Happy Tuesday, Activists!
These are exciting times, with the prospect of correcting and improving the policies that make our democracy stronger but that have been left to deteriorate over the past few decades. Voting rights, climate change, social justice, you get the idea.
So with the economy needing significant help and the need for racial justice as acute as ever, the time is beyond ripe for a bold new vision to create millions of good jobs, revive our economy, and address the overlapping crises of unemployment, racial injustice, public health, and climate. The THRIVE Resolution aims to do all of that.
THRIVE insists that President Biden’s recovery bill include provisions to achieve practical, necessary goals, such as creating millions of union jobs while averting climate and environmental catastrophe, ensuring fairness for workers and communities affected by economic transitions, and so much more. Read more about it here and check out this video from Indivisible for more info.
And side by side with that critical agenda, democracy reform must be our other priority. Without a functional democracy we can’t achieve any of our other progressive goals. This is even more urgent as Republican state legislatures move to pass anti-democracy voter suppression laws across the country.
The House has already passed H.R. 1 (the For the People Act) and now House Democrats must pledge to pass H.R. 51, the D.C. Statehood bill, as quickly as possible. And the Senate must pass S.1 now that H.R. 1 has been sent to the upper chamber.
So . . . this week and next we will keep the pressure on our legislators to pass these bills. First is today’s Call To Action, below. Second, next Tuesday is our meeting with Senator Bob Casey – and we have questions! We’ll be asking all about this legislation – where it all stands, his support of the bills, and what happens next. The meeting is next Tuesday, April 6, at 5:30 pm. Sign up here to attend. We’ll have more action items for you next week too. Want to help us with a cool video we're sharing at the Casey meeting? Take a sheet of paper, write one of the messages below in marker, and take a photo of yourself holding the sign! Then email your selfie to Pennsylvania.indivislble@gmail.com. This is a great way to tell Senator Casey the changes we want to see. An example selfie is below. It only takes five minutes so have some fun!
Here are the suggested messages for your signs:
1. #BEBOLDBOB
2. VOTING RIGHTS NOW
3. PASS S1
4. STATEHOOD FOR DC
5. END THE FILIBUSTER
CALL TO ACTION
Sen. Toomey – Phila offices: 215-241-1090; D.C. 202-224-4254; email link
Sen. Casey – Phila office 215-405-9660; D.C. 202-224-6324 email link.
Rep. Evans – D.C. office 202-225-4001; Phila. office 215-276-0340; email link
Rep. Boyle – D.C. office 202-225-6111; Phila. office 215-335-3355 email link.
For outside Philadelphia:
Find your House Representative’s phone number and email at this link.
Find your Senators’ phone numbers and emails at this link.
Call your House representative and ask them to pass H.R. 51, the D.C. Statehood bill, as soon as possible. Also, tell them how important it is to you that they pass the THRIVE Resolution.
Call our Senators and tell them to pass S.1, the For The People Act, as soon as possible. Also, tell them how important it is to you that they co-sponsor the THRIVE Resolution.
You can volunteer to help Philadelphia in its vaccine effort.
Make phone calls to share important information or be added to a general volunteer interest through the City of Philadelphia; click here to submit your contact info.
Sign up for the Philadelphia Medical Reserve Corps: email MRC@phila.gov for details on how to get involved in responding to Public Health Emergencies and the COVID-19 vaccination effort. Volunteer opportunities are for both medical and non-medical volunteers.
Search for other opportunities to volunteer: serve.volunteermatch.org.
If you have issues filling out the online form, call 3-1-1 to get connected with a volunteer opportunity or add your name to the general volunteer interest form.
Primary Election Deadlines –
Monday, May 3, 2021: Last day to register to vote
Tuesday, May 11, 2021, at 5 pm: Last day to request an absentee or mail-in ballot
Tuesday, May 18, 2021: Primary Election Day
Tuesday, May 18, 2021, at 8 pm: Completed mail-in ballots must be received by your county election office. Postmarked is not enough.
Mail-In Voting
Don’t forget, even if you signed up to vote by mail last year you’ll need to renew your application again for this year, even if you signed up to be on the “permanent” list.
You can sign up on the state website here. Or you can fill out the paper application sent from your local election board.
POSTCARDS
Postcard events are back! On Zoom of course. If you signed up for our Virginia postcard project then join us to write them “together” this Thursday. Just a note, this is a smaller project, so we opened it up to writers in Philadelphia and a few surrounding communities. We’ll have more to write soon!
Cards & Cocktails – This Thursday, April 1st – no fooling!
6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. Sign up here.
Before you go . . . While we are pushing for critical legislation to be passed, we at Indivisible Philadelphia HQ are hard at work preparing a lot of exciting events starting in the next month or two. Once we know you are comfortable being out registering voters (from a distance), and going door to door, and other actions, we will be announcing a robust schedule of events for you to participate in. So stay tuned for those announcements. We'll have sign-ups soon!
And as always,
Be safe. Wear a mask. Keep a distance. Get a vaccine when you can.
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