Distill Social hosted a free advance screening of the new motion picture, Call Jane, based on the inspiring story of the women in Chicago who organized to help those who needed abortions. An enthusiastic crowd of 600 enjoyed the movie and learned how to reach out to other voters, talking to volunteers from the Reproductive Freedom for All campaign (Prop 3), and Promote the Vote (Prop 2).
Promote the Vote aims to advance voting rights for the people of Michigan. However, it is imperative that we get enough signatures this final weekend. Places to sign petition are inside (by date, then location):
After being held up in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for eight months, the nomination of Deborah Lipstadt to be the State Department’s envoy to combat and monitor antisemitism is…
The first anniversary of the victory of democracy over autocracy (or worse) on January 6th will take place on Thursday of this week. If you have not already made plans to commemorate January 6th, check out Defend Democracy’s website, which lists hundreds of in-person and virtual events. Speaker Pelosi has arranged for a series of events in Washington D.C., including a moment of silence in the House, remarks by President Biden and Vice-President Harris.
CNN will host a two-hour special at 8 pm EST that will include live interviews with members of the House and the Capitol Police about their experiences on January 6.
According to a post from Demcastusa.com, the planning of the January insurrection stretched to the highest and widest reaches of Trump’s circle. These include Michael Flynn, Stephen Bannon, Rudolph Giuliani and John Eastman to name only the best known of them.
May 31, 2021, marks the 100 year anniversary of the Tulsa, Oklahoma Greenwood massacre. Listen to survivors of the Tulsa race massacre share their memories of Greenwood before a White mob attacked the affluent community 100 years ago in “Tulsa 1921: An American Tragedy.” The special airs Monday, May 31, at 10 p.m. ET on CBS.
Tulsa is currently taking action to find and identify victims who were buried in mass graves. MSN describes some of this activity. Both the New York Times and Atlantic articles provide an outstanding overview of this tragic event.
The Guardian sees the filibuster as a way for a relatively small group of senators to block some action by the majority. The filibuster rule allows a minority of 41 senators (out of 100 total) to prevent a vote on most species of legislation. This political strategy takes advantage of a U.S. Senate rule that says a senator, once recognized on the floor, may speak on an issue without being impeded by anyone, thus allowing senators to speak for hours to delay efforts to vote for a bill.
There is no filibuster in the House of Representatives because rules adopted in that larger legislative body strictly limit the amount of time each representative may speak on the House floor.
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.
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.
In an unexpected “win” for voting rights and justice, it was discovered recently Haywood County, Tennessee, was overwhelmingly blue in a sea of red. Historians and analysts (and myself) think there might be a correlation with the dark past and conciliatory and healing efforts that have taken place in Haywood County in recent years.
Change only happens when people wanted something different. My Uncle Elbert was prescribed a life that he didn’t want to take “as is” so he fought for something different and better for himself and the people he loved. The residents in Haywood County have made a statement, through their votes, that they want something different for Haywood County and America.