Category: Civil Rights - PACG - Progressive Action for the Common Good

Winona LaDuke Podcast - No Hate In Our States

4/16/2021

Winona LaDuke - First Born Daughter

No Hate In Our States

Winona LaDuke is an internationally renowned activist who works on issues of sustainable development, renewable energy and food systems. Ojibwe leader, writer, food activist, rural development economist, environmentalist, Harvard graduate, she is founder of White Earth Land Recovery Project. The two-time US vice-presidential candidate is interviewed in this Kitchen Sisters podcast.

https://podcast.app/winona-ladukefirst-born-daughter-e120241818/

Julie Ross

Local Asylum-Seeker Fund Drive Successful! - After Action Report

4/6/2021

Fundraiser for Our Local Asylum-Seeker Was a HUGE Success! Thank You!

Civil Rights Forum and the Quad Cities Sanctuary Coalition

Thank you for your donations, and for spreading the word about our fund drive! We made our initial $2,000 goal and then raised an additional $1,000 to help get Ana settled once her case is decided. We actually ended up raising $3,545 through Faithify, and even more including donations made directly to the Sanctuary Project.

We can assure you all of the funds will be spent to support Ana, or the next asylum-seeker we sponsor if Ana no longer needs our financial support.

We are still looking for volunteer drivers and want to spread the word about sponsoring asylum-seekers. Have you approached your church leaders about sponsoring an asylum-seeker? We can help you do that. Contact me.

Progressive Action for the Common Good is a member of the Quad Cities Sanctuary Coalition (QCSC). Alta Price and Margie Mejia-Caraballo are the PACG representatives to the QCSC.

Ana, an asylum-seeker from El Salvador, was released from dehumanizing conditions in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention as a result of the partnership between the Quad Cities Sanctuary Coalition and the Sanctuary Project at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Quad Cities (UUCQC).

Due to the disruptive nature of our immigration system and other factors, we have had unexpected expenses of over $2,000 and there have been increased demands on our volunteers. For instance, ICE has repeatedly re-scheduled appointments upon us arriving in Chicago, in spite of our best efforts to confirm the appointment before undertaking the trip!

The Faithify fund drive has closed. You can still donate to the Sanctuary Project through the UUCQC church. Visit the Sanctuary Project page at the UUCQC website for details.

If you would like to volunteer with the Sanctuary Project at the UUCQC, please fill out this Google Form. We especially need drivers, both locally and those willing to drive to Chicago (we are mindful of Covid protocols).

As ICE releases asylum-seekers, more sponsors will be needed, so also please consider whether sponsoring an asylum-seeker is right for your organization. If interested, please email sanctuary@uucqc.org to arrange a discussion with a member of our group.

Contact me if you have questions.

Alta Price

The History of US Anti-Asian Racism Examined - No Hate In Our States

3/24/2021

The long, ugly history of anti-Asian racism and violence in the U.S.

People of Asian descent have been living in the United States for more than 160 years, and have long been the target of bigotry. Here is a Washington Post article on the violence and racism that Asian immigrants and Asian Americans have faced since before the Civil War.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2021/03/18/history-anti-asian-violence-racism/

Julie Ross

Braveheart Women Podcast - No Hate In Our States

3/16/2021

“Braveheart Women’s Society: Coming of Age in South Dakota” Podcast

The Kitchen Sisters create some wonderful podcasts. This one shares information on the Braveheart Women’s Society, re-established by a group of Yankton Sioux grandmothers to revive an almost forgotten coming-of-age ritual for young girls. Listen here: http://www.kitchensisters.org/girlstories/the-series/brave-heart-2/

Julie Ross

The Tuskegee Experiement and Its Effect on Covid Vaccine - No Hate In Our States

3/9/2021

“A Shot in the Dark” - the Tuskegee Experiment and Its Effect on the Covid Vaccine Online

As the rollout of coronavirus vaccines unfolds, one big challenge for public health officials has been the skepticism many Black people have toward the vaccine. One notorious medical study — the Tuskegee experiment — has been cited as a reason. But should it be?

Listen this episode of the NPR podcast “Code Switch.”

Julie Ross

Black History Month Origins Podcast - No Hate In Our States

3/2/2021

Black History Month Has Ended - Our Learning Continues

No Hate In Our States

This inaugural podcast on the Future of Black History Month series asks how it began and what it can be. Producer Veralyn Williams leads a lively conversation about her annual Black History Month parties - before COVID-19 social distancing was imposed - with some friends of the show.

