(WASHINGTON, DC, July 12, 2024)—Americans for the Arts (AFTA) and the National Association of Counties (NACo) will present Mobile County Commissioner Merceria Ludgood of Alabama with the Public Leadership in the Arts Award for her outstanding County Arts Leadership during a general session at the NACo Annual Meeting, taking place July 12 to 15, in Hillsborough County, FL. Since 1997, the award has recognized elected officials who have advanced the arts within their community and whose vision and leadership provide heightened visibility of the value of the arts. 

“Americans for the Arts is pleased to honor Commissioner Merceria Ludgood for her extraordinary work in revitalizing Africatown and understanding the important role that arts and culture play throughout Mobile County and across Alabama in enlivening communities, connecting neighbors, and creating vibrant places to live, work, worship, and play,” said Jamie Bennett and Suzy Delvalle, Interim Co-CEOs of Americans for the Arts. “Commissioner Ludgood has spent decades investing in arts and culture as a key public good. She stands as a model for any public official.”

Commissioner Ludgood has made a conscientious effort to share Mobile County’s diverse history through arts, entertainment, and experiences. Her have efforts focused on improving quality of life and quality of place by investing in green space/access to water, neighborhood revitalization, and building a foundation of cultural assets that reflects the diversity of Mobile County's rich heritage, sharing local history through art, experiences, and information.

Mobile is where the last slave ship, the Clotilda, landed 50 years after the practice was outlawed in the United States. When the ship was discovered (2018) and verified (2019), the community of Africatown, founded by survivors of that harrowing voyage, needed support to share and build upon the story. Commissioner Ludgood built Africatown Heritage House to tell this story and house artifacts from the ship. She partnered with the History Museum of Mobile to develop Clotilda: The Exhibition at Africatown Heritage House, which features West African art, primary artifacts, pieces of the ship, and more. The Memory Keeper sculpture in the Memorial Garden, which she commissioned and named, is rife with symbolism of the survivors, the voyage, and the life they made in Alabama.

Nearby, the soon-to-open Africatown Hall & Food Bank was designed with Afro-centric art throughout, and will house the Africatown Redevelopment Corporation, a community food pantry, and serve as meeting/working space for the grassroots organizations working to meet community needs as it rises to meet its potential for cultural/heritage tourism.

“I’m incredibly honored to receive the County Arts Leadership Award from Americans for the Arts and NACo,” said Mobile County Commissioner Merceria Ludgood. “I firmly believe we learn and grow through the arts because encouraging perspective-taking through creative storytelling can cross generational, geographical, racial, and experiential divides. I’m proud of our work with the arts in Mobile County; this is important work because the arts present an opportunity for us to harness our shared humanity.” 

Commissioner Ludgood has served approximately 140,000 Alabama’s District 1 residents since 2007. She holds a BA and an MS from the University of Alabama, a JD from Antioch School of Law, and a Master of Divinity degree from the Alabama Interdenominational Seminary. She was a W.K. Kellogg National Leadership Fellowship, has practiced law in Alabama, and led the Legal Services Corporation of Alabama, which provides free civil legal services for income-eligible clients in 60 of Alabama's 67 counties.

“The arts often play a pivotal role in strengthening counties across America,” said National Association of Counties Executive Director Matthew Chase. “Commissioner Ludgood’s leadership demonstrates that when we invest in arts and culture, we lay the building blocks for a brighter future. We congratulate Commissioner Ludgood for this well-deserved recognition.”

For more than a decade, Merceria Ludgood has served the National Association of Counties and the Association of County Commissions of Alabama in leadership capacities. She has been active in her community, profession, and church. She has donated her time to many organizations, including Mobile United/Leadership Mobile, Leadership Alabama, Alabama Appleseed Center of Law and Justice, United Way of Southwest AL, and the United Way Women's Initiative. The Commissioner has distinguished herself as a member of the inaugural class of "Herstory of Mobile," a Museum of Mobile project recognizing the outstanding contributions of women to the social, economic, and cultural heritage of the Gulf Coast region.

Commissioner Ludgood has received numerous honors and awards, including being selected for Leadership Mobile, Leadership Alabama, and the prestigious Kellogg National Leadership Fellowship. As a Kellogg Fellow, she traveled to 17 countries on five continents to interview women leaders.  She has been honored for her public service by many community organizations, including Mobile United's A.F. Delchamps Award for creating community by forging unity from diversity, Mobile Bar Association’s Trailblazer Award, and was an inductee to the Alabama Lawyers Association Hall of Fame. She is a member of the Friendship Missionary Baptist Church, serving as a Sunday School teacher, Bible class teacher, youth counselor, and chairperson of the Board of Trustees.  In addition, Commissioner Ludgood received an Honorary Doctorate from Spring Hill College, the third-oldest Jesuit institution of higher learning in the U.S.

For more information, follow @Americans4Art.

Established in 1960, Americans for the Arts (AFTA) is the nation's leading nonprofit organization advocating for the arts at the federal level in the United States. AFTA is committed to representing and serving local communities while fostering equitable access to and appreciation for all art forms. 

Contact: 
Jay Dick
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