May, 18 2020, 12:00am EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Donte Donald (Color Of Change PAC), Marisol Bello (Community Change Action), Monica Robinson (Planned Parenthood Votes), Eunic Ortiz (SEIU)
Color Of Change PAC, Community Change Action, Planned Parenthood Votes, Service Employees International Union Launch $30 Million "Win Justice" Campaign to Expand the Electorate in Key Battleground States
Partnership marks massive collaboration among leading progressive groups with a strong track record of turning out infrequent voters of color.
WASHINGTON
Today, a group of leading progressive organizations, including Color Of Change PAC, Community Change Action, Planned Parenthood Votes, and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), launched a $30 million campaign, Win Justice, to expand the electorate by mobilizing at least three million voters of color, young people, women, and union supporters in four key battleground states: Florida, Minnesota, Nevada, and Wisconsin. As many states shift election dates, modify polling places, and move to mail-in ballots, Win Justice will make an investment that is large enough to directly impact election results in each state and work to make voting accessible while combating systemic voter suppression. Win Justice will be particularly focused on the impact of vote-by-mail on historically marginalized Black, Latino, and Asian American and Pacific Islander communities and will engage these voters so they exercise their right to vote.
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread across the country and many face rising unemployment and lost wages, voters of color are at greatest risk of being disenfranchised, especially by Republican voter suppression efforts. The Win Justice campaign will adjust to this reality by combining digital tools with traditional methods to connect with these voters. In addition to in-person field organizing if health officials deem it safe, the campaign will engage more deeply with voters by mail and phone, sending personalized postcards, and holding one-on-one conversations. The campaign will also focus on innovative digital organizing tools and a robust paid media campaign to Get Out The Vote.
"By prioritizing people of color, women, and young people through sustained, thoughtful engagement, Win Justice has the potential to expand the realms of possibility in our politics. When these groups of people vote, they consistently vote for more progressive candidates and policies, such as climate justice, immigration, social justice, women's rights," said Rashad Robinson, Spokesperson for Color Of Change PAC. "We are excited to continue building on the success of Win Justice in 2018. Real and consistent efforts to incorporate these voters and their specific voices into policymaking and politics would not only make our communities more just and equitable, but also shift power to the people that are too often overlooked."
"The Win Justice program is groundbreaking because it upends business-as-usual politics that deprioritizes low propensity voters of color or takes our vote for granted," said Lorella Praeli, President of Community Change Action. "It's never been more important than now during the coronavirus pandemic when we have to ensure voters of color remain civically engaged and exercise their right to vote. We see time and again that when you organize black, brown and immigrant voters in our communities, whether it is online or in-person, when you reach out to us about the issues we care about and when we hear from the people we know and trust, black, brown and immigrant voters will engage and vote. This program is not just about individual elections, but about reshaping the electorate to fundamentally shift the balance of power in this country and to engage -- and turn out -- voters that campaigns or parties may not otherwise reach."
"There can be no justice until we elect champions who will fight for reproductive freedom," said Jenny Lawson, Executive Director of Planned Parenthood Votes. "The stakes for abortion access and reproductive health care have never been so high, and sitting on the sidelines is simply not an option. Planned Parenthood Votes is proud to fight shoulder to shoulder with our allies in this movement. We need to reach the communities who have been targeted and silenced by this administration and the people in power -- from voters of color, to immigrants, to young people, to women. Enough is enough: While our country's health care needs continue to rise in the face of a global pandemic, it's time for the politicians who attack our health care and our reproductive rights to lose their jobs."
"Working people, whether on the frontlines of this public health crisis or struggling in this economic crisis, are more engaged in politics now than in any election in our lifetimes," said Mary Kay Henry, International President of the Service Employees International Union. "Working people are making their voices heard loud and clear in this election that we must protect all workers - especially after being asked to risk their lives by going to work without protective equipment or hazard pay. Win Justice is about prioritizing deep engagement with Black, brown and Asian Pacific Islander voters. Workers and communities of color can't afford to return to normal - we need to reject the inequality and economic pain that defines COVID but was present long before COVID. That's what this election is about. Win Justice is the first step toward a better future where we rewrite the rules, rebuild the economy based on workers' power and reinvest in communities."
