CW: The first section of this email discusses police brutality, the murder of Daunte Wright, and a school shooting in Knoxville, TN.

Indivisibles,

Today all of us, and especially Black Indivisibles and the Black community at large, are grappling with tragically familiar news of loss and violence as we once again spend a heartbreaking, infuriating day learning details about the murder of a young Black man by police. 20-year-old Daunte Wright was killed Sunday by Minneapolis police after he was pulled over for having an air freshener hanging from his rear view mirror. His murder came midway through the trial of the police officer who murdered George Floyd just a few miles away.

Let us be unequivocal: these are not isolated incidents. The police in this country, like American society more broadly, are systemically racist. Click here to read our resource on solidarity with the movement for Black lives, then click here to donate to Black-led organizations fighting for justice.

Then, just as we finished up drafting today's newsletter, we saw breaking news of a school shooting in Knoxville, TN. It's hard to find the words for what it feels like, to not even have a moment to process one attack before the next arrives.

One of the hardest parts of the fights against oppression and gun violence is that even -- particularly -- in times of mourning, we’re called upon to act. If you are taking today, this week, right now to mourn, know that we’re mourning with you, that taking time to yourself is a critical part of this fight, and that we’ll be here when you’re ready to take action. Feel free to stop reading here. If you’re someone who wants to spring back into action right away, this newsletter is for you.

One rung of the fight is D.C. statehood: enfranchising the plurality-Black, majority-minority city that has been taxed without representation for 230 years. And this week is a big week for statehood: there’s a hearing on H.R. 51 in the House on Wednesday, and Friday is Emancipation Day, the day when Abraham Lincoln signed the bill that ended slavery in D.C..

We expect the Republicans use the same ridiculous arguments they used at the last hearing, making claims like D.C. can’t be a state because it doesn’t have a car dealership (it does). Democrats will be focused on the real issue: that 700,000 Americans, mostly Black and brown, are being denied basic democratic rights, and Congress has the power to fix it.

Here’s where Indivisibles come in: it’s important for members of Congress and senators who are on the fence to see that D.C. statehood isn’t a niche issue, it’s something people care about all across the country. So particularly if you don’t live in D.C., we need you to get loud this week, sharing photos of yourself with a 51-star flag, calling your elected officials, or making a Soapboxx video explaining why statehood matters to you. Click here to check out our full Digital Week of Action Toolkit.

When we email about D.C. statehood we get a lot of questions about Puerto Rico, so we wanted to address that question right up front: we support self-determination for Puerto Rico too! D.C. has voted more decisively for statehood and there is a bill actively moving, which is why we’re talking about it more. But we think everyone from San Jose to St. Paul to San Juan should get to decide what government works for them.

With that, here are your weekly to-dos:  

 Your weekly to-dos 

1. Check out the Digital Week of Action Toolkit. Here are tools and tactics you can use to pressure your member of Congress to support D.C. statehood and get your fellow Indivisibles, friends, and family involved for a D.C. statehood Digital Week of Action April 12-16th (this week!).
2. Take the Indivisible Census. From time to time, we evaluate our network and assess our impact. We’re excited to work with Dr. Dana Fisher, a prominent researcher on American political movements, and her team at the University of Maryland to launch this year’s Indivisible Census. No matter if you founded one of the very first groups in 2016 or just joined last week, we want to hear from you.
3. Make calls to your senators & member of Congress on our recovery priorities. We expect part two of Biden’s Build Back Better Plan, the American Families Plan, to be released sometime this week, so this is a crucial moment to make sure the THRIVE Agenda, the Green New Deal Network’s recovery plan focused on climate, jobs, and justice, is included in any package. You can watch our climate expert, Ann, break down THRIVE here before you call.

P.S. We rely on your support to keep call pages up and running, fund ads to get the word out, and continue all the work we’re doing this year. If you’re able, click here to donate to help fund our work.

 This Week on the Hill 

With Recovery Recess over, members of Congress and senators are returning to Washington, having heard from Indivisibles nationwide about how important a strong recovery package is. This week, not only will the House be working hard on Biden’s Build Back Better plan (and they’ll have lots of feedback from constituents like you who want to see the plan on par with THRIVE), but it’s also a BIG week for democracy:

On Wednesday, April 14, the House will be marking up the D.C. statehood bill, bringing it one step closer to the House floor for a vote. On Thursday, in recognition of Tax Day, Indivisible groups will be uplifting the importance of D.C. statehood and how residents of D.C. pay taxes yet have no representation in Congress. And Friday is D.C. Emancipation Day, which celebrates the freeing of thousands of slaves in the district a full eight months before the Emancipation Proclamation freed slaves in the South. If you’d like to participate in the Democracy Days of Action with our partners, share the resources below with everyone you know.

