02 | December | 2010 | Be a Seed for Change

‘DROP DEAD’

That’s the message deficit hypocrites in Washington have for jobless Americans. They blocked action in Congress—and now more than 800,000 long-term job seekers have lost their emergency unemployment benefits. The total’s set to rise to 2 million by year’s end.

See the human cost of hypocrisy—and tell your senators to open their eyes!

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Something in Washington reeks—and it’s not the dreary swamp the city was built on—it’s deficit hypocrites. You may have seen them on TV—folks who have no clue what life’s like for ordinary Americans. They are fighting for $700 billion in tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires but think maintaining emergency unemployment is “too expensive.”

These deficit hypocrites have basically told long-term unemployed workers to “drop dead.” Right now, more than 800,000 long-term job hunters have lost their emergency unemployment benefits. Every additional second of delay costs more than one worker his or her emergency lifeline.

We’ve updated our unemployment counter to track the ongoing cost of greed and purposeful, heartless delay in real time.⁽¹⁾

Find out how many workers have lost emergency unemployment insurance—and tell your senators this is totally unacceptable.

Today—as you read this message—100 unemployed workers are in Washington, D.C., to lobby their lawmakers.

Their message is clear: We have an urgent jobs crisis. With five job hunters for every one opening, we need jobs now. And while jobs aren’t there, job seekers need a lifeline.

The unemployed workers on Capitol Hill today—and the 2 million workers around the country who will lose their benefits by January unless Congress acts—need your help.

See how many workers have lost their emergency unemployment—and urge your senators to act.

In solidarity,

Manny Herrmann
Online Mobilization Coordinator, AFL-CIO

⁽¹⁾ Simulation based on the National Employment Law Project’s estimate of 2,013,058 workers who will lose benefits by Dec. 31, 2010.

National Museum of African American History and Culture

Amid a sea of signs proclaiming, “I am a man,” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. joined Memphis sanitation workers on strike. Just one week after this photo was taken, Dr. King was murdered.

Despite this tragic loss, men and women of all colors pushed forward and continued to fight for freedom and equality. More than 40 years after King’s assassination, Americans elected the first African American president, achieving a historic and cultural milestone that was centuries in the making.

You have an opportunity to make history, too, by joining me in building a lasting tribute to the story of African Americans past and present. The Smithsonian Institution is building a new National Museum of African American History and Culture to celebrate and honor those brave men and women who survived slavery, who endured extreme racism and violence and who pioneered the arts, sciences, music and sports.

We need Americans like you who have the courage and vision to help make this Museum something we can all be proud of. Congress is providing one-half of the funds to build this new Smithsonian Museum. We must raise another $250 million to meet our total goal of $500 million from individuals like you who understand that the story of African Americans is the story of America.

Your gift today of $25, $50 or whatever you can afford will help ensure that these stories from individuals to collective movements of the past and present are recorded and preserved for all time and for all the citizens of our great nation.

By studying and understanding the struggles and successes of African Americans through the decades, all Americans can explore the shifting definitions of American citizenship, liberty and equality.

Ultimately, the National Museum of African American History and Culture will be a place that reminds us of what we were, what challenges we still face and that guides us towards what we can become. Let us build it together.

Thank you for being our partner in building this great Museum.

Sincerely,