Dear members,
We are writing you today with sad hearts and angry spirits. Our country is facing three massive crises. We would like share with you our thoughts on how Indivisible Marin, and we, as individuals, can play a role in finding solutions.
At the forefront of our minds are the tragic murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmad Arbrey, and so many other African Americans by racists - racists who often happen to also be police officers. According to Campaign Zero, over 1,000 people are killed by police every year in America. It is time to face up to the level of extreme and systemic racism in our country and take concrete action.
Concurrently, an unprecedented pandemic has killed over 100,000 Americans. It is endangering our front-line workers and bringing extreme economic hardship to millions of people, especially those already living close to the poverty line who are now unable to secure even basic life necessities.
The third crisis is, of course, the destructive and democracy-eroding power of the depraved fascist and oligarch who occupies our White House. Spewing hatred, bigotry and ignorance on a daily basis, he fans the flames of polarization and anti-science, thereby dramatically increasing the death toll of the pandemic, the level of systemic racism and countless other injuries to our planet and its people.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar eloquently expressed the interconnection of these crises in an op-ed in yesterday's LA Times. "COVID-19 has been slamming the consequences of all that home as we die at a significantly higher rate than whites, are the first to lose our jobs, and watch helplessly as Republicans try to keep us from voting. Just as the slimy underbelly of institutional racism is being exposed, it feels like hunting season is open on blacks. If there was any doubt, President Trump’s recent tweets confirm the national zeitgeist as he calls protesters “thugs” and looters fair game to be shot."
IndiMarin's response:
Indivisible Marin stands in solidarity with Black Lives Matter, Color of Change, Black Voters Matter, Campaign Zero and all other partners in the movement. Given our mission of working with elected officials to effect progressive change, we have decided to align specifically with the work of Campaign Zero, a data-informed platform which presents comprehensive solutions to end police violence in America. It integrates community demands, and policy recommendations from research organizations and President Obama's Task Force on 21st Century Policing. We plan to call on our state and federal representatives to take immediate action to adopt data-driven policy solutions to end this violence and hold police accountable. If enough phones ring off the hooks in governmental offices across the country, this issue will take on greater urgency for lawmakers.
Further, we will continue, with tenacity and fortitude, our crucial voter outreach work in advance of the November elections. We choose campaigns that 1) have the most strategic importance toward the goal of a trifecta in Washington and/or 2) increase the representation of people of color at the polls through outreach to disenfranchised voters who are at risk of having their vote suppressed.
In an article in Medium today, former President Obama writes, "The point of protest is to raise public awareness, to put a spotlight on injustice and to make the powers that be uncomfortable; in fact, throughout American history, it's often only been in response to protest and civil disobedience that the political systems has even paid attention to marginalized communities. But, eventually, aspirations have to be translated into specific laws and institutional practices - and, in a democracy, that only happens when when we elect officials who are responsive to our demands."
How you can help:
1) Donate to Campaign Zero or any of the other organizations listed above.
2) Commit to calling your elected officials at the state and federal level. Later this week, we will send you materials with contact information and talking points. Please watch for an email with the subject "Advocate to end systemic racism."
3) Sign up for as many of our voter outreach events as you can fit into your schedule. Making phone calls to voters is particularly needed since we are primarily working on helping sign up Democrats to vote by mail. The information is often a bit complex, so is best done via an interactive conversation. Visit our phone bank page here and our calendar page here to sign up and engage in this important work.
Volunteer by volunteer, voice by voice and vote by vote, we will win in November and begin to repair our country and democracy.
Thank you for stepping up to the moment.
In Solidarity,
The IndiMarin Steering Committee - Laurie, Susan S, Betsy, Justine and Susan M
