MEET A FELLOW: CHRISTINA WILLIAMS
Meet Micah Fellow Christina Williams -- Founder and Executive Director of Circles NWA -- whose work is tied to ending poverty and finding solution to socio-economic barriers in Arkansas communities.
MFP: What community are you looking to support and advocate for at the completion of the 2021 Micah Fellows Program cohort?
CW: At Circles NWA, we support and advocate for people from low-income households who are ready and willing to commit to developing as leaders and pursuing upward mobility.
Our leaders are those in the “ALICE” population, that is, individuals and families who are employed and hardworking but are not paid enough income to afford even basic necessities. They face real structural barriers to economic stability, but I firmly believe these are the voices we need to listen to and amplify if we want to find solutions to these barriers in our community.
MFP: What is your purpose and/or goal in the Micah Fellows program?
CW: My heart is encouraged by this group of faith-leaders in our state who understand the spiritual necessity of working to end poverty in our communities, and it is my goal during the program to learn from and build community with other advocates in our state who are driven to do this work because of their faith.
MFP: Fill in the blank: I am a Micah Fellow because ____________.
CW: I am a Micah Fellow because I have a faith that does not separate me from the world but beckons me to participate in the ongoing work of building a more just and humble society.
MFP: Share some words of wisdom for us!
CW: My understanding of the gospel is that it is a call to give up power, to lower oneself, and to stand with those who experience suffering and oppression. The work to end poverty, to fight for economic and racial justice, and to center the leadership of the marginalized is a direct outpouring of this gospel message. My involvement in the Micah Fellows program is a time of both learning and encouragement for me in this work.
I am driven by an unwavering belief in possibility and potential—the possibility that poverty can be ended for people, and the unbelievable and untapped potential of people who experience economic poverty.
