We've committed to volunteering our team's time to activism. Each employee gets paid to spend a minimum of two hours per week on activism.

This week we're addressing a variety of issues that have a high impact on marginalized communities. We're contacting government to demand accountability for police brutality and ICE detention. We're also writing and calling to demand safe access to voting rights, communications services, food security and PPE for individuals who need it the most.

Below is a list of what we're doing this week - it's organized so you can easily join us in enacting change. We've also complied a section of ongoing resources that have come in handy throughout this process.

At the bottom of this post, you can find some thoughts from us about the activism work we did this week.

Government

→ Read this, then write to Senate to support the passing of the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.

→ Submit a public comment to support the creation of a new Community Safety & Violence Prevention Department and remove the Police Department from the Minneapolis Charter.

→ Call your local representative (find them here) to ask to block Trump’s Secret Federal Police Force.

Police Brutality

→ Sign petition to hold Detroit Police accountable for police brutality

→ Call to demand an investigation on the murder of DJ Henry by Police officer Aaron Hess

→ Call to demand justice for the murder of Muhammad Mhayim by Phoenix Police Department

COVID-19

→ Write to Congress to show support for the COVID-19 Compassion and Martha Wright Prison Phone Justice Act (part of the HEROES act) to allow for affordable access to communication for incarcerated people

→ Call your representative to make sure healthcare workers have proper access to PPE

→ Sign petition to waive COBRA fees to help protect the most at-risk groups from medical bankruptcy  

→ Call your local representative (find them here) to demand that lawmakers provide robust guidelines to ensure schools are safe to reopen

ICE

→ Call Congress to demand that we end the zero tolerance policy at the border, and fight back against ICE detention

→ Read RAICES letter to Daniel Bible, ICE San Antonio Field Office Director, and then use this form to send a message to ICE to demand the release of all immigrants at risk of COVID-19

→ Use this form to email Congress to demand families be released from detention together

→ Use this form to email Congress to support the Coronavirus Immigration Family Protection Act

Community support

→ Phone Bank for #FreeThemAll by Raices (The Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Service)

→ Email Congress to maintain funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) which feeds families struggling with food insecurity

→ Call the FCC to advocate against the discontinuation of the Lifeline program which provides accessible phone services for poor people, people of color, seniors, veterans and people with disabilities.

 

ONGOING RESOURCES

Find out who represents you and how to contact them

ACLU Volunteer Calling

We've signed up for the ACLU's Volunteer Call Team. They make it very easy - they provide a call training guide and call scripts.

→ Sign up for ACLU Call Team

 

Donation resources

General/Community

→ Support Color of Change, an Oakland-based organization that we refer to often!

→ Donate to the National Domestic Workers Alliance

→ Donate to the National Bail Fund Network Emergency Response Fund

→ Donate to Black Visions Collective MN

→ Latinx History Project Queer Families Covid-19 Relief Fund

 

Donations to support Native Americans

→ Donate to help support Native Americans during the covid-19 crisis. Native American communities are at a severely high risk during the pandemic.

→ Native Philanthropy Resource Library

→ Adopt a Native Elder donation program

→ Navajo & Hopi Families COVID-19 Relief Volunteer Form to arrange safe food and supply drop-offs

→ One Sioux Falls Fund to help individuals/families avoid evictions

→ Help a Native college student with their educational goals and financial needs

 

Donations to support black trans people

Direct giving is the most available and requested option to support Black Trans people. Here are some resources to donate to.

→ Black Trans Travel Fund (East Coast)

→ The Okra Project's Nina Pop and Tony McDade mental health fund (provides Black male or female therapists to Trans people)

Nina Pop Fund (For female therapists)

Tony McDade Fund (For male therapists)

→ For the Gworls Covid Medical Fund (pays for travel for medical appointments)

→ Free Covid care packages including safe sex kit

→ Free one year supply of HRT needles



Donations to support trans people

→ Point of Pride Covid Emergency Fund

→ Updated list of GoFundMes for Trans Women

 

Other resources and ways to support

→ Find a Mutual Aid Network near you via Mutual Aid Hub

→ Volunteer your skills virtually to a Nonprofit

→ Showing up for Racial Justice - an organization to mobilize white people for racial justice

→ Black Trans Femmes in the Arts

→ Nationwide Volunteering Opportunities compiled by Equal Justice Initiative

 

Read 

Patia’s Fantasy World Master List of Resources on How to Dismantle Systemic Racism

2020 Police Brutality Repository

Felony disenfranchisement by Brennan Center

Frameworks and Organizing Strategy Resources by Community Justice Exchange

Rachel Cargle’s The Great Unlearn

thoughts from Team S&S about our activism this week

Mari:

It was interesting this week to set up our activism task list. It is very involved work, and I found it surprisingly difficult to find actionable items. To add insult to injury a lot of links that worked yesterday are suddenly broken! I’m interested in continuing to seek out opportunities for this sort of activism, as it was really informative to read further about the issues currently on the table.

Gen:

In honour of John Lewis, whom we have lost 5 days ago, and his legacy for being one of many modern day civil rights leaders in bringing us toward the progress we’ve made to this day, I’ve written to the Senate to push for the passing of the Voting Rights Advancement Act as efforts to prep the people of this nation with the rights to contribute in making proper decisions for this country, especially with the November election fast approaching. I continued my pressure toward the ridding of Trump’s Secret Federal Police Force, along with the proper defunding of police countrywide, whilst this country I should be proud of being born in are guilty of acts similar to that of the Gestapo in Nazi Germany. It sickens me to currently be a part of a country that was once a superpower that fought the Axis and liberated the oppressed only to later on imitate the evils that we have defeated in WWII.

Erin:

I spent a lot of time today and earlier this week contacting my local representatives about addressing voters' rights and voicing support for the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, since, ya know, we have that big election coming up, and it's kind of important that people be able to vote. Kinda the whole thing this country was founded on, or so I thought? But who knows. We also seem to have an excellent track record of Suppressing that ability for certain folks, so. Conflicting messages there. I also sent my third e-mail of the week to San Francisco's own London Breed, about her (lack of a) response to the treatment of homeless individuals in SF both now and pre-pandemic. Her office has stopped responding to my e-mails, which is Annoying and Rude, but that definitely isn't gonna stop me from continuing to e-mail them and let them know what I think about Breed's inability to get anything done!!!! You ain't seen nothin' yet, London!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Elliot:

Firstly shout out to Mari for the hard work in putting this list together. I spent my time this week alternating between working through the list of tasks laid out and sending angry emails to Kamala Harris and Dianne Feinstein, who both voted against the 10% reduction in the Pentagon’s budget. Too many Democrat representatives will talk like they care and then vote exactly the same as Republicans- Harris and Feinstein being two very recent examples with this bill. After that I signed whatever petitions I could and made some phone calls to representatives about the Voting Rights Advancement Act, since we’re now just a few months away from the most significant election of my short lifetime.

James:

Started my activism this week by honoring John Lewis by writing for passing voting rights advancement. I spent the majority of my time calling and writing federal and local representatives addressing the T word sending Federal Troops to Albuquerque.

By Mari Jacobson

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