Partnership for Working Families
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John -

In the midst of the horrific events of the last week, we also saw the results of incredible organizing led by our affiliates in the South. Voters made history in Georgia in more ways than one, and organizers in Tennessee and Virginia pushed Amazon to take steps to own its culpability in the housing affordability crisis.

There’s no way we’ll let this week pass us by without telling you about their work, and honoring the brilliance and commitment of freedom fighters who have been organizing with their sites set on justice for years.

Democracy at work in Georgia

We are so proud of the work that Partnership affiliate Georgia STAND-UP [[link removed]] , led by executive director Deborah Scott [[link removed]] , has been doing for over a decade to bring us to this moment.

In Georgia, voters persisted to the polls against the backdrop of racist voter suppression that has targeted Black voters for generations. Organizations across the state, many of them led by Black women and all of them rooted in the community for years, worked together to make sure that every voter had their voice heard. Our communities showed up in unprecedented numbers, and 4.4 million Georgians cast their vote! That’s more than double the turnout of the record-breaking Georgia Senate runoff in 2008. As you know by now, Georgia will be sending Reverend Rafael Warnock, the state’s first Black senator, and Jon Ossoff, the state’s first Jewish senator, to Congress.

What Georgia STAND-UP and their coalition is accomplishing in Georgia goes beyond electoral politics, as Deborah Scott reminds us [[link removed]] :

“We didn’t just do this for an election, this is about building power for communities… You have organizations that were here and had a strategy that already worked together. We didn’t have to form a coalition of the willing – which is those willing to work together for one issue for one time – this was deep coalition partners that did what they always do.”

Corporate Accountability in Tennessee, Virginia, and Washington

Last Wednesday, with all eyes on the capitol, you may have missed some big news [[link removed]] from our movement leaders in Nashville, Arlington VA, and Seattle – cities where Amazon is making it nearly impossible for regular working people to afford housing.

Under pressure from our affiliates Stand Up Nashville [[link removed]] and Puget Sound Sage [[link removed]] , along with our allies in Virginia, Amazon announced a $2 billion affordable housing fund on Wednesday. Odessa Kelly, Executive Director of Stand Up Nashville, shared important context on the moment:

“The state of Tennessee forked over $100 million in taxpayer dollars to bring Amazon here. It turns out that they didn’t need that money at all - but we still do. Thanks to organizing by regular people in our city and others, Amazon has responded and today we have great news for the workers who will have a chance at an affordable, better quality of life. But our system inherently doesn’t work if Amazon gets to pick and choose when it contributes to society. The rest of us pay taxes every year to take care of our communities. Amazon should do the same. Amazon is sitting on a staggering amount of wealth, so we know that this $2 billion is just a drop in the bucket for them. If they want to be seen as a productive part of our community, they will start paying their fair share in taxes and pay workers fairly so that we, the people, can make our own decisions.”

Two years ago it would have been unfathomable for Amazon to commit to funding affordable housing at this scale. While we continue to insist they should pay their taxes instead of doling out charity dollars, this shift shows that Amazon can’t afford to ignore us, and our affiliates and partners deserve credit for building their power and influencing the narrative.

Thank you for being part of this moment. Let’s continue to build power in the South and nationally together.

In solidarity,
Felicia Griffin
Deputy Director
Partnership for Working Families



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