Unleash Your Activist!
March 3, 2017
Downtown Silver Spring
THIS WEEK’S
WHAT CAN I DO?
Stand Up for Immigrants
Murder, threats, demonization, desecration, deportation: resistance is urgent.
Call your representatives today and insist that they take concrete steps to protect immigrant populations and reach across the aisle to reverse this administration’s policy direction. Script. Contact info (MD).
Remember Srinivas Kuchibhotla, murdered last week near Kansas City, by organizing a vigil or moment of silence on March 10, like this one in Boston.
Come to the Next Unleash Your Activist Meeting
Unleash Your Activist on Sunday, March 19 at 10am. Come write postcards for Congress, take pictures for social media, and find out what you can do for refugees and asylum seekers already in the country. Guest speaker: Jennifer Geetter, partner at McDermott Will & Emery. All are welcome! Click here to RSVP.
Stop Corruption
Call your representatives today to demand that Sessions resign. Our nation’s top law enforcement officer cannot be above the law and cannot serve from a compromised position. Use this informative script to prepare for your calls.
Stand Up for Women
On March 8, observe International Women’s Day by wearing red and disengaging from work and commerce. Find out more and pledge to participate here. For info on a DC protest on March 8 from 11am - 1:30pm, click here.
THIS WEEK’S
PROGRESS
Unleashed in the District
Michael Levin attended the DC Ward 3 Democrats meeting, where Jamie Raskin was introduced as if he is our representative in Congress... which in effect he is as he's perhaps the closest voting member with a strong commitment to the rights of DC residents and serves on the Government Oversight Committee that makes all the decisions affecting us. He’ll assign a staff member serve as a liaison to groups like ours.
The Ward 3 Dems are researching specific districts and candidates for Virginia legislative races this year to target several where they can have the most impact helping people who share our goals. There is talk of inviting candidates to DC to introduce themselves and seek support. We should consider holding fundraisers in addition to helping to help get out the vote, in connection with an existing DC group led by Chris Miller that mobilized for the 2016 election in VA and is now focusing on 3 races in northern VA. DC Councilmember Elissa Silverman is also someone to work with on this.
Unleashed in Maryland
The Silver Spring Town Hall meeting was huge and energetic and sent a great signal to our representatives. The more we engage, the more they listen.
Unleashed in Virginia
Voting rights. Two victories this week!
1) The VA Supreme Court ruled that a lower court used the wrong legal standard for 11 of the 12 districts in the suit. Plaintiffs claim that GOP lawmakers crowded black Virginians into these districts to keep others more white and more Republican. No word yet on whether this will affect 2017 statewide elections, but it will certainly have repercussions for the future of legislative lines in a major swing state. Bethune-Hill v. Virginia State Board of Elections - SCOTUSblog
2) The attempt to gerrymander the presidency by using voting districts as a basis for apportioning electoral votes has stalled out for now, with the relevant bills withdrawn or dead. [1][2][3][4]
Barbara Comstock was MIA during the recess; she did not organize or attend a town hall. [1] Help still needed to reach out to area groups such as Indivisible VA 10 to find out how we can help bring Democratic victories this year; contact Michael.
Unleashed National Issues
Stay connected with those who are vulnerable. Their stories matter, and sometimes we can change the outcome. Asylum-seeker Sara Beltran Hernandez has been released on bond to seek medical care for her brain tumor.
Unleash Your Activist
Neighbors helping neighbors engage on local & national issues.
Affiliated with Bend the Arc (a Jewish social justice organization)
and Indivisible (making Congress listen through best practices).
To communicate with the whole group email unleash-your-activist@googlegroups.com
To suggest an item, update, or correction, contact amyeisner@gmail.com. Photos welcome!
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