JANUARY
Changing the world for the better – with LOVE at the center.
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Fridays for Future” climate demonstration |
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Black Lives Matter Protest |
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Thank you to all who are in this struggle for a more just and democratic society for all. When we organize, we have won. We have done that before and we can do that again.
We face enormous challenges. The MAGA faction has convinced 3/4 of Republicans that Democrats are a threat to democracy. They believe the Big Lie that Trump won the election and a 1/3 are willing to take up arms against the government. They have gerrymandered state legislatures in Republican trifecta states to grab election administration away from state and local agencies not controlled by their faction to make it more difficult for people of color to vote.
Yet, Biden became President because voters were motivated to turn out to defeat Trump with a heroic effort by movement forces in every sector. We need to move with determination to turn out those who voted for our shared concerns in 2020 and those coming of voting age by 2022. It means fighting to improve lives with universal pre-K, child tax credits, lowering prescription drug prices, addressing college debt, climate, creating good jobs, and ensuring the wealthiest pay more of their fair share–and more. It raises the importance of our struggle for Freedom to Vote.
We need to expose the threat of the right-wing. This January 6th will give us a chance to raise awareness and then continue to elevate the threat of rising fascism. We have more opportunities than we may realize to address the challenges. Redistricting may leave a more equitable terrain than we might have expected. Internal divisions among Republican primary candidates (and strong candidates of our own) may leave us with many better options for pick-ups in the House and Senate. And we have to build more deeply in the states, as the battles move to legislatures.
We need to also to expose the role of corporate greed spurring inflation and partisan opposition by providing what investment people need and by protecting our health in this pandemic.
Joe Manchin was right about one thing–IF we want more liberal (progressive) policies, we need to elect more progressives. This remarkable movement for democracy and justice has made it possible to elect a President, House, and Senate (by the barest margins) that may make all of this possible. Build Back Better. Freedom to Vote. No circular firing squads. Focusing on the real enemies of this movement and the people of this country. On-going organizing. And keeping love at our center for this broader movement.
Thank you all for being part of the progressive mobilization, changing this world for the better.
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We’re able to move forward because PEOPLE are organizing!
And to win in these decisive battles ahead, we need to keep organizing.
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Last January 6th, a faction of elected officials incited armed right-wing militants to attack our Capitol. This year on January 6th, Americans across the country are uniting to defend democracy. |
Now that the House has passed the Build Back Better Act, the Senate must swiftly bring it to a vote. There’s no room for error — and to make sure that it passes with every climate provision intact, we need your help. |
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We are using this social toolkit to encourage Senators who have supported immigration to keep their promise. They must get the job done this year, and it’s critical we amplify their commitments and continue to advocate for immigration this year. This is our moment, and we will leave no stone unturned. |
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Ensuring access to the ballot box is critical to the survival of our democracy. The Freedom to Vote Act – sponsored by Sen. Joe Manchin – is a bold and transformative legislative package that would create national standards to protect our freedom to vote, get big money out of politics, combat partisan election subversion, and guarantee that congressional districts are drawn to give fair representation for all. To get this passed we will likely need filibuster reform. |
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Thank you, President Biden. On December 22, the Biden administration extended the student loan pause through May 1– which means relief for 46M borrowers and relief for organizers who can rest up a bit before getting back into win cancellation mode. Let’s win the midterms by canceling student debt! |
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The Streets of Santiago de Chile. |
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On Sunday, December 19, Chilean voters headed to the polls to choose between two presidential candidates offering starkly contrasting visions for the future – in the country’s most divisive elections since it returned to democracy in 1990. Progressive candidate Gabriel Boric – a former student protest leader – pledged to empower women and Indigenous people and raise takes and spending in order to create a fairer Chile. Neo-Fascist Opponent Jose Antonio Kast was a defender of the former dictator Augusto Pinochet and promised anti-immigration tactics. The people of Chile cheered in downtown Santiago as Boric won 55.86% of the vote and vowed to “Fight privileges of the few.” Even against enormous odds, IF we organize, we can win! |
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JANE featured at Sundance Film Festival. |
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Heather Booth is headed to Sundance Film Festival this year to premiere two movies that will examine the JANE Collective – the underground group of women from Chicago who between 1669 and 1973 helped women secure safe, illegal abortions before Roe v. Wade was handed down. Sundance Film Festival Director Tabitha Jackson said, “This year, it’s reflecting on the fact that we are in this age of reckoning, this age of accountability. A resistance to the status quo.”
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The Janes, directed by Tia Lessin and Emma Pildes, with HBO producing, is a documentary about the JANE Collective underground abortion service that Heather Booth began in 1965 – 8 years before the Roe v. Wade decision made abortion legal. “Police arrested seven women who were part of a clandestine network. Using code names, blindfolds and safe houses, they built an underground service for women seeking safe, affordable, illegal abortions calling themselves JANE.” Read more here.
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Call Jane is a Hollywood fictional feature from Phyllis Nagy with a cast that includes Elizabeth Banks and Sigourney Weaver depicting “a married woman with an unwanted pregnancy lives in a time in America where she can’t get a legal abortion and works with a group of suburban women to find help.” Read more here.
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A New Year’s Upcoming Events. |
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January 1: New Year’s Day
January 9: Golden Globe Awards
January 31: Grammy Awards
February 13: Superbowl LVI
February 14: Valentine’s Day
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Honoring Gloria Jean Watkins (bell hooks). |
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bell hooks – the beloved poet, feminist, author, and professor passed away on December 16, 2021. Known for her writing on race, feminism, capitalism, and intersectionality, hooks published more than 30 books over the course of her lifetime, including 1981’s “Ain’t I a Woman? Black omen and Feminism” and “All About Love” in 1999. “A devaluation of Black womanhood occurred as a result of the sexual exploitation of Black women during slavery that has not altered in the course of hundreds of years,” hooks wrote. Throughout her life, hooks’ dedication to accessible feminist theory remained strong. “To truly be free, we must choose beyond simply surviving adversity, we must dare to create lives of sustained optimal wellbeing and joy.”
“I believe wholeheartedly that the only way out of domination is love and the only way into really being able to connect with others, and to know how to be, is to be participating in every aspect of your life as a sacrament of love.” Read more about Gloria Jeans Watkins’ life.
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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. Happy New Year!
– Heather Booth, Lilly Rivlin, and the Film Team
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Newsletter Designed by Cara Freibaum |
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