48 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:
- Action 1: Protect election workers from violent threats.
- Contact your senators: Help millions of workers and immigrating people while creating jobs and fighting climate change by passing the Build Back Better Act.
- Action 4: Advocate with Black aspiring Americans for civil and human rights.
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: Protect election workers from violent threats.
- Action 2: Oppose book censorship in school libraries.
- Action 3: Advocate for safe spaces for students to learn.
- Action 4: Advocate with Black aspiring Americans for civil and human rights.
- Action 5: Call for an end to international law violations in New Mexico.
- Action 6: Support compassionate care for young aspiring Americans.
- Action 7: Advocate with an aspiring American activist.
- 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 Build Back Better Act (H.R. 5376) to [share one or more of the reasons below]:
- help millions of workers and immigrating people while creating jobs and fighting climate change. [Source: Mi Familia Vota]
- invest in affordable housing for all and health infrastructure funding for American Indian and Alaska Native communities. [Sources: End Homelessness, Working Families Party, indianz.com]
- reinstate a pathway to permanent citizenship. [Source: SAALT]
- Pass the Remove the Stain Act (S. 1073) to rescind 20 Medals of Honor awarded to the perpetrators of the Wounded Knee massacre. [Source: Four Directions Native Vote]
- Reduce chemical threats to human and environmental health by supporting the Protect America’s Children from Toxic Pesticides Act of 2021. [Source: Farmworker Assoc. FL]
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:
- Cosponsor and pass the bipartisan CISA Leadership Act (H.R. 5186) to mandate a five-year term for the head of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. [Source: AoCC]
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: Protect election workers from violent threats.
Source: Reuters
Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
Call or write: U.S. Election Assistance Commissioners:
Chair Donald L. Palmer
Vice Chair Thomas Hicks
Commissioner Christy McCormick
Commissioner Benjamin W. Hovland
USEAC phone #: 866-747-1471
USEAC contact form
USEAC mailing address: 633 3rd Street NW, Suite 200, Washington, DC 20001
Script: Hi, I’m a resident of [ZIP] urging all four USEAC Commissioners to follow bipartisan Senate requests to protect election workers from violent threats. Please tell state and local election officials how to use their federal funding, provided by the Help America Vote Act of 2002, to identify and respond to potential threats. Thank you.
Action 2: Oppose book censorship in school libraries.
Source: Joy-Ann Reid
Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
Contact: Your local school board (look up).
Script: Hi, I’m a resident of [SCHOOL DISTRICT] and I’m opposed to banning books. The American Library Association reports a nationwide increase in parents attempting to remove books from school libraries because they cover LGBTQ+ themes or anti-racism. I support the continued presence of these books in school libraries and I urge you to resist calls for book censorship. Thank you.
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 3: Advocate for safe spaces for students to learn.
Source: Stop AAPI Hate
Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
Contact: Your local school board (look up).
Script: Hello, I’m a resident of [SCHOOL DISTRICT] contacting you to express my concern about the safety of Asian American and Pacific Islander students. One in five AAPI people have experienced a hate incident in the last year, and one in three AAPI parents report their child has experienced a hate incident in school. I’m urging the school board to review Stop AAPI Hate’s Youth Campaign Report and implement its recommendations. Thank you.
Action 4: Advocate with Black aspiring Americans for civil and human rights.
Source: Americans for Immigrant Justice – AI Justice
Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
Contact: ICE Field Office Director Garrett Ripa at 954-236-4911 or Garret.J.Ripa@ice.dhs.gov.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
500 12th St., SW
Washington, D.C. 20536
Script: Hello, I’m contacting you from [STATE] in solidarity with two Black whistleblowers at Glades County Detention Center. These men called attention to the life-threatening violence and racist treatment they and others have experienced at the hands of ICE officials, and as a result are at risk of deportation. I join local and national organizations in demanding you immediately halt their deportation proceedings and release them from Glades Detention Center.
Action 5: Call for an end to international law violations in New Mexico.
Sources: Haitian Bridge, Detention Watch (DWN)
Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
Email: ICE Supervisory Detention and Deportation Officer Azucena Sanchez at Azucena.Sanchez@ice.dhs.gov and ICE Supervisory Detention and Deportation Officer Edward Gober at Edward.M.Gober@ice.dhs.gov.
Script: Hello, I’m writing from [STATE] in solidarity with advocacy organizations urging you to improve conditions and allow access to legal services at Torrance County Detention Center. Detained Haitians have a Constitutional right to legal counsel, which you are denying them. 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 6: Support compassionate care for young aspiring Americans.
Source: United We Dream
Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
It’s been over eight months since the first “Emergency Intake Sites” for unaccompanied youth at the southern border opened. There is overwhelming evidence that these unlicensed sites are not appropriate for children, yet at least three remain open. The U.S. must establish a safe, rapid process for keeping unaccompanied children together with trusted caregivers.
Sign: The petition via Action Network (click “edit subscription preferences” to opt out of emails).
Action 7: Advocate with an aspiring American activist.
