The full series will cover topics including our path to victory to win the White House and flip the Senate, the threat of disinformation and how to combat it, the most impactful actions we can all take together to ensure landslide Democratic victories up and down the ballot this year, and more. Click here to RSVP for the full series, or watch the previous livestreams below.

November 1: Every Vote Counts

This livestream, hosted by MoveOn Training Director Chris Percy, featured these guests:

• Maurice Mitchell, National Director of the Working Families Party, spoke with MoveOn’s Executive Director Rahna Epting about this election and what comes next.
• Journalist, author, filmmaker, and activist Naomi Klein spoke about the impacts of this election on our communities and the consequences for our climate.
• Human rights activist Dr. Dayanara “Dee” Marte grounded us in the need for resilience as we look toward 2021.
• Activist, comedian, and writer Baratunde Thurston spoke MoveOn’s Erica Mauter.
  
• Actor Bradley Whitford spoke to the urgency of this moment.
• Common Cause’s Izzy Bronstein spoke with MoveOn’s Lilia Malfavon to map out what voters can expect at the polls on November 3—and what to do if you or your family members encounter issues while casting their vote.
• MoveOn’s Sonia Torres Rodriguez and Kenia Leon gave all the necessary information to help friends and family members cast their votes.
• And more.

October 25: Try and Stop Us

This livestream, hosted by MoveOn Training Director Chris Percy and MoveOn D.C. Liaison Reggie Hubbard, featured these guests:

• Senator Kamala Harris, vice presidential candidate and a longtime MoveOn ally, who spoke about the stakes of this election and how you can maximize your impact in this historic moment.
• Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, our leader in the defense against Trump’s attacks on health care, who spoke about what this election will mean for Congress.
• Actor and activist Mark Ruffalo, a leading voice on the climate crisis as well as a member of Marvel’s Avengers, who spoke about the power of early voting and why our votes are power.
• Andy Slavitt, one of the foremost experts on America’s pandemic response, who spoke about the pandemic and its impact on voting.
• And more, including the passionate Senator Cory Booker and inspiring first-term member of Congress Representative Ayanna Pressley.

October 18: Voting With Our People

This livestream, hosted by MoveOn Training Director Chris Percy, featured members of the “Hamilton” cast and MoveOn leaders:

• Krystal Joy Brown, Lenecia Kebede, and Darnell Abraham from the national cast of “Hamilton” in conversation with MoveOn’s Cultural Director Michael Crawford about how this election is impacting Black and brown communities.
• Mobilize to Win trainer Kenia Leon, who led a training to give you all the information and tools you need to help your friends and family make a plan to vote and ensure their votes are counted.
• And others.

October 11: How We Win: Disrupting Disinformation

This livestream, hosted by MoveOn’s Training Director Chris Percy, launched the series with these guests:

• Rashad Robinson, spokesperson for the Color of Change PAC, and MoveOn’s Executive Director Rahna Epting, in conversation about the state of election and how you can get involved.
• Natalie Martinez, a renowned expert in navigating disinformation networks.
• Kenia Leon, Mobilize to Win trainer, who led a training on how you can stop disinformation from spreading.
• Representative Pramila Jayapal, who spoke with MoveOn’s Reggie Hubbard and Destinee Dickson about the state of Congress and what this election could mean for the country.

The post Watch #YourVoteIsPower: Power in Action livestream series appeared first on MoveOn: People-Powered Progress.

One important step is clear: passing the popular and bipartisan Dream Act that would offer immediate and lasting protections for Dreamers—immigrant youth who arrived in the United States as children and built their lives here and who are Americans in every sense except documentation. And while even more action is necessary to protect all immigrant communities, even this first action is facing massive roadblocks from Trump and the Republican leadership in Congress.

Recently, despite widely held support for the Dream Act, Donald Trump and the Republicans in Congress failed to join with Democrats to establish a bipartisan legislative solution to address the chaos Donald Trump created when he ended the successful Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program last September.

And each week seems to bring new Republican proposals that only fuel Trump’s anti-immigration agenda: from ending the right of family members to immigrate to pouring billions into Trump’s wasteful and nonsensical wall. We can’t let ourselves get lost in every legislative twist-and-turn—the solution is clear, moral, and popular: a clean Dream Act.

Now, the March 5 deadline that Trump set for Congress to fix DACA is just around the corner, and it’s clear the White House and the GOP are playing political games with people’s lives.

