| 14th Amendment, Voting Rights, and Rental Assistance
NCC Newsletter July 30, 2021 |
| | | Advocate for Voting Rights |
| | This week we commemorate the ratification of the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution on July 28, 1868. The amendment granted citizenship to "all persons born or naturalized in the United States," which included formerly enslaved African Americans who had just been freed after the Civil War.
Today, we can't take our citizenship for granted as the dignity of all Americans, especially those who are Black and Brown, is under attack. There are 389 voter suppression bills that have been proposed in 48 states (with 30 being passed in 18 states) that will make it harder to vote. HR1/S1, the For the People Act, is the only piece of legislation that will fight back against these voter suppression laws. It would expand voting rights for all Americans and get big money out of politics.
We ask you to join our Faithful Democracy coalition members to tell Congress to ACT NOW! on voting rights. You can either call your members of Congress through the switchboard at (202) 224-3121, or send a letter with NCC's Action Network system to tell your Members of Congress to pass the For the People Act HR1/S1 before the August 2021 recess. Our Democracy cannot wait.
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| | | | Join NCC President and General Secretary, Jim Winkler, at the Poor People’s Campaign Season of Nonviolent Moral Direct Action on Monday, August 2, 2021, in Washington, DC.
Jim will be taking action to apply pressure on our Congress to do four things before August 6th, the 56th anniversary of the signing of the Voting Rights Act:
1. End the Filibuster
2. Pass all provisions of the For the People Act
3. Fully restore the 1965 Voting Rights Act
4. Raise the federal minimum wage to $15/hour |
| | | | COVID-19 Pandemic Response: |
| | NEW Step-by-Step Guide for People At-Risk of Eviction |
| The eviction moratorium is set to expire at the end of July. More than 3.5 million renters are very or somewhat likely to be evicted this summer. Churches can share information to help people stay in their homes.
The American Rescue Plan offers unprecedented eviction prevention assistance, and we need as many of those 3.5 million to know that this assistance may be available to them.
The U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) published a comprehensive step-by-step guide to prevent evictions. The USICH guide includes a flyer that helps people take advantage of emergency rental assistance, emergency housing vouchers and much more.
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| | NCC Supports Summer of Action, Other Efforts to Protect Voting Rights
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| | | By Rev. Dr. Leslie Copeland-Tune, NCC COO
The National Council of Churches has joined with other civil rights, community organizations, and faith groups for a summer of action around voting rights legislation. These groups have organized several actions that NCC staff have participated in and supported. On Thursday, July 29, the National Black Women Leaders & Allies held another event to amplify issues around voter suppression and to speak out on their theme, “Freedom to Vote” Voting Rights Call to Action on Capitol Hill. Speakers included a multi-faith and bipartisan group of women leaders all speaking in support of voting rights: Dr. Johnetta Cole, President & Chair of the Board, National Council of Negro Women; Rev. Dr. Barbara Williams-Skinner, Co-Chair, National African American Clergy Network; Rev. Hyepin Im, Founder, President & CEO, Faith & Community Empowerment (FACE); Melanie Campbell, President & CEO, National Coalition on Black Civic Participation (NCBCP) and Convener, Black Women’s Roundtable; Cora Master Barry, Board Member, NCBCP, Former First Lady of the District of Columbia; Carly Fiorina, Chairman, Carly Fiorina Enterprises, Former Republican Presidential Candidate; Sheila Katz, President, National Council of Jewish Women; Sindy Bevadies, CEO, League of United Latin American Citizens; and, Virginia Kase Solomon, CEO, League of Women Voters of the US. Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee demonstrated her fervent support for the cause as well, engaging in civil disobedience which resulted in her arrest alongside several of the other women leaders including many from Georgia and Alabama.
I opened this event with a prayer and word of greeting (pictured above). I have to admit that it’s surreal to be a part of these efforts. I was one of the many people who thought the issue of voter suppression and disenfranchisement was settled decades ago. But I remember the pain in my mother’s voice after the Supreme Court gutted voting rights in Shelby v. Holder in 2013. “I can’t believe we are going through this again,” she said obviously shaken by the decision.
I had learned during a conversation with my mother after watching the movie, “The Butler” that my grandparents, with only about a middle school education, had risked their lives and safety by meeting in secret in the “back country” in South Carolina to teach other people how to fill out the forms to register to vote. The KKK, who some people are trying to tell us are not immoral now, attempted to terrorize my grandparents by burning a cross in front of their home. My mother also sat in at lunch counters at Woolworth’s in Columbia, S.C. when she was a student at Allen University in the fight for voting rights. As students on their college campuses at HBCUs, my children organized voter registration events and encouraged civic participation.
I mentioned my family history in my comments yesterday. It is beyond comprehension to me that we are, indeed, still fighting for voting rights and the dignity of God’s people to be recognized in this democracy called America. Yet, I am more determined than ever to continue to advocate for and fight against every attempt to obstruct or deny access to voting. I know that I owe it to those who fought this fight before me as well as to those who will pick up the mantle and continue the fight until freedom is won.
NCC also continues to be a part of this fight. From participating in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s until today, NCC continues to advocate for legislation that protects voting rights. Recently, on July 15th, Rev. Aundreia Alexander, NCC Associate General Secretary for Action and Advocacy participated in civil disobedience along with Congresswoman Joyce Beatty and several other women leaders to bring attention to the need for voting rights legislation to be passed. NCC President & General Secretary Jim Winkler will participate in a public witness with the Poor People’s Campaign, one of NCC’s partner organizations, on Monday, Aug. 2nd.
To find out more about how you can be involved in protecting voting rights, visit https://action.poorpeoplescampaign.org. |
| | | Friendship Press Releases NRSV Updated Edition Sampler
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| | As anticipation grows for the release later this year of the new NRSV Updated Edition Bible, Friendship Press has released a sampler to give a little taste of what updates are being made. NCC tasked Friendship Press to shepherd the update process along with the Society of Biblical Literature. A team of dozens of renowned Biblical scholars has worked tirelessly looking over new discoveries and language usage to create the most up to date, readable, and faithfully accurate Bible translation. |
| | | | Job Listings
Conference Coordinator for Ecumenical Advocacy Days, April 2022 Virtual Advocacy Days event. The Conference Coordinator will build on the dynamic tradition established by previous annual meetings and be committed to facilitating an ongoing exploration of ways to make the 2022 event and future conferences even more exciting and powerful, with the goal of expanding our impact on the domestic and international policies we address. Experience in working with ecumenical relations and faith-based organizations, and a working knowledge of the denominational church world and familiarity with Christian theology is a plus. The EAD Conference Coordinator is a contracted position from September 1, 2021, through May 31st, 2022, with the possibility of an extension for future conferences as the budget allows and the contractual payment for this period is within the range of $55,000 – $70,000, depending on experience. Application deadline is August 13. Full job description for the Conference Coordinator
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| | | Christian Unity Gathering |
| | SAVE THE DATE!
NCC's annual Christian Unity Gathering (CUG) will be held virtually on October 11 - 12, 2021 with the theme, "In New Wineskins: From Pandemics to Possibilities to Promises," based on the scripture in Luke:
And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the new wine will burst the skins and will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. And no one after drinking old wine desires new wine, but says, ‘The old is good.’
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| | | Jim Winkler's column will return next week. |
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