On June 12, the Center for Popular Democracy’s sister organization, CPD Action, brought 200 people to Washington, D.C. for a dramatic series of actions ranging from raising their voices for women’s reproductive health, to challenging the inclusion of the citizen question on the upcoming census, to advocacy for Medicare for All.

The underlying theme was that we are all in this together — a way to strengthen and clarify the shared commitments of our movement. 

The day kicked off with a hearing in the The U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means about Medicare for All. The room was packed with activists wearing #MedicareforAll t-shirts. They then marched out for a press conference with Congressmember Pramila Jayapal the lead sponsor on the bill, who makes it clear that we will not leave anyone out of healthcare in this country.

After a quick costume change into t-shirts that said, "United Against Hate," it was off to march on the Supreme Court, where a slate of speakers, including CPD Co-executive Director, Ana Maria Archila, and representatives from CPD affiliates, CASA and Make the Road, spoke about the harm that the Supreme Court would cause were it to rule in favor of keeping the citizenship question on the census.  

A smaller group pulled off and delivered a petition to New York Congressmember Jerrold Nadler's office to demand a full investigation into the widely documented lying that Brett Kavanaugh engaged in during his confirmation hearings. Many in the crowd were carrying “Impeach Kavanaugh” signs.

Third costume change of the day: About 150 protestors donned t-shirts that said, “Our Bodies, Our Courts and Our Democracy.” The group took over the atrium of the Hart Senate Office Building and told stories of their abortion experiences. Then they marched to the home of Senator Mitch McConnell to demand the impeachment of Brett Kavanuagh from the Supreme Court. People continued to tell their stories of why access to reproductive healthcare is necessary.

The final costume change of the day moved protestors into activist chic for the CPD Washington, D.C. gala where activists schoolmates of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and the head of National Nurses United (a major Medicare for All leader) and Congresswomen Ayanna Pressley and Rashida Tlaib, as well as ActBlue’s Erin Hill, were honored.  

On July 9th, the CPD Network will be back in Washington, D.C. to call for the impeachment of Brett Kavanaugh. If you are interested in joining us, please reach out to CPD’s National Organizer, Darius Gordon at dgordon@populardemocracy.org.