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John,
We’re excited to push forward into 2021 with a bold vision for a better future – one that’s based on the truth.
And right now, the truth is more important than ever. The COVID-19 pandemic has left millions of Americans living in poverty – even as parts of the economy begin to recover, it’s clear that poverty is a consequence of vast economic systems that fail people, and not of a moral failing on the part of the poor.
Similarly, while the world holds its breath ahead of another wildfire season, we know that the fossil fuel industry bears a unique responsibility for the cascade of climate catastrophe that has unfolded in recent years. But while the world gets hotter and forests burn, corporate interests are pushing anti-protest laws that punish poor Black, brown, and indigenous communities for speaking out against pollution.
In 2021, IPS is working with our movement allies to push forward better stories that tell the truth about the challenges we face. [[link removed]]
John, here’s a small look at two of our projects’ work coming up this year:
Criminalization of Race and Poverty
There’s a common story in the US that poverty is a result of an individual’s choices – a story as false and unhelpful as it is outright harmful. Since June 2020, we’ve been working closely with a national cohort of 26 anti-poverty organizations and university programs to disrupt these false, harmful narratives.
In close collaboration with the Poor People’s Campaign, we’ve worked with impacted community leaders and emerging voices among our allies to refine their storytelling and audience segmentation. Together, we’re leveraging these narratives to demonstrate that poverty is a result of systemic barriers – and that real solutions come from collective action.
In 2021, we’re continuing this initial project and seeking out opportunities to expand its reach while securing its future.
action.ips-dc.org/a/ips-2021-spring-appeal [action.ips-dc.org/a/ips-2021-spring-appeal]
Climate Justice
Over the last year, the Climate Policy Program worked with the Transit Equity Network to plan a nationwide Community Hearing on February 3-4, 2021, coinciding with the annual Transit Equity Day celebration on Rosa Parks’ birth anniversary. The goal of the forum was to develop a vision for the future of our transportation system based on the experience of the most affected people, especially communities of color, people with disabilities, low-income households, environmental justice communities, and workers. The Community Hearing was an online forum where transit users, transit workers, and others testified about the critical importance of affordable, accessible public transit to their lives – as a lifeline for mobility, a provider of good jobs, and a tool to mitigate climate change.
This year, we’re planning to continue exposing the ways the fossil fuel industry has captured multiple levels of government; a project we started with our Muzzling Dissent report last year. We’re planning on delving into the influence of the fossil fuel industry on global trade agreements that the US enters into, and the deceptive policy solutions they’re pushing to continue business as usual under the cover of pretending to take climate change seriously.
John, we’re excited to carry these projects forward in 2021 to make sure that IPS’s work centers vulnerable people alongside our vulnerable planet.
Your contribution today gives us the bedrock of support that we need to expand these projects. Thank you for your continued support of the Institute for Policy Studies. [[link removed]]
Onward,
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John Cavanagh
Director

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