Dear John, Happy Wednesday! Earlier this month, the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) teamed up with faith groups to organize the inaugural Let Freedom Ring! event, a national cry for freedom marking America’s historic struggle against tyranny. From private front porches and small-town steeples to big city churches, hundreds of people took part in celebrating the historic occasion and taking a stand against ongoing attacks on democracy. Be sure to check out the wonderful videos and messages posted to the Let Freedom Ring! community page. The event also made the Rachel Maddow show two nights in a row! And you can find short videos of the event's inspiring highlights to view and share on social media here, here, and here. Now, on to the news! | |
Here’s the Latest From CMD | |
Bells Ring Across the Country to Warn Against Attacks on Freedom On April 18, houses of worship and individuals across the country rang bells to mark the 250th anniversary of the beginning of the American Revolution against tyranny and sound an alarm about growing threats to freedom in America today. “We rang loud and clear so the community of Boulder could hear, in solidarity with the need to protect the freedoms we fought for 250 years ago,” wrote members of the First Congregational Church of Boulder, Colorado. Read the full story here. | |
Major Charter School Network Concealed $52 Million in Unexplained Expenses A Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) review of the Knowledge is Power Program — known as KIPP, one of the largest charter school networks in the country — fiscal year 2023 IRS filings reveals that its schools in the U.S. reported more than $52 million in unexplained spending under the category “all other expenses.” Read the full story here. | |
Know Your Enemy: The Organizations Attacking Unions in the States Well-funded anti-labor organizations — many of which have been operating for half a century or more — continue to focus on states and municipalities in order to further decimate labor unions and workers’ rights. CMD has identified the top six organizations working at the state and local levels to dismantle labor regulations and the rights to organize and collectively bargain, which you can read about here. | |
Koch’s Las Vegas Investment Is Now Fully Unionized Despite his long history of union opposition, billionaire businessman Charles Koch recently learned that you can’t build hotels and casinos on the Las Vegas Strip without triggering union membership drives. In December, the Fontainebleau Las Vegas hotel, co-owned by Koch, signed a neutrality agreement with unions for the first time, allowing its hotel workers to organize. Read the full story here. | |
“Hands Off!”: Mass Anti-Trump Protests Sweep Across the Nation Earlier this month, hundreds of thousands of protesters across the country and the world took to the streets to express their outrage and disapproval of the Trump administration’s reckless disregard for the needs, values, safety, and wellbeing of average Americans, largely led by Elon Musk and his team of acolytes at the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Read the full story here. | |
Our research has recently been cited by or featured in the following publications: - Religion News Service: “100+ churches ring bells on Good Friday in honor of Paul Revere and 'against tyranny'”
- The Guardian: “US intensifies crackdown on peaceful protest under Trump”
- Axios: “Trump's war on lawyers and judges draws rebuke from dozens of advocacy groups”
| |
Thank you for following our investigations and for your continued support! Team CMD | |
