HAPPY ANNIVERSARY FREEDOM SUMMER…THE TRUE COST OF RETAIL…A FAMILY AFFAIR…WITNESS WEDNESDAYS…KOCH BROTHERS EXPOSED…A Changing American Electorate…Does Feminism Have a Class Problem?…More from the Wonk Wire!…
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY FREEDOM SUMMER – Fifty years after hundreds of student volunteers joined forces with Mississippi organizers to register African American voters, the North Carolina NAACP has launched Moral Freedom Summer, a program placing fifty highly-trained youth organizers to fifty counties throughout North Carolina to register African American voters and to engage in voter education.Meanwhile, youth organizers from around the country are heading to Jackson, Mississippi this week for the Freedom Summer 50th Anniversary Conference. The conference will lay out an inter-generational action plan for today’s civil right’s movement, and will also be attended by members of a youth organizing network called The Freedom Side–which includes Dream Defenders, Black Youth Project, United We Dream, Better Schools Better Jobs, and Advancement Project. CHECK OUT the full agenda HERE.
THE TRUE COST OF RETAIL — 1.3 million women working in the retail industry live in or near poverty, according to new findings by Demos. Women currently lose an estimated $40.8 billion annually due to the gender gap in retail … Earlier this month working moms employed by Walmart walked off the job in 20 cities across the US to demand better pay and working conditions, organized by OUR Walmart (Organization United for Respect). FIND OUT more about the group HERE.
Meanwhile, Roosevelt Institute breaks down why CEO pay is not only harmful to the average worker but also general economic stability. READ: “Taking Stock: Why Executive Pay Results in an Unstable and Inequitable Economy.”
A FAMILY AFFAIR — Demos will host a panel discussion on the political and practical lessons New Yorkers can glean from the implementation of paid family leave in New Jersey and California. The panel will include experts Donna Dolan, Sherry Leiwant, and CEPR Senior Economist and Top Wonk Eileen Appelbaum. The event will take place tomorrow, June 24th, at the Demos offices in New York. RSVP HERE.
WITNESS WEDNESDAYS — The Center for Effective Government, the National Employment Law Project, the Coalition on Human Needs, and the National Women’s Law Center are organizing Witness Wednesdays, a national effort to push for the passage of federal long-term unemployment benefits. Witness Wednesdays take place at the House Triangle at 12:30 EST every week through July 30th.
Center for Effective Government President and CEO Katherine McFate: “This should not be a partisan issue — there are unemployed Republicans as well as unemployed as well Democrats, all of them hardworking Americans who are wondering why we’ve abandoned them in their time of need.”
NO VACANCY — Alliance for Justice released a new report indicating that Senate Democrats have reduced the number of judicial vacancies to a five-year low. READ the full findings HERE.
KOCH BROTHERS EXPOSED — A new report by The Nation exposes the Koch Brothers’ billionaire summit, offering a behind-the-scenes look at what happens when the world’s richest and most powerful conservatives meet behind closed doors. READ more HERE.
MoveOn.org is organizing a set of viewing parties for “Koch Brothers Exposed: 2014 Edition.” FIND a party near you HERE.
A CHANGING AMERICAN ELECTORATE — Center for American Progress released a new report analyzing the potential effects of the growing Latino electorate, pointing to the rising influence of American-born children of Latino immigrants. These new voters will make it increasingly difficult for anti-immigration Republicans to win elections. READ the full report HERE.
DOES FEMINISM HAVE A CLASS PROBLEM? — The Nation launched a new project called The Curve, a bimonthly roundtable blog exploring questions related to the intersection of economy and gender. The Curve will feature voices of the nation’s leading economy and gender experts, including Demos President and Top Wonk Heather McGhee. READ The Curve’s first installment HERE.
THE CASE FOR PLACE, NOT RACE — The Brennan Center for Justice will host a conversation with Sheryll Cashin on her new book, Place, Not Race, this Thursday June 26th in New York. Cashin’s book provides a new framework for achieving truly equal opportunity in education, including proposals for making standardized testing optional and replacing merit-based financial aid and need-based financial aid. RSVP HERE.
FROM THE WONK WIRE …
… WHAT MIDDLE CLASS?: Demos Distinguished Senior Fellow and Top Wonk Robert Kuttner examines the disappearance of the American middle class and investigates the steps we can take to rebuild it.
… CAPPING CARBON: NRDC President and Top Wonk Frances Beinecke praises the EPA’s new limits on carbon pollution, calling it the most important step the nation can take to fight climate change.
… REGISTRATION AS REPARATION: NAACP President and Top Wonk Benjamin Todd Jealous argues that communities of color have the potential to shift the balance of power in southern states if Democrats make large investments in voter registration.
Find out more at www.TopWonks.org.
… ON OUR AGENDA … Visit our twitter @PractProgress! …
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