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JUNE 2023
Celebrate Pride Month, Juneteenth, Father’s Day, and Prevent Default and MAGA extreme demands while continuing the struggle for our future.
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Virginia Elections – Phone Bank Here With National Women’s Political Caucus of Virginia | |
When we organize, we can change the world | |
Averting Default on Our Economy (Social Security, Medicare and more). | |
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While this agreement is certainly not what we all would have wanted, under a divided government, the deal successfully beat back against the most extreme MAGA Republican cuts to programs like Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security and would avoid a catastrophic default.
Build Back Better: “Thanks to the Biden-Harris Administration — and the advocacy of Leader Jeffries and allies in Congress — we have a pathway to ensure the full faith and credit of the American economy will remain intact in the face of MAGA Republican threats. When this deal is signed: Social Security checks will go out on time, military veterans, who risked their lives for our nation, will get the benefits they deserve, and our nation’s most vulnerable will continue to have access to the health care they need.
For months, Republicans in Congress have refused to meet their basic constitutional responsibility to prevent a default, or cleanly raise the debt ceiling as they did three times under the previous administration. At each and every turn of this fight, MAGA Republicans made clear they were fighting for tax breaks for the .1% and the largest corporations in America, who have seen record-breaking profits, rather than protecting programs that support our veterans, seniors, and children.
This deal lays the pathway to avoid a MAGA Republican-inflicted default that would have caused an unprecedented economic recession with millions of jobs lost, and disrupted critical payments like Social Security and Medicare. Thankfully, we can only wonder how devastating this reality would have been.
Now, the House must pass this bill and send it to the Senate so that the President can sign it into law—and so that we can continue to build on the historic economic progress we’ve made under the president’s leadership over the past two years.”
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We can win, but only if we organize. | |
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“If we do the basic blocking and tackling of great field and GOTV work, and focus on executing an effective strategy for working-class voters, all the elements are in place for a big Democratic victory in 2024.
That statement will likely come as a surprise to some Democrats, as there seems to be a culture of worry in our party not borne out by the underlying political dynamics in play. We don’t intend to minimize the challenges. Every election cycle has some tough things to deal with, and obviously, the negative consequences have never been so high if we do lose. But as two strategists who were more confident than most that 2022 would be a decent election cycle for Democrats, we believe that if we focus on winning instead of worrying, we will win the 2024 election in solid fashion.”
—Mike Lux and Celinda Lake
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Some of these districts are now changed by redistricting and other developments.
Frontline Democrats are listed here.
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Celebrate Pride Joy and Defend LGBTQ+ Rights! | |
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How anti-LGBTQ sentiment is affecting Pride
“Pride is a joyful celebration of all of the beautiful identities of our LGBTQ+ community. We create spaces where we can bring our whole selves to dance and march in the streets and declare: We are here. We are visible. We are proud!
But this is also a moment of crisis for our country and our community. Lives are literally on the line. Too many people — trans people, Black and Brown people, people living with HIV & AIDS, people being denied basic care — are facing unprecedented attacks. And still, we rise up and fight back.
Never forget that Pride was inspired by the Stonewall riots that happened on June 28, 1969 where we stood our ground. Today, we are still fighting and will do so until we have freedom without exception, liberation without exception, joy without exception and pride without exception.”—HRC
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More than half of the American Library Association’s “Most Challenged Books” were challenged for having LGBTQ content, the association found. The ALA reported that, prior to 2020, the “vast majority” of challenges against books were made by individuals who sought to restrict access to a single book their child was reading. But the group found that 90% of last year’s challenges were directed at multiple books and nearly a fifth of them were made by “political/religious groups.”
The association cited this finding as “evidence of a growing, well-organized, conservative political movement, the goals of which include removing books about race, history, gender identity, sexuality, and reproductive health from America’s public and school libraries that do not meet their approval.”
Amanda Gorman’s acclaimed poem, “The Hill We Climb” which was recited at President Joe Biden’s inauguration, was among the books banned in a Florida elementary school because a mom with Proud Boy associations complained (admittedly without reading it). The MAGA push to ban Critical Race Theory is also underway.
“Everyone is entitled to find books that reflect their interests, their experiences, their backgrounds, their identities on the shelves of a publicly funded library that’s there to serve everyone.” Over half of registered voters say political attacks on trans kids, families are a ‘major problem’.
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Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. From its Galveston, Texas origin in 1865, the observance of June 19th as the African American Emancipation Day has spread across the United States and beyond.
Juneteenth commemorates African American freedom and emphasizes education and achievement. It is a day, a week, and in some areas, a month marked with celebrations, guest speakers, picnics and family gatherings. It is a time for reflection and rejoicing. It is a time for assessment, self-improvement and for planning the future. Its growing popularity signifies a level of maturity and dignity in America long over due. In cities across the country, people of all races, nationalities and religions are joining hands to truthfully acknowledge a period in our history that shaped and continues to influence our society today. Sensitized to the conditions and experiences of others, only then can we make significant and lasting improvements in our society.
Read More Here.
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They have been taking away our Freedoms.
They are ruling for the Wealthy Few instead of protecting everyday Americans.
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The Guardian: “The US supreme court is gearing itself up for the final nail-biting month of its 2022-3 term in which it will deliver decisions that could transform critical areas of public life, from affirmative action in colleges to voting rights, LGBTQ+ equality and the future of Native American tribes.
