Divest From Prisons, Invest in People-What Justice for Black Lives Really Looks Like
Divest From Prisons, Invest in People-What Justice for Black Lives Really Looks Like
Stahly-Butts, a facilitator of the Cleveland convening and deputy director of racial justice at the Center for Popular...
Stahly-Butts, a facilitator of the Cleveland convening and deputy director of racial justice at the Center for Popular Democracy, explains that our current criminal justice system is based on a premise of comfort, rather than safety: Instead of addressing the roots of uncomfortable issues such as drug addiction, mental illness, and poverty, we’ve come to accept policing and incarceration as catch-all solutions. This disproportionately affects African Americans.
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LA Officials Urged To Divest From Banks Engaged Predatory Practices
LA Officials Urged To Divest From Banks Engaged Predatory Practices
A coalition of advocates pushing for more responsible banking Thursday called on Los Angeles officials to stop doing...
A coalition of advocates pushing for more responsible banking Thursday called on Los Angeles officials to stop doing business with banks that engage in predatory practices and to take stronger action to implement safe banking policies.
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Nan Goldin and P.A.I.N. Sackler Protest the Opioid Crisis at Harvard’s Sackler Museum
Nan Goldin and P.A.I.N. Sackler Protest the Opioid Crisis at Harvard’s Sackler Museum
The organization hosted over 70 protesters at a die-in demonstration last Friday. The protest operated with support...
The organization hosted over 70 protesters at a die-in demonstration last Friday. The protest operated with support from organizations like VOCAL NY, the Center for Popular Democracy, and the Harm Reduction Coalition. The group marched from Harvard Square to the atrium of the Harvard Art Museums building, which hosts the Fogg Museum, Busch-Reisinger Museum, and Arthur M. Sackler Museum. Participants threw Oxycontin and Narcan (a narcotics overdose prescription medication) containers across the floor of the atrium, chanting protests like “Sacklers lie! People die! Fund harm reduction now!” Hyperallergic reached out to the Harvard Art Museums and a representative of the institution declined to comment.
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Top economists rip Fed, call for letting inflation run higher than normal
Top economists rip Fed, call for letting inflation run higher than normal
Should Federal Reserve officials meet expectations and raise interest rates next week, they will be doing so over the...
Should Federal Reserve officials meet expectations and raise interest rates next week, they will be doing so over the objections of some high-profile experts, including one who used to work for the central bank.
A coalition of economists released a letter Friday urging the Fed to change the criteria it uses to make decisions. Specifically, the group, called "Fed Up," is advocating for a higher inflation rate target than the current 2 percent level. Among its members is former Minnesota Fed President Narayana Kocherlakota.
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Expandiendo el Electorado en Nueva York
El Diario - December 14, 2014, by Steve Carbo - Aunque las oportunidades para avanzar reformas progresistas se han...
El Diario - December 14, 2014, by Steve Carbo - Aunque las oportunidades para avanzar reformas progresistas se han disminuido en Washington y en muchos estados después de las elecciones de noviembre, existe aún terreno fértil en las ciudades, lugares que reciben menos atención de los medios pero son cada vez más reconocidas como importantes "laboratorios de la democracia".
La ciudad de Nueva York es notable por su liderazgo. Después de tomar las riendas en enero, el Alcalde Bill de Blasio, la Presidenta del Concejo Melissa Mark-Viverito, junto con concejales progresistas, han expandido las leyes de días de enfermedad pagados, han implementado políticas policiales más justas, y han puesto fin a las detenciones injustas de inmigrantes. Y esta semana, el alcalde Bill de Blasio firmó una nueva legislación que que marca el comienzo de una gran expansión del electorado a través de la revitalización de la ley Pro-Voter (Pro-Votante) . Este es un modelo que otras ciudades deberían seguir.
La ley Pro-Votante, que fue inicialmente firmada en el año 2000, prometía expandir las oportunidades para el registro de votantes en la ciudad. La ley exigía que diecinueve agencias municipales, cada una de las cincuenta y nueve juntas comunitarias, y muchas agencias que reciben contratos del gobierno municipal, debían ofrecer formularios de inscripción de votantes, y asistencia completando los formularios, para residentes de la ciudad que estuvieran aplicando para recibir servicios de las agencias, re- certificando su exigibilidad, o reportando un cambio de dirección. Estos programas de registro de votantes en agencias públicas están basados en la Ley Nacional de Registro de Votantes, la cual requiere en parte que las agencias estatales de asistencia pública ofrezcan formularios de registro electoral a sus clientes.
