MICAH — Memphis Interfaith Coalition for Action and Hope

Partnering for Power. Acting for Justice.

MICAH is Memphis's largest faith-rooted organizing coalition — congregations and community organizations across the city united to equip people of faith and goodwill to organize their communities for systemic change through collective action. From Issues Conventions that unite hundreds of leaders to public meetings that put sheriff and mayoral candidates on the record, MICAH doesn't just pray for justice — it organizes for it.

What MICAH Does

Housing & Neighborhood Livability

Fighting for safe, affordable housing and livable neighborhoods in every ZIP code of Memphis — because where you live should never determine whether you can thrive.

Transit Equity

Organizing for a public transit system that actually connects working Memphians to jobs, healthcare, school, and opportunity — transit justice is economic justice.

Transformational Justice

Reimagining public safety and the justice system — moving from punishment to transformation, with accountability forums that put candidates and officials on the record.

Public Meetings & Issues Conventions

Hundreds of leaders across MICAH's member congregations vote democratically on the issues that guide the coalition's work — people power, practiced.

Leadership

Pastor Keith Caldwell

President of MICAH · Organizer, Workers Interfaith Network · Pastor, Centenary UMC

Pastor Keith Caldwell is the President of MICAH, leading Memphis's largest faith-rooted organizing coalition in its fights for housing, transit equity, and transformational justice — and the Organizer for the Workers Interfaith Network, standing with Memphis workers against wage theft and unsafe conditions. He also pastors Centenary UMC — Dr. James Lawson's home pulpit during the 1968 sanitation strike and a strategy hub for the campaign Dr. King joined at Lawson's invitation. A former union leader himself, Pastor Caldwell was personally mentored by Dr. Lawson and carries the Lawson method of nonviolent organizing forward from the same McLemore Avenue sanctuary. He stands in the direct lineage of Memphis torchbearers — Randolph trained Rustin, Rustin trained Lawson, and Lawson trained Caldwell — living proof that in Memphis, faith and labor have always been one movement.

Where Faith Meets the Fight

Memphis knows better than any city in America what happens when the faith community stands with workers — it was from pulpits like Centenary UMC and Mason Temple that the 1968 sanitation strike became a movement. MICAH carries that tradition into today's fights: housing, transit, and a justice system that transforms rather than punishes.

A Community Partner of Labor Education

MICAH and Labor Education are branches of the same Memphis tree. MICAH President Pastor Keith Caldwell — featured across this app's Four Pillars of Labor and Dr. Lawson pages — embodies the faith-labor alliance that has defined this city since 1968. We're proud to stand with MICAH's congregations as they organize Memphis for systemic change.

THE SOUTH GOT SOMETHING TO SAY

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Connect with MICAH — Memphis Interfaith Coalition for Action and Hope

Want to get involved, partner, or learn more? Reach out through their website.