Do More – Even If You Don’t Want To!
Sisters,
I hope you are all still basking in the Thanksgiving afterglow! I hope you had time to rest after enjoying time with family and maybe partaking in some Black Friday and Small Business Saturday shopping.
You have likely already received dozens of emails from charities inviting you to donate for Giving Tuesday. It would be irresponsible of me not to ask you to consider a donation to the Women’s Equity Center and Action Network (WE CAN). I hope you know WE CAN deeply appreciates every contribution, and every penny helps. Thank you in advance for supporting our efforts to educate, engage, and activate women of color to create social change in their communities!
An Important Question to Consider…
I have struggled for weeks to figure out how to ask you all a question. It’s not a hard question, but some of you may be offended. The last thing I want to do is to upset anyone and have you not support WE CAN and our collective goals. I don’t want anyone to be upset or insulted by the question, yet your honest answer is essential to the goal of today’s Mobilize Monday post. So, with that setup, here goes…
When was the last time you contacted the people you voted for in the last election?
Have you ever sent them an email? Text message? Have you sent a letter? Have you made a phone call? Made an appointment and visited them in Washington, DC, or when they were back in their home states or communities?
Here’s where I need you to take a moment to get quiet and have a personal ‘come-to-Jesus’ moment where you HONESTLY and sincerely answer the question.
If you answered yes and recalled that last contact with any of your elected officials, thank you for being a WE CAN activist! Your continued efforts are needed, especially as we enter an election year. There will be a lot of issues clamoring for our attention in the coming months. Please click below to share your thoughts on what should be WE CAN’s top priorities in 2024.
If you have had only one or two contacts, let me be the first to challenge you to do more in 2024! Make contact at least once a month, even if all you say is thank you for doing their job or wish them a happy holiday. The objective is not to be a stranger!
If you answered no, I have not contacted any of my elected officials; this post is for you.
The Time is NOW!
It is no secret that the world is jacked up right now—war in Gaza and unrest in other parts of the world. Here in the U.S., the confidence of white supremacists to take bold action to turn back progress on race relations, high grocery prices, and a former President charged with 91 felonies is enough to keep even the calmest folks awake at night.
It is also clear that the squeaky wheel is getting the grease. Despite what you see in various polls, most elected officials and judges are making decisions that do NOT agree with most Americans. Polls about gun violence, abortion rights, affirmative action in college admissions, and teaching Black history in schools after poll say that Americans are more progressive and want common sense gun laws, access to abortion (albeit with some conditions), diversity on college campuses, and teaching Black history in K-12 grades.
We must drown out the squeaky wheels getting the grease and let our elected officials know we WILL hold them accountable for our vote!
This Instagram reel from @pastperfectwithyaya, says A LOT about what people are thinking about the state of affairs in America. But talking to your girls (or boys) and bellyaching over Thanksgiving Dinner does NOTHING to change things.
You MUST get in the game and make your voice heard by the people YOU elected to represent you.
You MUST follow your elected officials on social media. See what their office is tweeting and posting, especially when something important affects your community (for example, school or community violence). Comment so they see ALL points of view.
You MUST write or call your elected officials when you have an opinion about something happening in your community. Want better public transportation options? Call your elected officials. Don’t like book bans and want your child to read books that teach real American history? Write to the school board!
Want teachers to earn more money? Call your school board! Want to stop companies from poisoning the water and air in your community? Email Congress and tell them to strengthen, not weaken, environmental protection laws and regulations.
Change is in your hands (texting and emailing), your voice (calls and conversations), and your actions (voting and telling others to vote).
Stop sitting on the sidelines grumbling about your elected officials and HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE TO YOU!
Elections are job interviews, and just like we have criteria we expect from job candidates, we need criteria for the people we vote for to represent us. Just like you ask tough questions when interviewing candidates for a job, you should ask tough questions of folks who want your vote. And like when you evaluate the performance of folks who work for you, you should assess the performance of the folks you voted for and fire anyone who is not working up to par!
Visit womensequity.org and look under the activist tools tab to find contact information for your elected officials.
Sisters, the stakes are too high for you to be silent or quiet. You got this!
In solidarity,
Stephanie McGencey, WE CAN Founder
WE CAN looks forward to seeing you at our upcoming event!
The upcoming Movies to Movements event focuses on sex trafficking, highlighting the impact on our communities. Please see the details and register below.
