Building momentum for what's to come.
From the death of Justice Ginsburg, to ongoing protests around police killings of Black men and women, to the unjustified deployment of federal forces and the appearance of White Nationalist militias, it’s hard to remember a time in recent memory when our nation was so publicly rattled to its core by issues of justice, racial equity, rule of law, and freedom of political expression. At Proteus, we are horrified, yet not at all surprised, by these events. Our resolve is strengthened and our focus sharpened by the thousands of individuals and organizations mobilizing on the ground, in the courts, and in legislative chambers around the country. We know that the work of our grantees and allies, including the significant non-partisan civic engagement efforts we've funded in 2020 to protect democracy and advance racial, queer and gender justice will shape national events in the months and years ahead.
Across Proteus, we are both actively responding to the challenges our nation faces today and building momentum for whatever comes next: The Piper Fund is expanding its efforts to defend the right to protest through targeted funding in key states likely to experience additional crackdowns and also by creating a new rapid response communications infrastructure for the period between Election Day and inauguration. The Rights, Faith and Democracy Collaborative is finding innovative ways to respond to the unprecedented attacks on reproductive health access, LGBTQ equality, and religious freedom as a whole. Through the launch of the RFD Network, which allows advocates from across the country to collaborate in an intentionally intersectional space, and cross-movement partnerships to create a new narrative around religious freedom, advocates are better positioned to respond to the avalanche of efforts to weaponize religion and undermine decades’ worth of advancement in civil rights law and policy. The RISE Together Fund continues to draw attention to the need to fund directly impacted communities in response to the twin pandemics of COVID and institutional racism. This includes thought leadership on the underinvestment in Black-led work and a recent funder briefing to highlight the diversity and contributions of the Black Muslim community to social justice movements.
— Paul Di Donato
President and CEO, Proteus Fund
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