This week starts with our monthly public banking Q&A with Derek Green and a special guest to talk about economic empowerment. Learn how our public school students can pick up money by participating in street theater. Parents of public school students should know about the extension on repeating a grade. Germantown Radio is looking for folks who are interested in becoming part of a radio production team. Call our senators to ask them to support domestic workers in President Biden's upcoming budget. And check out what happened this week in history.
Join Our Public Banking Q&A with Derek Green
Tuesday, July 27th, 4:30PM on Zoom
This month's guest for our public banking Q&A with Councilmember Derek Green will be Jim Burnett, the Executive Director of VestedIn (formerly known as the West Philadelphia Financial Services Institution). He will be discussing his work to develop economic empowerment zones and how a public bank in our City can help disadvantaged communities.
You can join this monthly Q&A by clicking below (we'll send you a reminder on the day). You can also catch it as we livestream on our Facebook page.
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Kids Get Paid for Street Theater Activism?
Yes, they do! Philly Neighborhood Networks has teamed up with PA Youth Vote, Just Act and Spiral Q to put on a series of street theater performances that will take place starting in mid-August.
Called "Judge the Judges", these performances will highlight the importance of voting and why voting for the right judges is important to our everyday lives.
This campaign also provides an opportunity for our City's public school youth to pick up some spending money for their effort. If you know of someone 14-18 who you think would like this kind of work, then there are a couple of steps they must take:
Fill out the online application here and use the referral code: S125
Contact the Philly coordinator, Tom Quinn at 215-300-9275 or tquinn@PAYouthVote.org
There is limited enrollment for this program, made possible by a grant from the Center for Artistic Activism, so please remind whomever you share this with to take action immediately to secure a spot. We'll keep you updated on when our street performances will take place.
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Act 66 Deadline to Repeat Grade Extended
The Philadelphia School District will give families more time to request that their children repeat a grade, Superintendent William Hite announced at a recent Board of Education meeting. The original deadline was July 15th, but the state was late in getting the instructions out to parents. The new deadline will be announced soon to complete the necessary paperwork. Hite said the district is “continuing to accept forms from families.”
If this applies to you, then click here to find the form and pay special attention to the instructions for completing this paperwork.
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Make a Call to Support Domestic Workers
Last week thousands of care workers took action across the U.S. as the Senate Majority Leader announced a $3.5 trillion budget to advance and deliver on President Biden's economic proposal – a proposal which pledged billions to invest in care workers, family caregivers, and home and community-based services.
The bad news: It’s still very uncertain whether Congress will include this bold investment in our care infrastructure in the final budget package – and the fate of care workers for years to come depends on these next few weeks.
To rebuild our economy and our families, we need to start by supporting our country’s caregivers. Not only will investment in care infrastructure provide new job opportunities, but it will also allow women, who are often tasked to take care of their families, to return to the workforce.
What You Can Do: Call our Senators Casey and Toomey to demand they support the $400 billion investment in care as part of our nation's economic recovery.
Senator Casey: Click here to email or call his local office at (215) 405-9660
Senator Toomey: Click here to email or call his local office at (215) 241-1090
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Want to Create Radio for Social Justice?
Germantown Community Radio 92.9 FM is looking for people committed to social justice who are interested in becoming part of a radio production team covering events and developments locally and nationally. Participants will plan and develop programs for local broadcast. Contact Conni at cmbille@aol.com.
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This Week in History
July 24, 1903 – "Wail of the Children". On this day, labor organizer Mary Harris "Mother" Jones delivered a speech in support of the 10,000 children who were on strike from working under horrible conditions in mills in the Kensington section of our City.
July 26, 1775 – USPS Established. The postal system was established by the Second Continental Congress, with Benjamin Franklin as its first postmaster general. Franklin put in place the foundation for many aspects of today’s mail system. It has also been an institution that has helped minority workers become members of the middle class.
July 27, 1974 – Nixon Impeachment Begins. Due to a series of political scandals that became known as Watergate, the House Judiciary Committee recommended that President Richard Nixon be impeached and removed from office.
July 29, 1970 – UFW Gets Contract. Under the leadership of Dolores Huerta and Cesar Chaves, the United Farm Workers ended a five-year strike and boycott as grape growers signed their first union contracts, granting workers better pay, benefits, and protections.
Thanks for your activism!
Tim Brown, Organizing Director
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