Dear John,

We hope you and your loved ones are well and taking care of yourselves in these difficult times.  

This week, the United States surpassed another staggering milestone, with more than 500,000 deaths from COVID-19. AFSC joins with people across the country in honoring every person we have lost—and keeping up our call for government officials to act now to prevent more deaths. If you haven’t already, please urge Congress to pass coronavirus relief that meets the real needs of our communities and protects the health and well-being of all.

Decatur churches plant 15,000 white flags to mourn Georgia’s COVID-19 dead: “We’re trying to create a real visual demonstration of the human and economic impact of the pandemic, but also to create a mourning experience, a public mourning space that is safe and outdoors,” says AFSC’s Tim Franzen. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)  

Providing support to migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border: As recent policy changes fuel uncertainty and frustration at the border, AFSC staff joined other human rights advocates in a monitoring brigade in Tijuana to assist migrants seeking asylum, writes AFSC’s Pedro Rios.  

Take action: Stop the reopening of Homestead immigrant child detention center: Thank you to everyone who sent a message to President Biden this week, urging the administration to keep this Florida detention center closed—and stop detaining immigrant children. If you haven’t already, please send a message today.  

Humanitarian aid is not enough to bring peace to Palestine: While the Biden administration has indicated it will restore critical humanitarian funding to the U.N. Relief Works Agency (UNRWA) and other aid groups in Palestine, we need political action—and a transformation in U.S. policy—to bring lasting peace with justice in Palestine and Israel, writes AFSC’s Mike Merryman-Lotze. 

Why we should rethink calling white supremacist violence “terrorism”: As we pursue justice for the Capitol attack, we must not reinforce policing that criminalizes Muslims and Black and Brown people, writes AFSC’s Mary Zerkel.  

We need a people’s vaccine—free and fairly available to all worldwide—to end the COVID-19 crisis: AFSC joined with more than 200 leaders from public health, economics, faith, and racial justice communities to send an open letter calling for President Biden to commit to a people’s vaccine that provides protection as a global public good and prioritizes those most in need.