From Mavis Brauer, Chair, Prescott Indivisible
Our next General Meeting is this Thursday via ZOOM. Rosemary Agneessens is going to speak on Arizona education issues. Rosemary has a wonderful bi-weekly newsletter dedicated to distributing the best articles on education issues and is in charge of PEAC, a group of educators dedicated to improving public education in Arizona.
PI is focusing on education this month because we are searching for an Education Team Leader to replace Julia Watson who has resigned (and we will definitely miss her!) If you are interested in education and are drawn to making it better for our students, please consider volunteering. You won’t be alone. Rosemary is a dedicated ally, Julia is going to continue to train people to use Request to Speak (RTS), and there’s already a long list of people on the education team. Let me know if you’re interested. Thank you.
Mavis Brauer
Covid-19 is still a health threat.
Wear a mask when you go out, wash your hands and
practice social distancing.
You are invited to attend:
Prescott Indivisible General Meeting
Thursday, June 4, 2020 at 6:00 PM
Join ZOOM Meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86571157674
NATIONAL
“When fascism comes to America, it will come wrapped in the flag and waving a cross.” Sinclair Lewis
Content warning: This email discusses police violence against Black people.
Hello Indivisibles,
Ezra and Leah here. Like so many of you, over the last few days we’ve been mourning George Floyd and watching the news from Minneapolis, feeling overcome by anger, sadness, and a sinking sense of deja vu. Yet again, we’re hearing the horrific story of a Black person murdered by police; yet again, there’s a shattering video capturing the horror.
And we feel, like so many, the grief and anger of having seen such stories before; of having seen, over and over and over again, as clear-cut cases of police murdering Black people regularly end in dropped charges or acquittals of the police responsible. It was just four years ago in the Twin Cities that the police officer who murdered Philando Castile in front of his girlfriend and her four-year-old daughter was acquitted. And we know, sickeningly, that more murders pass without nearly the same attention not because they’re any less unjust or horrific, but because they went unfilmed.
We know that what’s happening right now is a pattern of abuse and violence that stretches back for generations. That this isn’t about a few bad apples in a few cities; it’s about a system that’s fundamentally rotten, designed to terrorize instead of protect. Before murdering Floyd, police officer Derek Chauvin had been subject to eighteen complaints — all but two closed without discipline. When a system “fails” eighteen times, it’s painfully clear that it’s not actually failing. It’s working as designed — to protect police officers as they terrorize Black and brown communities. In other words, to protect white supremacy — together with the prison industrial complex, the latest manifestation of a system that extends back to our history of slavery.
In the wake of this horror, as protests have begun in Minneapolis and spread nationwide, we’ve seen the ways in which people, organizations, and structures assert the continued horror of white supremacy — the brutal police responses of tear-gas and projectiles, the immediate turn to arrests, the media focus on property damage over the injustice of George Floyd’s murder and the deeper, longer crisis of lives destroyed by racism. Compare these reactions to just a few weeks ago, when overwhelmingly white “reopen” protestors with AR-15s invaded statehouses in Minnesota, Michigan, and Ohio — and were treated with respect and caution by police. And now, Donald Trump is openly calling for the murder of (Black) protesters.
The events of this week have been a series of visceral, painful reminders of the realities that our Black friends, neighbors, and colleagues live with every day in our white supremacist society. Minneapolis demands an immediate response, but for white folks like us two writing this newsletter, these events also call for reflection on how we show up as allies. Those of us who have privilege must show up in support. We must push ourselves, and our own families and friends. That’s our job. Directly impacted people cannot and should not carry this burden alone.
Until next time
We’ll close by again encouraging you to follow, uplift, and support the following organizations fighting for justice in Minneapolis:
- Black Visions Collective: Supporting Black activists on the ground
- Minnesota Freedom Fund: Bail fund for activists
- Reclaim the Block: Community fund
- Northstar Health Collective: Medical donations
- Unicorn Riot: On-the-ground independent & radical media coverage
- George Floyd Family/Memorial Fund
- If you only have a few bucks to spare and can’t decide where to send them, ActBlue has created a page splitting donations between several deserving organizations that you can find by clicking here.
In solidarity, Leah and Ezra
Read entire article here.
Fight Injustice
National Democratic Training Committee
Call to Action
George Floyd
Breonna Taylor
Ahmaud Arbery
Systematic racism and police violence have stolen these lives and the lives of other Black American from communities across the country.
It is our responsibility to recognize the plight faced by so many and fight to correct these injustices. We must invest and stay active in these efforts, especially when they aren’t the focus of the media. The events in recent days have provided another all-too-often reminder of this. As we work to support Democratic candidates, staff, and local leaders at the forefront of these issues, we make two promises to you.