Al ser administrados bien, estos programas tienen la capacidad de registrar del 15 al 20 por ciento de los clientes de la agencia. Un programa local similar en la ciudad de Nueva York podría ayudar a cientos de miles a qué se registren para votar.
Lamentablemente, las cosas aún no se han dado así. En octubre, el Centro para la Democracia Popular, y sus aliados en la coalición Pro-Votante, reportaron en un estudio que las agencias municipales de la ciudad de Nueva York estaban ignorando la ley. El ochenta y cuatro por ciento de los clientes entrevistados para el estudio eran elegibles pero nunca recibieron formularios de registro electoral.
Pero las elecciones son importantes y el cambio está en camino. En su primera Directiva Ejecutiva el verano pasado, el Alcalde De Blasio ordenó a cada una de las agencias contempladas en la ley Pro-Votante que desarrollarán planes para conformarse a la ley, y que reportaran su desempeño en la implementación de estos planes cada seis meses. Nuestra coalición fue invitada a ayudar a desarrollar modelos de planes para las agencias. Inmediatamente el Concejo de la Ciudad tuvo su primera audiencia pública acerca del tema, y el 25 de noviembre aprobó una nueva legislación presentada por los concejales Ben Kallos y Jumanee Williams, la cual fortalece las provisiones de la ley Pro-Votante. Con estas nuevas mejoras y algunos cambios adicionales, como la inclusión de agencias con un alto número de clientes como la agencia de viviendas públicas (NYCHA) y el departamento de educación, y el reemplazo de formulario de papel con formularios electrónicos, la ley Pro-Votante de la cuidad de Nueva York representa un gran modelo nacional que otras ciudades pueden replicar. El gobierno puede y deber jugar un papel líder en asegurarse que cada individuo que es elegible para votar sea agregado a las listas de votantes.
Pero las ciudades no deben para ahí. Con suficiente autoridad y autonomía, las ciudades pueden expandir la democracia permitiendo medidas como el registro de votantes el mismo día de la elecciones, el voto temprano, y la extensión del derecho al voto a los no-ciudadanos y personas que han pasado por el sistema judicial, el registro de estudiantes de secundario, y el pre-registro de jóvenes de 16 y 17 años de edad. Estas son algunas de las medidas promulgadas por la coalición de oficiales electos progresistas, Local Progress, que se han unido por su compromiso a avanzar una economía justa, igualdad para todos, ciudades habitables y gobiernos efectivos.
Los años que vienen van a ser difíciles para las personas que luchan por la justicia social. Pero aún mientras luchamos en contra de la agenda de la agenda regresiva de la derecha, los progresistas debemos buscar oportunidades para avanzar políticas públicas. Y como lao demuestra la nueva ley Pro-Votante, las ciudades representan un gran espacio de oportunidad.
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All of a sudden, Gary Cohn is seen as shoo-in to be next Fed chairman
All of a sudden, Gary Cohn is seen as shoo-in to be next Fed chairman
Seemingly overnight, White House senior economic adviser Gary Cohn has emerged from the pack and is widely viewed as...
Seemingly overnight, White House senior economic adviser Gary Cohn has emerged from the pack and is widely viewed as the most-likely next chairman of the Federal Reserve, besting all competitors by a country-mile in a recent poll.
The survey, conducted late last month by Bloomberg News, now gives Cohn a ranking of 75 out of 100, well ahead of Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen, a distant second with a ranking of 55. Cohn had a ranking of 21 in the prior survey in early June.
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Ana María Archila and Héctor Figueroa on Immigration Reform
Cuatro panelistas explican los logros y obstáculos de las marchas pro-inmigrantes de primero de mayo que llevan ya casi...
