50 weeks to Midterm Elections
The AoC Checklist features clear, well-researched actions for Americans who value democracy, equality, voting, and decency. We are a big tent for all people who want a kinder, flourishing nation.
If you only have 10 minutes, take our top three suggested actions:
- Contact your senators about passing the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act (S. 4) to protect the voting rights of all Americans.
- Action 1: Encourage young adults to register and vote.
- Action 3: Advocate for comprehensive history education in the U.S.
In this edition of the AoC Checklist:
- Senate actions: What we’re contacting our senators about.
- House actions: What we’re contacting our House reps about.
- Action 1: Encourage young adults to register and vote.
- Action 2: Support compassionate care for newborns and incarcerated parents.
- Action 3: Advocate for comprehensive history education in the U.S.
- Action 4: Share accurate historical information (and support local businesses).
- Action 5: Demand an end to misappropriation for profit.
- Action 6: Advocate for continued protections for our allies.
- Action 7: Demand Constitutional standards for detained Haitians.
- Action 8: Help families reach their new homes.
- Action 9: Advocate for a pathway to citizenship.
- Say Thanks: Acts of Gratitude
- Check out Good News from around the nation
- How you can support and share the AoC Checklist
Contact your senators
Check the box if you made contact–whether for one issue or all–so we can count your action. Contacting your senators’ staffers with multiple concerns is more efficient for both of you. They don’t mind, but be sure to contact both progressives and conservatives. They need to hear from you.
Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
Your script: Hi, I’m from [ZIP] calling/writing about several issues. I’d like Sen. [NAME] to:
- Pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act (S. 4) to protect the voting rights of all Americans. [Source: League of Women Voters]
- Cosponsor the Foreign and Domestic Emoluments Enforcement Act (S. 3181) to codify clear standards against abuse of federal office for personal gain. [Source: Brennan Center]
- Reduce child poverty and expand affordable housing by supporting the House version of the Build Back Better Act (H.R. 5376). [Sources: Center on Budget, End Homelessness]
- Support sustainable agriculture and the humane treatment of wildlife by passing the Farm System Reform Act of 2021 (S. 2332) [Source: Public Justice Food Project]
- Provide a pathway to lasting safety for newly-arrived Afghans by passing the Afghan Adjustment Act. [Source: USCRI]
Contact your House representative
Check the box if you made contact–whether for one issue or all–so we can count your action. Contacting your representative’s staffers with multiple concerns is more efficient for both of you. They don’t mind, but be sure to contact both progressives and conservatives. They need to hear from you.
Look up your House representative here.
Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
Your script: Hi, I’m from [ZIP] calling/writing about several issues. I’d like Rep. [NAME] to:
- Reduce child poverty and expand affordable housing by supporting the current version of the Build Back Better Act (H.R. 5376). [Sources: Center on Budget, End Homelessness]
- Stop the criminalization of Black and Brown girls in schools by supporting the Ending PUSHOUT Act of 2021 (H.R. 2248) [Source: MomsRising]
- Support sustainable agriculture and the humane treatment of wildlife by passing the Farm System Reform Act of 2021 (H.R. 4421) [Source: Public Justice Food Project]
- Provide a pathway to lasting safety for newly-arrived Afghans by passing the Afghan Adjustment Act. [Source: USCRI]
I value democracy
With respect and collaboration, we work to create a nation that welcomes all people, expands freedoms, and upholds the Constitution. Each citizen must be able to freely and fairly elect those who represent their values.
Action 1: Encourage young adults to register and vote.
Source: The Civics Center
Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
Every year, four million Americans turn 18 and gain the right to vote. Join The Civics Center’s campaign to send postcards to newly-eligible young voters to encourage them to register and vote.
Visit: Postcards for Democracy
I value equality
Support the dignity of your rainbow of neighbors from every religion, race, ethnicity, culture, gender, sexual orientation, economic status, age, and ability.
Action 2: Support compassionate care for newborns and incarcerated parents.
Source: AoCC
Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
Contact: Your two STATE legislators (look up).
