“Voting is not only our right—it is our power.”

Luong Ung

We're meeting this Sunday, August 9th, from 3:00 to 4:30.  Join us via Zoom (or call in: +1 646 558 8656) and find out what's going on and how you can make a difference.

Fight Voter Suppression.  Part of the danger of voter suppression is when it makes things muddy. Hard to understand. Intentionally opaque. Confusing. Questionable. DON’T LET THIS HAPPEN to you, your family, your colleagues, your circle of friends! You may only be one, but you can make a difference every day as you run into folks in your travels and catch up on Zoom calls and meetings.

Decide NOW to ask everyone you know to join you by “BEING A VOTER” and to tell you exactly what her/his/their plan is for both the PRIMARY (Sept. 1 in MA) and the GENERAL (Nov. 3) elections. If they can’t tell you, be sure to lend assistance! Those who know their voting plan and commit to it out loud are MORE LIKELY TO VOTE!! (Hint: you could even offer to go with them, remind them via text, give them an old-fashioned phone call to cheer them on.)

This year, there is just no margin of error for “I forgot,” “it was raining,” “I was afraid of the virus,” or “my vote doesn’t really matter.”  This stuff can be hard!   (True story: I just assisted my sister who lives in MO and needed to know if she really needed a notary for mail-in absentee voting. Missouri is a state that requires this! An extra step to work into her voting plan.)

Two easy sites to remember and share. Repeat after me! TURBO VOTE and ROCK THE VOTE. (I find that if I say something aloud 7 times, it’s more likely to stick in my COVID brain.)

• TURBO VOTE! These voting rights champions make sure you always know when elections are happening and that you have the information you need to vote with confidence. You can sign up to receive election reminders, get registered to vote, and apply for your absentee ballot with Turbo Vote. (I receive text messages with reminders about all elections which is super handy!) 
• ROCK THE VOTE! A nonpartisan nonprofit dedicated to building the political power of young people...all things VOTING HERE!!!

GT August Book Group Selection - One Person, No Vote: How Vote Suppression is Destroying Our Democracy, by Carol Anderson. Some of you might remember that Anderson’s White Rage was one of the first titles we read when our book group started in the spring of 2017. With the election only 91 days away, revisiting the critical topic of voter suppression is especially timely. We’ll join our coalition at Indivisible MA this month for an opportunity to discuss this book with a wider network of folks. It’s empowering to be part of a bigger team, so join us on AUGUST 27 - 7:00 pm; zoom link to follow later in the month; email gdoench@gmail.com to RSVP...all welcome, as always!

Want to check out another great new book?

Thank You For Voting: the Maddening, Enlightening, Inspiring Truth About Voting in America, by Erin Geiger Smith

“Smith serves up a youth-friendly—though by no means youth-restricted—guide to understanding not only one’s rights as a voter, but also such thorny constructs as how polls work (badly, too often) and how gerrymandering keeps districts that should go to one party going to the other instead. Usefully, she provides a timeline of what to do not just to vote, but to bring one’s cohort along for the ride: First thing is to register to vote, then ‘choose five friends to join you to vote.’ Then, 40 and 30 and 10 days before the election, be sure those friends know how to vote, whether in person or by mail, where the polling place is, and other such practical matters.”

Florida Project.  Another volunteer GT captain has stepped up to lead GT in Lift-Every-Vote’s FLORIDA PROJECT. Thank you, Sarah!!! (Haven’t signed up yet to help save our democracy this fall? Maybe this project is for YOU!)

In 2018, Amendment 4 in Florida helped restore voting rights to 1.4 million people with felony convictions. Lift+Every+Vote is carrying this victory forward by postcarding 70,000 individuals who are immediately eligible to register to vote to remind them to do so—and they need our help! Join me and others in contributing to an ambitious goal of sending 1,000 postcards to these potential voters. We can make this happen if twenty GTers each write 50 postcards. Ready to join the effort? Email me at sarah.clader@gmail.com and let me know 1) How many postcards you'd like; and 2) Whether you can provide your own postage or would like it provided. Postcard ordering is currently in progress, but once available they can be picked up from my house in Williamstown at an agreed upon time. (Want to help but can't pick up from W-town? You can also sign up through Lift+Every+Vote's volunteer form and order your own postcards using their instructions.) Let's help our fellow citizens get back on the voter rolls!

