Feb182021

Lunar-New-Year

Rise in Hate Crimes on Asian Americans

In The Spotlight, Newsletter HighlightsLeave a comment

Shortly after his Inauguration, President Joe Biden signed a memorandum denouncing xenophobia and violence against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, but the recent violence has caused communities to hunker down again during the normally celebratory time of Lunar New Year.

The increase in hate incidents is a particular concern in urban areas, especially in New York and California. However, activists are angered not only by the violence but by the lack of media attention the cases received. It is deemed unclear to police whether the spate of crimes are racially motivated, however, the similarity and volume of the attacks speak to an increased bias rather than a series of individual events.

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Feb182021

The Unseen Heritage of Black Women Working for the Vote

Civics Deck, Newsletter Highlights, Portraits in Progressive Activism, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Although the subject of Black female activists fighting for voting rights has been rehashed in the media in the 2020 Presidential Election and the US Senate runoffs in Georgia. It was clear that Black female voting rights activists were pivotal in affecting the change to a new administration. In January, coinciding with the runoffs, Time reprinted a November article illuminating the chronicle of Black women activists that started out fighting for the women’s vote, a story that begins long before the recent historic efforts in Georgia. It is this overlooked history of dedication to progressing forward that today’s Black female organizers fighting for the vote recognize, build upon, and respect. It was evident in November and January, that the under-recognized work by Black women activists, past and present, opens doors and impacts people of all races and genders and will be the key in the continued fight for voting equality.

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Feb42021

Encourage Michigan senators to support COVID relief package

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DELIVER IMMEDIATE RELIEF TO WORKING FAMILIES: $1,400/person checks; housing and nutrition assistance; increase access to health care, paid leave, and child care; raise the minimum wage to $15/hour, and extend unemployment insurance;
SUPPORT COMMUNITIES: Support hardest hit small businesses; protect the jobs of first responders, transit workers, and other essential workers we depend upon.
Urge them to fight for Michigan families who are struggling to keep food on their tables and a roof over their heads. Urge them to make sure our state and communities have what they need to fight the COVID virus, to protect teachers and other front line workers who are helping all of us. Honor the 29.8 million people who’ve gotten sick from COVID and the 433,000 Americans who died from it.

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Jan142021

What is QAnon?

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QAnon started creeping into mainstream media on the coattails of the Russian disinformation campaign that targeted US elections in 2016. Recent social media and opinion polls indicate there are at least hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people who believe in at least some of the bizarre theories offered up by QAnon. Wikipedia states that between March and June 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, QAnon activity nearly tripled on Facebook and nearly doubled on Instagram and Twitter.[76] By that time, QAnon had spread to Europe, from the Netherlands to the Balkan Peninsula. It maintains an especially strong following in Germany.

Two of three GOP candidates that have been sympathetic or supportive of the group have been elected to Congress: Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Congressional candidate for Georgia’s 14th district seat, and Lauren Boebert, who beat a Trump-backed, five-term incumbent during primary elections for Colorado’s 3rd district. The Hill reported that as early as May 2019, the FBI identified conspiracy theories as to potential domestic terrorism threats, specifically identifying QAnon as stated in their document.

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Dec112020

Georgia Fund Donations Request

How best to help in Georgia

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The BEST way to elect progressives is to invest in the grassroots organizing groups that are on the ground 24/7/365 doing the work to go beyond platitudes and instead are achieving public policy wins for normally marginalized people at the local, state and national levels.

They also help these people organize themselves so that they can advocate for their own priorities — a novel concept— which leads to them BEING and, importantly, FEELING empowered. This leads to increased trust in institutions and the political system, which in turn grows participation and voter turnout.

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