Election Day countdown: 102 days (Sunday marks 100 days!!)
Hi Friends,
Last week, we lost lions of the civil rights movement Reverend C.T. Vivian and Congressman John Lewis. This week and onward, we are called to see patience as a failure to address the urgent crisis facing our country’s most marginalized.
Learn and Act
On Saturday, August 1st at 8pm ET we celebrate Rev. Vivian and Congressman Lewis' legacy, as we march forward with our friends in Georgia at Blue Neighbors.
The conversation will feature Georgia State Senator Jen Jordan and candidate for State Senate Sarah Beeson who will discuss how we can flip Georgia blue in November.
In Tribute
In 2015, Congressman John Lewis led a march at Comic-Con where he reprised his role in the Selma to Montgomery Marches of 1965 – this time with a new generation by his side. Comics are often where young people discover their childhood heroes, but we often miss real heroes among us.
As the last living speaker from the March on Washington, he got to experience his legacy, become Congress’ moral conscience, and see a better, yet imperfect world unfold. We saw Congressman Lewis speak with his feet and now, inspired by him, generations of young leaders have embraced the heroism of activism and public service.
What we are reading
The master of direct action: “In the present day, the civil rights movement is often miscategorized as being passive and our images of that era mostly sum it up as marching. That was far from the case, and the direct action strategy of civil disobedience and deliberate disruption that Vivian advised King and others to implement was the core of the nonviolent movement.” (The Undefeated)
If Trump rejects defeat: “Though he had won the popular vote, Gore saw it as his duty to avoid escalating the electoral crisis. The Presidential elections of 1800 and 1876 ended in compromises, too, in the spirit of the Constitution, common cause, and good faith—all things alien to Donald Trump.” (The New Yorker)
John Lewis and the privilege of patience: “To be anti-racist is to believe in the word now. Patience is a dirty word to those incarcerated by inequity. Patience is a nasty word to those with injustice kneeing down on their neck.” (The Atlantic)
In solidarity,
Zak
P.S. If you liked what you read, recommend a friend and provide feedback here.