Hi John,

Sometimes I think working in D.C. and in politics is just learning a whole bunch of acronyms. I don’t want to subject you to that, John, but I do want to tell you about one I really think you should know: HUD AFFH.

O.M.G.A.T.A., or: Oh My Gosh All the Acronyms!

Trump’s Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) just proposed a new rule: Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH). AKA: HUD AFFH. Does the number of letters in a Trump rule acronym correspond to how bad the rule is? Maybe!

What a mouthful! Here’s what that jumble of letters means: Trump’s Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) did something bad yet again.

Here’s the rundown: A few years ago, the Obama administration announced a rule that would require cities and states and public housing agencies that receive taxpayer dollars through HUD to proactively weed out segregation. Why’s that important? Because the legacies of slavery, Jim Crow, redlining, and more live on today. Unless we proactively address segregation, it’ll continue. The Trump proposal not only gets rid of this requirement — the requirement to, you know, actually address our historical (and continued!) racism — but also dismantles a bunch of other fair housing protections that disproportionately benefit women and people of color. Here’s what that terrible acronym spelled out means: the Trump administration doesn’t think segregation is an issue worth addressing and doesn’t think women and people of color need fair access to housing.

Tell the Trump administration: Housing is a gender and racial justice issue. Stop this attack on fair housing.

• Read More: What this rule means.

FEATURED: Abortion Actually… Actually Just Launched!

In the fall we launched a new campaign: Abortion Actually. Abortion Actually is a campaign to tell the story of what abortion actually is. Abortion actually is an act of love, an act of compassion, an act of healing, and an act of selflessness. Abortion actually is a lot of things — and different things to different people — but most of the time only one story about abortion gets told.

In just the past few weeks, we’ve seen: an anti-abortion hearing in the Senate (that our President and CEO Fatima Goss Graves testified at!), an attack from the Trump administration on California for ensuring access to abortion coverage, and so much more.

We’re here to change the narrative around abortion.

That’s why this week we launched the next phase of Abortion Actually to reach even more people. That means fun new graphics (shoutout to the incredible illustrator behind them, Natalie Bui), and new ads on some of your favorite podcasts (The Read, Queery, Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness, and many more!). Check them out, and let us know what abortion actually means to you.

Must-Dos:

• Talk about needing to get schooled: Instead of addressing the urgent problem of sex discrimination in schools, the Department of Education is trying to make it easier for more schools to claim a religious right to discriminate. Tell the Trump administration to stop its attacks on students NOW.

Must-Reads:

• Trump’s inhumane public charge rule (which uses the same rationale that was used to deny Jews seeking entry to the United States leading up to the Holocaust) is about to go into effect. Read up on what your rights are.
• Yikes: “Trump’s budget lays out his blueprint for women and families—and it’s terrifying.”
• It’s February! It’s Black History Month! We have a blog series! The latest piece is on what it means to be biracial during Black History Month: “Being biracial means sometimes hanging in the balance while finding your own place to belong—even during Black History Month. I know the struggle of trying to find your place in a world that quite literally wants you to be Black or white. But we have a unique perspective, a merging of backgrounds and history within our community.”

Your Feminist Moment of Joy

Gabrielle Union, Dwayne Wade, and their daughter, Zaya, announced Zaya is transgender this week and uses she/her pronouns. In Gabrielle’s words: “Meet Zaya. She's compassionate, loving, whipsmart and we are so proud of her. It’s ok to listen to, love & respect your children exactly as they are.” Zaya’s words are also worth a listen. Us crying our happy tears over here:

Zaya: We’re so proud of you.

In solidarity,
Hannah Finnie
Senior Manager of Campaign and Digital Strategies
National Women’s Law Center