What to do this week of July 14, 2019

by Jul 14, 2019Opinion, What To Do This Week0 comments

155 weeks down, 68 weeks to the presidential election.

The AoC Checklist features clear, well-researched actions for Americans who value democracy, equality, voting, and respect. To stay engaged through challenging times, we practice gratitude, self-care, and celebration.

I value democracy.

With respect and collaboration, we work to create a nation that welcomes all people, expands freedoms, and upholds the Constitution.

▢ Action 1: Empower returning citizens to vote in Florida. [h/t We Got the VoteBrennan CenterACLU of Florida]

Floridians restored the vote to returning citizens, then state legislators ignored the will of the people by passing a new, oppressive law requiring all fees and fines to be paid before these citizens can exercise their right to vote.
Donate: Contribute to returning citizens’ fees and fines directly, enabling them to vote, by making a tax-deductible donation to We Got the Vote.
Donate: To support a legal challenge to Florida’s racially discriminatory law, make a tax-deductible donation to any of the organizations that filed the lawsuit: ACLU of Florida, the Brennan Center, or the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.

▢ Action 2: Provide required IDs for new voters. [h/t Spread the Vote]

Spread the Vote and its Project ID initiative help citizens obtain IDs required for voting. We set an audacious goal to support 300 future voters in 2019, and AoCC subscribers have already raised enough for 344 people to get IDs (a whopping $13,758)! Since we’re only halfway through the year, help us get to 600!
Donate: To Spread the Vote here.

I value equality.

Support the dignity of your rainbow of neighbors from every religion, race, ethnicity, culture, gender, sexual orientation, economic status, age, and ability.

▢ Action 3: Advocate for the closing of concentration camps in America. [h/t United We Dream]

Write: Or email your two senators and one House rep (look up).
Script: Hello, I’m a constituent of [ZIP] and writing because I am horrified by the appalling conditions in ICE concentration camps across the U.S. CBP is holding children and adults seeking asylum and citizenship in unsanitary, overcrowded cells, forced to drink out of toilets and live without adequate food, medical care, or exercise. I would like [NAME] to visit an ICE detention facility in [STATE] to witness the inhumane treatment of our neighbors at our government’s hands, expose the atrocities taking place, and work to close them now. Thank you.

▢ Action 4: Speak up with victims of hate crimes for more accurate data collection. [h/t SAALT]

Call: Or write your two senators and one House rep (look up).
Script: Hi. I’m from [ZIP] and I’m calling to express my support for the bipartisan Khalid Jabara – Heather Heyer NO HATE Act. Hate crimes in America have reached epidemic proportions in recent years, primarily targeting minority and underrepresented communities. It is the responsibility of our leaders to address this surge in violence and discrimination, so I would like [NAME] to cosponsor S. 2043 / H.R. 3545 and advocate for the accurate tracking and reporting of hate crimes.

 Action 5: Spread awareness as ICE conducts community raids. [h/t Freedom for Immigrants]

ICE is preparing for community raids across the U.S., targeting undocumented families seeking American citizenship. Each of us can support our neighbors by understanding their rights and helping protect those rights.
Share on social media: Read the Know Your Rights Community Toolkit [link: https://www.nyic.org/know-your-rights-community-toolkit/]

▢ Action 6: Advocate for reproductive rights. [h/t Women’s March]

Call: Or email your two senators and one House rep (look up).
Script: Hi. I’m calling from [ZIP] because I believe access to reproductive services is a basic human right that is under growing threat. So far this year, 28 states have implemented new abortion bans. The Women’s Health Protection Act (S. 1645/H.R. 2975) would provide federal safeguards against such actions at the state level. Can I count on [NAME] to support it?

▢ Action 7: Speak up with Native American women. [h/t National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center]

Call: Your two senators (look up).
Script: Hi. I’m calling from [ZIP] to express dismay that Senate inaction has caused the Violence Against Women Act to lapse for the first time in 26 years. Its protections are critical, particularly for Native women who experience more violencethan other groups. I’m asking [NAME] to support the complete House version (H.R. 1585) and call for a vote on it.

