1. People Over Profits: Right to the City Rally and March! [9/30]
DOWNTOWN MARCH AND RALLY FOR PEOPLE OVER PROFITS
Right to the City Rally and March, Fri 9/30
Right to the City Alliance and our community and labor partners are organizing a multi issue, people’s demonstration against corporate greed. While our communities are suffering from joblessness, foreclosure and neighborhood violence, major corporations are taking billions of our tax dollars and getting rich. On September 30th, we are standing up and fighting back!
DOWNTOWN BOSTON FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 30th
- 3:00pm Rally @ Boston Commons Bandstand
- 3:30pm March starts towards Downtown Banks and Financial District
- 5:30pm People’s Celebration and Closing
WHAT ARE WE FIGHTING FOR?
- Stop Bank Foreclosures
- Corporations Pay Your Taxes
- Fund Youth Jobs
- Fair Union Contract for Verizon and Hyatt Workers
- Green Jobs and Environmental Justice
Don’t Miss This Major Action: Sign Up and Endorse!
SIGN UP FOR THE FREE BUS FROM GROVE HALL MECCA TO DOWNTOWN AT 2PM ON 9/30: http://tinyurl.com/6jufn7n
DOWNLOAD BWA FLYERS for RIGHT TO THE CITY RALLY AND MARCH! http://tinyurl.com/63dntgy
ENDORSERS (partial list):
Alternatives for Community and Environment, Asian American Resource Workshop, Boston Workers Alliance, Chelsea Collaborative, Chinese Progressive Association, City Life / Vida Urbana, Community Change Inc, Community Labor United, CWA Local 1400, Direct Action for Rights & Equality, Green Justice Coalition, IBEW T-6 Council, Lynn United for Change, Mass Global Action, Massachusetts Jobs With Justice, MassUNITING, Merrimack Valley Project, Neighbors United for a Better East Boston, New England United for Justice, Press Pass TV, Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Springfield No One Leave, Survivors Inc, UE Northeast Region, UFCW Local 1445, Union of Minority Neighborhoods, UNITE HERE Local 26, Worcester Anti-Foreclosure Team
CLICK HERE FOR YOUR ORGANIZATION TO JOIN THE GROWING LIST OF ENDORSERS AND TO BE LISTED AS SPONSOR ON ONLINE AND PRESS MATERIALS http://tinyurl.com/68hg94v
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2. Fight for Fair Redistricting and Equal Representation! Sign the Unity Statement: http://tinyurl.com/3qufhn9
Every 10 years after the Census, our state legislature redraws the lines of our state rep and senator’s districts. These lines decide how many people are in each district and the influence communities can have in electing politicians who can represent them.
The release of new legislative district maps is just around the corner. We want to make sure the State Legislature’s Special Joint Committee on Redistricting hears our call for districts that reflect the growing population of people of color in Massachusetts.
We are asking all community and grassroots organizations to sign on to a Unity Statement that will be sent to our legislators.
Read the statement below and if you are a supporter please sign up (http://tinyurl.com/3qufhn9)- or email Aaron Tanaka [email protected] or Cheryl Crawford [email protected] with questions.
Please join dozens of organizations that are standing up for a fair redistricting process.
REDISTRICTING UNITY STATEMENT
The undersigned organizations, groups and coalitions have been involved in redistricting planning across the Commonwealth to develop fair and constitutionally permissible plans. Since the last redistricting plan developed by the legislature 10 years ago, the statewide population of voting age people of color has grown to almost 20% percent of the population but there are only 10 state representatives and senators of color, 5% percent of the state legislature. Proportional representation is a factor that the legislature must give due consideration in redrawing fair and equitable districts for the state representative, state senate and congressional seats.
Factors considered to create fair and equitable districts by the undersigned have included:
1. Natural boundaries of neighborhoods, communities, cities and towns
2. Areas with concentrations of people defined by race, culture, languages other than English as a first language, other countries as the country of origin, relative income status, and age.
Using the above criteria, fair and equitable statewide maps would produce:
A minimum of 7 new state representative districts which, are majority minority districts, an increase from 9 to 16, using voting age population data. Using simple population data, and not voting age population, the number of seats could increase from 9 to 18.
A minimum of 2 new state senate districts, which are majority minority districts, an increase from 1 to 3, using voting age population data. Using simple population data, and not voting age population data, the number of seats could increase from 1 to 4.
A minimum of 1 new congressional seat, which is a majority minority district, an increase from 0 to 1.
Additionally, the legislature should address the issue of prison-based gerrymandering. It is patently unfair to count prisoners in the districts of the prisons, instead of in the district of their home address. The legislature should adjust the population in prison districts to offset the inflated numbers that are given from the census count.
A number of redistricting maps have been presented to the Massachusetts legislature that achieve the proportional representation indicated above. We implore the legislature to adopt one of these maps or in the alternative, to create a map that at least meets the minimum goal of fair and equitable representation and achieves proportional representation by drawing significantly more minority majority districts across the state. In so doing, the legislature will uphold the spirit and letter of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, ensuring that people of color have full opportunity to participate in the political process and elect representatives of their choice.