"Win Justice is committed to empowering voters, building power for our communities, and standing against the incompetent leadership that is putting the lives of so many at risk - especially now during the coronavirus pandemic," said Melissa Morales, Florida State Director for Win Justice. "We built a successful campaign in the 2018 cycle that mobilized and engaged our communities and increased Democratic turnout. Our 2020 campaign will build on that success by expanding the electorate; engaging voters of color, working people, and women; and mobilizing enough voters to make a winning difference in these crucial battleground states."
This groundbreaking coalition of leading progressive organizations, each of which have a track record of running large scale voter turnout in these communities, will have a particular focus on infrequent voters of color, including young people and women. The $30 million Win Justice campaign will be multilingual and lean on trusted community messengers to mobilize voters, including a robust virtual organizing effort that includes phone, text, mail, and digital as well as paid advertising on TV, radio, and digital platforms.
Thanks to the collaboration of the partner organizations and their unique expertise, Win Justice can connect and educate voters on immigrant, worker and reproductive rights, health care, economic, and racial justice issues. Utilizing powerful messengers with lived experiences, Win Justice will have an unmatched ability to organize communities, mobilize voters, and hold elected officials accountable. Win Justice can also hold elected officials accountable for incompetent leadership that puts the lives of millions of Americans at risk, including front line workers in Black, Latino, and Asian American and Pacific Islander communities.
Unlike many other organizations that focus on persuading high frequency voters, Win Justice is focused on expanding the electorate to drive infrequent and new voters to the polls to fundamentally change the voices at the table and the outcome of the election. Rather than only doing a last minute "Get Out the Vote" push days before the election, Win Justice partner organizations are on the ground for the long haul, earning the trust of these communities, engaging partners on the ground, and driving toward grassroots victories -- not just in November, but for years to come.
The Win Justice partnership builds on a successful collaboration in the 2018 cycle when Win Justice organizers and partners knocked on more than 3.4 million doors, achieved 80 million digital impressions, sent more than 2.1 million texts, and made more than 800,000 phone calls in Florida, Michigan, and Nevada combined, increasing Democratic turnout by one full percentage point.
Community Change Action is a national organization that builds power from the ground up. We believe that effective and enduring social movements must be led by those most impacted by injustice and voting is one essential lever of change.
LATEST NEWS
PEN America Cancels Awards Ceremony Amid Boycott Over 'Disgraceful' Gaza Response
"We cannot, in good faith, align with an organization that has shown such blatant disregard of our collective values," a group of authors and translators wrote in an open letter.
Apr 23, 2024
The prominent free expression group PEN America announced Monday that it has canceled its 2024 literary awards ceremony amid growing backlash over the organization's response to Israel's assault on Gaza and alleged attempts to suppress dissent among its employees.
The decision came after nearly half of the authors nominated for PEN America awards withdrew their names from consideration, accusing PEN America of not sufficiently speaking out against Israel's war on Gaza and the dire consequences for free expression.
The awards ceremony was scheduled to take place on April 29 in Manhattan.
In an open letter released last week, dozens of authors and translators who refused to accept any honors from the organization wrote that "PEN America has remained shamefully unwilling to speak out against the systematic nature" of Israel's "often-targeted killings of Palestinian writers, professors, and journalists and their families."
"We stand in solidarity with one another and with the people of Palestine in our refusal to lend our names and tacit approval to PEN America's disgraceful inaction," reads the open letter, which demands the resignation of PEN America CEO Suzanne Nossel, president Jennifer Finney Boylan, and the group's entire executive committee.
"We cannot, in good faith, align with an organization that has shown such blatant disregard of our collective values," the letter adds. "We stand in solidarity with a free Palestine. We refuse to be honored by an organization that acts as a cultural front for American imperialism. We refuse to gild the reputation of an organization that runs interference for an administration aiding and abetting genocide with our tax dollars. And we refuse to take part in anything that will serve to overshadow PEN's complicity in normalizing genocide."
