Dear friends,
I have vowed to myself not to be a downer, especially on rainy Mondays, so I will start with some good news.
As you likely recall, Ohio’s constitutional amendment to protect abortion access — which passed in November — included some of the strongest language of any statewide ballot initiative. The issue never should have been in court, as the people of Ohio had resoundingly supported the protection of their reproductive rights.
Voting is the mother of all democratic rights, and we continue to fend off attacks.
According to law professor and voting rights scholar, Atiba Ellis,
“[T]here's a risk that some part of the sizable number of people who got purged will have their voice silenced with regards to the issues on the November ballot without them ever intending to do so."
In Ohio, voting rights advocates called on the Secretary of State to reverse the purge. The problem persists, even though the purge didn’t sink the referendum.
It is not always possible to move state officials. During Virginia’s legislative elections this fall, state election officials admitted improperly removing nearly 3,400 eligible voters from the state's rolls.
Call on DOJ to investigate state efforts to remove eligible voters from the rolls! This quick action is from Americans for Democratic Action.
The mother of all movements for justice — the anti-slavery movement — points us to other fundamental problems that need our attention.
Almost exactly 312 years ago, on December 13, 1711 New York City passed a law to establish the city’s first market for the buying and selling of enslaved people. That market was located at the foot of Wall Street.
There were already Black people enslaved in New York; the new market would further entrench the practice in the city. The following year, another law made it illegal for Black people, Indigenous people, and people of mixed race to
enjoy, hold or possess any houses, Lands, Tenements or Hereditaments within this Colony.
The implications are still with us, as fewer than one-fourth of Black families own their homes in New York, while nearly two-thirds of white families do.
The NYS legislature passed a bill this year to create a state commission on reparations and the Governor needs to hear our demand that she sign it.
For Black New Yorkers, reparations would account for slavery, segregation and decades of discriminatory laws and practices that impeded economic advancement.
Tell Governor Hochul to sign the bill to create a Reparations Commission.
Meanwhile, Columbia University and New York University receive property tax breaks, which amount to $327 million of lost revenue annually. These tax breaks were written into the state constitution. There is a proposal to end these tax breaks and redirect the funds to CUNY.
There is no reason for Columbia University and NYU to continue to receive tax breaks while CUNY students face austerity budgets. The tax breaks perpetuate economic inequity and hinder social mobility.
Contact your state legislators to insist that Columbia and NYU forego huge tax breaks in order to fund CUNY.
Thank you for taking action!
with love,
L