Hale Morrissette, a Mother, DJ and Social Justice Advocate

Regional Recruiter for Pensacola Chapter of Dream DefendersHale Morrissette

PENSACOLA, Fla.-- Hale Morrissette is a community leader, dedicated to changing the local political climate through recruiting and organizing.

Her journey with organizing began in 2014 before she was affiliated with any particular movement, attending County Commissioner meetings and partnering with other community activists. Her Master’s degree in Social Work and heart for justice have led her to her current position as a Regional Recruiter for Pensacola’s Chapter of Dream Defenders.

Dream Defenders was founded in April 2012 following the killing of Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida. The movement ignited throughout the state, with cities establishing their own chapters. Morrissette saw a need for an organization like Dream Defenders in the city.

“I got offered in 2018 to be a part of building a chapter in Pensacola,” Morrissette said. “I knew that it was the right thing to do at the time because we needed an organization that was engaging people within my age range. Either everyone was older or there was some youth that was on the ground. That’s what made me really decide that Dream Defenders is it for me.”

Members of the Pensacola Chapter of Dream Defenders.Hale Morrissette

Shortly after the chapter was founded, a 28-year-old Black man named Tymar Crawford was shot by a Pensacola Police Department officer, who received no charges. This ignited the community to pursue justice on behalf of Crawford and other police shootings.

Pensacola Dream Defenders spoke with members of the local government advocating for police and criminal justice reform. Summer 2020 the organization also gathered at the Graffiti Bridge in solidarity with other victims of local and national cases of police shootings.

Although Dream Defenders is Morrissette’s day job, the 31-year-old wears many hats as a mother of two, DJ and business owner of Life is Hale.

Life is Hale “is committed to the well-being and healing of people that are part of the Black Diaspora. By partnering with the community and creating content that activates the five main positive emotions; joy, interest, contentment, pride and love.”

Morrissette DJs at a few clubs in the city, private events and for “Almost Vegan Soul Cafe” night events. She says she loves it because it gets her in touch with people and is also therapeutic for herself and those that she gets to entertain through her talent.

In addition to her recruiting and DJ hat, she also loves being a mom to a nine and seven-year-old, who loves football and basketball. Her life is a testament that advocating for justice may be timely, but it’s not impossible to balance when you truly care about what you’re fighting for.

Morrissette says that Pensacola Dream Defenders has big plans for the remaining months of the year and as 2022 rolls around the corner. 

“This year we’ve been recuperating and building up power. One of the things we have coming up is called ‘Cornerstone Conversations.’ We’re going to be actually going out into the community and talking to people and asking them what they think is something that needs to be focused on and what we need to build power around.”

The organization will also be tabling and hosting “Freedom Sessions” as a way to educate the community about local politics as local and state elections approach.

You can keep up with what Hale is doing with Dream Defenders via her Facebook page.

Follow me to see more articles like this.

...

Follow

This is original content from NewsBreak’s Creator Program. Join today to publish and share your own content.