"We have been disgusted, for months, by the sight of these leaders clinging to a disingenuous façade of neutrality."
Clarisse Rosaz Shariyf, PEN America's literary programming chief officer, said in a statement Monday that "we greatly respect that writers have followed their consciences, whether they chose to remain as nominees in their respective categories or not."
"We regret that this unprecedented situation has taken away the spotlight from the extraordinary work selected by esteemed, insightful, and hard-working judges across all categories," Rosaz Shariyf added. "As an organization dedicated to freedom of expression and writers, our commitment to recognizing and honoring outstanding authors and the literary community is steadfast."
Outrage over PEN America's approach to Israel's war on the Gaza Strip has been intensifying for months.
In March, as Common Dreamsreported at the time, Naomi Klein, Michelle Alexander, and other high-profile writers pulled out of the PEN World Voices Festival, accusing PEN America of betraying "the organization's professed commitment to peace and equality for all, and to freedom and security for writers everywhere."
After initially refusing to do so, PEN America late last month joined its global parent PEN International in calling for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza. But the organization's critics—including current and former employees—argue it has failed to clearly and forcefully condemn Israel's assault, which has killed more than 34,000 people in Gaza and fueled a catastrophic humanitarian emergency.
"We have been disgusted, for months, by the sight of these leaders clinging to a disingenuous façade of neutrality while parroting hasbara talking points," the open letter from PEN America award nominees states. "We have also been appalled to learn that management has sought to suppress the off-hours political speech and activity of its own workers, in part by suggesting language by which staffers could be punished for participating in any political activity that undermines PEN America's mission."
The Interceptreported late last month that PEN America staffers also raised concerns in December over Nossel's decision to visit Israel amid the country's devastating attack on Gaza.
"We are concerned that Suzanne Nossel's trip as planned will be perceived as a dismissal of the urgent and worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza and free expression and human rights violations in the West Bank and in Israel," the staffers wrote.
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Sanders Pushes Amendment to 'Cut Billions in Offensive Military Funding to Israel'
"Enough is enough," said Sen. Bernie Sanders. "We cannot continue to fund this horrific war."
Apr 23, 2024
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders said Monday that he would put forth an amendment to remove offensive military funding for Israel from a House-passed aid package that the Senate is set to consider this week.
The amendment would "cut billions in offensive military funding to Israel from the proposed national security supplemental package," Sanders (I-Vt.) said in a statement. The package, approved by the Republican-controlled House over the weekend, includes $17 billion in unconditional military assistance to the Israeli government, which stands accused on the world stage of perpetrating genocide in Gaza.
The senator said he would also offer an amendment to "protect essential humanitarian operations" in the Gaza Strip, where millions of people are facing the possibility of starvation due to Israel's suffocating and illegal blockade. At least 28 children under the age of 12 have starved to death in Gaza in recent weeks.
Sanders' amendment would restore U.S. funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), the most important aid agency working in Gaza.
An independent report released Monday found that Israel has not provided any evidence to support its claim that a significant number of UNRWA employees are members of terrorist organizations. The U.S. suspended its UNRWA aid in late January in response to Israel's unsubstantiated allegations against the agency's workers, and the House-passed Israel legislation would prohibit funding for the organization.
Sanders said Monday that the Senate "should have a chance to debate and vote on the key components of such a massive package."
"In poll after poll, Americans have showed their increasing disgust for [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu's war machine and the humanitarian disaster it has caused in Gaza," the senator added. "Enough is enough. We cannot continue to fund this horrific war."
I look forward to offering amendments tomorrow to cut billions in offensive military funding to Israel from the proposed national security supplemental package and protect essential humanitarian operations. We cannot continue to fund this horrific war. pic.twitter.com/8JpxpT7IX2
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) April 23, 2024
A Senate vote on final passage of the White House-backed aid package—which also includes aid for Ukraine and Taiwan—is expected before Wednesday night. As Punchbowl reported, "each senator will be limited to just one hour of remarks" following procedural votes on Tuesday, so "it's likely that those who oppose the measure won't be able to drag this out much later than tonight."
