Blog Archives

City Proclamations in support of Immigrant and Refugee - After Action Report

6/27/2025

Immigrant and Refugee Proclamation - After Action Report

Civil Rights Forum

The Immigration Coalition of the Quad Cities had two more successes! Both the cities of Bettendorf, Iowa and Silvis, Illinois graciously supported our Pro-Immigrant and Refugee proclamation!

Allison Ambrose

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July 2025 Green Drinks-RI WER Tour PACG Events

6/27/2025

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July Green Drinks - Tour Rock Island's West End Revitalization
Thursday, July 10th at 5:00 pm

Martin Luther King Center parking lot
630 9th Street
Rock Island IL (map)Environmental Forum

The Rock Island West End Revitalization (WER) initiative has made significant strides to grow this historical neighborhood. Improvements made to Rauch Family Park and Franklin Field made these sites more user friendly to the community. Avery Pearl, WER Coordinator will lead us on a tour of these areas.

The tour will begin from the Martin Luther King Center Parking Lot. We will be driving to some of the sites. Bring a friend.

Susan Leuthauser (she/her)

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Tennessee book bans - No Hate in Our States

6/17/2025

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Hundreds of books purged from Tennessee school libraries

No Hate in Our States

PEN America

A mind-boggling list of hundreds of books purged from some Tennessee school libraries includes works by Magic Tree House author Mary Pope Osborne, children’s poet Shel Silverstein, and Calvin and Hobbes cartoonist Bill Watterson. Banned titles include American classics like Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird and John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath. Among the most disturbing bans are books focused on the Holocaust, including Art Spiegelman’s Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic memoir Maus, The Hidden Children of the Holocaust by Ester Kustanowitz, which tells the stories of teens who hid from the Nazis, and Secret Holocaust Diaries: Nonna Bannister, which details the experiences of a Russian girl from a wealthy family who survived the German labor camps and lived out her life in Tennessee. The book explores how she “learned the value of human life and the importance of forgiveness,” but students there can no longer share in her lessons.

About PEN America: PEN America stands at the intersection of literature and human rights to protect free expression in the United States and worldwide. We champion the freedom to write, recognizing the power of the word to transform the world. Our mission is to unite writers and their allies to celebrate creative expression and defend the liberties that make it possible. Follow them here on Instagram and sign up for their bi-weekly newsletter here.

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Anything for the Cause-After Action Report

6/10/2025

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Anything for the Cause - After Action Report

Multi-Generational Community Building Speaker Series

Over 75 people attended our first Multi-Generational Community Building Speakers series, Anything for the Cause. We were honored to bring MacArthur “Mac” Cotton and Dr. Frank Smith, Jr as our guest speakers at the Martin Luther King Center in Rock Island, Illinois. Both of our speakers were involved during their college days with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). They worked as civil rights activists during the 1960’s to get black people in the South registered to vote, which at the time was dangerous. Mr. Cotton continues to focus on educational equity and getting people out to vote. He is the author of the book Mississippi Black Cotton about his time and struggles in the Civil Rights movement.

After relocating to Washington, D.C. Dr. Smith served four terms on the D.C. City Council. Dr. Smith is the founding director of the African American Civil War Memorial and Museum. He continues to be involved in his community to get out the vote.

The next project for the Multi-Generational Community Building group will be to raise money to send four youths from Thurgood Marshall school to Washington D.C. to the grand opening of the African American Civil War Memorial and Museum as Dr. Smith’s special guests. We are working with both Dr. Smith and Mr. Cotton to get a speaker for next year.

A nice dinner was served after the program. Thank you again PACG for your support!

Glenda Guster

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Medicaid cuts to gender-affirming care-No Hate in Our States

6/10/2025

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Proposed Medicaid cuts to gender-affirming care

Gender Equity Forum

The Big Bucks for Billionaires Bill (aka the One Big Beautiful Bill) makes drastic cuts to Medicaid. A late night amendment before the bill passed the House also bans gender-affirming care for anyone on Medicaid or in the Affordable Care Marketplace. This affects an estimated 185,000 trans people on Medicaid.

The Gender Equity Forum joins the Healthcare Reform Forum in opposition to these Medicaid cuts. Read more about the specific cuts to gender-affirming care in this article from them.

Alta Price (she/her)

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The Bathroom that Ends the World-No Hate in Our States

6/10/2025

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The Bathroom That Ends the World

Rev. Sean substack.com/@civicgrace

How a Single Gender-Neutral Bathroom Revealed the Gentleness Hidden Behind All Their Fear
Our new church building has a gender-neutral washroom, and before we opened the doors, we held our breath. Would people accept it? Would they understand?

