clayborn Temple engages in culture and the arts inspired by the participants of the 1968 Sanitation Workers’ Strike. We embody their declaration of the humanity (and dignity) of Black, poor, and working-class people and continue their legacy of advancing human understanding through storytelling, engagement, and practice.
Clayborn began its life in 1892 as Second Presbyterian Church. In 1949 the church was sold to an African Methodist Episcopal (AME) congregation, who changed the property’s name to Clayborn Temple. In 1968, after developing a reputation of supporting civil rights work, civil rights and labor activists chose Clayborn Temple as the organizing headquarters for the Sanitation Workers’ Strike, Martin Luther King’s last campaign. Focused on achieving dignity and economic wellbeing for the workers, the campaign’s iconic “I AM A MAN” signs were made daily in the Temple’s basement and have since become a universal symbol for human rights and human dignity. Clayborn Temple closed in 1999 and fell into disrepair, but it has since reopened. Officially named a National Treasure by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, local and national leaders, community members, and preservationists alike are all committed to keeping Clayborn Temple alive, preserving its legacy and bringing its vision for the future to fruition.
For more, visit clayborn.org.
SOCIAL IMPACT INITIATIVE
In October of 2016, a small group of primarily African-American clergy in Memphis came together to discuss how to move as faith leaders for issues of justice impacting Black and Brown lives. Over the next two years, through thousands of one-on-one conversations, the group became Memphis Interfaith Coalition for Action and Hope, or MICAH—the name of a prophet who called God’s people to "Do justice."
Today, MICAH is a coalition of 80+ faith, labor, and community-based organizations that aim to provide a powerful voice for justice in Memphis and Shelby County.
MICAH’s three key issue areas are Economic Equity, Education Equity, and Race & Class Equity in the Justice System.
Through community organizing, MICAH works to identify and equip leaders from congregations and communities most closely affected by the issues to shape and lead the way to change. We don’t speak for "the voiceless"; we amplify the voices we all have--together.