National Geographic’s April issue has been showing up in our newsfeeds this week and for good reason—they are dropping some serious honesty and reflection about their reporting. Their public self-examination feels like a victory to us, so how better to start off this week’s list of progress than by celebrating their call to push forward? As their first female and Jewish editor-in-chief Susan Goldberg wrote:
“For decades, our coverage was racist. To rise above our past, we must acknowledge it.”
#Truth -Alison & Stephanie
VICTORIES!
1. This is huge: Philadelphia DA Larry Krasner issued a memo overhauling the city’s criminal justice system with the explicit goal of ending mass incarceration. There are too many amazing new changes to summarize, so you can read more about them here.
3.It feels ridiculous at this point, but ANOTHER member of Trump’s cabinet is gone, as is an aide who’s now under investigation. And we have a feeling this isn’t the end of it either.
4.Conor Lamb squeaked out a win in a Pennsylvania special election, flipping a red district that voted for Trump by 20 points. It’s still possible that there will be a recount, but we’ll take the good news for now. Thanks to all the Indivisible volunteers who helped make this happen! #EveryVoteCounts
5. ADAPT has been running a week-long, round-the-clock protest camp outside of the FDA Commissioner’s home, demanding a ban on devices used to deliver electric shocks to people with disabilities. #StopTheShock
6. An ICE spokesman resigned because he no longer wanted to spread their lies about immigrants. More of this, please!
8.With help from Make the Road and other groups, Westchester County, New York passed the new Immigrant Protection Act, preventing county officers from asking about immigration status or working with ICE in most circumstances.
9. Fight for 15 organizers and the Poor People’s Campaign came together to march in the footsteps of Memphis sanitation workers during their iconic strike fifty years ago. #Solidarity
10. Florida passed a law that will no longer allow child marriages, thanks to years of work by this incredible woman who lived the experience. As she said,
“My goal was to protect our children and I feel like my mission has been accomplished. My heart is happy.”
11. Washington passed a law making it easier to prosecute police officers for shooting people, and the state’s governor signed an executive order to protect orcas from extinction. (You might have noticed we write about new WA laws nearly every week—check out a recap of all the state’s accomplished in the past three months.)
13. An immigrant rights activist became the first undocumented resident appointed to hold a statewide political post in California.
14. Arizona and Colorado teachers are protesting for better wages, and state employees in Oklahoma are ready to strike with teachers if they don’t reach a deal by their April deadline.
15. Rome’s mayor announced diesel cars won't be allowed in the city center come 2024.
17. In Vancouver, Indigenous leaders led thousands of people in a march against the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, which was greenlit by Justin Trudeau back in 2016.
18. Black Panther and A Wrinkle In Time ruled the weekend’s box office, making it the first time ever that two black filmmakers held the top spots at the U.S. box office.
Share victories with friends:
GRATITUDE JOURNAL
We made a typo last week when we described the West Virginia teachers’ wildcat strike as “wildcast” by accident. A typo might not be a big deal, but we wanted to point it out because wildcat strikes are actually super exciting and worth naming.
