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John,
Unfortunately, Congress is back on their bullsh*t. H.R. 9495 is officially back on the House floor, and Republicans are leading the charge (with the help of some Democrats, too) to push the revived bill through the House.
In case you forgot, H.R. 9495, aka the Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act, would give the federal government the power to investigate and effectively shut down any tax-exempt organization — including news outlets, universities, and civil society groups — by stripping them of tax-exempt status based on a unilateral accusation of wrongdoing.
If that sounds incredibly all-reaching and dangerous for organizations like Black Lives Matter, you would be all too right.
Everything about this bill is authoritarian. There is only the illusion of due process, and the government would essentially be able to punish and shut down any organizations or non-profits that they don’t agree with.
Take 2 minutes to send a letter directly to your Representative urging them to reject this dangerous bill. Now more than ever we must protect freedom of speech and the power of protest. The letter is pre-written, and all you need to do is sign on!
In solidarity,
Black Lives Matter
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Black Lives Matter [[email protected]]
Date: Mon, Nov 18, 2024
Subject: This is big
To: John [[email protected]]
John,
There’s a wave of white supremacy, anti-Blackness, war, and genocide sweeping our world. We can see it in the U.S. and beyond.
That makes protest all the more crucial right now as a tool of dissent and as a representation of our collective voice.
That’s why the Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act (H.R. 9495) was so insidious and dangerous and why it’s a huge victory that the House voted against the bill. 🎉
If H.R. 9495 passed this would’ve given Donald Trump’s and his appointed leadership the power to investigate and effectively shut down any tax-exempt organization — including news outlets, universities, and civil society groups — by stripping them of tax-exempt status based on a unilateral accusation of wrongdoing.
That could’ve been used to directly stop organizations like ours from our work.
Since our founding, Black Lives Matter has constantly been characterized as a “terrorist organization” for our pursuit of Black liberation.
This dangerous bill would have allowed Donald Trump and his cronies to shut down organizations like ours just because they don’t agree with us.
This bill was thrown out, but that doesn’t mean that we’re safe from more crackdowns like this. Abolitionist organizations are at risk right now and we need to be ready to fight back against more silencing attempts like H.R. 9495.
Can you chip in anything you can right now to help us have the resources we need to fight back?
In solidarity,
Black Lives Matter
Our grassroots movement is pushing for Black liberation every single day. We are striving to create a world where Black people do so much more than just survive. It’s time we thrive.
As an organization one of our biggest hurdles is consistency.
A recurring contribution of anything you can afford goes a long way as we plan for the months, years, and even decades ahead. This is the most effective way for small-dollar donors (like you) to power our Black liberation work.
Will you make a recurring contribution of $5 or more today so that we can keep building momentum for our movement?
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