Check out this video on how D.C. statehood is a racial justice issue.

Share this video on why D.C. statehood is critical for reforming our democracy.

Watch this video on voting rights -- and how the For the People Act can restore our democracy.

Learn why the filibuster needs to be abolished in order to pass D.C. statehood.

Read this resource on why filibuster reform doesn't go far enough.

 National Events

Looking to brush up your advocacy skills or learn new ones? You can always check out our upcoming trainings on our website.

Join activists across the nation on April 14, 2021 for the John Lewis Mobilization Town Hall to learn more about the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Day of Action which will create national awareness for S. 1, the For the People Act. Join the event at 7pm ET by clicking here.

POC Caucus Conversations: COVID Vaccine - Increasing Equity, Decreasing Hesitancy - April 27 at 8pm ET / 5pm PT Indivisible's People of Color Caucus is hosting a conversation with Dr. Ebony Hilton and Haeyoung Yoon of the National Domestic Workers Alliance. We'll be discussing equity in vaccine distribution, vaccine hesitancy, and how to support vaccine equity and have conversations with our community who may be hesitant to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

Moving the Media with Truth Brigade: Join us on April 14 at 6:30 EST as we kick off our new "Moving the Media" program. We'll learn from Media Matters how the media both intentionally and unintentionally supports large scale misinformation, and we'll take action together to influence those influencers. Ready to fight misinformation? Click here to join the Truth Brigade.

April Twitter Training Series: We’re running “Twitter Basics” training this week on April 13 (3pm ET / 12pm PST) and April 15 (7pm ET/ 4pm PT) for beginners and “Twitter Strategy” trainings next week on April 19 (8pm ET/ 5pm PT) and April 20th (3pm EST / 12pm PST) for more advanced users looking to learn about analytics, algorithms, and promotions. If you’re curious about Twitter or want to polish your skills, join us! 

Want to learn about how we solve the Supreme Court problem? Join Indivisible’s Meagan Hatcher-Mays, along with our partners at Demand Justice, Sunrise and Black Lives Matter for a National Organizing Zoom Call on April 17 at 3pm ET. Learn why we need to expand the Supreme Court & how you can help!

Take the Indivisible Census

All of the energy and passion we've put into our organizing since the inauguration in January is already starting to pay off. We’re seeing wins with members of Congress (MoCs) fighting for the strongest COVID-19 relief, speaking out against filibuster, and now they’re starting to fight for the boldest recovery plan possible through the THRIVE agenda. Being able to tell the story of our work this year is a way that we show our power, but in order to do that, we need to build a shared understanding of who we are as a community -- and to provide a way for you, as the leaders of this movement, to share that with us directly.

We’re excited to work with Dr. Dana Fisher, a prominent researcher on American political movements, and her team at the University of Maryland to launch the 2021 Indivisible Census, and we’re asking you to participate. Please click here and take a few minutes to complete the Indivisible Census today.

IndivisiWins

Indivisibles in Nevada (and across the country) showed off their 51-star flags last week to support D.C. statehood! Check out the #DCStatehood hashtag on Twitter to see more.

What We're Reading

There’s a lot going on in April, so we’ve decided to change up the focus of the content we share here each week this month. This week, in recognition of Autism Acceptance Month, we’re uplifting the voices of Autistic people as well as rejecting the ableist narrative, rooted in eugenics and neurotypical privilege, that neurodiversity is something to be "fixed." Here’s what we’re reading and streaming: 

🎧  The Yenn Purkis Autism Show. Autistic and non-binary advocate and author Yenn Purkis interviews people in the autism, Queer and disability communities about aspects of neurodiversity and other relevant topics. 

📝  #ASDComicTakeover. Scroll through Twitter and check out some of the amazing comics contributors to the #ASDComicTakeover submitted describing their own experiences with Autism. 

💻  Autism Acceptance’s Resources for Allies. If you’re allistic (many advocates’ preferred term for non-autistic people), take a few minutes to go through this list of resources for allies, including a checklist of ways neurotypical privilege appears in unexpected places.

And don’t forget -- if you take action this week, share it on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram to help spread the word!

In solidarity, 
Indivisible Team