Dear ones,
It’s Tuesday again, and time for good news.
Nothing gives me more hope than seeing young people leading the way. My favorite millennial sometimes gets upset about all the work that it takes to clean the messes that they have inherited, but we all inherit the world as-is, to be improved upon, or in the case of young millennials and Gen Z, to save from catastrophe. Today, I want to talk about their work to shore up democracy.
Young organizers are galvanizing voters in Georgia and in the reddest part of NYC!
The New Georgia Project has a new initiative to ‘Twitch the Vote’. Apparently, this involves live streaming video gamers who are simultaneously participating in a chatroom discussion of political issues. I don’t actually understand how it’s possible to do these things at at the same time, but more power to them. (AOC has participated to bring out new voters and to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars to fight evictions and stock food pantries.) Nse Ufot, the CEO of New Georgia Project reported that they got “500,000 unique visitors on [their] Twitch the Vote events!” and they are registering voters using links in the chat. They’re also visiting high school government classes on Zoom.
Donate to the New Georgia Project. There are two Senate seats on the line.
Closer to home, the Young Leaders of Staten Island first came together in May at a protest on the site of Eric Garner’s murder-by-chokehold at the hands of the NYPD. The group has turned it’s attention to voter education and activation, and is planning to host candidate forums for next year’s elections.
Their aim: to increase voter participation among the North Shore’s Black and brown residents to rival that of the borough’s mostly white South Shore, which reliably votes Republican — and went for Malliotakis and President Donald Trump Nov. 3.
“Our goal right now is to create a different culture around voting,” said Michael Animodi, a founding member of the Young Leaders. “The South Shore always comes out and votes. . . . Their numbers prove that.”
“In the North Shore, they believe the voting system doesn’t work, they believe it’s not for them,” said Animodi. “So our job, it’s a tough one. We really have to change the minds and hearts of a lot of people in this community.”
Support the Young Leaders of Staten Island in their mission to fight injustice, educate youth, and activate voters.
I missed this piece of good news (because it happened the same day that the mayor announced the schools shut down): The UFT Delegate Assembly passed the Black Lives Matter at Schools Resolution with overwhelming support. This initiative was spearheaded by the MORE Caucus. You can follow the link to the full text of the resolution. Words matter. When Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence, he provided a language with which those who did not enjoy the much-touted equality could demand it. This resolution affirms the political legitimacy of the challenge to systemic racism and demands specific actions.
Another thing I missed is that the Movement4BlackLives organized a celebration of Reparations Monday (yesterday). They sent out an impressive and well-designed toolkit with lots of information and explanation, glossaries, educational activities, and a resource list. I have not read it all (yet) — it’s over 100 pages — but I feel good about recommending it.
Check out the Reparations Now Toolkit!
Let’s join M4BL, one day late, in pushing for a Commission to study Reparations:
On Juneteenth of 2019 (June 19, 2019), the Congressional House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on legislation - H.R.40 - that would establish a Commission to study the question of reparations for Black people in the United States.
Call 1-888-659-8549 to [reach] your U.S. Representative. Ask them to support and pass H.R. 40 immediately.
Make the call, check out the toolkit, and donate some money if you can.
with love,
L