Good morning,
It’s Tuesday, and I’ve been gleaning some good news from the field.
I wrote at length yesterday about the sense of betrayal among Americans who have felt that the government and society have cast them out of the American Dream. Today, we will celebrate baby steps in the direction of justice and throw our weight around, such as it is.
Yesterday, the Attorney General brought a suit against Texas for violations of the Voting Rights Act.
The lawsuit notes that the vast majority of Texas’ population growth over the past decade came from Black, Latino and Asian people, but the new maps that state Republicans drew doesn’t give any of these communities new opportunities to choose their own representatives.
Of course, cases like this one will not move through the courts fast enough. And there are so many examples of egregious partisan gerrymandering.
Sign up to phone bank with Common Cause to get the Freedom to Vote Act passed.
The original Voting Rights Act contained provisions for pre-clearance of changes to voting procedures. The Department of Justice reviewed proposed changes before they could be implemented in order to prevent discriminatory provisions in jurisdictions with a history of racial discrimination.
In 2013, the Supreme Court ruled that the formula for DOJ’s oversight power was outdated. The John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act will provide a necessary update.
Tell your Senators to pass the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. This ready-made action comes from The Six PAC.
Add your voice: tell Senator Schumer that we need voting rights before Christmas! I’ve provided a sample message.
Sign the petition to Senators Manchin and Sinema: reject the filibuster to save democracy.
Collective relentlessness is the name of the activist game. The left has to harness the awesome power of repetition.
In a week when a congressman sent out a card with his Christmas wish for ammo, a federal appeals court upheld two California laws that ban large-capacity ammunition magazines. This is a victory for public safety restrictions; large-capacity ammo is typically used in mass casualty shootings.
A new study by the Independent Budget Office offers some compelling evidence that New York is home to a little less inequality than in the past. There is some debate about the reasons for the improvement, but the findings
represent a startling reversal of four decades of growing or flat income inequality in the city, according to James Parrott, an economist at The New School’s Center for New York City Affairs who studies the local economy and income inequality.
“I think that the degree of improvement in the last several years is historically large, and larger than any period of improvement since the 1960s. That's a long span of time,” Parrott said.
The increase in NYC’s minimum wage is undeniably a factor. The folks behind the Fight for $15 deserve big credit. And I’m going to go ahead and credit the Occupy Wall Street activists who rocked the city ten years ago.
Last week, NYS got the federal Department of Agriculture’s approval to offer a simplified, one-page application for SNAP benefits that will improve access for the recipients of food assistance. My inner bureaucrat applauds this modest AND important step in the direction of food justice, which comes on the heels of the increase in benefits that took effect in October.
It’s a lot to put on little shoulders, but when I’m looking for inspiration, I look to the smalls. Kendall Rae Johnson is a homeschooled 6-year-old who first started gardening with her great-grandma. Now, Kendall’s own garden functions as a local CSA and she started a garden club that will become an official 4-H program.
Support a young Black farmer (soil, seeds, lumber, fertilizer, equipment, and LAND) and donate a food basket of Kendall’s produce.
Illinois Congresswoman Lauren Underwood introduced public health legislation in March 2020 to address alarming maternal mortality rates among Black women. Attention quickly turned that month to another public health crisis. Last week, the President signed the first of the so-called Momnibus bills
the Protecting Moms Who Served Act, which puts $15 million into boosting maternity care for military veterans.
The giant reconciliation bill awaiting a vote contains many Momnibus provisions, including funding for research and training programs and investments designed to hire more AND more diverse health care workers to provide perinatal care.
After years of organizing by local groups, the federal Department of Transportation is funding the development of a plan to cover portions of the six-lane Cross Bronx Expressway with public green space. The plan has the potential to redress egregious environmental racism by greening an area with catastrophic rates of asthma and to reconnect neighborhoods that were separated by the structure.
Every once in a while, a new technology promises persuasively to make the world a little better. If vegan mushroom leather takes off, it will be a triumph for animal rights and climate justice:
[T]he technology and the mindset of carbon-neutral, grown-to-order mushroom leather could be “revolutionary” – and have implications for innovation in manufacture beyond fashion.
Everyone knows someone who has struggled with a learning disability. Parents in NYC will now be able to get their children’s Individualized Educational Plans (IEPs) translated.
Last school year, the education department quietly launched a citywide effort to centrally translate students’ IEPs instead of leaving the process up to individual schools that didn’t always have the capacity to conduct the translations or find an outside vendor to provide it.
The citywide program, which scaled up a small pilot program announced two years ago, will be permanent, officials recently said.
This is a long-overdue and important change. It will be important for schools and community organizations to let parents know that they can get translated IEPs on request.
Be the big mouth who shares the news with neighbors and acquaintances.
Finally, this is as close as I will ever get to a holiday gift guide: It costs just a dollar to buy and retire $100 of medical debt. You can give money to RIP Medical Debt in honor or remembrance of a friend or loved one.
RIP Medical Debt abolishes debt for people whose income is less than twice the federal poverty level and whose “debts are 5 percent or more of their annual income.”
This gift doesn’t clutter closets and leaves a sweet aftertaste. Unlike medical treatment, it doesn’t hurt a bit and is surprisingly affordable. Everyone touched by this gift will feel better immediately. This is also perfect for Christmas and December birthdays.
Make someone’s day/month/year by lifting the burden of medical debt from their shoulders!
Have a great day!
with love,
L