First, we will continually uplift and call attention to these injustices. You will not only hear our voice on this issue when it is the focus of the media. We will address and fight for these issues proactively, not reactively.
Second, we will promote and collaborate with organizations focused on ending these injustices.
We call on you to hold us, and yourself, accountable to these promises.
We stand behind everyone who stands up to bring us closer to a truly united community. From candidates and officeholders to local leaders and volunteers, the responsibility to take action belongs to all of us.
In solidarity,
The NDTC Team
National Democratic Training Committee,
TrainDemocrats.org, not authorized by
any candidate or candidate’s committee.
ARIZONA
Permanent Early Voting List (PEVL)
For years, the Republican-dominated Legislature has added law after law making voting more difficult. While their justification has been the myth of “voter fraud,” others see these laws as resulting in voter suppression, especially of segments of society that are more likely to vote Democratic. Now, with the pandemic, we in Arizona are faced with the likelihood that citizens who don’t vote by mail will not vote, due to fear of contracting the virus at the polls – not to mention the laws that now make in-person voting more difficult.
Accordingly, it is extremely important to get as many voters as possible on the PEVL. The first step is to ensure that you and your family members are on the PEVL.
If unsure whether you are on the PEVL, check your ballot-by-mail status HERE.
If you are not on the PEVL, you may request it HERE OR HERE.
For an excellent piece, “Debunking the Voter Fraud Myth,” by the Brennan Center for Justice, click HERE.
Threat Multiplier – COVID & Climate Impacts
on Northern Arizona Fire Season
ZOOM Meeting
Thursday, June 11, 2020
1:00 PM – 3:00 PM
We welcome guest speakers, Carly Phillips and Tim Carter to present and discuss the concerns Northern Arizona faces this fire season with COVID-19, climate impacts, and wildfires.
As the planet warms, the region continues to see climate change trends of rising temperatures, below average snowpack, drought, and increased grass crops from spring and winter rains acting as a fuel for wildfire. Unlike previous years, the collision of COVID-19 with the wildfire season has left us unable to prepare and made emergency management and fire-fighting practices riskier.
Although land and fire management has exacerbated wildfires, climate change has heightened the trend of larger fires. Northern Arizona is no stranger to severe wildfires. The 2018 Tinder Fire burned over 16,300 acres and 84 structures in a riparian zone with protected species. In 2019, the Museum Fire severely damaged the soil on the slopes of Elden Mountain, directly impacting neighborhoods. The Slide Fire in Sedona burned 22,000 acres in Oak Creek Canyon, costing over $10 million. We will never forget the 19 Granite Mountain Hotshot lives lost in the Yarnell Hill Fire.
THIS IS A ZOOM MEETING. PLEASE CLICK LINK TO REGISTER HERE!
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting and a reminder with the zoom link the day of the presentation.
Click here to read about the guest speakers, Carly Phillips and Tim Carter.
This event is sponsored by the Northern Arizona Climate Change Alliance, Union of Concerned Scientists, Elders Climate Lobby, and Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. This online presentation is free and will include opportunity for Q&A.
Drive Through and Sign Petitions
Starting this weekend and running through the end of June,InvestinEd will have two drive through sites setup on the weekends for people to sign the petition. Please bring your ID and personal protective gear.
We will also have a notary available to notarize and accept Outlaw Dirty Money petitions. We are no longer gathering signatures for Outlaw Dirty Money but we want to get any petitions that you have with signatures on them notarized and back to us. Terry is filing an appeal with the Governor, Majority Leader of the House, and Senate President to let us carry these signatures over to the 2022 election cycle. Locations and times:
Saturdays and Sundays in June, 3 -5 pm
Pioneer Park, 1200 Commerce Dr, Prescott, (off of Willow Creek Road)
Prescott
Saturdays and Sundays in June, 9 -11 am
Hampton Inn, 2901 North Glassford Hill Road, Prescott ValleyPrescott Valley
CONTACT: Diane McQueen, No AZ Regional Coordinator, Outlaw Dirty Money, 928-699-4308
Save Our Schools Arizona
A quality system of schools for every child, in every neighborhood, was so important to the founders of our state that they embedded this requirement in the state constitution. Yet many years of underfunding and increased privatizations have put that system at risk.
Let us introduce ourselves: Save Our Schools Arizona was founded in 2017.
Prescott Indivisible is a non-partisan community which seeks to promote a progressive and inclusive agenda in support of human rights and the environment.
INFORM CONNECT INSPIRE RESIST