The Senate vote on whether to hand Israel billions more in unconditional military aid will come as the country's military appears poised to escalate its devastating assault on the Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 34,000 people so far.
Satellite imagery obtained and analyzed by Al Jazeera shows that Israel has positioned "troops and vehicles at nearby army bases and outposts just outside the enclave."
"The analysis indicates that Israel has deployed more than 800 military vehicles to two bases," the outlet continued. "At least 120 vehicles are stationed at the northern border of the Gaza Strip and 700 are in the Negev desert, to the south. The satellite imagery also reveals that Israel has established nine military outposts just outside the enclave. Three were erected in November and December 2023 and six were set up between January and March of this year. The outposts house soldiers, operational command centers, and military vehicles."
A U.S. State Department report released Monday acknowledges that Israel has been credibly accused of grave human rights abuses in Gaza and the West Bank, including extrajudicial killings and torture. U.S. law prohibits American military assistance for governments violating human rights, but the Biden administration has resisted global calls to cut off arms sales to Israel.
"The widespread nature of the abuses described in the human rights report is overshadowed by the State Department's inaction on these same findings," Raed Jarrar, advocacy director of Democracy for the Arab World Now, said Monday. "The State Department needs to read its own report and take immediate action against all abusive Israeli units."
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Columbia Faculty Walk Out Over Student Suspensions, Arrests for Gaza Protests
While expressing gratitude for solidarity actions, Congresswoman Ilhan Omar—whose daughter was suspended—said that "this about the genocide in Gaza and the attention has to remain on that."
Apr 22, 2024
Over 34,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed by U.S.-backed Israeli troops, and Columbia University students have been suspended and arrested by New York Police Department officers in recent days for protesting the slaughter—which led to a walkout by the Ivy League institution's faculty on Monday.
The Guardian reported that "hundreds of members of the teaching cohort at Columbia walked out in solidarity with the students who were arrested" while "students put protest tents back up in the middle of campus on Monday after they were torn down last week when more than 100 arrests were made."
Yonah Lieberman, co-founder of IfNotNow, a Jewish-led U.S. group that organizes against Israel's apartheid, declared: "Solidarity with these faculty members. Shame on establishment politicians and agitators who are smearing the anti-war protest at Columbia as anything other than what it is: a courageous stand for freedom and peace."
Naureen Akhter, a founding member of the New York-based group Muslims for Progress, said: "Thank you to the professors who stood in solidarity with student protestors, who didn't give into instigators who are fanning flames of hate and division. Remember the calls are for transparency, divestment, and amnesty for students!"
Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.)—a critic of Israel's war on Gaza whose own daughter, Isra Hirsi, was suspended from Columbia's Barnard College last week for "standing in solidarity with Palestinians facing a genocide," as the 21-year-old junior put it—also noted the faculty walkout and "nationwide Gaza solidarity movement."
"This is more than the students hoped for and I am glad to see this type of solidarity," said Omar. "But to be clear, this about the genocide in Gaza and the attention has to remain on that."
Summary of events from the last day not related to Columbia:\n\n- Israel has not provided evidence that UNRWA staff are part of Hamas\n- A mass grave, including women/children was discovered\n- Doctors did an emergency c-section, saving a baby after an airstrikes killed her mother— (@)
The walkout in New York City followed 54 Columbia Law School professors sending a letter to administrators that states, "While we as a faculty disagree about the relevant political issues and express no opinion on the merits of the protest, we are writing to urge respect for basic rule-of-law values that ought to govern our university."
"Procedural irregularity, a lack of transparency about the university's decision-making, and the extraordinary involvement of the NYPD all threaten the university's legitimacy within its own community and beyond its gates," they wrote. "We urge the university to conform student discipline to clear and well-established procedures that respect the rule of law."
