Chop Wood, Carry Water 1/17

Shortened MLK Day Edition

Hi, all, and happy Monday.

I intend to honor Reverend King by taking the day off from this newsletter—sort of—so I can spend the day asking people to call their Senators about the FTVA. Because know this: Senate Majority leader Schumer has declared there will be a vote on the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act as soon as tomorrow and the King family has called for the Senate and the President to deliver on voting rights. I stand with them, as I know you do as well.

Which means I ACT with them.

Join me.

Need inspiration? You may find yourself helped by this piece here. I know I was.

Then consider doing one or more of these activities:

🗳 Attend an MLK Day event near you - find one here.

🗳 Make calls at 6pm ET/ 3pm PT today with Dolores Huerta. You’ll be calling key states to ask constituents to call their Senators. Sign up here.

🗳 Indivisible East Bay is hosting a special virtual MLK Day Action Hour with Rep. Barbara Lee! Please join them at 3PM PST. Rep. Lee will kick off the event by sharing what is at stake, and by inspiring us to honor Dr. King by fighting for voting rights! You will then join break-out rooms to take action. You will have your choice of social media or writing letters to the editor. RSVP here.

🗳 Share this on social media—and do it!

Feel free to share this script when you ask folks to call:

My name is _____ and I’m a constituent from [ZIP]. In honor of the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., who spent his life fighting for voting rights for ALL Americans, I am asking the Senator to support and fight to pass—by any means necessary—the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act. Every American deserves to have their vote counted. [If GOP member, or Manchin or Sinema add:] I ask the Senator to consider their legacy. They got into politics to uphold the constitution and protect our freedoms, right? There is only one way to do that: work to pass this bill. Thanks.

OK, all. That’s our brief fo the day. Let’s fulfill it to the best of our abilities.

Talk tomorrow!

Jess