Source: United We Dream
Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
Call: ICE San Francisco Field Office at (415) 844-5512 and ICE San Francisco Supervisory Detention and Deportation Officer John Trinidad at (415) 760-8272.
Script: Hello, I am reaching out from [STATE] to request the immediate release of Enrique Cristobal Meneses (last four digits of A# 5197). After having his prison sentence commuted, ICE arrested Enrique and transferred him to Golden State Annex, where he suffered retaliation for his advocacy for health and safety standards. I urge you to honor Enrique’s rehabilitation and peer contributions and release him from ICE custody.
Bonus (CA residents): Use this script template to contact your Congressional representatives.
Acts of Gratitude
Signatures to the form 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 Gov. J. Kevin Stitt (R–OK) for commuting Julius Jones’s death sentence.
If you’d like to mail your own personal expression of gratitude, use this address: 2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Suite 212, Oklahoma City, OK 73105
Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
Thank educators for teaching accurate and comprehensive history in the wake of intimidation.
Sign: and comment on Color of Change’s petition.
Good News
As Americans of Conscience, we celebrate!
Tribal
- Permit applications regarding environmental, historic, and cultural resources will not be granted in VA without Tribal Nations’ consent.
National
- House passes the Build Back Better Act.
- Sec. of the Interior Deb Haaland (Laguna Pueblo) creates an advisory committee to identify and replace derogatory names for federal lands.
- Sec. of Defense Lloyd Austin orders an investigation into a 2019 U.S. airstrike in Syria that killed dozens of civilians.
- Federal jury finds that GEO Group owes formerly detained people $17.3 million in back pay.
- House censures and removes a representative from committees for posting a video depicting violence against a colleague.
State
- GA: Three men responsible for the murder of Ahmaud Arbery are found guilty.
- MI includes gender neutral “X” markers as an option on driver’s licenses.
- OR’s law protecting Black people against discrimination for their hairstyles goes into effect.
- OR Dept. of Education publishes a Menstrual Dignity for Students toolkit.
Local
- Seattle votes to decriminalize psilocybin and similar substances.
- Carmel, IN utilizes roundabouts for safer driving and lower carbon emissions.
- North Kansas City School district returnsAll Boys Aren’t Blue and Fun Home to library shelves in support of students’ First Amendment rights.
Corporate/business
- Ohio State University plans to eliminate all debt from undergraduate financial aid packages.
- University of Colorado creates a full-tuition scholarship for athletes who use their platform to create positive change for the LGBTQ community.
Groups and organizations
- #WelcomeWithDignity campaign launches the Dignity Project, a storytelling initiative featuring real stories from families seeking asylum in the U.S.
- Workers across various job sectors strike for appropriate wages and benefits.
- Immigration attorney groups call for an Inspector General’s investigation into delays processing humanitarian requests to enter the U.S.
- Youth climate activists file a legal petition with the UN to declare a systemwide climate emergency.
- Over 500 women athletes call on SCOTUS to uphold abortion rights under Roe v. Wade.
- Over 250 millionaires urge Congress to include appropriate income taxes for billionaires in the Build Back Better legislation.
- Muscular Dystrophy Association awards over $1.6 million in grants towards neuromuscular disease research.
News with heart
- Julius Jones has his death sentence commuted.
- Kevin Strickland gains his freedom after 43 years in prison for a wrongful conviction.
- Women’s handball players can now wear bottoms with greater coverage under International Handball Federation rules.
- Restaurants make workplace and policy changes to be more comfortable and accessible for employees and customers.
- Loved ones reunite after the U.S. reopens to international travelers.
- E.R. Fightmaster is cast as Dr. Kai Bartley, Grey’s Anatomy’s first non-binary doctor.
- Performer Josephine Baker is inducted into France’s Pantheon, becoming the first Black woman to be inducted.
- Guo Xinzhen reunites with his family 24 years after being abducted as a child.
- Manfred Steiner, 89, earns his Ph.D., fulfilling his lifelong dream of becoming a physicist.
- Netherlands formally apologizes for forced sterilizations of transgender and intersex people.
- Major French dictionary Le Robert adds non-binary pronouns for the first time.
- Naomi Pascal has her teddy bear returned to her a year after losing it in Glacier National Park.
- Assisted living residents at the Meridian at Anaheim Hills enjoy weekly kitten therapy days.
- Giant pandas are no longer endangered.
To Support the Checklist
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Housekeeping
- Jen’s message: Read this week’s Inspiring Message.
- Gratitude: Big thanks to our editor Jennifer Brunton, to our team of writers and researchers, and to our happy gnome farm of Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram volunteers. Thanks also to our amazing patrons and donors who make creating the Checklist sustainable.
- Sign up: Get the Americans of Conscience Checklist here.
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- Schedule: There’s a new Americans of Conscience Checklist every first and third Friday of each month.
Hi.
Where is the “box” to check?
Hi Sandy! Each action has a box beside it that you can check as you complete each action. If this is not appearing for you, there’s a possibility that the version of Java on your computer is in need of updating. You can do that here (we’re not affiliated, but this is a common and trustworthy tool): https://www.java.com/en/