Feel-good update (6/8): Which levels of gov't have the biggest impact...
Hi all -
It’s been a long, powerful, exhausting, inspiring, heart-breaking, infuriating week. I hope that whatever you’ve been doing — whether that’s protesting, donating, reading, speaking out, listening, grieving, or resting — you’re okay, safe, and healthy.
It once again feels bizarre to send you an email meant to make you feel good and be inspired when there is so much to be furious about.
But like I said in last week’s update: The brutal murder of Black people at the hands of the police and the subsequent protests have reinforced for so many how important it is to elect new local leadership who can hold these police departments accountable, in both big blue cities and small red ones, and everywhere in between.
While elections aren’t the only solution, they’re absolutely part of the solution.
Don’t listen to me. Listen to President Barack Obama.
With that, I want to highlight the ways in which our candidates & alumni have been leading, whether that’s by protesting, speaking up, using their offices to hold police accountable, or encouraging community members to do and say more.
FIrst: The Washington Post profiles Tay Anderson: “At 21, the Denver school board member is the youngest African American ever elected to public office in Colorado. He has also become the de facto leader of protests in Denver following the killing of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis.” On Friday, Tay introduced and got the votes for a resolution removing police from the county’s schools.
This is a trend: Minneapolis public schools ended their relationship with the Minneapolis police department — the resolution was introduced by RFS alum Josh Pauly. We’ve been working with school board members across the country to do the same.
I implore you to read the speech Nada Elmikashfi gave at a protest in Madison. A small snippet:
I want to be a black mother, a black mother who doesn’t have to bury her children before they bury her.
I want to see my black brother, 16 and tall and dark and handsome, live until he’s old.
We cannot depend on those who fail to deliver to take us forward, to make those simple dreams of ours come true.
We have to hold power in our government, we have to organize and replace those that do not see us as worth more than that shop right there.
The biggest secret in that Capitol is the illusion that we do not belong in there. That we have to pass some wealth and achievement litmus test to qualify to sit next to them. That our voices can only fill the hallways during visiting hours.
I am here to tell you that that is only an illusion, no matter your history, no matter your career, you belong in that Capitol and in City Hall because our only other option is to wait to die by their unforgiving hands.
Run for office. Run for office on your blackness, for your blackness.
You should also watch Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta’s speech at a protest in Philadelphia. If you need more inspiration, watch Councilman Delvin J. Moody speak in Utica, NY.
Sheena Barnes, Toledo Public Schools board member, spoke up at a meeting with Black leaders and the Toledo mayor: “I’m not waiting any longer for my son to be a hashtag. I’m not waiting any longer for my brother to be a hashtag.”
Allies are showing up, too: CA state assembly candidate Godfrey Plata spoke about why Filipinos are joining in the protests this week and explained how his community has a responsibility fight anti-Black racism internally.
We’re working with Eli Savit, who’s running for DA in Washtenaw, Michigan — he was out at protests this week, speaking up about how in his county, 70% of people in detention centers are black, while black people are only 12% of the population.
Audrey Maloof, a state legislative candidate in Georgia, emptied her campaign coffers into causes committed to racial equity. (Her election is this week!)
Meanwhile, our alumni who can take action are doing what they can immediately…
In Allegheny County, PA, the city council will be taking action.
Denver City Councilwoman Candy CdeBaca is calling for investigations into the Denver police department’s use of force against protestors, including the use of pepper spray, rubber bullets, tear gas, and military vehicles. She also demanded a report on civilian injuries and an explanation on why journalists were targeted.
Similarly, Raleigh City Councilmember Saige Martin attended protests over the weekend and was tear gassed multiple times; he’s demanding a report on policy violence against protesters. He, along with fellow RFS alum & councilmember Jonathan Melton, are calling for a limited attendance in-person city council meeting to allow community members to speak up.
Some of our alumni are using their offices to hold other elected officials accountable: In Illinois, Will County Board member Rachel Ventura filed a complaint against her mayor with the state Attorney General, alleging the mayor assaulted a Black protestor. She called for criminal charges against him. In Florida, Rep. Cindy Polo tried her hardest to get her Republican colleague officially sanctioned after he tweeted that protesters would be met with an AR-15.
Legislating is still going on in many state capitals: Rep. Briana Titone is trying to revive a bill in the CO state legislature that was ban the “gay panic defense” — meaning a defendant would not be allowed to argue they committed a crime on impulse after learning their victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
In Kansas, Rep. Rui Xu introduced a resolution in the state house — while it did not get traction with the Republican-controlled chamber, it’s a start.
SC Rep. JA Moore will be introducing legislation to demilitarize the police, ending police departments’ abilities to easily obtain military equipment like vehicles and weaponry.
Michigan State Senator Mallory McMorrow cosponsored legislation that immediately improves police training. While this is barely sufficient, it’s certainly a start.
There is more to do. (There is always more to do.) We’ll keep you updated as our candidates & alumni do what they can now and for the long-haul.
Also last week: There were elections! Congratulations to June 2 primary winners so far: Jessica Benham (who will be the first woman & first LGBTQ+ to represent her district & one of the first openly autistic people to serve in a state leg), Malcolm Kenyatta, Emily Kinkead, Amanda Qualls, Lissa Geiger Shulman, and Amanda Cappelletti, who beat an incumbent with a long history of inappropriate behavior with women. (We loved this run down of the progressive women winning in Allegheny County.) There’s still lots of election results we are waiting on from mail-in votes, so stay tuned for more.
We’re still waiting on results, but no matter what happens, Phillip Westry’s campaign to be one of two new gay black city councilmembers in Baltimore should inspire you.
Heads up: Tomorrow there are 22 RFS candidates on the ballot in Georgia, Nevada, and South Carolina.
In a spot of related good news: There will be Democrats running for every single state legislative seat in Florida for the first time in 20 years. Can’t win what we don’t compete for.
It was so good to hear from so many of you about what you’re reading, watching, and listening to this week as you work to learn more, and to hear about the protests you’re attending and organizations you’re donating to. Please keep sending things to me; I genuinely appreciate hearing your stories. Two things I read you might like: (1) “They Can’t Kill Us All” by Wesley Lowery, a deeply reported story of the protests in Ferguson, Baltimore, and Charleston; and “The Vanishing Half” by Brit Bennett, a beautiful new novel about twins who separate as teens; one grows up Black and the other passes as white.
I also want to say thank you for those of you who’ve contributed to us this week — we are so grateful for your generosity and acknowledgment that this work is one critical piece of the path forward. If you’re looking to do more, consider giving to Black-led organizing to elect new sheriffs.
Thanks for making this all possible.
- Amanda