IMPORTANT AUGUST ACTIONS AND OPPORTUNITIES!!

It’s Time to Fill Your Calendar: Hope is an action…

• Aug 9 - GT Monthly Zoom Meeting 3:00 - 4:30 - Zoom link here.
• Aug 18 - Williamstown Town Meeting with Racial Justice Citizens Petitions (We need 2/3 of those attending to vote YES. Spread the word! Scroll down to Articles 36 & 37)
• Aug 20 - RIGGED - free movie screening (zoom webinar)—Join in! co-sponsored by NAACP Berkshires, UUMSB, Four Freedoms, Democractic Brigades, BRIDGE and Greylock Together
• Aug 25 - Cocktails and Conversation with JON LOVETT! (yes, THAT Jon Lovett!) GT’s FLIP THE SENATE ROUND 4 with our partners @ Force Multiplier.  Reserve your spot here. Don’t miss this fabulous zoom event...help push us over the top of our fundraising goal so we can turn the Senate BLUE. 
• Aug 26 - GT Book Group - joining in with Indivisible MA for a discussion on ONE PERSON, NO VOTE by Carol Anderson

Phonebank for Markey.  From volunteer Owen T:

This election is going to be close, and every single phone call we make can make a difference! We're looking for volunteers to make calls - any time that works for you works for us, but we'd love to have you at our Thursday evening phonebanks (5:30-7). Please let me know if you're interested!

READ

• “As of early July, one in every 1,450 Black Americans had died from COVID‑19—a rate more than twice that of white Americans. That figure is both tragic and wholly expected given the mountain of medical disadvantages that Black people face.” PLEASE READ to understand the entrenched systemic racism built into our healthcare system. How the Pandemic Defeated America, by Ed Yong, The Atlantic, Sept. 2020 issue.  
• How Has the Electoral College Survived for This Long? Resistance to eliminating it has long been connected to the idea of white supremacy. NY Times Opinion, By Alexander Keyssar, 8/8/20

LISTEN

• Go Where the Love Is - Pod Save the People podcast, 8/4/20
• “DeRay, De’Ara, Kaya, and Sam dive into recent overlooked news including teachers’ unions, police discipline records, election delays, and facial recognition. Johnetta Elzie joins again to update us about developments around the current protests. Then, DeRay sits down with representatives from Ameelio; the nonprofit that allows families to communicate with incarcerated populations."
• It’s More Than Racism: Isabel Wilkerson Explains America’s ‘Caste’ System - Fresh Air with Terry Gross, 8/4/20

WATCH

• Didn’t get to see John Lewis: GOOD TROUBLE yet? (It’s incredible, BTW.)  This Thursday marks the 55th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, and to commemorate the passage of that landmark legislation as well as the work we have left to do to fulfill its goals, Crooked Media is hosting a special virtual event to share and discuss the documentary.  Tune in on Thursday, 8/6 at 4pm Pacific/7pm Eastern to join Pod Save America’s Jon Favreau and Crooked Media’s Political Director Shaniqua McClendon for a panel discussion about the life and legacy of Congressman Lewis. They will be joined by special guests who worked on the film and are continuing to make good trouble. For all the details go to crooked.com/goodtrouble to get your ticket. $5 from each virtual ticket will go to Crooked’s Every Last Vote fund, supporting groups on the ground that are registering and mobilizing Black, brown, and indigenous communities that are often targeted for voter suppression efforts.

Greylock Together Meeting via Zoom
August 9 @ 3:00 - 4:30 pm

Williamstown Town Meeting
August 18 

RIGGED: Free movie screening via Zoom
August 20
Presented by NAACP Berkshires, UUMSB, Four Freedoms, Democractic Brigades, BRIDGE and Greylock Together

Cocktails + Conversation with Jon Lovett
August 25  @ 5:00 pm
Reserve your spot here.

GT Book Group
August 26
Selection: One Book, No Vote by Carol Anderson