Happy Tuesday, Activists!
126 DAYS UNTIL THE ELECTION
It’s been a long week already! But we are strong. We know how to win (remember the mid-terms!). And we’ll keep pushing forward to make the changes we want. We know taking action reduces the stress we’re coping with during this time and we’re here for you!
OUR NEXT MOVIE NIGHT – JULY 15, 7:00 PM
Thank you to everyone who voted in our survey about our next Movie Night! The results are in and the winning movie is Ava Duvernay’s stunning documentary 13th, which examines the direct connections between slavery and modern-day mass incarceration.
We’ll be watching “together” using Netflix Party, allowing us to sync up the experience and "chat" during the movie. Sign up here. It's easy! You'll just need to install Netflix Party in your Chrome browser on your laptop or desktop (sorry, tablets and phones won't work).
Sign up and we'll send you the simple instructions to get set up!
CALL TO ACTION Our previous Calls to Action are at this link.
Sen. Casey – Phila office 215-405-9660; D.C. office 202-224-6324; email link
Sen. Toomey – Phila office 215-241-1090; D.C. office 202-224-4254; email link
1. Call our Senators and demand they vote YES on the DC Statehood bill.
This historic bill passed in the House last week, acknowledging that D.C.’s 700,000+ residents live without their constitutional rights as Americans, lacking full representation in Congress and control over their own affairs. A historically Black city, D.C.’s lack of statehood is a remnant of Reconstruction when racist white politicians sought to prevent the District’s plurality of Black residents from gaining political power. Read more about it in our “National” Call To Action in last week’s newsletter here.
This is our chance to not only stand up for the rights of D.C. residents, but to build a stronger democracy that more accurately reflects our values of equality and fairness for all.
Call Senator Casey – He is already a co-sponsor on this bill. Call and thank him and ask him to raise his voice more strongly in support of this bill.
Call Senator Toomey and demand he vote yes on this bill.
2. Demand our senators pass the Heroes Act immediately without watering it down.
On May 15 House Democrats passed the fourth coronavirus package, the Heroes Act. The bill improves significantly on the CARES Act, especially on democracy and protections for immigrants, and provides additional financial relief and public health measures.
Unemployment insurance benefits from the CARES Act are set to run out on July 31. We must extend and expand coronavirus relief legislation – vulnerable people across the country are depending on it.
3. Keep up the pressure on City Council! So many of you joined the fight to support and protect people of color from state sanctioned violence, but the truth is a lot of that work has to happen locally, in Philadelphia. Call our Philadelphia elected officials (find them here and here) and demand that they defund the police and invest those funds in the resources people need.
If you want more context, check out Indivisible’s video where they explain exactly what we mean by #DefundThePolice. You can read more background in our previous weeks’ newsletters here and here.
Update on Voting By Mail
Good news! The state web page for online sign-up to vote by mail is back up! Click here to sign up.
Can’t remember whether you signed up for VBM for November too? Check your status at this link. If no records show up for you, just sign up again and you’ll be all set.
Check out our new web page with tons of voter resources here.
Other Events
1. TONIGHT– Join the PennLive Facebook Live Forum on Police, Race and Equality; 6:00 – 7:30 PM. – Sign up here.
The event, called “From Protest to Progress: A Community Conversation on Race and Equality,” is in response to the clear demand PennLive readers to continue the dialogue they started with the weekday Facebook Live discussions that began in March to talk through the coronavirus as well as the uproar over the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
2. TONIGHT– Virtual Rally – Indivisible is partnering with Take Back the Court and Demand Justice for an hour-long virtual rally at 8pm EDT. Join Indivisible, Senator Elizabeth Warren, Representative Ilhan Omar, Representative Ro Khanna, Alicia Garza, W. Kamau Bell, and Dan Pfeiffer to delve deeper into the problems facing our courts and how and why we should reform them. RSVP HERE to help close out this SCOTUS term with a clear message that we are not powerless.
3. Are you or someone you know not sure of the details for safe working conditions in Philadelphia during COVID? You can check out this COVID-19 Worker Safety Workshop, put out by Philly Dept of Health at this link.
POSTCARDS For easy access, all of our events are at this link.
We are up to over 32,000 Philadelphia voters we’re writing to so far. Over 300 volunteers are on this team and many more signing up every day! But it’s 2020 we need all hands on deck! Click this link to sign up for our Vote By Mail (VBM) project.
We just started Sunday VBM “Office Hours.” Every Sunday at noon we’ll meet on Zoom to catch up. You can drop in to say hi, you can write postcards, ask some questions, shoot the breeze, or have brunch with us, whatever you want. And if you haven’t signed up to write postcards yet you can stop by and ask what it’s all about. We’ll be there!
Every Sunday 12:00 to 2:00 PM. Sign up here.
Here’s the VBM program plan.
We are targeting areas with low VBM sign-up rates. These are typically underserved communities of color and areas of high COVID-19 rates as well. We believe these are areas we can have the most impact.
Here’s how it works:
1. You buy pre-stamped postcards from the Postal Service either at your local post office or online at this link. They are 39 cents each and we recommend you buy at least 50 postcards.
2. We will send you the instructions for writing the postcards, the script, and the addresses.
3. You’ll write the postcards and mail them as they are completed.
4. You can join a Zoom postcard party or write cards at home on your own. It all gets it done!
So are you in?
Click this link to tell us you want to win in November.
Virtual Postcard Events
Twice per week we meet on Zoom to catch up and write postcards together.
Virtual Cards & Coffee – Every Wednesday
Sign up for any Wednesday – Pick the date you want when you sign up, 11:00 am to 1:00 pm (stay for as long as you want). Sign up here.
Virtual Cards & Cocktails – Every Thursday
Sign up for any Thursday – Pick the date you want when you sign up. 6-8 pm (stay for as long as you want). Sign up here.
Stay safe. Stay sane. Wear a mask. We'll see you soon.
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