How to Have Conversations that Lead to Change

Conversation Guide
 

Step 1. Ask their opinion about the death penalty and listen without judgment.
The first step is to ask a question and really listen to their response. Really hear what matters to them and engage with the values your conversation partner is expressing. You can outline their beliefs back to them to build rapport and find mutual understanding. Turns out, Alabamians agree on a lot more than you might think. So, ask them why they feel the way they do about the death penalty. Ask them what experiences informed their views.

Step 2. Find common ground in their views and values.
Many people have complicated opinions about the death penalty. But when we open up space in a conversation for it, we can find points we have in common. Maybe we agree that every life is precious. Or that the justice system doesn't always get it right. Or that forgiveness is powerful. Chances are, the person you’re speaking with will agree with you on some things.

Step 3. Share a story that addresses those values.
You can build a bridge of personal connection by sharing a story from your life or a story you heard and know to be true. Maybe you have a family member or friend who is incarcerated. Or maybe you read a compelling news article about someone facing the death penalty. By putting a face to a real-life example, you can appeal to their empathy and your shared values.

Step 4. Engage with their value concerns.
Connect the values in your story to their value concerns. Maybe the idea of fairness and justice is what inspires their worldview. You can use your story to connect to how the Alabama justice system is broken, and not all outcomes are fair.

Step 5. Connect back to the realities and policy in Alabama.
Sometimes people form their worldview by listening to politicians, a biased media, and bad actors who use misinformation and intentionally wrong facts and figures to build a narrative that suits their agenda. It is important to appeal to your conversation partner's values, but we should also back up our own arguments in truth. Share statistics that have informed your postion on the death penalty.

The bottom line: When we really listen to our neighbors’ values, put a face to the problem, and find common ground on issues that matter to them, we can have difficult conversations and potentially change minds in the process.

The Facts on the Death Penalty in Alabama and Nationwide

• For every 8 people executed in Alabama, 1 person on death row has been exonerated. Consider this: would you be comfortable boarding a plane if for every 8 flights that went up in the air, 1 crashed?
   

• People of color are more likely to be prosecuted for capital murder, sentenced to death, and executed, especially if the victim in the case is white. Black Americans make up 41% of people on death row and 34% of those executed, but only 13% of the population is Black.
   
• The death penalty is a barrier to effective crime prevention. It does not make us safer. Studies have shown that murder rates, including murders of police officers, are consistently higher in states that have the death penalty.
   
• A person doesn’t have to be innocent to be wrongly sentenced to death. In Alabama, over 160 death sentences have been invalidated by state and federal courts, resulting in conviction of a lesser offense or a lesser sentence on retrial. The intense pressure to obtain a death sentence and the political stakes for police, prosecutors, and even judges can cause serious legal errors that contribute to wrongful convictions and death sentences.
   
• Whether a defendant will be sentenced to death typically depends on the quality of their legal team more than any other factor. The failure to provide adequate counsel to capital defendants and people sentenced to death is a defining feature of the American death penalty.
   
• Mental health experts estimate at least 20% of people on death row today have a serious mental illness. In 2002, the Court barred the execution of people with intellectual disability. But because the Court left it to the state to decide appropriate ways to enforce the constitutional restriction, some states created narrow definitions that permit the execution of people who meet the clinical criteria for intellectual disability.
   
• Alabama sentences more people to death per capita than any other state.
   
• All facts are sourced from EJI's death penalty data

Real Stories

She forgave her grandmother's murderer. She watched as Alabama killed him anyway.
The humanity of Kenneth Eugene Smith
Op-ed: I voted to send a man to death row. It turns out he is innocent.

And remember– don’t despair if you can’t change someone’s mind with one conversation. These ideas and beliefs are often deeply engrained, so just planting a seed is beneficial. It’s about opening an ongoing dialogue based on shared values and respect. This is how we make progress.

Conversation Guide
 

Step 1. Ask their opinion about abortion and listen without judgment.
The first step is to ask a question and really listen to their response. Really hear what matters to them and engage with the values your conversation partner is expressing. You can outline their beliefs back to them to build rapport and find mutual understanding. Turns out, Alabamians agree on a lot more than you might think. So, ask them why they feel the way they do about abortion. Ask them what experiences informed their views.

Step 2. Find common ground in their views and values.
Many people have complicated opinions about abortion. Maybe they grew up hearing scary things about sex and conception out of wedlock and abortions. But when we open up space in a conversation for it, we can find points we have in common. Maybe we agree that every pregnancy is different, and there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. Or that reproductive health care shouldn’t be hard to access. Chances are, the person you’re speaking to will agree with you on that.

