Election Day countdown: 158 days
Hi friends,
Our country continues to be enraged by loss. Amid the horror, Jamari Smith’s untimely passing has been on my mind. He was a highly accomplished African American athlete who graduated from an Alabama high school named after Confederate Commander Robert E. Lee – in 2020.
100. That’s how many public schools in our country are named after Confederate leaders. 62 percent of students in these schools are people of color. And two thirds of these schools are located in Texas, Virginia, Florida, Georgia, and Louisiana. Yet another example of systemic oppression.
That’s why we continue to support and engage people working to rectify these atrocities in states that we’ve too often given up on.
What we’re up to: Join us on Thursday, June 4th at 8pm ET, as we continue to support flipping the Georgia State Assembly with Blue Neighbors. We’ll hear from the first Muslim LGBTQ+ candidate in Georgia and the organizing director of Stacey Abrams’ Fair Fight. They will discuss the state’s early reopening and how we can win Georgia in 2020. Support Georgia here.
State of the Week (yes, Candidate of the Week with a twist)
About Georgia: Leader Stacey Abrams’ 2018 race for Governor brought the state center stage for Democrats. She shined a spotlight on the state’s sham democracy and elevated the injustice of voter suppression. Still, the final count had Leader Abrams one point from victory. Fortunately, 332,000 new voters registered last year and those 18-34 who are registered voters rose to 31 percent.
What’s on the ballot: This is the only state with two U.S. Senate seats up for election. We must defend freshman Rep. Lucy McBath’s seat and can pick up Georgia’s 7th congressional district. We have a chance of winning enough state legislature seats to prevent partisan gerrymandering, too. Supporting Georgia has the highest impact potential of any state!
Check out other races and organizations that you can support here.
Shout outs
Joe Biden’s campaign launched League 46, to engage young voters, with an event featuring Pete Buttigieg and Symone Sanders.
Lily Herman and Get Her Elected are looking for volunteers to help progressive women get elected to office.
Matt Vari is the campaign manager for the DCCC’s new Red to Blue candidate Pat Timmons-Goodson (more on an event with her soon!).
Showing Up for Racial Justice has incredible resources that help white people stand up for our friends and neighbors of color.
The Next 50 worked with Ben Leiner to support consequential SC State Senate candidate Sam Skardon. 16 of us raised enough to help secure over 350 votes!
Are we missing any political work that you are up to that you’d like to share? Reply and let us know!
What we are reading
Carnage’s complex combination: “There is more to be said about the burgeoning genre of videos capturing the deaths of black Americans, and the complex combination of revulsion and compulsion that accompanies their viewing. They are the macabre documentary of current events, but the question remains about whether they do more to humanize or to objectify the unwilling figures at the center of their narratives.” (The New Yorker)
In elections we trust?: “The election is in 160 days. That's usually not enough time to pass new laws, let alone build new voting infrastructure, and it’s certainly not enough time to test any of these systems before they are implemented...Take Georgia, where bowling alleys have reopened, but the governor has delayed a scheduled election. ” (The Atlantic)
Optimism for Hong Kong: “Hong Kong is not just another city trying to prevent oppression by a bigger power, but rather a place forged by successive waves of resistance” (Politico)
Larry’s legacy: “He was frightened for all of us. ‘It’s the early days of aids all over again,’ he said. ‘I didn’t think that would ever happen. It makes you want to cry sometimes.’” (The New Yorker)
Stay safe,
Zak
P.S. If you liked what you read, recommend a friend and provide feedback here.