This week we invite you to join our Town Hall on the need for a public bank for the City of Philadelphia; we ask for your help to remind our neighbors of the importance of getting their ballots early; and we make a plea for funding to help us continue our work as we begin our 15th year or service to our community. We also push PECO to move to renewable energy.
Public Bank Town Hall, Sep 1st at 7PM
Wouldn’t it be nice if Philly cut its ties with Wall Street’s Big Banks – the firms that plundered the economy a mere decade ago – the ones we had to bail out with our money? Do you think we should cut those ties because of the financial giant’s overtly racist practices – their systematic denial of credit to black and brown families – and the redlining of their neighborhoods? Think it would be a good idea to take our money back from Manhattan and invest our tax dollars right here at home?
Well, if you answered yes to any of these questions, you’ll be interested in an event coming to your Zoom screen on Tuesday, September 1 starting at 7PM.
The Philadelphia Public Banking Coalition, led by Philly Neighborhood Networks, will conduct a Town Hall to explain why public banking is an essential tool for community reinvestment of public funds. And you’ll learn of real-world opportunities to invest in people and programs that benefit all of us, not just Wall Street insiders.
Join us for this free Town Hall on Creating a Philadelphia Public Bank. Click below to register for this event and see the array of impressive who will be joining us.
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15 Years is a Long Time, and We’re Just Getting Started!
We are reaching out one last time with a request to honor our 15th anniversary with a contribution. First, we want to thank those of you who have already given. To date, we raised a total of $9,400 from 90 different contributors, which includes several new monthly recurring donations. Much appreciation to this community of supporters!
To those who haven’t given yet, be assured that although we’re celebrating our past, we’re in no way stuck in it. We can’t afford to be. If you watched any part of the Republican National Convention, you know why. We are fighting for our democracy in the midst of great racial injustice and social upheaval. Philly Neighborhood Networks has already started its most ambitious electoral campaign ever, reaching out to 81,000 infrequent voters in the greater Northwest Philly area. But this organizing and outreach work requires funds to support dedicated organizers from the neighborhoods. Funds we don’t currently have!
Together, we can dump Trump and continue the fight for the structural changes we all crave – an end to the systemic racism and economic inequality that plague this nation.
Whether $5, $10, $100 or $1,000, one time or recurring, any amount will help. This is not just for Philly NN. It’s for all of us and what we need to do in these times. Thank you in advance for whatever you can do.
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Sign Up for a Shift on the Phones
We are 74 days away from Election Day and our need to reach out to our neighbors to get their commitment to vote continues to mount. We must win this election in a big way, so that you-know-who’s cries of “fraud” are buried under a mountain of ballots.Think about this: In 2016, 238,000 Philadelphians stayed home and Trump won the state by 44,292 votes. A lot of those non-voters were from our neighborhoods in NW Philly. So sign up to take a shift on the phones talking with your neighbors about why this election is so important.
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Tell PECO’s President – We Want Renewable Energy Now!
PECO customers have the option to choose a supplier that uses renewable energy, but PECO is opposing efforts to rapidly increase use of renewable energy – it is currently only required to draw 0.5% of its electricity from solar.
ACTION: Call PECO President Michael Innocenzo at 215-841-4468. Tell him you are a City resident and urge him to move PECO to 100% renewable energy ASAP, to avert climate catastrophe. Demand that 20% of PECO’s electricity must come from locally produced solar power, prioritizing low-income neighborhoods around the City. Tell him to do it so that his grandchildren and ours can grow up in a healthy environment.
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This Week in History
Aug 28, 1963 – “I Have a Dream”. On the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, the Civil Rights movement reaches its high-water mark when Martin Luther King, Jr., speaks to about 250,000 people attending the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.
Aug 30, 1967 – Supreme Moment. Thurgood Marshall becomes the first African American to be confirmed as a Supreme Court justice.
Sep 2, 1945 – WWII Ends. Aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, Japan formally surrenders to the Allies, bringing an end to the war.
Sep 3, 1783 – American Revolution Ends. Representatives of the United States, Great Britain, Spain and France sign the Treaty of Paris, signifying recognition of the former British colonies as a free nation.
Thanks for your activism!
Tim Brown, Project Organizer