Step 3. Share a story that addresses those values.
You can build a bridge of personal connection by sharing a story from your life or from someone you know who has had an abortion. (Make sure it’s okay to share their story!) Maybe you know someone who wasn’t able to access adequate reproductive health care after the ban was put in place, and their health suffered because of it. Maybe you or someone you know is on a complicated IVF journey. Or maybe someone you know simply wasn’t ready to have a baby, and that choice was taken from them. By putting a face to a real-life example, you can appeal to their empathy and your shared values.

Step 4. Engage with their value concerns.
Connect the values in your story to their value concerns. Maybe their religion informs their value of life being precious. You can use your story to connect to how women in Alabama put their lives at risk when they become pregant and how they deserve live-saving reproductive care. Maybe the idea of personal responsibility is what inspires their worldview. You can use your story to illustrate how the decision to have an abortion is almost never made flippantly.

Step 5. Connect back to the realities and policy in Alabama.
Sometimes people form their worldview by listening to politicians, a biased media, and bad actors who use misinformation and intentionally wrong facts and figures to build a narrative that suits their agenda. It is important to appeal to your conversation partner's values, but we should also back up our own arguments in truth. Share statistics that have informed your postion on abortion and reproductive care.

The bottom line: When we really listen to our neighbors’ values, put a face to the problem, and find common ground on issues that matter to them, we can have difficult conversations and potentially change minds in the process.

The Facts on the Reproductive Care  and Abortion in Alabama and Nationwide

• Alabama has one of the highest rates of infant and maternal mortality in the nation.

  • Alabama’s infant mortality rate increased to 7.8 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2023. The infant mortality rate is 1.7x higher than the state average for Black babies.

  • Alabama's maternal mortality rate is 38.6 per 100,000 births. Black women are three times more likely to die from pregnancy complications, due to a number of factors including access to care, underlying chronic conditions, structural racism and implicit bias.
     

• Over one-third of counties in Alabama are maternity care deserts, with 28% of Alabamians having no birthing hospital within 30 minutes of their home. Source
   

• 1 in 7 women of childbearing age are uninsured in Alabama. Alabama did not expand Medicaid under the ACA, creating gaps in healthcare coverage for people of childbearing age. Source
   

• Abortion bans do not reduce the number of abortions– but they do make getting them more difficult and less safe, both for people with unintentional and intentional pregnancies. Source
   

• Abortion bans limit care for those who are experiencing a miscarriage or stillbirth as the medical interventions used to manage pregnancy loss are often the same used in abortions. This can result in women being unable to obtain medical treatment until their health has declined to the point where their lives are on the line. Source
   

• Pregnancy is almost 14x as risky as a legal abortion. The national mortality rate among women who delivered babies is 22.3 deaths per 100,000 live births. Conversely, the mortality rate for induced abortion is 0.45 deaths per 100,000 abortions. Source
   

• Abortion bans put IVF and contraception in danger.

  • The best way to protect IVF access long-term is to urge Alabama lawmakers to repeal the ‘Sanctity of Life’ Constitutional Amendment from 2018. As long as the amendment is in place, there’s a possibility that IVF providers and patients could be prosecuted.

  • The ‘Sanctity of Life’ amendment, if interpreted by the courts to apply to embryos regardless of location, could apply to anything that disrupts the implantation process, such as hormonal birth control or IUDs.
     

• Pregnancy loss is common. Miscarriage and stillbirth occur in an estimated 20% of all pregnancies. Source
   
• Abortion is common. One in four women who are able to get pregnant will have an abortion at some point. Source
   
• The right to abortion is supported by a majority of Americans– 63% of people in the U.S. think abortion should be legal in all or most circumstances. Additionally,  86% of religiously unaffiliated Americans say abortion should be legal in all or most cases, as do 71% of Black Protestants, 64% of White non-evangelical Protestants, and 59% of Catholics. Source
   
• More than 90 percent of abortions happen within the first trimester or about the first 13 weeks. Source
   
• No abortion law allows doctors to kill babies after they are born. Infanticide — also known as homicide — is illegal in all 50 states.