Seasoned observers of the court have been taken aback by how determined the rightwing justices appear to crack on with their radical agenda. The pattern in previous courts has been for historic years to be followed by a period of relative calm before the next jolt strikes.
Top of the pile of decisions being awaited with bated breath relates to the pair of challenges to the race-conscious admissions policies of Harvard and the University of North Carolina. Should the supermajority strike down affirmative action it would overturn 50 years of established practice – a chilling echo of its evisceration of half a century of settled law on abortion.
Other bone-jarring decisions could come in cases dealing with the right to equal treatment for same-sex couples and how children are handled in Native American families. The court will rule on whether the Colorado graphic design firm 303 Creative can withhold services on religious grounds from gay couples wanting to post wedding websites.
The six conservative justices will drop their affirmative action bombshell at a time when the supreme court is already struggling to hold on to public trust. The court has been battered recently by ethics scandals over Clarence Thomas’s acceptance of luxury holidays from a billionaire real estate developer and Gorsuch’s sale of a property to the head of a law firm that has business before the court.” More Here.
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Clarence Thomas Must Resign. | |
Defend Our Bodies and Our Freedom. | |
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Since the Supreme Court’s decision striking down the federal right to abortion in June, Illinois, with its robust reproductive health protections, has become a refuge for women seeking abortion across the Midwest. The state has experienced the second-highest increase in abortions of any state since Dobbs — a 28 percent rise between April and August of 2022. Those figures track with Illinois providers’ own statistics, which show that roughly one-third of patients they’ve treated in the last year have come from out-of-state. As demand for their services spikes, providers in Illinois have also reported increasing hostility. “Illinois is a haven for reproductive rights in the Midwest. We know that we’re going to continue to be targeted by anti-abortion extremists and so we really have to remain vigilant.” – Jennifer Welch, Planned Parenthood of Illinois
Full Article Here
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In the case Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA, an extremist judge blocked FDA approval of mifepristone – which is used in more than half of abortions nationwide.
For 23 years, mifepristone has offered an exceedingly safe and effective, FDA-approved means of ending a pregnancy – with study after study confirming its critical role in abortion and miscarriage care.
The unprecedented ruling has the potential to strain clinics and providers across the nation who are already grappling with the effects of Roe v. Wade being overturned and abortion banned in more than a dozen states. The impact will be felt disproportionately by people who already face severe health disparities and barriers to accessing health care – including people of color, people struggling to make ends meet, young people, and people living in rural areas.
If anti-abortion extremists think they can steamroll medical ethics and jeopardize patients’ health and safety with ideological extremism like this – they should think again.
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Midwest Academy Awards 2023 – 50th Anniversary | |
We are so grateful for all of the people who joined us in person and online to celebrate Midwest Academy’s 50th Anniversary and the powerful organizing work of the award winners. As we’ve seen time and again, when we organize, we win! | |
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1st Row: Sen. Bernie Sanders, Rep. Jan Schakowsky, Heather Booth
2nd Row: Climate Justice Alliance (accepted by Bineshi Albert (left) with Kristina Tendilla (right), Amplify Georgia Collaborative (accepted by Agbo Ikor (left) and Desirrae Thomas (right), Starbucks Workers United accepted by Aggi Torregoza (left) and Aleah Bacetti (right)
3rd Row: AJ (Sunrise Movement), 9to5 and 925 SEIU (accepted by Karen Nussbaum (left) and Ellen Cassedy (right), Sunrise Movement (accepted by Varshini Prakash (right), here with Aimée-Josiane Twagirumukiza (left)
4th Row: Cake Pop (foreground) & Crimsyn (background), Batalá Washington
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The Award Winners:
For their visionary and powerful climate justice work:
Sunrise Movement, accepted by Executive Director Varshini Prakash
Climate Justice Alliance, accepted by co-director, Ozawa Bineshi Albert
For their life-changing reproductive freedom work:
JANE (aka JANE Collective), accepted by Heather Booth
Amplify Georgia Collaborative, accepted by Amplify Georgia Collaborative’s Executive Director, Desirrae Thomas, and Agbo Ikor, the Policy and Advocacy Director of one of the anchor organizations, SPARK Reproductive Justice NOW!
For their tireless work to enact economic justice:
9to5 & District 925 SEIU, accepted by Ellen Cassedy, Karen Nussbaum and other leaders from 9to5
Starbucks Workers United, accepted by Thanya Cruz
Much appreciation to the performers who helped make our night special and fun: Les The DJ, Batalá Washington, and Crystal Edge, Cake Pop, Crimsyn, and Druex Sidora.
The Drag Show was dedicated to Ron DeSantis and all the haters–We are going to Drag Out the VOTE!
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Richard Rothstein and his daughter housing activist Leah Rothstein have a new book coming out June 1st: Just Action, which describes what people can do in their communities to redress the inequality and deprivation that remain the ongoing effects of government-imposed segregation. Please order the book now. | |
Drawing from historical and present-day examples—including Black Lives Matter, Standing Rock, the Hip Hop Caucus, the Legacy Museum, and the Art for Justice Fund—Grossinger offers a rich tapestry of tactics and successes that speak directly to the challenges and needs of today’s activists and of these political times. | |
Organize with Love at the Center. | |
When we organize, we can change the world. | | |
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We are so glad to be your partner in this movement for democracy and justice for all.
– Heather Booth and the Team
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Newsletter Designed by Cara Homick | | | | |
