What a way to start off the year! We are days away from getting the Public Bank bill introduced and we’re chasing down members of City Council to co-sponsor. We’re also getting ready for our first Environment Action Forum on Feb. 6th via zoom; be sure to sign up. And if you haven’t yet signed up to do your something, take a moment to pick your passion.
Public Bank Co-Sponsors are Lining Up, but We Need More
You folks are doing a great job getting the attention of members of City Council to co-sponsor Derek Green’s Philadelphia Public Bank Bill. One of our callers reported that when she called Council Member Thomas’ office she was greeted with, “Are you calling about the public bank? We’re getting a lot of calls.”
We are getting positive responses from several Council Members. We’d like YOUR HELP to continue contacting City Council – to remind them that they have only until Tuesday Jan. 26th to get their names on this historic legislation. It’s very simple to do. Just click on this link for our Advocacy Toolkit to help us contact City Council via phone, email and other media that Members track.
Anyone following the work on getting a Public Bank for our City already knows all the good that can be accomplished when our tax dollars get spent inside our communities, not handed off as fees to Wall Street. A Philadelphia Public Bank will provide the infrastructure for fundamental change in lending that will create endless possibilities for investment in long-ignored communities. For more information, see Summary of the Public Bank Bill and Things a Public Bank Can Do.
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Are You Coming to the Environment Action Forum?
Christine Knapp will Join Us on Saturday, Feb 6th @ 4PM
Great news! Christine Knapp, director of Philadelphia’s Office of Sustainability, will keynote our 2021 Environment Action Forum, Saturday, February 6, 4-5:30pm. This collaborative forum will kick-off the process of setting the 2021 environmental agenda for Philadelphia Neighborhood Networks.
This interactive virtual gathering will focus on learning about participants’ environmental interests, exploring support for a series of action-ready projects, and the establishment of working groups to implement the work of the Action Committee.
You’ll receive the Zoom link and updates about the Forum!
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Pick Your Passion. Get Involved.
We have a lot of work to do. You care about politics. So, what are you waiting for?
Join an Action Committee. ACs take on grassroots issue, organize actions and take on politicians and the powerful across a broad range of social justice topics – education, the environment, healthcare, housing, economic and racial justice.
Become a Division Captain. Those who sign up for the DC Program will be taught how to organize their local neighborhood as part of a team of hundreds all across N/NW Philly. They’ll be offered workshops on theory, strategy and tactics, and then they’ll put that experience to work by knocking doors, talking with neighbors, sharing information, getting them registered to vote by mail or in person and building political power.
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This Week in History
Jan. 23, 1957 – Frisbee Invented. You’re welcome for the childhood memory.
Jan. 25, 1961 – First Live Presidential News Conference. JFK stepped to the podium at the Pentagon to talk about foreign policy and then took questions from the press.
Jan. 26, 1950 – Republic of India is Born. After decades of passive resistance, the Indian Constitution takes effect, officially separating India from the British Empire.
Jan. 27, 1945 – Auschwitz is Liberated. Soviet troops freed the survivors and revealed the depravity of their captors in this concentration camp.
Thanks for your activism!
Tim Brown, Organizing Director