Learn about America's next great civil rights bill and Salam Al-Marayati joins diverse group of civil rights leaders in unified fight against hate

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Issue 17: Friday, 19 March 2021
— THIS WEEK IN DC —

Deb Haaland Confirmed, Makes History as First Native American Cabinet Member; Senate Confirms Isabel Guzman to Lead Small Business Administration; House Renews Violence Against Women Act, But Senate Hurdles Remain; Domestic Violent Extremism is 'Greatest' Threat,' Homeland Security Secretary Says; State Department Announces Sanctions on Chinese Officials Over Hong Kong Crackdown; Advocates, Lawmakers Demand End to Anti-Asian Hate Crimes After Atlanta Killings; HHS Announces $10 Billion to Expand Coronavirus Testing in Schools; Senate Democrats Introduce Sweeping Election Bill that would Curb GOP Efforts to Restrict Voting Access; Treasury has Sent About 90 Million Stimulus Payments; Biden Administration To Meet Goal Of 100 Million Vaccine Doses On Friday; Senate Confirms Xavier Becerra as the Secretary of Health and Human Services; House Passes Immigration Bill with Path to Citizenship for "Dreamers".

IN THIS ISSUE
* Featured Issue: America’s Next Great Civil Rights Bill
* Call It What it Is: Hate Crimes, Racism, and Xenophobia - MPAC Stands with the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Community
* MPAC President Salam Al-Marayati Joins Diverse Group of Civil Rights Leaders in LA County in Unified Fight Against Hate

FEATURED ISSUE

America's Next Great Civil Rights Bill

This past election, amidst the ongoing pandemic, Americans rushed to the polls to cast their votes in unprecedented numbers and through unprecedented means. Why did so many Americans find it vital to cast their vote during an election season that may have been detrimental to their health? The answer is simple: those who lead our nation have a direct impact on our lives and our livelihoods. Furthermore, what is a democracy without the voice of the people? In response to this record-breaking voter-turnout election, dozens of states have introduced over 250 bills in their respective capitals to disenfranchise voters in future elections. To redress the issue of voter suppression, Congress has introduced the ‘For the People Act’ (H.R. 1 ([link removed]) /S.1 ([link removed]) ), which is being hailed as the greatest civil rights bill since the Civil Rights
Movement itself.

Within the first month of President Biden’s inauguration, 43 states have pre-filed, carried over, or introduced a total of 253 bills, attempting to restrict voting access. The bills attempt to:

Read the full article → ([link removed])

Call It What it Is: Hate Crimes, Racism, and Xenophobia - MPAC stands with the AAPI community
The Muslim Public Affairs Council demands that the hurdles on hate crimes investigations and reporting are removed, and that crimes against our Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community are called what they are: hate crimes.

In light of increased violence against Asian Americans during the COVID pandemic and the senseless slaying of 8 people, 6 of whom are women of Asian origin, in Atlanta, we extend our hearts, condolences, and solidarity to the families of those lost and the entire #AAPI community. Hate violence of any kind is a stain on our humanity. These incidents are a painful reminder of the divisions in our country and the urgency with which they need to be addressed.

“An attack against any one of us is an attack against all of us. Those who continue to promote and perpetuate hate and scapegoating are cowards. They will not come here in the light of day to say anything. So the more we bring out light, the more we will stamp out this hatred.”

— Salam Al-Marayati, President of the Muslim Public Affairs Council
The AAPI community is a vibrant and essential part of the American fabric. The alarming rise of anti-Asian violence is a clear and present threat to the core values of our pluralism. From racial segregation to immigration restrictions to forced Japanese internment, American history has been plagued by hate and discrimination. We must condemn not only recent acts of violence against Asian-Americans, but also the much more pervasive discrimination and stereotyping that has for too long and too often harmed Asian American lives and impoverished our society. Twenty years ago, Stewart Kwoh, among so many others in the Asian American community, spoke out against “another nightmare” in the form of internment camps against Muslims. It is incumbent upon us to stand together against abuse and violence toward any community.