Script: Hello, I’m contacting you from [ZIP] in solidarity with incarcerated parents and parents-to-be. Many states separate newborns from their incarcerated parents within days of birth. I am asking [NAME] to introduce and support legislation like Minnesota’s Healthy Start Act to allow incarcerated pregnant or postpartum people to receive care and bond with their newborns in community alternatives.
Action 3: Advocate for comprehensive history education in the U.S.
Source: ADL
Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
Write/Email: Your local Board of Education (Google [SCHOOL DISTRICT NAME] board of education) and your two STATE legislators (look up).
Script: Hello, I’m contacting you from [ZIP] to express my support for comprehensive public education on Native American history and culture. Students are woefully undereducated about the ongoing contributions of Indigenous peoples as well as continuing bias and discrimination against them. Please incorporate the following educational resources into K-8 curriculum requirements in all [CITY/STATE] schools:
Native Knowledge 360° [Source: Smithsonian Institute]
Native American Heritage Month [Source: ADL]
Action 4: Share accurate historical information (and support local businesses).
Source: AoCC
Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story weaves together essays, poems, and fictional works that explore the legacy of slavery in the U.S. and illuminate key moments of oppression and resistance. You can donate copies of the book to schools and organizations in your community through local and Black-owned bookstores.
Donate: Via Bookshop.org through January 31, 2022 ($38 each).
Action 5: Demand an end to appropriation for profit.
Source: United Farm Workers
Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
Target has recently begun selling trademarked “Sí Se Puede” merchandise without permission from or sharing sales profits with United Farm Workers, an organization that champions reforms for farm laborers.Tell Target executives that their appropriation of UFW’s trademark phrase will not be tolerated.
Sign: The UFW petition.
Support: Looking for Sí Se Puede merch? Head over to the UFW store.
Action 6: Advocate for continued protections for our allies.
Source: USCRI
Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
Despite ongoing evacuation efforts, tens of thousands of Afghan allies have been left behind. The Biden administration must continue to safeguard translators, human rights activists, journalists, LGBTQIA+ people, and religious and minority groups by providing urgent humanitarian protections.
Email: President Biden using this customizable form.
Action 7: Demand Constitutional standards for detained Haitians.
Source: AoCC
Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
Email: ICE Field Office Director Juan Acosta at Juan.L.Acosta@ice.dhs.gov and ICE Assistant Field Office Director William S. Shaw at William.S.Shaw@ice.dhs.gov.
Script: Hello, I’m from [STATE] and I’m writing in solidarity with the advocacy organizations who wrote a letter urging you to allow access to legal services at Torrance County Detention Center. Detained Haitians have a Constitutional right to legal counsel, which you are denying them as they’re rushed through the removal process. I am calling on you to halt removals and meet the attorney access requirements of the Performance-Based National Detention Standards for all detained people.
Action 8: Help families reach their new homes.
Source: Human Rights First
Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
Approximately 53,000 people evacuated from Afghanistan are currently housed on military bases in the U.S. and need transport to their new homes.
Donate: Airline miles (or money) through Welcome.US
Action 9: Advocate for a pathway to citizenship.
Source: United We Dream
Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
The Biden administration has proposed a rule to protect the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program from future legal challenges. While this rule would help to lessen uncertainty for thousands of aspiring Americans, it falls short of laying out a pathway to citizenship and ensuring work permits.
Submit a public comment through Regulations.gov by November 29th if you did not do so in the October 15th Checklist. Scripted comments are not counted. In your own words:
- Let DHS know why you support preserving and expanding eligibility for the DACA program, which provides deportation protection and work permits for nearly 600,000 Dreamers.
- Advocate for including a pathway to citizenship for DACA recipients, so Dreamers can live in this country without the stress of biannual renewals and fear of deportation.
- Call for the incorporation of work authorization into the protections, to ensure DACA recipients aren’t blocked from obtaining work permits in the future.
Acts of Gratitude
Signatures to the forms below will be printed with a letter of thanks from Americans of Conscience, and mailed to the recipient 2 weeks after the Checklist publication date. Your information will not be stored after that date.