Cuatro panelistas explican los logros y obstáculos de las marchas pro-inmigrantes de primero de mayo que llevan ya casi una década. Visitan el programa Héctor Figueroa, presidente del sindicato 32BJ, la abogada, directora de la Coalición del Norte de Manhattan por los Derechos de los Inmigrantes Ángela Fernández, el pastor luterano Fabián Arias de la iglesia Sión y Ana María Archila, co-directora ejecutiva del Centro por la Democracia Popular.
Bushwick Residents Rally at City Hall to Decry Deadlock on Immigration Reform
Bushwick Residents Rally at City Hall to Decry Deadlock on Immigration Reform
“Today we suffer, in November we vote,” dozens of protesters chanted in front of City Hall this afternoon. Some 40...
“Today we suffer, in November we vote,” dozens of protesters chanted in front of City Hall this afternoon. Some 40 people gathered to express dismay over yesterday’s Supreme Court deadlock over President Obama’s immigration plan, which would have given undocumented immigrants protection from deportation and the possibility to work in the United States. The rally was organized by the Bushwick chapter of Make the Road New York, a non-profit dedicated to representing the city’s Latino and immigrant communities.
President Obama’s executive action would have shielded over 5 million from deportation by introducing The Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA), which would have allowed the undocumented parents of American-born children to apply for work permits, and expanding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which would have protected those who arrived in the U.S. before the age of 16 and stayed at least five years. For many participating in today’s rally, these measures would have been key to achieving a more secure legal status in the country. Many of those protesting were beneficiaries of DACA, and had hoped for the passing of DAPA to reunite families or keep them together.
Catalina Benitez, an immigrant from Mexico and a member of Make the Road, has been in the United States for over 20 years. She was attending the rally with her two-year-old son, Daniel, and said the Supreme Court’s deadlock came as a “great disappointment” to many.
“We were hoping that we’d be given more options.” Benitez said in Spanish of Obama’s plan, and the limbo that’s left in the wake of the Supreme Court’s 4-4 tie. Benitez’s son, as well as her five-year-old daughter, have benefitted from DACA, but the aborted expansion of the plan has many families worried about their future.
Benitez, who lives in Williamsburg, isn’t eligible to vote in the upcoming presidential election, but she hopes that the rally will raise awareness and encourage people who can vote to support immigrant rights. “The citizens who can vote should vote for Hillary Clinton,” she said.
Petra Luna, a Bushwick volunteer who helps Make the Road with press statements, event organizations, and community outreach, expressed a similar disappointment in the SCOTUS deadlock. “Immigrants are a significant community in this country,” she said in Spanish. “We’ve helped raise the economy, and we have a life here.”
Luna said that Make the Road organized this rally to show U.S. politicians that they want their voice to be heard. “We want the deportations to stop, and we want to incentivize people to vote in November,” she emphasized. “We are all hoping for an opportunity, and we want to encourage those people who do have the vote to represent us.”
Other organizations present at the rally were the New York Civil Liberties Union, the Minkwon Center for Community Action, the New York Working Families Party, United We Dream, and the Center for Popular Democracy, to name a few. Individuals would periodically get in front of the crowd with a megaphone and speak of their frustrations with the gridlocked immigration reform.
“I’m angry, I’m fed up with the system,” Jung Rae Jang, a DACA beneficiary with the Minkwon Center, told the crowd. “We need to get the immigrant community to come together against this.”
Daniel Altschuler, the press representative for Make the Road, said that the majority of those in attendance at the rally today were from Bushwick, but immigrants living in Staten Island and Jackson Heights, Queens, were also well-represented. According to the organization’s website, over 35 percent of households in Bushwick are made up of foreign-born immigrants, three quarters of whom are from Latin America. A significant number of those immigrants are undocumented.
Luna expressed hope that, come November, people will decide to vote in favor of supporting immigrant communities. “We’re all going to the same heaven,” she reflected. But in the meantime, she said she’ll keep fighting to represent immigrant rights, and hopes people with electoral power in this country will do the same.
“I’m willing to give this everything I’ve got,” she said resolutely.
By LUISA ROLLENHAGEN
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Over 100 Progressive Local Elected Officials Gather in Los Angeles
Over 100 Progressive Local Elected Officials Gather in Los Angeles
(LOS ANGELES – Oct. 26) More than 100 progressive elected officials from across the United States are gathering in Los...