We call on our government to hold those committing acts of hate accountable, and to work in concert with minority and civic communities to address the xenophobia, hatred, and division. Those who do not amplify this concern, whether members of government or civil society, are involved in a deadly silence. We demand that the hurdles on investigations be removed, and these attacks be called what they are. We must all pledge our solemn oath to the Declaration of Independence, our sacred honor, to stand up, to speak out, and work against hate to strengthen our pluralism.

GOOD TO KNOW
* Salam Al-Marayati joins ([link removed]) diverse group of civil rights leaders in LA County in unified fight against hate
* Suspect in Atlanta spa attacks is charged ([link removed]) with 8 counts of murder
* We tell Syria's human stories ([link removed]) so that the 'victors' don't write its history
* Pittsburgh Public Schools make ([link removed]) Muslim holiday Eid al-Fitr a vacation day
* EU states to resume ([link removed]) AstraZeneca vaccine rollout


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In its 29th year, the MPAC Annual Media Awards are proud to celebrate vital voices in entertainment committed to narratives of courage and conscience. These Actors, Writers, Producers, & Activists go boldly and intentionally beyond their roles, productions, and the big screen to amplify inclusion and social justice.
We cordially request your presence in celebrating achievements from Muslims and Muslim allies in entertainment on Saturday, March 20 at 5pm PT.

REGISTER FOR FREE → ([link removed])

— THIS WEEK IN HISTORY —

March 14, 2003 - Start of weekend of protests against war in Iraq that are attended by millions; March 15, 1922 - Sultan Faud crowned King of Egypt, England recognizes Egypt; March 15, 2019 - Gunman attacks two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand during Friday prayer killing 51 and wounding 40 people; March 15, 2011 - The Syrian Revolution Began with the "Day of Rage" Protest; March 16, 1977 - U.S. President Jimmy Carter pleads for a Palestinian homeland; March 18, 1974 - Most Arab oil producing nations end embargo against U.S.; March 18, 1978 - Former Pakistani premier Ali Bhutto sentenced to death; March 18, 2014 - U.S. closes the Syrian embassy in Washington and expels all Syrian diplomats; March 19, 1962 - France and Algerian leaders sign truce to end the Algerian War; March 19, 2002 - U.S. invasion of Afghanistan: Operation Anaconda ends after killing 500 Taliban and al Qaeda fighters with 11 allied troop fatalities; March 19, 2003 - Airstrikes by an American and British-led coalition
signal the beginning of the invasion of Iraq, without United Nations support and in defiance of world opinion; March 20, 2000 - Pope John Paul II visits Holy Land - Jordan, Israel, Palestine.

March 14, 1907 - By Presidential order, Japanese laborers are excluded from entering the USA; March 14, 1973 - Future U.S. senator John McCain is released after spending over five years in a North Vietnamese prisoner of war camp; March 15, 1907 - Finland is first European country to give women the right to vote; March 15, 1966 - Racial riots erupt in the Watts section of Los Angeles; March 15, 1991 - 4 officers of the Los Angeles Police Department are charged with excessive force over the beating of Rodney King; March 16, 1869 - Hiram R. Revels makes first official speech by an African American in the Senate; March 16, 1883 - Susan Hayhurst becomes first U.S. woman graduate of a pharmacy college; March 16, 1964 - LBJ asks Congress to pass Economic Opportunity Act as part of his War on Poverty; March 16, 2006 - The United Nations General Assembly votes overwhelmingly to establish the UN Human Rights Council; March 17, 1886 - Carrollton Massacre (Mississippi) 20 African Americans killed;
March 18, 1877 - U.S. President Rutherford B. Hayes appoints Frederick Douglass marshal of Washington, D.C.; March 18, 1942 - U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs Executive Order 9102, creating the War Relocation Authority, which was charged with overseeing the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II; March 20, 1854 - Republican Party is formed; March 20, 1965 - Civil and Women's Rights Activist Dorothy Height has her first column published in the weekly African-American newspaper called the "New York Amsterdam News".

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