Group Leaders,

This weekend marks Independence Day, a day where many folks will be thinking about the history and legacy of the United States. The truth is, for many, our country’s legacy is one of injustice and pain. Our history is deeply rooted in systemic racism, and many of our structures were built specifically to uphold white supremacy. Our country today is intentionally cruel to immigrants, and is responsible for reprehensible treatment of people at our borders. Our country today allows people to go broke and die because they cannot afford health care. Our country today does not give people equal representation in government, and instead facilitates intentional voter suppression against BIPOC, and denies representation to residents of places like Washington D.C. Our country today does not prioritize the health and safety of its citizens during a deadly global pandemic, and instead allows people who desperately need assistance to fend for themselves and suffer. 

We deserve better than our country’s legacy -- and it’s up to us to work towards a future where democracy is strong, folks have the representation and resources they need to thrive, and we’ve created the structural change necessary to address our deeply problematic history. And that future starts with ensuring Trump and his allies are voted out of office up and down the ballot. Whatever you plan to do this weekend, we hope you have the health and safety of others in your community in mind, and that you can use this time to recommit to building a better version of our country and world. Read on for your top actions this week.

Here are your top actions for the week ahead:

1. Plan your events for the Unity Week of Action beginning July 27 (NEW resource!) Indivisible is launching our General Election program on July 27 with our first Unity Week of Action. July 27 marks 100 days until the general election, and it also happens to be the third anniversary of Indivisibles defeating Trumpcare. So, in celebration and commitment to the work ahead, from July 27-August 2, Indivisible groups all over the country will be hosting phone banks and text banks as part of our unified digital program. We have big goals this year. Our network is going to reach out to 20 million voters, and this Week of Action is our first step. Once you have your event set, register it on the Indivisible map (including We Are Indivisible July 2020 Kick-off as the event issue focus). That way we can measure Indivisible’s reach and push out your events to help recruit attendees.
2. Call your senators and urge them to pass the Heroes Act. The coronavirus crisis is not going away, and will continue to impact our lives for the foreseeable future -- and the Senate still has refused to move the Heroes Act forward. There are no excuses for the inaction of the Senate. Call your senator today and urge them to pass the Heroes Act ASAP.
3. Call your senators and demand they cosponsor the D.C. statehood bill. This historic bill passed in the House last week, acknowledging that D.C.’s 700,000+ residents live without their constitutional rights as Americans, lacking full representation in Congress and control over their own affairs. A historically-Black city, D.C.’s lack of statehood is a remnant of Reconstruction when racist white politicians sought to prevent the District’s plurality of Black residents from gaining political power. Check out our resource about why D.C. statehood is a racial justice issue and call your senators to demand they support D.C. statehood.

NEXT WEEK: Payback Project Week of Action

We’re having our first Payback week of action next week! During this first Payback week of action, we’ll ask Payback groups in the target Payback states to host Virtual People’s Payback Town Halls -- with the goal of bringing in new members and holding Senators accountable. 

If you’re in a Payback State, check our toolkit here with all the information you need to plan an event. We’re also having a training specifically designed for groups who will be hosting these events Wednesday, June 24th at 8 pm ET (register here!). And don’t forget to add your event to the Indivisible event map so that we can help with event promotion with the issue focus of “Payback Project.”

You’re invited: Upcoming Virtual Events

Want to make sure you do not miss any upcoming training opportunities? Need to register for the next National Activist call? Check out our  training calendar! We will be updating this calendar with all of our upcoming  trainings, national calls, and events -- make sure to bookmark it today!  

Indivisible Textbanking Trainings 
Learn how to start texting with the IndivisiText program on our platform TextOut! We’re planning to send millions of texts before Election Day and we’re looking for volunteers who want to help. We send texts for endorsed IndivisiCandidates, to do volunteer recruitment, get out the vote actions, and more. Please note these trainings will all cover the same material so there is no need to attend more than one. 
Tuesday, July 7 at 8:30pm ET/ 5:30pm PT 
Saturday, July 11 at 2pm ET/ 11am PT
Tuesday, July 14 at 8:30pm ET/ 5:30pm PT
Wednesday, July 15 at 7pm ET/ 4pm PT 
Sunday, July 19 at 6pm ET/ 3pm PT 
Wednesday, July 22 at 7pm ET/ 4pm PT
Tuesday, July 28 at 8pm ET/ 5pm PT

Unity Week of Action Prep Training
As we get ready to kick-off our work around the general election, join us for this training to get the resources you need to carry out your general election work! During this training, you will learn how to set up and host a successful general election kick-off event ahead of our Unity Week of Action, put together a timeline for your events, and train your group members on how to sign up for text banking and phone banking. You will have the opportunity to hear from fellow Group Leaders who have planned and hosted successful events and we will walk you through the process of getting signed up with our textbanking and phonebanking programs. This will be a hands-on training and everyone will be encouraged to use the time during the training to engage fully with our upcoming direct voter contact work.
Monday, July 13 at 8pm ET/ 5pm PT 
Tuesday, July 14 at 3pm ET/ 12pm PT 

Distributed Fundraising Program Informational Webinar 
Join to learn about the distributed fundraising program, a streamlined process for you to fundraise for costs associated with your Indivisible group. We'll go over the basics of the program and how to get signed up. You'll also learn about our upcoming matching campaign, when groups will have funds matched one-to-one by Indivisible. And we'll discuss spending on elections through the distributed fundraising program.
Tuesday, July 21 at 8:30ET/ 5:30 PT

This week’s digital highlights

This past weekend, hundreds of rural Indivisibles gathered together for a day of powerbuilding, fostering connections, and discussing rural advocacy. We loved seeing people share out their photos and stories from this event! For more information about Indivisible’s rural organizing program, reach out to rural@indivisible.org. We also included an amazing Zoom collage from Indivisible Grapevine Area in Texas, who got together to raise money for their local food bank this week! 

In solidarity,
Indivisible Team

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