PNN’s mission is to engage, educate and empower. Here’s what’s coming up in each of these areas:
Engage: Watch Party for Jan 6th Hearings; Fund the Public Bank
Educate: Movie Night on Right to Choose
Empower: Take Our Budget Workshop; Direct Action in H'burg
Read on to find out the when, where, and how.
City Budget Workshop
Thursday, June 2nd, 7PM, Virtual
Ever wondered how our City's Budget is put together? What considerations are made when determining the best use of our taxpayer dollars? Want to know how the sausage is made?
Then you'll want to attend our souped-up Budget Workshop on June 2nd as we explore these and other questions to give you a solid foundation of knowledge about Philly's budget - just in time for us to have an impact on it. Sign up below for this 90-minute dive into our City's most important annual document.
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Still Need to Get the Public Bank Funded!
City Council is getting closer to making final budget decisions, and that means the fate of our public bank is still up in the air. So, if you haven’t already, please reach out and tell your district Councilperson, and your At-Large Councilmembers to Fund Our Bank!
The bank needs just $3 million in start-up funds, a paltry sum in what is slated to be a $5.6 billion dollar budget. Just click the link below to find some handy tools to help you frame and get your message across.
Also, if you’re looking for up-to-date information on other steps in store to get our bank started, another episode of Financing Philly’s Future is coming up on Tuesday, May 31st, at 4:30 PM, and it will feature Councilmember Derek Green. First Green will give a status update, and then he will be available to answer your questions. You’re invited to join the event at this zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85835928783
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Insurrection Hearings Watch Party!
Thursday, June 9th, 7;30PM, LOCATION TBD
Join us for a Watch Party when the House January 6th Committee restarts their public hearings on Thursday, June 9th from 7:30-9PM. Committee Chairman Benny Thompson plans to hear testimony from new witnesses and will call upon other elected officials to provide testimony on their actions surrounding that day.
This Watch Party is part of a national event night to make sure these hearings break through the busy news cycle and reach the general public. We cannot allow Trump and his allies to successfully cover up one of the worst ever attacks against our American freedoms and democracy!
We'll be gathering to excoriate the den of thieves that was the previous administration, and we will give away dubious awards, like "The Benedict Arnold Award for Biggest Traitor" and "The Golden Boot" for best/worst public bootlicking performance. You and the other attendees will then cast your vote for who gets the award. We'll also provide drinks and snacks.
It should be a darkly fun time, as well as an opportunity for us to remind ourselves and our friends and neighbors that we will not stand idly by while fascists attempt to overthrow our democracy. There will be consequences.
We anticipate having room for 100 attendees, so sign up now to secure a seat. We'll be practicing COVID protocols and ask that everyone be vaccinated. We are scouting a number of locations to find one that is most convenient and will announce it in an email this coming week.
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Take Direct Action on Climate Change in Harrisburg
Monday, June 13th, 10AM, State Capitol, 501 N 3rd St, H'burg
Join us and March on Harrisburg as they take direct action at our state capital to push our legislators to stop taking bribes from, among others, fossil fuel lobbyists and get serious about climate change.
The path to climate justice necessarily includes the phase out of greenhouse gas production and a just transition to clean, renewable energy for those most affected by the exploitative fossil fuel and petrochemical economy.
This action will be part of the work being done by activists at the Pennsylvania Climate Convergence that will take place in Harrisburg from June 11th-13th to change the conversation on climate change and demand urgent legislative and administrative action.
If you want to be part of the June 13th action or simply want to be a moral observer, then click the link below to sign up. (Need a ride? Let us know when you sign up).
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Movie Night: When You Lose the Right to Choose
Thursday, June 16th, 7PM, Virtual
Join us for two short films on abortion rights and then we'll talk with subject matter experts, including Julie Zaebst, Senior Policy Advocate at ACLU, as we assess the coming political crisis that will be created when the far-right religionists on the Supreme Court overturn what at least three of them said under oath was "decided law".
We'll look at the social ramifications of so-called "trigger laws" that were passed over the last decade by right-wing legislatures across the nation, some even criminalizing driving a woman to a clinic. These laws are ready to be enacted the moment Roe is overturned, to create havoc and fear.
Sign up, we'll watch the films together (about 40 mins), and then we can hear the latest from the experts and get answers to some of our most concerning questions.
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This Week in History
May 30, 1868 – Decoration Day Observed. The first major Memorial Day observance was held to honor those who died “in defense of their country during the late rebellion.” Known to some as “Decoration Day,” mourners honored the Civil War dead by decorating their graves with flowers.
May 31, 1921 – Tulsa Race Massacre. On this day, thousands of white citizens in Tulsa, Oklahoma descended on the city’s predominantly Black Greenwood District, burning homes and businesses to the ground and killing hundreds of people.
June 2, 1964 – Civil Rights Act. U.S. President Lyndon Johnson signed into law the historic Civil Rights Act in a nationally televised ceremony at the White House.
Thanks for your activism!
Tim Brown, Organizing Director