A regional arts service organization with over 30 years of history, Alternate ROOTS is an invaluable national resource to artists, organizers and cultural workers. As a visible champion of activist artists, ROOTS is looked to for leadership particularly in the Southeastern United States, where it provides its most direct services to its members. Alternate ROOTS provides the connective tissue for a distinct segment of the arts and culture field - artists who have a commitment to making work in, with, by, for and about their communities, and those whose cultural work strives for social justice. While this is a large sector in US arts and culture as many artists work in this way and share these aims, it is, for the most part, informally organized and collaborations are often the result of chance as much as choice. Alternate ROOTS contributes to the sustained artistic development, increased visibility, and stability of activist artists.