Thank Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D–IL) and Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D–MA) for introducing legislation requiring employers to provide paid leave for employees experiencing miscarriage.
If you’d like to mail your own personal expression of gratitude, use this address:
TD: 524 Hart SOB, Washington, DC 20510
AP: 1108 Longworth HOB, Washington, DC 20515
Thank the Sisters of the Order of St. Benedict for apologizing for their community’s participation in the forced assimilation of Native American children.
If you’d like to mail your own personal expression of gratitude, use this address: 104 Chapel Lane, St. Joseph, MN 56374
Good News
As Americans of Conscience, we celebrate!
Tribal
- The Narragansett Indian Tribe regains rightful ownership of a portion of their land.
- Cherokee Nation expands their language immersion school program with a second campus.
- The Myaamia tribe celebrate reclaiming their language and culture while commemorating the forced removal of their people 175 years ago.
- Leaders from more than 570 tribes convene for the first Tribal Leaders Summit hosted by the White House since 2016.
National
- Congress passes and the president signs the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which provides investments for:
- Repairing roads and bridges
- Modernizing public transit and rail, including increasing disability accessibility
- Expanding broadband in underserved areas and lowering internet service costs
- Repairing and maintaining airports, ports, and waterways
- Building a nationwide network of electric vehicle charging stations
- Reconnecting Black neighborhoods that were disproportionately divided by highways and other infrastructure
- Strengthening and expanding the electric grid
- Improving access to clean water
- Cleaning up Superfund and brownfield sites
- …and more!
- Senate passes the Protecting Moms Who Serve Act to address the maternal mortality crisis among women veterans.
- House passes a bill to expand workplace protections for nursing parents.
- Federal court finds that blocking mandatory masking in schools to prevent the spread of COVID-19 violates disabled students’ rights under the Americans With Disabilities Act.
- DOJ eliminates case quotas for immigration judges.
- DOJ sues TX over the state’s restrictive voting law.
- DHS rescinds a policy limiting the number of people seeking asylum admitted through official ports of entry.
- DHS waives application fees for tens of thousands of evacuated Afghans filing requests for U.S. work permits and permanent residency.
- HHS increases access to over-the-counter COVID-19 tests.
- Dept. of Ed. reinstates state-level oversight of student loan servicers.
- The Biden administration launches a multi-agency initiative to protect and preserve Native languages.
- President Biden signs an executive order directing the cabinet departments to create an inter-agency strategy to address the crisis of violence against Native Americans.
- Dr. Rachel Levine is sworn in as an admiral of the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, becoming the first openly transgender four-star officer in the uniformed services and the first woman four-star admiral.
- Over 1,300 medical professionals from across the U.S. call on the CDC to end Title 42.
State
- CA requires gender-neutral store displays for toys.
- GA: 58 state lawmakers ask SCOTUS to uphold the right to abortion under Roe v. Wade.
- MN: Gwen Westerman (Sisseton Wahpeton Dakota) serves as the state’s poet laureate, the first Indigenous person to hold the position.
- RI: Sec. of State Nellie Gorbea’s office launches a tool providing transparency to the state’s redistricting process.
- RI downgrades certain drug possession charges from felonies to misdemeanors.
- RI ensures in-state tuition rates for all college students regardless of immigration status.
- TN: A bust of a Confederate leader is removed from the Capitol.
- 20 state attorneys general sue the Postal Regulatory Commission over USPS delivery slowdowns.
Local
- Johnson County, IO renames itself after a different Johnson: Lulu Merle Johnson, a professor, historian, and the first Black woman to earn a Ph.D. in the state.
- Philadelphia bans police from stopping drivers for low-level traffic violations.
- endawnis Spears (Diné/Ojibwe/Chickasaw/Choctaw), who has a background in Indigenous education outreach, is appointed to the Chariho School Committee.
- The New York Public Library system eliminates late fees and clears all prior fines.
- Minneapolis voters cast more ballots in last week’s election than in any municipal election in over four decades.
- St. Paul, MN caps annual rent increases at three percent.