In a statement early Monday, several hours before the walkout, Columbia University president Minouche Shafik—who last week enabled NYPD arrests of students at the encampment—announced in her first statement since the sweep that all classes would be virtual "to deescalate the rancor and give us all a chance to consider next steps."
"Faculty and staff who can work remotely should do so; essential personnel should report to work according to university policy. Our preference is that students who do not live on campus will not come to campus," Shafik said. "During the coming days, a working group of deans, university administrators, and faculty members will try to bring this crisis to a resolution."
The national group Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) on Monday accused Columbia of creating "a climate of repression and harm for students peacefully protesting for an end to the Israeli genocide against Palestinians in Gaza" over the past six months.
"Columbia University has actively created a hostile environment for students who are Palestinian or who support Palestinian freedom. Additionally, the administration's actions have made the campus much less safe for Jewish students," JVP said.
According to JVP:
Instead of listening to the calls of Columbia and Barnard students to divest from the genocide perpetrated by the Israeli government, the university has called in the NYPD to arrest students, suspended them, and even expelled them. At present 85 students, 15 of whom are Jewish, are suspended.
Yesterday's statement by the White House, like the administrators of Columbia University, dangerously and inaccurately presumes that all Jewish students support the Israeli government's genocide of Palestinians. This assumption is actively harming Palestinian and Jewish students.
The administration has not only harassed Jewish students and failed to ensure their safety and well-being, it has also obstructed their religious observances during Shabbat and prevented them from accessing their Jewish community on the eve of Passover.
While President Joe Biden's Sunday statement was officially about Passover—a Jewish holiday that begins at sundown on Monday—and not the protests at Columbia and other campuses across the country, it was widely received as a response to the latter.
Biden said in part that "we must speak out against the alarming surge of antisemitism—in our schools, communities, and online. Silence is complicity. Even in recent days, we've seen harassment and calls for violence against Jews. This blatant antisemitism is reprehensible and dangerous—and it has absolutely no place on college campuses, or anywhere in our country."
Jonathan Ben-Menachem, a Ph.D. student at the university, toldCNN that "Columbia students organizing in solidarity with Palestine—including Jewish students—have faced harassment, doxxing, and now arrest by the NYPD. These are the main threats to the safety of Jewish Columbia students."
"On the other hand, student protesters have led interfaith joint prayers for several days now, and Passover Seder will be held at the Gaza solidarity encampment tomorrow," he added. "Saying that student protesters are a threat to Jewish students is a dangerous smear."
Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine said in a lengthy statement that "we are student activists at Columbia calling for divestment from genocide. We are frustrated by media distractions focusing on inflammatory individuals who do not represent us. At universities across the nation, our movement is united in valuing every human life."
"As a diverse group united by love and justice, we demand our voices be heard against the mass slaughter of Palestinians in Gaza," the statement continues. "We've been horrified each day, watching children crying over the bodies of their slain parents, families without food to eat, and doctors operating without anesthesia. Our university is complicit in this violence and this is why we protest."
The Columbia Spectator reported Monday that Columbia College passed a divestment referendum that "asked whether the university should divest financially from Israel, cancel the Tel Aviv Global Center, and end Columbia's dual degree program with Tel Aviv University," with respective votes of 76.55%, 68.36%, and 65.62%. However, a statement from a university spokesperson signaled the referendum would not lead to any shift in campus policies.
Beyond Columbia, there are ongoing demonstrations at institutions including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, New York University, the University of Michigan, and Yale University, another Ivy League school, where at least 47 peaceful student protesters were arrested on Monday.
Those arrested were "charged with class A misdemeanors, which is the highest class of misdemeanors in Connecticut—the same degree applies to third-degree assault," according to the Yale Daily News. Citing a university spokesperson, the student newspaper added that they "will be referred for Yale disciplinary action—which could include reprimand, probation, or suspension."
Pushing back against some administrators' statements, journalist Thomas Birmingham, who was with the Yale protesters overnight, said on social media: "Here's some things I saw... 1. Repeated and loud calls to remain peaceful. 2. Students locking arms, teaching Arabic and Hebrew, and passing around pizza and water. 3. Lots of singing."
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