Then, Dr. Pero Dagbovie, a University Distinguished Professor in the Department of History and an Associate Dean in the Graduate School at Michigan State University, introduces us to Dr. Carter G. Woodson - often called the “Father of Black History” - before explaining how a week-long celebration of Black Achievement at the turn of the 20th century evolved into the month-long observance that we know today.

Listen here: https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/the-united-states/the-origin-story-of-black-NyV6rKOk94b/

Julie Ross

BSLC Grants to Battle Illiteracy - Of Interest to Our Community

3/2/2021

BSLC Offers Grants to Battle Illiteracy
Due Date: Wednesday, March 31st

Bi-State Literacy Council (BSLC)

Bi-State Literacy Council is accepting applications for its Spring funding cycle. Grants are given for up to $500 and are due by March 31st. Download applications here: https://bistateliteracy.org/grants-1.

Learn more about past grant recipients: https://bistateliteracy.org/grant-recipients.

Please share this information with individuals and organizations that might be interested in applying for these grants.

For more information on BSLC:
https://mailchi.mp/c2c700e98dd6/2021springgrants?fbclid=IwAR3_CaZY3YRmqV2u51A40qL_VoH_UzzdWcgiW_u9XDz1CSTMw1Lrz1pKJY8

President, BSLC

No Hate In Our States - 1619 Project

2/25/2021

Listen for Yourself - "1619 Project"
Online

You may remember several months ago, we shared a link to the New York Times Pulitzer Prize winning "1619 Project." You may also have heard of a bill recently introduced into the Iowa State Legislature (Rep. Skyler Wheeler, R, Orange County) to reduce funding for any school using the curriculum associated with "1619 Project."

It should also be stated that this project was created by Iowa native Nikole Hannah-Jones who won a Pulitzer Prize for her work.

Rep. Wheeler believes the "1619 Project" is designed to "tear down America."

Judge for yourself: https://www.nytimes.com/column/1619-project

Julie Ross

Contact Iowa State Legislators Regarding Progressive Values - What You Can Do Now

2/23/2021

Contact your Iowa State Legislators
Iowa State House

Voting Rights and Civil Rights

Legislation has been introduced in the Iowa Legislature that affects progressive values.

House File 590 impacts the ability of Iowans to vote:
https://www.legis.iowa.gov/publications/search/document?fq=id:1213531&q=HF+590

House File 222 proposes that information found in the “1619 Project” regarding the history of slavery in America be banished from public school's curriculum:
https://www.legis.iowa.gov/publications/search/document?fq=id:1210570&q=HF+222

Contact your Iowa State Legislators to express your views on both of these bills by visiting the links above. Legislators have indicated that contact by email is the most effective way to reach them.

Allison Ambrose

Of Interest to Our Community - Right-to-Work Laws Hurt Workers

2/16/2021

National Study Shows Right-to-Work Laws Hurt Workers

Indiana, Illinois, Iowa Foundation for Fair Contracting

In an eight-year period of national economic expansion that followed the Great Recession of 2008, the 27 U.S. states that had enacted so-called “right-to-work” laws saw slower economic growth, lower wages, higher consumer debt, worse health outcomes, and lower levels of civic participation than states that had not, according to a new study by the Illinois Economic Policy Institute (ILEPI) and the Project for Middle Class Renewal (PMCR) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

So-called “right-to-work” laws prohibit clauses in union contracts that require all workers covered by the contract to share in the costs of collective bargaining. By forcing more unions to provide services for free, “right-to-work” laws substantially reduce the resources these organizations have available to organize, negotiate, and advocate on behalf of working families.

“For years, anti-union zealots have presented so-called ‘right-to-work’ laws as a panacea to growing the economy,” said study co-author Frank Manzo IV. “Yet surveys of CEOs say ‘right-to-work’ has little effect on business relocation decisions, and the data shows that so-called ‘right-to-work’ states are performing substantially worse than their peers on wages, growth, poverty, and other core economic outcomes.”

See the report: https://illinoisepi.files.wordpress.com/2020/05/ilepi-pmcr-promoting-good-jobs-and-a-stronger-economy-final.pdf

Dylan Parker