BLM actions to take

Action #1 – UPDATED! Actions for Breonna

UPDATE: KENTUCKY AG agrees to release Breonna Taylor Grand Jury tapes! (slate) This is a good interview with the Taylor family lawyer after the grand jury announcement.

Action #2 – NAACP – “HOLD RBG’s SEAT!”

Call your Senators TODAY at 202-224-3121, and urge them to HOLD the Supreme Court seat open. The Senate must wait until a new President is sworn in.

Civil Rights Leaders Issue Statement on Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Legacy and the Supreme Court’s Critical Role in Protecting Civil Rights here. “…“We oppose any attempt by the president and the Senate to fill Justice Ginsburg’s seat prior to the commencement of Congress’ new session and the presidential inauguration in January 2021. Any such effort is an affront to democratic principles and a violation of the trust of the American people who, at this very moment are voting in states all over this country to select their next president and senators, and it is only fitting that these newly-elected officials determine who will receive a lifetime seat on the most powerful and consequential court in the country.” (More here)

Action #3 – Additional actions to take for Black Lives Matter

There’s a lot here. Space them out, a few a day. Contact information for officials, from city to the feds, here.

  • “The Anti-Racism in Public Health Act of 2020: Sen. Warren and Reps. Ayanna Pressley & Barbara Lee unveiled historic legislation today which confronts the public health impact of structural racism. “The Anti-Racism in Public Health Act of 2020,” the legislation is the first of its kind and would harness the power of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to research health disparities and propose antiracist policies to eradicate racial divides in health outcomes. There is no number yet – read about it here, here and here.
    • Minimal script: I’m calling from [zip code] and I expect to see the name of  Rep./Sen. [___] as a cosponsor on the “The Anti-Racism in Public Health Act of 2020.“
  • George Floyd Justice in Policing Act: The House has already passed H.R. 7120 – The “George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2020” and H.R. 4  – The “Voting Rights Advancement Act“. The Senate versions: S.3912 – “Justice is Policing Act of 2020” and S.561  – “Voting Rights Advancement Act” have NOT been passed yet. ((3) actions in honor of John Lewis)
    • Call your senators to either thank ’em or spank ’em for their support and cosponsorship of these bills. (Thank Sens. Feinstein and Harris for already being cosponsored both. Check for yours here –  S.3912 and for S.561)
    • Minimal script: I’m calling from [zip code] to [ask/thank] Sen. [___] [to support/for supporting] S.3912 “Justice in Policing Act of 2020” and S.561  – “Voting Rights Advancement Act.”
  • BLM Reading: 9/12/2020 – Statement by Patrisse Cullors, Executive Director, Black Lives Matter Global Network in Response to Pat Robertson’s Comments on the Black Lives Matter Movement
  • Jacob Blake: Sign the Color of Change petition to demand the officer who shot Jacob “Jake” Blake in broad daylight is held accountable for attempting to take Jake’s life. There are a number of actions of actions – we gave them their own page here. 
  • End “Qualified Immunity: Tell your representative you expect to see their names on the cosponsor list for  H.R.7085, the Ending Qualified Immunity Act. Under qualified immunity, government officials, including police officers, can only be sued if they “knowingly violate the law”. This much lower standard prevents many police officers from being held accountable in court.
    • Minimal script: I’m calling from [zip code] and I want Rep. [___] to cosponsor H.R. 7085– the Ending Qualified Immunity Act
      • (Check herefor your rep.  – Brownley and Carbajal have NOT cosponsored this bill  yet.)
  • Laws against police actions: 7 actions  in this post you can take to add your strength to this fight, including
    • Senators: “YES” on S.4220 – “Preventing Authoritarian Policing Tactics on America’s Streets Act
    • Representatives: “YES” on H.R.7711 “To require the display of certain identification for certain law enforcement officers
    • Representatives/Senators: “YES” on HR. 7221 – “Prohibiting Law Enforcement Use of Chemical Weapons Act” and  S.4114 – “No Tear Gas or Projectiles Act.”
    • Representatives: “YES” on H.R. 1714 – Stop Militarizing Law Enforcement Act
  • Police unions: Join Color of Change in the No Cash From Cops campaign, in asking our local, state, and federal officials to donate any police union campaign donations that they have received to bail funds and mutual aid organizations and to publicly commit to rejecting these funds in the future. Call, email, and tweet at them.
    • Minimal script: I’m calling from [zip code] I want to know if [___] has consigned the Color of Change pledge to refuse to take political donations from police unions or sheriff associations. Furthermore, is [___] willing to donate any contributions you have taken in the last year to Black-led community-strengthening initiatives.

Additional calls: for information and scripts, go here.

Contact information for officials, from city to the feds, here.

  • Join in the boycott of Goya Foods!
  • Make discriminatory 911 Calls in CA a hate crime – “YES” on AB1550
  • Call your legislators about the ICE “Citizen Academy” boondoggle.
  • Make DC a state: Call your Senators and demand they cosponsor S.631 – Washington DC Admission Act
  • Send some postcards to ICE! – Stop these crimes against humanity now.
  • “NO” on throwing more money at the military: Call your senators and demand vote “NO” on S.4049 – the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
  • Bounty-Hunting: What are they going to do about reports that Trump ignored or dismissed Putin-funded Taliban bounty-hunting?
  • Rent is due on July 1st, and millions won’t be able to pay. Pass “HR 7301″ – Emergency Housing Protections and Relief Act of 2020”. UPDATE: [H.R.7301 which waspassed by the House this week] CALL YOUR SENATORS!
  • Stop Water Shutoffs!: Send a letter to your Senators today demanding a nationwide moratorium on water shutoffs.
  • No more Tear Gas!: Call your legislators to make one’s right to protest safe from chemical warfare.”YES” on H.R. 7221 – “To prohibit law enforcement officers from using chemical weapons in the course of policing activities, and for other purposes.”
  • Poor People’s Campaign: Call your legislators to enact the planks of the Poor People’s Campaign
  • #Juneteenth – No more Excuses – Time to make Juneteenth a nation holiday. “YES” on HR 7232!
  • Yes on Reparations study: CALL ACTION #2: It’s past time to make amends! “YES” on HR 40/S.1038 – Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans Act.
  • No more contributions from law enforcement unions
  • Join the Poor People’s Campaign: Both presidential candidates were invited to address the Poor People’s Campaign yesterday. Only Biden showed up, his full remarks outlining his plans for $15 min wage, universal healthcare, fully funded public education, pre-K to 12, free tuition at public universities, affordable housing as a right, & max of 7% of income for childcare. (watch full remarks here)

Join the We Must Do M.O.R.E. campaign here. (Mobilize, Organize, Register and Educate People for Movement that votes!) People are coming together to create a transformative moral agenda to fight systemic racism, poverty, ecological devastation, militarism and the war economy, and the false moral narrative of religious nationalism into a powerful moral fusion movement that votes!