Dear John,

I’m writing this early in the day on Friday so I can take a rest. The big news might change by the time this hits your inbox. That said, I wanted to lift buried stories as you’re probably glued to the presidential race (which is unfolding like we predicted and planned for).

Many of us were worried about this election because of 2016. But this is clear: we are not the same people or country we were four years ago.

TakeAction started the news digest after the 2016 election. We imagined that by wrestling through the news together we could, at the same time, strengthen the vision of an inclusive, multi-racial democracy. Our goal was also to shine light on the forces behind Trumpism – white supremacy, patriarchy, and unbridled corporate power – that have always aimed to drive wedges between the multi-racial working class.

Getting Trump out of office stops the bleeding. Healing comes next. And because we are a different country than we were four years ago, we can start a new path forward: our liberation is tied together, and we know it.

Whatever your role was resisting the last four years, thank you. Rest, celebrate, exhale. There’s more work to be done.

If you’re in the cities, join us to celebrate and march together. Together We Rise: March to Decide our Future starts at 12 p.m.

Here’s what we’re reading, watching, and listening to this week: 

1. Historic Wins

Women of color and nonbinary candidates made historic wins this Election Season. Read about these 15 winners and Native American women elected to Congress.

2. Stacey Abrams

Georgia is going for Biden and is on track to decide who controls the U.S. Senate in a runoff election in January. Stacey Abrams registered 800,000 new voters across Georgia – mostly young people and BIPOC voters who’ve faced suppression by the state. Read this thread.

3. Yes on J

LA voters passed an amendment to invest in community. Read about the movement to divest from policing & prisons and Re-imagine LA.

4. Justice 

People in prison are counted in political infrastructure through the Census but their voices are silenced: “predominately white towns in rural areas throughout the country have their populations artificially expanded because of the bodies of disproportionately Black and Hispanic voters who are incarcerated there.” Read this piece in The Atlantic.

5. Electoral College

No other election on the planet is set up like ours. People decided our undemocratic presidential election system and people can change it. Read this and read about Colorado passing the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact.

6. Chile

Voters overwhelmingly voted to write a new constitution, ending a chapter of dictatorship. Read more in the New York Times.

7. Climate Justice

It’s time to move forward for a more caring, just, inclusive & sustainable future. Read this letter to #StopLine3 then call Governor Walz (comment line: 651-201-3400).

8. Pennsylvania

More dancing in the streets when Philly heard Biden was ahead. Watch here. And enjoy this. Oh, this too.

9. Decriminalization

The legalization and decriminalization of drugs was on the ballot this year. Oregon and D.C. crossed huge milestones. South Dakota legalized recreational and medical marijuana. Hear what happened and why it matters for justice.

10. TV

At the top of my post-election binge watching list? The Queen’s Gambit on Netflix. Let me know if you’ve seen this yet.

That’s a wrap. 

--Kenza Hadj-Moussa 

P.S. Thank you for your kind notes and huge gratitude to my friend and colleague Chris Conry who helped write the news digest through election season. Thank you Chris!