Weekly Call To Action - May 7, 2023

Quote of the Week:

"After the rain cometh the fair weather." - Aesop

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WA State Actions:

​Thank Rep. Jamila Taylor for HB 1474:
Covenant Homeownership Account and Program

Rep. Jamila Taylor is the primary sponsor of HB 1474, which has just been signed into law thanks in part to Olympia Indivisible TAN action takers. 

Homeownership is the primary way households build wealth, stability, and community and pass wealth down to future generations. But, between the 1920’s and 1960’s, racially restrictive covenants were commonly used to prohibit homeownership based on a person’s race, religion, and ethnicity. Nearly 50,000 such covenants have been documented throughout Washington state. 

Currently, the homeownership rate for BIPOC households in Washington is 19% below that of non-Hispanic white households (49% and 68%, respectively, as of 2019). Black households fare even worse - the homeownership rate is only 31%, less than half that of non-Hispanic whites.

HB 1474 will start to remedy past discrimination in which the state was complicit. A study will be completed to identify through evidence-based documentation the persons that require assistance to reduce racial disparities in homeownership. 

The funds will be used to support potential homeowners directly through assistance with closing costs, down payments, and pre-and post-purchase counseling. Closing costs and down payment assistance will be loans that are repaid when the house is sold.

Action: Thank Representative Taylor for her leadership on HB 1474

• Email: Jamila.Taylor@leg.wa.gov
• Telephone: (323)868-6290

Script: Congratulations on the passage of HB 1474, creating the covenant homeownership account and program. This program is an important step to addressing decades of housing discrimination. Thank you for bringing it forward!

With Appreciation,

[NAME]

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Federal Actions:

Use Funding as Leverage for SCOTUS Reform

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We’ve all seen the news about the secret gifts to Clarence Thomas from Harlan Crow, summarized in: Clarence Thomas’ Beneficial Friendship With a GOP Megadonor. 

Additionally we find out Clarence Thomas’s wife, Ginni Thomas, received secret payments from the Judicial Education Project. As Heather Cox Richardson reports: Later that year, the Judicial Education Project filed a brief before the court in the landmark Shelby County v. Holder case, in which the court, by a vote of 5–4, gutted the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Thomas was also the decisive vote in the 2010 Citizens United decision which opened the floodgates for dark money in political campaigns. 

Ask our Senators to fight back by supporting the group of Democrats pressuring SCOTUS for reform show here: Democrats eye funding cuts as leverage against Supreme Court.

Action: Contact your Senators

Option A: Take this action with one click in Take Action Network (TAN) Use Funding as Leverage for SCOTUS Reform.

Option B: Contact WA Senators

• Senator Patty Murray, Phone: 253-572-3636 or Contact Form 
• Senator Maria Cantwell, Phone: 253-572-2281 or Contact Form 
  • Email both your MOCs at once using Democracy.io. 

Script: I’m asking you to join and support the fifteen Senate Democrats, who wrote a March 31 letter to Van Hollen’s Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee asking him to include language to the appropriations bill withholding $10 million in funding for the Supreme Court unless it adopted a public ethics code. 

I am appalled that the Supreme Court is not held to any ethics standards and I am asking you to do everything in your power to reform the court. 

[NAME] from [CITY], [ZIP]

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​Have You Scheduled These Events?

Join Us for a Conversation About Our Atmosphere and Climate Change

Pat Wald (educator) and Heather Taylor Zimmerman (muralist), who met working at the Hands On Children’s Museum, have filmed a one hour illustrated video presentation that takes you on an amazing trip from the big bang to today’s climate issues. It’s designed for people who may not have a lot of background in science, but scientists say they learn a lot too!

You can watch the video here. Circle Passages, Climate 101

After viewing the video at home, OI members are invited to have a conversation about it, either in person, or in a Zoom session:

• Glenn will host an in person Cookies and Conversations Q & A discussion with Pat and Heather on Thursday, May 18th, 7-8:30pm. Register by email to attend. You will be given the address after registering.

OI will host an online Zoom discussion Wednesday, May 24th, 7-8:30pm. Register here. ​

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You Might Also Like to Attend:

“Uncaged Art” Exhibit at City Hall

From the Olympian May 5th

A month-long art exhibition at Olympia City Hall featuring photos of artwork created by immigrant youth who were detained in El Paso, Texas, in 2018, opens Friday afternoon. And although the art was made 2,000 miles away, it has a direct connection to Olympia as a sanctuary city.

The Uncaged Art exhibit opened on Friday, May 5 at Olympia City Hall, 601 Fourth Ave. E. The exhibit will end Friday, June 2 with a panel discussion by local organizations.

There also will be a series of related presentations throughout the month of May. They will feature organizers of the original exhibit in Texas, as well as local leaders in protection and support of minority groups.

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The 9th Annual Pizza Klatch Gayla

Saturday, May 20th, 2023 - 6 PM at the Capitol Theater

This year's Gayla is theme is 'Masquerade Ball' aka 'Mas-Queer-Ade' and will feature a carnival of community revelry, as well as a familiar variety of fundraising activities including our popular locally sourced Online Silent Auction, a Prize Raffle, the return of Raise-the-Paddle and brand new amazing Pizza Klatch youth performances as well as some musical and drag performances by our very own Pizza Klatch staff members! 

Buy tickets HERE! You can check out our Gayla site HERE