At the end of a long week, Meta Ellis had a few minutes to recline into a chartreuse couch in downtown Montgomery’s Bayard Rustin Community Center and Thrift Store.
Ellis, director of Montgomery Pride United and co-founder of the center, had just wrapped up discussions on distributing a settlement reward from the city to homeless plaintiffs over a punitive 2019 panhandling law. Stacks of home goods surrounded the couch, awaiting sorting for an upcoming silent auction to benefit the center even as more donations were dropped at the front door by the hour. Her phone trilled on and off from LGBTQ liaisons around the city.
“There is power in passion,” Ellis said. “But beyond the passion, you have to be ready to work. It isn’t all fun stuff either. Sometimes it’s just showing up and being the person who is wiping down items, organizing stuff, calling people.”
Ellis is known for showing up.
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