OPENING THOUGHT PIECE: Your Goals Are Due
As we start the new year, we are excited to be in a season of goal setting. Whether that means creating a new workout regime or doubling down on our efforts for child care justice, we know that the most successful goals are rooted in reality.
The reality is that in 2021, our movement set the agenda. We won a massive investment in child care through the American Rescue Plan, an expanded child tax credit, health care, and housing relief — policy priorities that a decade ago weren’t even part of any mainstream legislative discussion. Together, we put working people, immigrants, people of color, and women at the center of the political conversation. And in 2022 we know that our progressive power will keep growing.
Just last week, co-president Lorella Praeli shared these wins and pivoted us toward the future, leading a panel during the Progressive Caucus Action Fund’s Progressive Strategy Summit: Winning Change That’s Built to Last. Centered on “The Road Ahead,” the panel explored how we can win big, transformative changes with our communities.
Still, in the face of progress, we see an equally powerful and reactionary rise in authoritarianism seeking to dismantle the rights of people of color, women, and LGBTQ communities. Former Community Change president Deepak Bhargava and Harry Hanbury reflect on this pivotal moment in the cultural commentary within the Netflix movie Don’t Look Up:
In the Netflix hit movie ‘Don’t Look Up,’ a planet-destroying comet hurtles towards Earth while the scientists who discover the threat try to persuade the president and mainstream media that this is a more important matter than the latest celebrity breakup. The movie provides an apt metaphor for the death-cult sensibility of our ruling political and corporate elites with respect to climate change. But it works equally well as a metaphor for the threat to our democracy from the authoritarian insurgency that continues to accelerate a year after the January 6th insurrection — and has yet to be met with a strong enough response. Read more here.
A window is still open for us to win long-term transformational reforms, consolidate political gains, and strengthen our fragile advantage over the forces of authoritarianism and plutocracy. But this opportunity will not last for long. Regardless of the outcomes of current legislative fights, more will be required to win a just and inclusive democracy and economy. Now is the moment for us all to dig in together on our 2022 goals — continue to organize, use personal relationships as the basis of change, and ensure that the voices of American families are heard — building a movement for today, and many years to come.
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Our View on the State of Play
The future of Build Back Better (BBB) is cloudy. A number of issues are competing for the attention of Congress and the administration in the coming months and certain senators continue to block progress on the bill. But one thing is clear — we and our partners are determined to keep fighting for our key issues: child care, immigration, income support, and affordable housing. With the help of our partners, Community Change and Community Change Action are prepared to work with openings we see at the federal level — for example, executive action, administrative support, a revived BBB process — and support our partners’ state-level efforts to win the policies their communities need. To keep fighting for their communities, our partners are planning a series of actions in upcoming months, including coordinated February actions in West Virginia and DC calling out “heartless” Republicans and Democrats who have “broken our hearts” by not standing up for us.
Defending Black Voters — and Our Democracy
Alongside our partners, Community Change Action is pushing back against legislation designed to keep Americans from voting. We have called fornational legislation that protects and expands access to the voting booth; and, knowing that is a multi-front battle, we are also testing a promising new approach to advance our democracy — challenging the influence of major corporations in elections and their participation in voter suppression efforts.
Community Change Action’sDefend Black Voters coalition in Michigan is calling on companies that have publicly supported Black Lives Matter to stop making political contributions to legislators who are working to suppress the civic participation of Black voters.
Still, our efforts to protect and advance our democracy run even deeper — to the very work of expanding the electorate, organizing and engaging Black, Latino, AAPI, Native, and immigrant voters in civic life. Across multiple cycles, Community Change Action has activated trusted local messengers to mobilize voters year-round while providing critical information to help overcome barriers to voting, such as polling location changes, hours reductions, and other restrictions. We’re opening 2022 with the launch of our statewide voter engagement programs in 5 key states, the kickoff of our relational voter turnout program, new digital programs to reach Latino voters, and monthly trainings for our state partners. As the year begins anew, we recommit ourselves to this work and to protecting and advancing our shared values. Our democracy depends on it.
COVID-19 Relief and Decreasing Homelessness
Since the passage of the American Rescue Plan, Community Change’s Housing Trust Fund Project (HTFP) has assisted campaigns across the country to secure federal funding for their housing trust funds, systematically changing the way city, county, and state governments finance affordable housing. Right now, states like Alabama have an opportunity to follow this model and for the first time inject new resources into their housing trust funds. Alabama established its housing trust fund in 2012 without a dedicated funding source. HTFProject Director Michael Anderson is quoted in Al.com’s article explaining the impact COVID has had on housing in Alabama and the opportunity federal funding provides to create affordable housing and decrease homelessness.
The HTFProject continues to lead the way in establishing and reinforcing housing trust funds to ensure individuals and families with the lowest incomes have access to safe and affordable homes everywhere. Last year, we partnered with 27 housing trust fund initiatives in 20 states, and helped partners secure nearly $66 million for affordable housing We provide technical assistance and strategic guidance on coalition building, communications, and moving decision-makers. We work with partners on housing trust fund initiatives until they win, which can take anywhere from a year to more than a decade.
Tied to this project, our Housing Justice Fellows also make sure that the stories of real people impacted by homelessness are heard within ongoing policy debates. Check out Housing Justice Narrative fellow and Residents Organizing for Change (ROC) leader Mandee Seeley’s open letter to President Biden on the urgency for ending homelessness and investing in our communities and housing.