In many ways, this single room represents everything certain politicians claim to fear most: gender boundaries dissolving, children exposed to "confusion," traditional values under siege. Here, in one modest space with sinks and stalls, we've apparently built the apocalypse they've been warning about—a place where the rigid categories that once seemed natural and eternal simply... don't matter.

And you know what? They're right to be afraid. Not because our bathroom poses any actual danger, but because it reveals how unnecessary their fortress walls really are.

Read the rest of this article on Substack.

Kat Fitzgerald (she/her)

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No Kings rally confusion-A Message from the Board

6/10/2025

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No Kings rally confusion

Although PACG is not sponsoring a No Kings Rally, many of our members and readers may be interested in attending one. The official Quad Cities Indivisible group (IndivisibleQC) is sponsoring the rally at Schwiebert Park in Rock Island at 1 pm (information below). On the Indivisible.org website, the other No Kings Rally in Davenport covers the icon for the Illinois one. You need to zoom in to see both.

The IndivisibleQC group planned their rally for 1 pm because they are also marching in the QC Unity Parade sponsored by QC Pride. The QC Unity Parade starts in Davenport at 11 am and ends near Schwiebert Park in Illinois in time for the No Kings Rally. If you want to add a 2.5 mile walk to your day, join the parade!

Alta Price (she/her)

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Chip in to support PACG in "Birdies for Charity 2025" - A Message from the Board

6/4/2025

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**Support PACG through Birdies for Charity 2025**

2025_birdies_for_charity_pledge_form.pdf
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A Message from the Board

Birdie #2363 - Donate Here

Chip in for a chance to win in 2025!

Once again, this year PACG is participating in the John Deere Birdies for Charity drive! The John Deere Classic runs from June 30th through July 6th this year. Here is some information from the Birdies for Charity website about what this means for us:

When you chip in to help area charities, you could win! But your favorite charity will be the real winner. That’s because participating charities receive 100% of the donations pledged to them in this program, plus a bonus from the Birdies for Charity Bonus Fund which is a guaranteed 5% match.

John Deere Classic week is always exciting. Not just for the tournament, but also for what the tournament means for charities. Since 1971, the John Deere Classic has delivered over $159 million to regional charities, most of it through its innovative Birdies for Charity program. No other event on the PGA TOUR does it better - and it's the generous and hardworking nature of this area that makes it happen!

Progressive Action Update readers, you can win a two-year lease on a new car by submitting your pledge donation by June 27th!

And whatever you give to PACG through Birdies for Charity increases your donation by 5% through their generous matching offer.

Click this link (or the button above) to donate online to PACG! Our "Bird" is #2363. (Birdies for Charity is aware of a compatibility issue with Internet Explorer and recommends using Chrome, Safari, or Firefox when processing your donation. If you have questions or experience difficulties, contact them at [email protected]).

If you want to send a check, use a pledge form (or download the 2024 Simplified Pledge Form at the top of this page). Make your check out to Birdies for Charity and send it to 15623 Coaltown Rd, East Moline, IL 61244. Make sure to fill in Progressive Action for the Common Good as the Charity Solicited For and 2363 as the Bird Number.

Important dates:
Friday, June 27th: Pledges and Guesses for the Grand Prize Contest are due.
June 30th through July 6th: John Deere Classic Tournament Week

Ann McCluskey
Treasurer, PACG

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Davenport Immigrant and Refuge Proclamation - After Action Report

6/3/2025

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Immigrant and Refugee Proclamation presented to the City of Davenport - After Action Report

Civil Rights Forum

The Immigration Coalition of the Quad Cities presented a proclamation to the Davenport City Council affirming the value of immigrants and refugees in our community. Several coalition members were in attendance, and the proclamation was accepted with support!

Allison Ambrose

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Immigrant and Refugee Proclamation - After Action Report

July Green Drinks - Tour Rock Island's West End Revitalization Thursday, July 10th at 5:00 pm

Hundreds of books purged from Tennessee school libraries

Anything for the Cause - After Action Report

Proposed Medicaid cuts to gender-affirming care

The Bathroom That Ends the World

No Kings rally confusion

Support PACG through Birdies for Charity 2025

Immigrant and Refugee Proclamation presented to the City of Davenport - After Action Report

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July Green Drinks - Tour Rock Island's West End Revitalization
Thursday, July 10th at 5:00 pm

**Support PACG through Birdies for Charity 2025**