PNN’s mission is to engage, educate and empower our neighbors to make our City a better place to live. Here’s what’s coming up in each of these areas:
Engage: Join Our Summer Soiree; Help School Workers Get Fair Wages
Educate: Stop Bribery March
Empower: Sign Up to Canvass in Philly; Knock Doors in the Burbs
Read on to find out the when, where, and how.
Come to Our Outdoor Summer Soiree
Sunday, August 28th, 4-6PM, 1905 Wynnewood Rd
Philly Neighborhood Networks is happy to announce that Larry Krasner, Kendra Brooks and Chris Rabb will be our honored guests at PNN's Summer Soiree. The lawn party will take place at the home of our organizing director, Tim Brown, to bolster our efforts to raise funds to Fight the Right In the 2022 General Election. A small donation to help us hire an additional organizer to help with the election secures your invitation.
The work we are being called to do is vital. Philadelphia is the key to winning back the senate and keeping the governorship, and making sure we keep all the state house seats in the City blue.
If the Republican cult wins in November, they can manipulate the state Constitution, throw up roadblocks to vote, and put insurrectionists in charge of counting the votes. It will be game over and Trump or one of his cronies will rule over a fascist America and every civil right we have will be gone.
Here's the good news: We think we can avoid this dystopian future and actually win big this election, but we must do our part and hold onto Pennsylvania.
Here's an inconvenient fact: Philly's turnout falls 7-9% behind the rest of the state - election after election. However, one out of five PA Democrats live in our City, which makes Philly a sleeping giant.
We also think that the far right made a Big Blunder with their recent SCOTUS decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which has caused a firestorm among women and their allies that even showed itself in red state Kansas where people came out to vote overwhelmingly for reproductive rights. This is a bigger deal than they're willing to admit, and it may well make the difference in this election.
Here's why you should come to our Summer Soiree:
Come for the Insights. Hear from our progressive elected allies, like District Attorney Larry Krasner, Councilmember Kendra Brooks and State Rep. Chris Rabb. Learn how we can keep the Governorship, take back the Senate and win the PA House!
Come for the Good Company. Catch up with some old friends and make some new ones, try Tim's sangria and tacos, and take part in our first PNN Beanbag Toss Championship! (There will be awards and bragging rights)
Come to Support a Good Cause. For 17 years PNN has been a steady and reliable force for progress; a place to think through and act upon our values; a political and cultural home for progressive activists. And we’re growing our base, reaching out to new neighborhoods, like the River Wards, North Central, Roxborough and Overbrook.
Please click below to join us for our Summer Soiree lawn party fundraiser on Sunday, August 28th from 4-6 PM.
Prefer to donate by check? Then send an email to Tim Brown to let us know you're coming and send your check to Gloria Gilman, 121 S. Broad St, Suite 1720, Phila, PA 19107 - or bring it to the event on Sunday.
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Call On the School District to Pay Workers Fair Wages
ASAP, Make Call from Home
The school workers represented by 32BJ - bus drivers, janitors and other essential workers - are poised to go on strike on Tuesday to demand fair wages for their work, but we may be able to avoid a strike if we can pressure the School Superintendent Tony Watlington to meet their demands and avoid a showdown that can negatively impact our students.
Now that local control and in-school learning have finally returned, the new Superintendent and the School Board must not forget these essential workers who stood up for the District when we needed them most and use their increased funding to pay them a fair wage.
You can help apply pressure by making a call to Supt. Watlington to tell him to honor this commitment to the workers who worked through the pandemic and put their already-negotiated raises on hold to keep schools running.
Click on the link below and follow the simple instructions to call the Superintendent to demand that these essential workers are paid the fair wage they deserve.
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Sign Up to Canvass in Philly
Saturday, September 17th, 10AM, The Studio, 5535 Lena St.
We will kick off our Election Work at the Studio located at 5535 Lena Street in Germantown. We will meet with some of our favorite elected officials and remind ourselves what's at stake and how we'll convey the urgency of our message to our neighbors when we meet them at the doors.
Take a look at your schedule and let us know how often you can join us at what will be our regular Saturday Morning Canvass.
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Blue Pennsylvania Canvass Opportunities This Week
Join us and our partners to canvass outside Philly for progressive candidates in neighboring counties.
Saturday, August 27 Lisa Borowski for State Rep (HD 168) in Delaware County at 10 AM: SIGN UP HERE. Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon will kickoff the launch and volunteer appreciation party after we canvass! Please email andreakoplove@gmail.com to carpool.
Sunday, August 28 Mark Moffa for State Rep (HD 142) in Bucks County at 11 AM: SIGN UP HERE. Please email andreakoplove@gmail.com to carpool.
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March & Rally Against Corruption
Friday, September 9th, York, PA - Monday, September 12th, Harrisburg
Join our allies March on Harrisburg as they take to the road in York, PA for a three-day march to our state Capitol Building to hold our legislators accountable. We're giving them no choice but to publicly show what side they're on: the side of the corporate interests and lobbyists, or the side of Pennsylvanians who are sick and tired of our legislature's blatant corruption and legal bribery. To read more about it, Click Here.
The culmination of the three-day march will be a non-violent direct action (NVDA) designed to focus the attention of statewide media on the ubiquitous practice of legal bribery of our elected officials, and to hold them to account. This is an opportunity to see what an NVDA looks like as activists take on the power brokers in Harrisburg. If you'd like to participate, or simply be a moral witness, click below.
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This Week in History
Aug. 26, 2016 – Colin Sits Out Anthem. The 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick remained seated during the national anthem in a silent protest of police misconduct against black and brown Americans. Nobody noticed until asked by a reporter during the third game, when he replied, "...this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way," sparking a national controversy over race relations in the U.S. He would later take a knee.
Aug 28, 1955 – Emmitt Till Murdered. 14-year-old Emmitt Till was brutally murdered by racists in Mississippi for flirting with a white woman.
Aug 30, 1967 – Marshall a Supreme. On this day, having argued 32 cases in front of the U.S. Supreme Court, Thurgood Marshall became the first African-American Supreme Court Justice.
Sep 1, 1998 – Airbags Required. Despite cries of "federal intrusion", the Intermodal Transportation Efficiency Act went into effect, requiring that air bags be a standard feature on all new cars. The requirement saves an estimated 10,000 live annually.
Thanks for your activism!
Tim Brown, Organizing Director