Happy Friday Pokemon hunters…. err, I mean Citizen Action Fam! Ok, so maybe I have a slight Pokemon Go addiction, but nothing serious, nope, I’m a casual fan. If you want to see addiction, just take a peek at my itunes playlist and see how many times I have listened to the Hamilton soundtrack. The other day I was so into the song that our New York City Organizer, Darius, had to pull the headphones from my ears and ask me to stop dancing on the office table. We were on fire this week, I tried to explain that to him, but he wouldn’t buy it. But once you see what we accomplished this week, I guarantee you will dance too. Ok, maybe not.
-Stanley
We are a people-powered organization. Support us in the movement for justice!
It’s Time to Pass the Right to Know Act. The fight for racial and criminal justice never ends and this week, the NYC chapter spent Wednesday and Thursday at City Hall with Communities for Police Reform (CPR) demanding that the City Council pass the Right to Know Act. The Right To Know Act is a legislative package that aims to protect the civil and human rights of New Yorkers while promoting communication, transparency, and accountability in everyday interactions between the NYPD and the public. Despite support from over 200 organizations and the majority of the Council, the bill has not gone up for a vote. Hmmm, I wonder why? When common sense legislation is having trouble passing, it’s up to us to call out our elected leaders. We spent much of the week doing that. Click here to read more about the events.
Donald Trump Needs to Release His Taxes. Well actually, he needs to build a wall in Trump Tower that keeps him away from the rest of us, but I digress. On Tuesday, July 12, the New York City Chapter of Citizen Action joined organization leaders and community members outside of Trump Tower to call on the presumptive Republican presidential nominee to release his tax returns. Despite four decades of presidents doing this, Trump thinks he can get away with keeping this secret. Probably the same way he think’s it’s ok to be racist, and xenophobic, and homophobic, and promote horrible economic policies. In short, he represents the worst possible option for President, let’s be honest. Trump couldn’t successfully lead a comb through that wig creature, let alone run a country. Click here to see photos from the action.
The System is Broken, But We Can Fix It. No. Really, we can. And one of the best ways to start that process is building a mass movement that understands that the only way to reverse runaway inequality is to join together and take our economy back from the super wealthy. On Thursday, July 14, our Southern Tier Regional Director Mary Clark and Communications Director Charlie Albanetti visited Utica to host a workshop on Reversing Runaway Inequality. With over 30 people in attendance, the activists in Utica are building that movement.
I am Public Ed. Now that the school year is over, it’s a perfect time to highlight something you’re proud of, or an experience that your child had in school this year that made you smile. The Alliance for Quality Education wants to help you tell that story, and they have a cool way of doing it. If you go to their website, you can create a meme and share your or a friend’s public school story. Click here to share your story.
JUSTICE WORKS
Times like this remind us of why it’s so important to be invested and prepared to build and sustain movements. But if you’re still a little lost, or are looking for ways to be an asset and an ally, come to Justice Works and find your space in the movement. Taking place on July 23 and 24, 2016, hundreds of New Yorkers who fight for justice will join together. Regardless of the issues you work on or how you work on them: if you’re an organizer, a volunteer, a door knocker, blogger, policy wonk, all of these things or none of them – Justice Works is the conference for you. It’s a great opportunity to talk with other Citizen Action leaders from around the state about the direction of our organization. Click here to register for Justice Works.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Join the Hudson Valley Chapter on July 27 for their monthly chapter meeting. Click here to RSVP.
The Hudson Valley Chapter is keeping busy this month! Join them on July 20, as they host a workshop on Runaway Inequality. Click here to RSVP
On July 16-17 just before both parties hold their conventions, over 1,000 people nationwide will go door to door in a National Doorstep Convention. Join us in the Hudson Valley, Capital Region, New York City and Western New York. Click Here to RSVP for Hudson Valley, Click Here to RSVP for NYC, Click Here to RSVP for the Capital District, Click Here to RSVP for Western New York.
Justice Works is right around the corner, I’ll give you all of the details in that week’s Activist Check-In, but it will be a lot more fun if you’re there in person. Click here to register.
Activist Check-In Podcast
The Activist Check-In Podcast is back and it’s better than ever! For this week’s episode, I interview one of the newest members of the Citizen Action Family, Jamaica Miles – our new Capital District Organizer. Jamaica, besides possibly being wonder woman, has a lot of plans for the Capital District and has some very particular feelings about Batman and Prince. I could tell you what she said, but where would the fun in that be? To meet Jamaica, and learn more about her, you’re just going to have to tune in. Click here to get your formal introduction to Jamaica.
Shameless Plug, but for a Good Cause
So usually I wouldn’t do this, but I thought it was important to share with you guys. I host a podcast with a couple of friends from college. Last Sunday, we had the opportunity to speak to one of the 12 officers suing the NYPD for racial profiling. It was an eye-opening conversation that gave us a lot of insight into the Broken Windows policy and how officers are trained. Click here to listen to the interview.
IN THE NEWS
Crain’s New York. Our Executive Director, Karen Scharff, joined Morris Pearl, Chairperson from the Patriotic Millionaires, to pen this op-ed in Crain’s to highlight how Trump uses hate and fear to divide our communities for the benefit of the super-rich. Release your tax returns now, Mr. Trump
Time Warner Cable News. Earlier this week, Gov. Cuomo declined to say if he’d support Democratic candidates for State Senate. Though he later changed his tune, Karen spoke up to explain how the Senate Republicans are the only roadblock to winning so many issues that are important to our communities. Gov. Cuomo Touts Ability to Work with Republicans Despite Supporting Dems
TAKE ACTION!
Ultra-conservatives from known hate groups were behind writing much of the Republican National Committee’s official party platform. This intolerance isn’t just disgusting, it’s dangerous. Tell NY Republicans to reject these ideas before their platform is finalized! Click here to take a stand.
Our communities should be welcoming and safe for all people, including transgender people. Ulster County can lead New York State in rejecting hate and intolerance, showing that all are welcome in our community. Click here to help put an end to gender discrimination.
Want daily updates and live footage of our events and actions? We can make that happen (I know a guy). Click here to follow us on Twitter and get real-time updates. If you’re looking for cool articles, memes, and a little conversation, like our Facebook page here.