Our job now, as March 5 comes speeding toward us, is to ensure any piece of legislation that hurts immigrant communities is dead on arrival and to push Congress to vote on a clean Dream Act. That means pressuring Democrats and Republicans alike to say “no deal” to Trump’s destructive pseudo-deals; and be willing to walk away from the negotiating table if the GOP insists on its cruel agenda.

As that date rapidly approaches, let’s look at how we got here, why we’re at this outrageous stalemate, and where we—Dreamers and allies alike—need to insist the country goes from here.

Nearly all Americans agree that Dreamers should be able to stay here in the U.S., the only country they call home. But Republicans, propelled by Donald Trump, have put them at risk for deportation.

Each day that Congress delays, 122 Dreamers lose their DACA status—joining the 17,000 who are being kept in legal limbo, unable to work, go to school, or support their communities without fear of deportation. And even though Trump’s action to end DACA is being litigated in court, those who lose their status are not automatically renewed, meaning they still face massive hurdles in re-establishing their protections and in the uncertainty of a program in peril.

When Trump canceled Obama’s DACA program last September, he said it was Congress’s job to fix it and that he would support a bipartisan compromise Congress brought to him. Democrats and Republicans in the Senate negotiated for four months and, weeks ago, presented a bipartisan proposal to Trump. Trump rejected that deal, infamously saying it would still allow people to come to the United States from “shithole countries” and that he favored immigrants from countries like Norway—exposing his racism and cruelty to the world.

This left Democrats in Congress with very little room for negotiation with an administration actively attempting to shut down immigration to people of certain races and from certain areas of the world and intentionally dismissive of real solutions coming from Congress.

Essentially, Trump had shown his hand, and, while a government shutdown is never something that progressives embrace, in this particular case, it was the necessary step to get a bill through the House. By not going along quietly with a Republican spending measure that failed to address critical issues and thereby triggering a shutdown, Democrats were able to sound an alarm to the entire country that Dreamers must be protected and that this escalating crisis cannot continue. 


But the GOP was ready to hit hard—and they did, releasing right-wing attack ads invoking alarmist images intended to stoke fear of immigrants. Their intention was to intimidate Democrats. And it worked. Within days, Democrats ended the government shutdown and voted for a second Continuing Resolution to patch funding for the federal government until February 8, when the issue will need to be faced again.

Every day that passes is another day of cruel uncertainty for Dreamers. And every day, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents are emboldened to harass, arrest, and detain more and more people—even in churches and schools.

Progressives across the country have shown the willingness and energy needed to step up and support Democratic leaders who stand strong against Trump’s racist agenda. Just look at Alabama, where a Democrat was elected, against all odds.

Still, we can’t fool ourselves into believing that Democrats in Congress have retained their leverage in the work to pass a clean Dream Act. It will take more than a three-day government shutdown to ensure these Dreamers are protected, and the fight is far from over. 

In his State of the Union address, Trump made it plain that he’s intent on cutting immigration—nearly in half—and is enabling what used to be far-fringe positions of white nationalists to become the new GOP mainstream.

This is terrifying. 


March 5 is the deadline that Trump created, and millions of people and countless communities across the country will be directly impacted by what happens next—even if there is a temporary reprieve by the courts. The fact remains that until the Dream Act is passed, immigrant youth will be living in uncertainty and fear.

There are several immigration bills in Congress—none of which come close to the popularity of the Dream Act, which is the only legislative solution that protects Dreamers without hurting the larger immigrant community.

The public supports the Dream Act. That’s why the GOP has pulled out their racist, alarmist ads to stoke fear. Our work is to ensure the right-wing’s attempts to divide us fail.

The moral action for Congress to take is to pass a clean Dream Act now. We must continue to work with and support our partners and allies, taking leadership from immigrant-led organizations such as United We Dream, to ensure we hold the moral power in this fight.

And if it takes an election to shift the ground, so be it.

The post How we move forward for a clean #DreamActNow appeared first on MoveOn: People-Powered Progress.

Tell Congress to pass a clean Dream Act immediately to protect Carlos, Mariel, and 800,000 others, now: MoveOn.org/Here2Stay

The post Video: Dreamers respond to the end of DACA appeared first on MoveOn: People-Powered Progress.