(LOS ANGELES – Oct. 26) More than 100 progressive elected officials from across the United States are gathering in Los Angeles today through Wednesday for a three-day convention to discuss key planks of the progressive agenda like workers’ rights, racial justice, and public education.
Council members, school board members, and mayors flew in from around the country for the Fourth Annual Convening of Local Progress, the network of progressive elected officials. Los Angeles First Lady Amy Elaine Wakeland opened the convening, which Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti is co-hosting with Local Progress, with a welcome address.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, a member of the network, sent a video message to the attendees encouraging them to continue their good work fighting for progressive policy that improves the lives of their cities’ residents.
Elected officials will join the nation’s leading policy experts, organizers, and advocates to learn about and share best practices on a range of policy areas including police reform, the fight for $15, and equitable development and affordable housing. The full agenda is here.
Sarah Johnson, Co-Director of Local Progress, released the following statement: “Today, cities are the great hope for the progressive movement. In order to achieve transformative victories at the local level, we need elected officials who are integrated into our movement, strategizing and working with the organizations who are fighting for a pro-worker, pro-immigrant, racial justice agenda. Local Progress is building spaces for creating those collaborations and relationships, and for driving trans-local victories. By collaborating across cities – like we’ve done on paid sick days and the minimum wage – we can transform the national dialogue and build towards a country in which everybody is able to live a dignified life.”
San Francisco Supervisor John Avalos, Chair of the Board of Directors of Local Progress, released the following statement: “Across the country, the elected official members of Local Progress are passing crucial legislation to create a more just and equitable society. From $15 minimum wages to fighting climate change to laws reforming police practices, from programs to create affordable housing to policies that protect immigrant families from the destructive force of deportation, cities are leading the way forward. Our convening this week was a special opportunity to bring together these leaders from around the country to share best practices, build solidarity with one another, and plan for the important fights ahead in 2016.”
Mary Kay Henry, President of the Service Employees International Union, released the following statement: “SEIU’s members recognize the need to build a broad progressive movement for social justice. We are fighting to build a country where every family is able to give their children a dignified life. SEIU members across the country are proud to partner with their local elected officials to advance crucial public policies that promote economic and racial justice. We helped found Local Progress because we know that our movement needs sustainable, long-term infrastructure so that cities can innovate important policies that lift up working families and, like the Fight for $15 campaign led by courageous fast food workers, change the national political dialogue. We are excited by the growth of the network and eager to build, hand-in-hand with community-based organizations and elected officials, for our movement’s collective long-term success.”
Tefere Gebre, Executive Vice President of the AFL-CIO, released the following statement: “If we are going to raise wages in America, we need cities to lead the way. Local elected officials must stand side-by-side with the workers who are fighting for dignity on the job. The AFL-CIO and our affiliates are proud to partner with local elected officials from around the country who are advancing a pro-worker, pro-immigrant, racial justice agenda. Together, we know that we can build a society where everybody who wants to can find a living wage job, and where families can raise their children in economic security and dignity.“
For interview opportunities with Sarah Johnson, John Avalos, Mary Kay Henry, or Tefere Gebre, or any of the elected officials attending the Local Progress convening, please contact Anita Jain at ajain@populardemocracy.org, 347-636-9761 or Sofie Tholl at stholl@populardemocracy.org, 646-509-5558.
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www.populardemocracy.org
The Center for Popular Democracy promotes equity, opportunity, and a dynamic democracy in partnership with innovative base-building organizations, organizing networks and alliances, and progressive unions across the country. CPD builds the strength and capacity of democratic organizations to envision and advance a pro-worker, pro-immigrant, racial justice agenda.
Our Fight for Health Care During Recess and Beyond
It’s time to ramp up our resistance to the Trump-Ryan agenda on health care. We scored our biggest legislative victory...
It’s time to ramp up our resistance to the Trump-Ryan agenda on health care. We scored our biggest legislative victory so far on March 24, when Speaker Paul Ryan called off his bid to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA), because he didn’t have the votes. This was an inspiring, hard-fought win for everyone who believes health care is for all...
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