Why doesn't Groundwork Project focus on the “purple” states where elections are generally decided by just a few points? We believe the Deep South, Plains States and Appalachia are the real battlegrounds. These states have been ignored by the Democratic Party for too long, and yet these are the places where secretaries of state, judges and legislators create new fronts in the most critical battles of our time, threatening our civil rights and our democracy itself. It was a case out of Mississippi that led the U.S. Supreme Court to dismantle Roe. It was a case out of West Virginia that gave those same justices the ability to block President Biden’s Environmental Protection Agency on climate action. Read Joe’s recent op-ed in Democracy Docket to learn more about why Groundwork is helping organizers take on big fights in the real battleground states.

read more here

We all know that legal systems around the country disproportionately burden those at the bottom of the income ladder, but in Alabama the cruelty runs far deeper. More than 100 years ago, the wealthy used their political influence to rewrite the state constitution, creating a tax cap on income and property and preventing cities and counties from levying their own taxes without the state legislature. This created a system of minority rule with starved local governments and cruel courts and fine systems that keep the poor in a cycle of debt and excluded from the political process. Learn about what makes Alabama one of the most heartless tax systems in the country here.

Read HERE 

State lawmakers in West Virginia are working overtime to further restrict abortion access and rights in their state. Republicans hold supermajorities in both the state House and Senate, which gives lawmakers the ability to criminalize abortion care despite the majority of voters who believe a person’s decision to carry a pregnancy should be left to them and their healthcare provider. Protesters from across the state stood in front of lawmakers to express their anger and dismay at the newly proposed ban. Learn more here. 

Learn more 

The Oklahoma State Department of Education just voted to downgrade the accreditation of Tulsa Public Schools – deeming them ‘accredited with warning’ due to claims of violations of the recently passed censorship law, HB1775. This law is a dangerous precedent that limits what can or cannot be taught in classrooms about our nation’s history; censorship by the state that hurts students and denies them the right to an equitable education. Read more about the Oklahoma State Department’s censorship of Tulsa Public Schools here.

Check it out 

Freedom Oklahoma is hosting its 2022 Leadership Summit on Friday, August 26th! Join in-person or virtually as organizers from across the state REIMAGINE, ORGANIZE, and REALIZE the Oklahoma we all deserve. Register today!

Get Registered

If you or someone you know was directly impacted by the flooding in Eastern Kentucky, check out the list of resources Groundwork Project is sharing to help local communities recover. Full list of resources here.

Retweet This 

Join the Mississippi Free Press for their next virtual solutions circle. Share your ideas on how we can prevent violence throughout the state and learn from neighbors in MS this Tuesday, August 16th at 6pm CT. Register here.

Register Now