Dear friends,
Today is the summer solstice, the day when we get the most sunlight. This isn’t the case in the southern hemisphere today, but there is another kind of light shining there.
On Sunday night, Gustavo Petro was elected in Colombia, part of a wave of left-wing leadership that has been elected in Latin America. The impact of the pandemic and the repeated failures of right wing leaders to address poverty in the region has brought a diverse group of progressive leaders to power.
It happened in Peru, where voters last year elected Marxist schoolteacher Pedro Castillo. It happened in Chile, the free-market model of the region, where 36-year-old former student activist Gabriel Boric brought the left back to power.
Instead of building an oil-rich economy — the basis of neighboring Venezuela’s ruinous socialist revolution — they’re looking to build a unified front against climate change. They’ve tried to distance themselves from the machismo of previous leftist eras, winning power by promising to protect the rights of women, LGBTQ people and Afro-indigenous communities. And they’re backed by a young, politically engaged electorate that took to the streets in massive numbers in recent years to protest inequality.
Maybe Brazil is next.
Francia Márquez, an Afro-Colombian human and environmental rights organizer, was elected vice president of Colombia. In her struggle to defend Afro-Colombian communities, Márquez organized a women’s march of 500 kilometers to protests illegal mining operations that were poisoning waterways and wildlife.
The group demonstrated in front of the interior ministry for almost 20 days. In the end, the activists won, as the government pledged to destroy all the illegal farms around the Ovejas [River].
"I am someone who raises my voice to stop the destruction of rivers, forests and moors. I am someone who dreams that one day human beings will change the economic model of death, to make way for building a model that guarantees life," she declared on her website.
This is what democracy looks like.
It’s Pride month and it’s graduation season. I am always moved when young people manage to celebrate their academic achievements while also powerfully demonstrating their political and moral convictions.
[The] “Employee Lifestyle Expectations” policy requires full-time staff to “reflect a traditional view on Biblical marriage and sexuality,” including barring them from participating in “same-sex sexual activity.”
The eloquent protest involved dozens of students foregoing the traditional handshake as they accepted their diplomas; instead, each graduate handed a pride flag to SPU’s Interim President.
Laur Lugos, a graduate of the private Christian university and one of the organizers of the protest also handed the Interim President a letter calling for his resignation and promising to
“disrupt and dismantle” ideologies and institutional powers that keep people out and away from “the love of Christ.”
Watch the demonstration at Seattle Pacific University.
This is our second great example this season.
If you missed it, check out Zander Moricz’s courageous-but-coded graduation speech.
Governor Hochul signed the John Lewis Voting Rights Act into law in NY yesterday.
The new law will implement a new procedure for political subdivisions, school districts or local governments, that have a history of voter disenfranchisement to apply for pre-clearance for any changes to procedures for holding elections.
It will also bar tactics that are deemed to be efforts to intimidate voters, expand language assistance beyond federal provisions and seeks to prevent the dilution of votes by protected classes of people.
This is good news. The only thing that would make it better is if it were federal law.
PowerShift Network (PSN) mobilizes the collective power of young people to mitigate climate change and create a just, clean energy future and resilient, thriving communities for all. I am an admirer of coalitions and their capacity for collective relentlessness, as they share resources, provide support, and follow the lead of BIPOC and frontline communities fighting for climate justice.
There’s a party this Saturday night in Brooklyn if you want to learn more about PSN.
RSVP and get more details (including COVID guidelines) here. If you can’t join the party, make a contribution to support PowerShift Network.
The crypto mining moratorium passed the state senate on June 2, shortly before the legislative body adjourned for the session. I wanted to check my facts on how long the after passage a bill can remain viable when the legislature is out of session.
In NYS, bills that are neither signed nor vetoed during the session become law after 10 days. After the session has ended, the governor has 30 days in which to sign or veto the bill; the failure to sign a bill functions as a pocket veto.
We have more than 10 days, so let’s keep the pressure on.
Contact Governor Hochul and let her know that you’re a climate voter and you support the crypto moratorium. This action has been updated!
NY Renews has prepared a comment for us to relay to the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation to affirm the importance of race as a factor in identifying the communities which must be prioritized for climate investment.
The Climate Justice Working Group has released their Draft Disadvantaged Community Criteria. These criteria are an essential part of the process of allowing the state to direct programs, energy investments, and economic development opportunities to high-risk communities.
At present, the DAC criteria include race as a key measure—a big win for environmental justice communities statewide, especially in light of the fact that the federal government’s Justice 40 criteria do not include race as a factor.
Take 15 seconds to let the DEC know that it is vital that race be considered a primary factor in mapping and criteria development.
Yesterday was World Refugee Day. It is too easy to forget all of the roughly 100 million people who are fleeing violence or persecution right now.
I know how unsettled I am just being out of my own home temporarily, knowing that I can return home in six weeks (AND I have a perfectly lovely place to stay)!
Make a gift to Human Rights Watch by the end of June and your contribution will multiplied 5x.
Sign this petition from the UNHCR to help refugees find safety.
Have a good day!
with love,
L