Deep breath innnnnnn… Deep breath ouuuuuuuut…

Acts of Gratitude

Get out your stamps, postcards, and sparkle markers for some gratitude mail.

Thank Jessica McClard for creating community and fulfilling need with the Little Pantry movement of volunteers building, stocking, and maintaining small community pantries. [Share why you appreciate a grassroots, neighbor-focused approach to meeting community needs.]Address: c/o Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, 2925 N Old Missouri Rd., Fayetteville, AR 72703

Thank California state officials Gov. Gavin Newsom, Sen. Toni Atkins, and Rep.  Anthony Rendon for expanding healthcare to all young people in the state. [Share why you appreciate healthcare policy that doesn’t discriminate based on where people are born.]Addresses:
GN: 1303 10th Street, Suite 1173, Sacramento, CA 95814
TA: 1350 Front Street, Suite 4061,  San Diego, CA 92101
AR: 4909 Lakewood Blvd, Suite 400, Lakewood, CA 90712

Thank Esi Eggleston Bracey, Unilever Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President for her black beauty advocacy. [Share why you appreciate corporate support for equality and acceptance of natural beauty.]Address: 800 Sylvan Avenue, Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632

Thank Julián Castro, presidential candidate, for amplifying support specifically for reproductive justice. [Share why you appreciate a justice focus on reproductive autonomy and healthcare access.]Address: P.O. Box 501, San Antonio, TX 78292

Thank Megan Rapinoe, U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team Co-Captain, for courage on and off the field to support equality, inclusiveness, and equal pay for women. [Share why you appreciate using personal victory to amplify the beauty and strength of diversity and community.]Address: ℅ Reign FC, 2502 S Tyler St, Tacoma, WA 98405

Thank Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA) for continued opposition to family separation. [Share why you appreciate persistent advocacy to end state-sponsored child abuse.]Address: 4929 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 650, Los Angeles, CA 90010

Thank Rachael Rollins, Suffolk County (MA) District Attorney, for declining to prosecute protestors demonstrating against ICE detention. [Share why you appreciate state respect for lawful demonstration against federal immigration policy.]Address: One Bulfinch Place, Boston, MA 02114

Thank Jenn Budd, former Senior Border Patrol Agent, for resisting the culture of abuse, racism, and sexism at the federal Customs and Border Patrol agency. [Share why you appreciate sharing hard truths to advance human dignity and equality.]Address: ℅ Alliance San Diego, PO Box 12266, San Diego, CA 92112-3266

Good news

Decent people everywhere are speaking up and working together. Just look. #GoodNews

National

State

Local

Corporate/business

  • Bank of America will stop lending to detention centers and private prison firms.
  • SunTrust Banks, Inc. will stop financing companies that manage private prisons and detention facilities.
  • Amazon stops selling books by anti-LGBTQ+ pseudo-scientist as well as other books promoting so-called “conversion therapy.”
  • Marriott and Choice hotels refuse to house ICE detainees following raids.
  • France’s BNP Paribas will no longer finance private prison operators, becoming the first foreign bank to distance itself from the practice.

Groups and organizations

  • Custom Collaborative Training Institute is offering education in design, sewing, and fashion sales to low-income women and women who have moved to the U.S.
  • Force for Immigrant Rights and Empowerment (FIRE), a Dallas-based activist group, provides “know your rights” training to counter fear about the administration’s ICE sweeps.
  • University of Maine adds Penobscot language to signs across campus in acknowledgement of the university’s location on occupied Penobscot Nation land.
  • A University of California Berkeley study finds that a $15 federal minimum wage won’t decrease the number of available American jobs.
  • ACLU files a preemptive lawsuit to stop the administration’s mass arrests and deportations of aspiring Americans.

News with heart

One final action: Spread the word

Do you know anyone who could use some good news and clear actions? Please share!

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Print: The Americans of Conscience Checklist flyer and share at in-person events.

Housekeeping

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