Real Stories

Her life was at risk. Alabama Didn't care.
Abortion Bans Have Delayed Emergency Medical Care. In Georgia, Experts Say This Mother’s Death Was Preventable.
Women undergoing IVF in Alabama face uncertainty amid legal battle 

And remember– don’t despair if you can’t change someone’s mind with one conversation. These ideas and beliefs are often deeply engrained, so just planting a seed is beneficial. It’s about opening an ongoing dialogue based on shared values and respect. This is how we make progress.

Conversation Guide
 

Step 1. Ask their opinion about immigration and listen without judgment.
The first step is to ask a question and really listen to their response. Really hear what matters to them and engage with the values your conversation partner is expressing. You can outline their beliefs back to them to build rapport and find mutual understanding. Turns out, Alabamians agree on a lot more than you might think. So, ask them why they feel the way they do about immigration. Ask them what experiences informed their views.

Step 2. Find common ground in their views and values.
Many people have complicated opinions about immigration. But when we open up space in a conversation for it, we can find points we have in common. Maybe we agree that Alabama could do better taking care of its citizens. Or that people should be able to feel safe. Or that hard work is a core value. Chances are, the person you’re speaking with will agree with you on some things.

Step 4. Engage with their value concerns
Connect the values in your story to their value concerns. Maybe the idea of fairness and hard work is what inspires their worldview. You can use your story to connect to how the Alabama immigration unfairly target immigrants. Or use your story to connect the how immigrants' values often improve communities.

Step 5. Connect back to the realities and policy in Alabama.
Sometimes people form their worldview by listening to politicians, a biased media, and bad actors who use misinformation and intentionally wrong facts and figures to build a narrative that suits their agenda. It is important to appeal to your conversation partner's values, but we should also back up our own arguments in truth. Share statistics that have informed your postion on immigration.

The bottom line: When we really listen to our neighbors’ values, put a face to the problem, and find common ground on issues that matter to them, we can have difficult conversations and potentially change minds in the process.

The Facts on Immigration in Alabama and Nationwide

• Only 3.6% of Alabama’s population is foreign-born, compared to 14% for the United States.
   

• Alabama immigrants contribute $1.6B in taxes and represent $5.2B in spending power.
   

• Undocumented immigrants contribute $121.5M in taxes to the Alabama economy.
   

• Alabama immigrants make up 5% of the labor force. They account for 9% of entrepreneurs, 7.5% of STEM workers, and 12% of the construction workforce in the state.
   

• Immigrants are paying toward Medicare and Social Security that they will never collect on, propping up our safety nets in Alabama.
   

• Immigrant families play an important role in helping to build housing wealth. In recent decades, immigrants collectively increased U.S. housing wealth by trillions of dollars just by moving into neighborhoods once in decline, thus helping to revitalize communities and make neighborhoods more attractive to U.S.-born residents.
   

• As neighbors, business owners, taxpayers, and workers, immigrants are an integral part of Alabama’s diverse and thriving communities and make extensive contributions that benefit all.
   

• Refugees living in the U.S. make tremendous contributions to our economy as earners, taxpayers, and consumers. Rather than a drain on communities, refugees, with their high employment rate and entrepreneurial spirit, actually, sustain and strengthen their new hometowns.
   

• Facts sourced from the American Immigration Council and the CATO Institute.

Real Stories

An Immigrant’s Journey

Alabama’s Immigration Disaster

A Cruel Legacy: Alabama anti-immigrant law remembered

Friends to Strangers: Greek Immigrants and Alabama Food

Haitian working immigrants seeking opportunities and stability in Alabama

Defining Terms

Immigrant - An immigrant is a person who comes to live permanently in a foreign country.

Undocumented Immigrant - An undocumented immigrant is broadly defined includes all foreign-born people who reside in the United States without legal status.

Asylum - Asylum is a form of legal protection that host countries grant to migrants who have been forcibly displaced and are fleeing harm or persecution, or the fear of persecution, in their place of origin.

Green Card - Having a Green Card (officially known as a Permanent Resident Card) allows a person to live and work permanently in the United States.

Temporary Protected Status - Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is a temporary immigration status provided to nationals of certain countries experiencing problems that make it difficult or unsafe for their nationals to be deported there.

Birthright Citizenship - The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees that every child born "within the jurisdiction of the United States" is a U.S. citizen, regardless of their parent's immigration or citizenship status.

And remember– don’t despair if you can’t change someone’s mind with one conversation. These ideas and beliefs are often deeply engrained, so just planting a seed is beneficial. It’s about opening an ongoing dialogue based on shared values and respect. This is how we make progress.