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We knew 2020 would be a challenging year for our movement, but the outbreak of COVID-19 has changed everything -- for Advancement Project National Office, the movement, our grassroots partners and communities of color. The stakes are higher than ever.
From access to voting, to community members sitting in jails and immigration facilities at extraordinary risk to their lives, Advancement Project National Office is still fighting to protect people of color. We need your help [[link removed]] .
In the last two weeks, we’ve had to file fast litigation in Florida, St. Louis and Miami, and shift our resources to address needs in places like Arizona and Pennsylvania. We weren’t expecting to be in this fight because our communities weren’t expecting it either. But our work is to respond to the needs on the ground. In this moment, the needs are urgent. Our work and priorities are shifting in real time, much like the communities we support. That’s why we need flexible support to fund it [[link removed]] .
At the heart of our work is a goal to decriminalize communities of color and right now that means decarcerating our jails as we face a health pandemic which has exacerbated the dangers of incarceration. We are fighting for their release so our community members are #FreeAndSafe [[link removed]]. My friend and board member Jesse Williams has joined the call to action [[link removed]] !
In federal court this week, Advancement Project National Office , ArchCity Defenders, Civil Rights Corps, and Georgetown Law’s Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection (ICAP) renewed a motion to reinstate a preliminary injunction against the City of St. Louis and other officials, seeking to ensure that detained people who cannot afford money bail are not put at risk of contracting COVID-19 while in jail solely because of their lack of wealth.
We also filed a similar suit in Miami and expect to file more in Detroit and Oakland, MI, and East Baton Rouge LA. Your support [[link removed]] will allow us to be aggressive in real time to get people out of jails and lessen their risk of contracting COVID-19.
We're also fighting for the release of migrants in detention centers - which we know to be prisons. Last week, we demanded Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office release all incarcerated, including people over the age of 50 and all populations identified by the CDC as vulnerable. It worked [[link removed]]; Maricopa County Jail has already started releasing people. We made a similar demand [[link removed]] for migrants in the York Detention Facility.
Further, we continue to protect the right to vote. Last month, in advance of the Florida Presidential Primary, we filed a case [[link removed]] against the state of Florida demanding an extension of time to request and return mail-in ballots to ensure all voters had access to the ballot. The court denied our motion, but the case is not over. Read this Teen Vogue opinion editorial [[link removed]] that looks at voter suppression from the lens of a first-time voter.
Able to help? Here’s what we need:
· Flexible, financial support for our rapid response efforts -- especially litigation.
· Social media shares demanding community members are #FreeAndSafe from COVID-19.
· You on video urging for the #FreeAndSafe release of people in jails. Post throughout next week on any of our social media accounts and tag us or send it to us by dropping it here. [[link removed]]
With your help, we will continue our fight.
Judith Browne Dianis
Executive Director
PS: We have launched The Sip [[link removed]] , along with Higher Heights, BlackPAC, National Women’s Law Center and The League – all Black women-run organizations. The Sip is a thrice weekly livestream where you can hear organizers, policymakers and more discuss current events from the perspective of Black women leaders. We livestream Sunday at 2p ET, Wednesday at 12:30p ET and Friday at 5p ET.
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