Bending the Arc

You are encouraged to contact your senator and ask them to co-sponsor S.1723 and vote yes when it comes to the Senate floor for a vote.

By supporting this legislation, we are taking a momentous step as a Nation toward recognizing and honoring boarding school survivors, descendents and those who never had the chance to return home. Survivors and their descendants deserve the opportunity to heal from historical injustices in a way that is meaningful and aligned with their cultural values.

This federal commission will:

• Locate church and government records
• Examine the location of children forcibly placed in U.S. Indian boarding schools
• Hold culturally-appropriate public hearings to collect testimony from survivors and descendants
• Gather institutional knowledge from subject matter experts
• Document the boarding schools’ ongoing impacts
• Tell the truth by sharing findings publicly with cultural sensitivity
• Provide a final report with a list of recommendations for healing

For your reference, the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition (NABS) U.S. Truth & Healing Commission Bill advocacy toolkit is available here.

Follow Senate floor schedules and webcasts here: https://www.senate.gov/legislative/floor_activity_pail.htm 
 

A mobilizing initiative organized by faith-based organizations concerned about the illegal flow of weapons from the USA to Haiti, which is fueling the ongoing gang violence from which all Haitian people are suffering. Learn how your community can advocate against gun trafficking and exports. Print the poster.

Join this webinar on July 30 at 4 pm CT.

Register here

Live interpretation will be provided between English, Haitian Creole, and Spanish.

Feel free to visit the Nuns Against Gun Violence website and use any of their free resources to further your efforts to end gun violence.

Join the Laudato Si’ Action Platform’s August webinar, “Connecting Faith and Action.” Uncover the theology of integral ecology and discover tools for faith-based action with speakers from Oxford University and the World Research Institute on Thursday, August 8 at 8 am CT.

Part One:
Speaker Alberto Palecchi from the World Resources Institute, will unveil the guide "Science-Based Targets for Faith," which encourages faith leaders to lead us toward environmental responsibility and consciousness. Following him, Fr. Peter Rožič of the Laudato Si' Research Institute at Oxford University will delve into the theological foundations of integral ecology and its role amid the sciences, the social sciences and the humanities.

REGISTER HERE FOR THE AUG 8 WEBINAR

Part Two:
At 9 am, join a small group dialogue to discuss Fr. Peter Rožič’s and Alberto Palecchi’s ideas and share how they apply to our faith journeys and work around the world.

REGISTER HERE FOR THE 40-MINUTE DISCUSSION ON AUG 8
 

The theme for this year's World Day Against Trafficking in Persons (7/30) is “Leave No Child Behind in the Fight Against Human Trafficking.”

A staggering 1 in 3 victims of human trafficking are children. Children are twice as likely to face violence during trafficking than adults, according to the 2023 UN Global Report on Trafficking in Persons. Regions such as Sub-Saharan and Northern Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, have the highest incidences of child trafficking which accounts for 60 percent of detected trafficking victims.

The 2024 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report, issued by the US Senate, chronicles the efforts of 188 nations to combat human trafficking in their countries. The report receives international attention as nations which are cited as Tier 1 - permissive and supportive of human trafficking - can be sanctioned by the US government. The 2024 report explores the intersection between digital technology and human trafficking; technology that can be used to expand human trafficking networks, but can also be used to root them out. 

Read more
 

A Texas company is now installing ammunition vending machines in grocery stores across Alabama, Oklahoma, and Texas.

Read this message from the Democracy for America Advocacy Fund: “The company behind these machines claims their age-verification technology makes these transactions safe. But we know better. No amount of technology can prevent these machines from normalizing gun violence and making deadly weapons more accessible than ever.

We need to stop this dangerous trend before it spreads. We need to send a clear message that our grocery stores should be safe spaces for families, not convenient pit stops for potential killers.
We've already lost too many lives to gun violence. We can't make it even easier for tragedy to strike.

We're up against a powerful, well-funded gun lobby that puts profits over people's lives. But we have something stronger: the will of Americans who are tired of living in fear of gun violence.”

Tell Congress to act now. Demand a nationwide ban on ammunition vending machines in grocery stores.  
 

This webinar from the Laudato Si Action Plan delved into the grassroots efforts that contribute to transformation and identified the challenges local communities face in implementing sustainable practices. Alfonso Apicella, Global Campaigns Manager at Caritas Internationalis, shared insights on tackling grassroots challenges through community collaboration. He also discussed the impact of community collaboration on ecological goals, strategies for overcoming local challenges, and the potential for inter-community collaboration. This event was ideal for community leaders, environmental activists, policymakers, and anyone interested in grassroots movements’ role in ecological transformation.

Watch the recording here: 

Earlier this week, historian Heather Cox Richardson talked about Project 2025 and drew an online crowd of 42,000 people. More and more people are becoming aware of what this extreme project means for American democracy and personal freedoms. Want to learn more? Watch this Red Wine & Blue recording with Heather or do some research on your own - there is A LOT out there!

While presidential candidate, Donald Trump, is denying any knowledge of Project 2025, his 2024 GOP Platform has very similar language. Listen to what Heather has to say around the 23-minute and 32-minute marks of this recording, and you decide.
 

July 17, 2024, marked the fourth anniversary of civil rights hero and Congressman John Lewis’ passing. 

For six decades, John Lewis fought tirelessly to expand and protect the rights of Black voters and all Americans. The Voting Rights Act (VRA) of 1965 was one of the crown jewels of his lifelong fight for justice and equality.

But, in recent years, the Supreme Court has gutted this crucial civil rights law, ushering in a new era of suppressive state laws and politicians attempting to silence our voices.

We can fix that by passing the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which will restore and strengthen essential protections of the VRA, shielding millions of voters from potentially discriminatory voting laws.

EVERY voter should be able to cast their ballot on Election Day – free from obstruction or intimidation. Passing this bill would be a major step towards creating the democracy we deserve.

Here are frequently asked questions, answered by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Use this form to tell your senators to take action and pass this crucial legislation.