- NYC’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority will not raise fares or cut services.
Corporate/business
- CVS drops a case before SCOTUS that would have had far-reaching negative effects on the rights of disabled people.
- YouTube bans all anti-vaccine misinformation.
- Google and YouTube will no longer allow ads on or monetization of content denying climate change.
Groups and organizations
- The Away From Home exhibit tours the U.S., featuring the stories of Native American children forced to assimilate to colonized American culture.
- Con Mijente develops a toolkit to address government surveillance at the U.S.-Mexico border.
- Black Lives Matter and other civil rights leaders meet with the White House to outline their public safety policy proposals.
- Abortion pills are now available in every state through Aid Access to have on hand before a pregnancy.
- The NAACP calls on professional athletes to avoid signing with franchises in TX to protest laws targeting voting rights and abortion access.
- Dozens of immigration rights organizations issue a letter to President Biden and Congress urging a pathway to citizenship for aspiring Americans.
- Al Otro Lado and CIELO provide COVID-19 vaccines to over 5,000 Indigenous people who immigrated to the U.S.
- The Caravan of Mothers of Disappeared Migrants advocates for systematic immigration policy changes on a speaking tour of the U.S.
- Immigration advocates outline a Senate budget reconciliation strategy to provide a pathway to citizenship for aspiring Americans in the Build Back Better bill.
News with heart
- Two-year-old Carlitos is granted entry to the U.S. under humanitarian parole to access lifesaving cancer treatment.
- Indigenous chefs release a virtual cookbook to reclaim narratives about Native foods.
- A Fistful of Dollars, or Béeso Dah Yiníłjaa, is translated into Navajo for streaming.
- Champion runner Ellison Brown (Narragansett) and marathon record-holder Patti Catalano Dillon (Mi’kmaq) are honored during 2021’s Boston Marathon in observance of Indigenous People’s Day.
- In honor of Native American Heritage Month, Marvel Comics releases “Marvel’s Voices: Heritage #1”, featuring Indigenous characters and stories by Indigenous artists.
- The inclusion of the character Makkari in Marvel’s Eternals leads to a rise in interest in learning sign language.
- Raquel Coronell Uribe will take the reins as the Harvard Crimson’s first Latinx president.
- The New-York Historical Society creates the LGBTQ+ Museum, the first museum dedicated to LGBTQ+ history and culture in the city.
- Actor Brian Michael Smith is included in People’s “sexiest men alive” list, making history as the first trans man to be included in the list.
- Vanessa and JR Ford publish their children’s book Calvin, a story about how families and communities can embrace a trans child’s identity.
- Teacher Keishia Thorpe receives the Global Teacher Prize for her work supporting students who immigrated to the U.S.
- Dozens of employees of Goodwin House senior living find support from residents, who raised $40,000 to cover their citizenship fees and related costs.
- Journalists Maria Ressa and Dmitri Muratov are awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their defense of freedom of speech and coverage of corruption and disinformation under authoritarian regimes.
- Sesame Street introduces Ji-Young, the show’s first Korean American character.
- A teenage girl is rescued from danger after using a hand gesture that subtly alerts bystanders to distress.
- Maya Angelou will appear on the U.S.quarter in 2022’s American Women Quarters Program.
- Solange Knowles’s Saint Heron studio launches a free library of rare and out-of-print books by Black authors.
- Tattoo artist Carrie Metz-Caporusso creates body-positive “roll flowers”.
- San Marino residents vote to legalize abortion.
- W.H.O. approves the world’s first malaria vaccine.
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Housekeeping
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Thanks for the “Good News” section. I really needed it this week!
You’re so welcome!! It’s really fun to put together too!
I love you all so much. I have major depressive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder, and sometimes it’s hard to feel like I can do anything, let alone fight for what I believe in. Your checklist makes it possible, even easy, to take action and assist my community. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.
Hi Clara! We totally get it (some on our team have the same diagnosis) and it is such an honor to know that our efforts help lift you enough to speak up about this things you believe in. Thanks for taking the time to say so. We’re in this together!