“The EPA’s official comments on the Keystone XL pipeline make it clearer than ever that this dangerous project would increase the carbon pollution that’s accelerating climate change.

For years, MoveOn members across the country have taken action locally and nationally alongside our friends in the climate movement to demand safe, clean energy solutions. The EPA’s comments regarding the Keystone XL pipeline show that the pipeline fails to meet President Obama’s climate test for Keystone XL and would significantly increase carbon pollution. We call on President Obama to reject the Keystone XL pipeline.”

The post MoveOn statement on EPA’s comments on Keystone XL pipeline appeared first on MoveOn: People-Powered Progress.

Hundreds of thousands of ‪MoveOn‬ members across the country have taken part in the ‪#‎BlackLivesMatter‬ movement: signing petitions calling for justice for the deaths of Eric Garner and Michael Brown and criminal justice reform, making phone calls to President Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder, and joining local events sparked by the tragic events in Ferguson, MO this summer.

We asked why MoveOn members like you are taking part. Here are some of the reasons: 

Are you taking action to say #BlackLivesMatter? We want to hear why. We’ll use your words to amplify the many reasons MoveOn members are standing up and demanding justice for Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and other unarmed Black Americans killed by police. Take this quick survey to share your story now.

The post Why we’re taking action on #BlackLivesMatter appeared first on MoveOn: People-Powered Progress.

This moment—sparked by the failure of grand juries in St. Louis and Staten Island to indict the police officers responsible for the deaths of Mike Brown and Eric Garner—is historic.

Hundreds of thousands of people across the country are taking action at all levels—filling the streets with songs, chants, and solidarity; staging powerful “die-ins” and walkouts; and adding their names to calls for justice.

As local communities continue pushing for much-needed reforms to our criminal justice system—a system that puts communities of color at far greater risk of harassment and life-altering confrontations and ensuing consequences—MoveOn members are joining our friends at ColorOfChange to demand justice for Eric Garner and Mike Brown.

President Obama and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder have the power to move forward much-needed reforms to end discriminatory police violence and prosecute Officer Darren Wilson and Officer Daniel Pantaleo.

It will take all of us to build the pressure necessary to spur federal action.

Can you call President Obama and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder right now?

Here’s where to call:

President Barack Obama:
202-456-1111

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder:
202-353-1555

You can say:

“Under federal law, you have the power to seek justice for Mike Brown and Eric Garner. But don’t stop there. We also need lasting federal reforms now.”

After you call, let us know how it went by taking this quick survey.

The post Raise your voice for Mike Brown and Eric Garner appeared first on MoveOn: People-Powered Progress.

Eric Garner’s last words ring as a call to all of us—to pay attention and to act. Please share this with five friends who might not be fully aware of the protests that have erupted across the country, led by young people of color crying out for justice.

LISTEN TO ERIC GARNER’S LAST WORDS

Transcript: Get away [garbled] for what? Every time you see me, you want to mess with me. I’m tired of it. It stops today. Why would you…? Everyone standing here will tell you I didn’t do nothing. I did not sell nothing. Because everytime you see me, you want to harass me. You want to stop me [garbled] Selling cigarettes. I’m minding my business, officer, I’m minding my business. Please just leave me alone. I told you the last time, please just leave me alone. please please, don’t touch me. Do not touch me. [garbled] I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe.

Source: http://www.hiaw.org/garner/

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READ MORE ABOUT THE ISSUE

Do you have a powerful article or video to share? Tweet at @MoveOn. We’ll monitor Twitter and retweet more articles and videos to amplify the work being done for progressive change.

• “No Such Thing As Racial Profiling,” The New Yorker
• “The Ugly Idea That Killed Eric Garner,” ColorLines
• “It Wasn’t Just the Chokehold,” The New York Times
• “My Vassar College Faculty ID Makes Everything OK,” Gawker
• “How To Teach Kids About What’s Happening In Ferguson,” The Atlantic

WATCH THESE IMPORTANT VIDEOS

Ta-Nehisi Coates on All In with Chris Hayes

Dr. Eleanor Holmes Norton speaking to the House of Representatives

Jon Stewart on Eric Garner

TAKE ACTION NOW

• Add your name: Justice For Mike Brown
• Start your own petition
• Plan or attend an event with Ferguson Action
• Consider joining Showing Up For Racial Justice as an ally

The post Eric Garner’s Last Words appeared first on MoveOn: People-Powered Progress.

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