Dear John,

I hope you’re doing as well as possible.

Months ago, members of Congress set a deadline of Martin Luther King Jr. Day to pass voting rights legislation. As moderate Democratic Senators horrifically fail the country by blocking action to pass massive voting rights legislation, Dr. King’s family is marching to Washington and sending a very clear message: there’s no celebration of MLK Day without voting rights legislation, without action.

The first piece in the News Digest is about the importance of people taking action. Many people in the U.S. spend up to two hours a day reading political news but do not take political action in their community. We can totally change this.

If you’re ready to step up in a big way, there’s a free 8-week campaign manager training cohort launching soon. Sign up now to secure your spot and get everything you need to run a local campaign.

Here’s what we’re reading, watching, and listening to this week:

1. Politics 

Highly recommend this piece, originally published in the New York Times, about the importance of taking actual political action, especially at the local level (scrolling the news for 2 hours doesn’t count). Read about getting engaged in politics in the Star Tribune.

2. Voting Rights

Read the latest on moderate Democrats blocking voting rights from passing in the Senate. Plus, check out this tweet from Nina Turner.

3. Corporate Greed

Some elected leaders are starting to call out corporations for contributing to inflation by raising costs indiscriminately to maximize profits. Read more about calling out corporate greed in MPR.

4. Clyde Bellecourt

Co-founder of the American Indian Movement Clyde Bellecourt passed away this week. Learn about how his organizing work for American Indian civil rights started in Minneapolis and influenced Native activists across the country.

5. Omicron

Thousands of students are walking out. Read this important piece on students and Omicron in Vice.

6. Omicron II

The idea of “mildness” is making the pandemic worse for everyone. Read this piece in The Atlantic on the real impact of Omicron.

7. Transformative Justice

Read about how St. Paul has become a leader in transformative justice under Ramsey County Attorney John Choi.

8. Bees

Check out this story on how thousands of bees joined beekeepers protesting in Chile.

9. Golden Globes

I had no idea what was going on (and there will be no awards this year). Catch up with this explainer on the Golden Globes controversy.

10. Predicting the Future

 An evergreen brilliant piece: enjoy and bookmark these rules for predicting the future from sci-fi writer Octavia Butler.

That’s a wrap. Send me what you're reading.

- Kenza Hadj-Moussa