Sisters,

The past few weeks were full of highs and lows. Highs included witnessing history when a woman of color received a major party nomination for President of the United States, her performance during a debate where she shared her plans to address some of the most pressing issues challenging women of color, and the fact that many voters are waking up and studying Project 2025 (more on this later) and the harms it proposes.

The lows were terrible: The U.S. Supreme Court took away the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to stop big oil and chemical companies from continuing to poison people of color along Cancer Alley, the Fearless Fund settled their lawsuit and ended the Strivers Grant contest—a temporary setback, and we mourn the loss of two entertainment icons James Earl Jones and Frankie Beverly.

Sometimes, the lows can make us feel like we’re not progressing. I don’t know about you, but I can turn a bit of bad news into an all-day pity party. But the highs of the past few weeks stand as a reminder that we are making progress, and we should continue to flex and use our power for good!

Today’s Mobilize Monday post is all about how we can flex our power to ensure Project 2025 is NEVER fully implemented. Notice I said not fully implemented, because do not be confused, the forces at work seeking to roll back decades of civil and human rights progress. But WE CAN stop them!

By now, you’ve probably heard about Project 2025. Maybe you’ve even taken the time to learn more about it, and if you have, I’m guessing you are just as appalled as I am about what is being proposed. Without a doubt, women of color, our families, and our communities will suffer DEVASTATING consequences if the plan is implemented. WE CAN defeat efforts like Project 2025 if we educate ourselves, vote for candidates committed to protecting our interests, and ensure that everyone we know also votes.

WE CAN has reviewed the plan, consulted subject matter experts, and will share details over the next few weeks. Today we want to start with some basics (Source: ACLU).

• Project 2025 is a plot that threatens civil and human rights and freedoms. It was created by the Heritage Foundation, an ultra-conservative think tank in Washington, DC.
• Nearly 70% of the people who have read the plan oppose it.
• Even 1 in 4 MAGA Republicans believe Project 2025 is a threat to American rights and freedoms.

Please take a moment to see how Project 2025 stacks up against the issues important to you on 25andMe, an important website detailing how Project 2025 will impact civil rights, climate, drug prices, education, food assistance, healthcare, and 19 other BIG issues that affect our daily lives. One of my top issues is education. Check out what Project 2025 will do to our nation’s education system.

Tell EVERYONE you know about Project 2025 and what it means for you, your family, and your community.

Project 2025 will make it nearly impossible for women of color to level the playing field. Our nation will take millions of steps backward and further away from fulfilling its promise of liberty and justice for all. Forget about economic opportunity and the ability to decide what happens to our bodies. We have come too far to turn back now!

Sister Michelle Obama said, “We learned about honesty and integrity – that the truth matters… that you don’t take shortcuts or play by your own set of rules… and success doesn’t count unless you earn it fair and square.” Project 2025 changes the rules and will make it VERY difficult for us to survive and thrive.

As you educate your family members about Project 2025, invite them to use WE CAN’s FREE Vote411 Tools to Get VOTE READY!

In solidarity,

Stephanie McGencey, WE CAN Founder

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Join WE CAN for two FREE Movies to Movements events where we will watch movies on HOT TOPICS of the day, learn from experts, and take action! Click the images/links below to register!

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Suppressed and Sabotaged: The Fight to Vote

**NEW DATE** Friday, October 18, 2024 | 7:00 – 8:30 pm ET

Our votes hold power, otherwise they wouldn’t subvert them. Brave New Films’ ‘SUPPRESSED AND SABOTAGED: The Fight to Vote’ is a tool in the arsenal of every concerned American, sounding the alarm on voter suppression and election subversion ahead of November 2024. Our 30-minute documentary film focuses on the swelling wave of efforts to disenfranchise voters across the U.S., with the 2018 Georgia gubernatorial race between Stacey Abrams and Brian Kemp providing a case study for understanding today’s restrictive measures. In 2023 alone, 150 bills were introduced to restrict voting access. SUPPRESSED AND SABOTAGED includes the personal stories of folks in battleground states who represent those disproportionately affected by voter suppression: older adults, first-time, younger and college-aged students, Black, Indigenous, Latine, people of color, and people with disabilities. SUPPRESSED AND SABOTAGED 2024 is a rallying call against the calculated, unconstitutional, and racist attacks intended to destroy democracy in the United States.

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Following Their Lead: Youth in Action

Thursday, October 24, 2024 | 7:00 – 9:00 pm ET

The Following Their Lead: Youth in Action series was created by Brave New Films because not enough people (young or old) recognize the power of young people. Join WE CAN for a screening of short stories that demonstrate young people are a tremendous resource for anyone seeking to change policies and systems. On Thursday, October 24th at 7:00pm we will learn why youth voice is essential for a thriving democracy. Many young people feel deeply apathetic, discouraged, unheard, and even entirely disengaged from the things that affect their daily lives. We need our youth to understand that they have power as individuals and even more so with their classmates, friends, and community. This allows apathy to evolve into empowerment and action. This is what makes Following Their Lead: Youth in Action an indispensable tool. This series shows the youth that, at any age, they have the power to make a direct difference in their own lives. Like the series you screened last year, the continuation follows young people across the U.S. who have witnessed injustice and have chosen to take action. Mississippi youth noticed inaccuracies in voter rolls and decided to form Mississippi Votes, while in Massachusetts, Sophrosyne Mental Health was founded by a student who recognized the need for mental health education. All young people have the same capacity to be leaders, the younger they learn this the better.