Tag Archives: National Mall

Support the fasters by sending a message to House leaders calling for on them to make reform a reality!

I have seen firsthand how our broken immigration system tears families apart. Now that we are so close to passing immigration reform, I am pushing myself to do all that I can to demand that Speaker John Boehner and other House leaders bring reform to a vote. I am taking part in the Fast for Families on the National Mall.

We fast as an act of faith — faith in the power of our communities, and in our country’s ability to pass reform that will keep our families together. But our fast alone will not bring about change. We need support and action from our movement to make sure that the message of our fast has the impact it needs in the House of Representatives.

Today is a Day to Act, Fast, and Pray — a national day of action.

It is our moral responsibility to do everything we can to show our leaders the urgent need to stop family separation and to make immigration reform a reality. Help ensure that our message is heard in Congress right now.

Some fasters have gone more than three weeks without food. I am now on the 13th day of my fast, and I will take part until my body cannot continue. Although we face physical pain from hunger, we know that it is nothing compared to the pain thousands of families face from deportation.

As my friend and fellow faster Eliseo Medina said, “We’re tired. Feeling weak. But you know, as tired as we are, there is still a hunger within us for justice. A hunger to be heard. A hunger for the end of this suffering.”

I have faith that we can move our leaders to act, but we need your prayers and your voice. Send a message to leaders in Congress now.

With faith,

Rudy Lopez Reform Immigration FOR America

PS: You can learn more about the Fast for Families at Fast4Families.org.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Here’s an update on the economy, in three charts:

Image 11/14/2013 Nativegrl77

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BioMarin said No to her friend with Cancer

10/04/2013 Nativegrl77

The first thing I have to say is thank you. More than 140,00 people — including you — have signed my petition to help save the life of my friend Andrea Sloan.

Andrea is in desperate need of a new cancer drug made by pharmaceutical company BioMarin, but they say she’s “not eligible” for any of their current trials. Andrea needs access to the drug under a “compassionate use” program, and because of our petition, it’s looking like that could really happen.

Just last week, a leaked internal email from BioMarin proved that they are taking this petition seriously and really considering helping Andrea.

Now is the time to turn up the pressure on BioMarin. Can you share my petition on Facebook to help it gain more signatures and momentum?

We are so close to getting Andrea the medicine she needs. She has dedicated her life to helping others — I know we can do what it takes to help her.

Thank you,

Carol Carter
Lake Dallas, TX

P.S. Have you seen this video that Andrea made explaining compassionate use? Click here to watch, and feel free to share that as well!

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TransCanada’s US location and Keystone XL tar sands pipeline (Texas)

09/25/2013 Nativegrl77

Yesterday, a group of courageous people just like you were arrested in the belly of the beast: TransCanada’s U.S. headquarters in Houston, Texas. These were mothers, fathers, grandfathers, great grandmothers, scientists, and teachers who staged a peaceful sit-in with a clear message: No Keystone XL tar sands pipeline.

At RAN we have a policy never to ask you to take an action, online or offline, that we don’t believe will make a strategic difference and have an impact that is worth your time. What I’m about to ask you to do might be one of the most important political acts you take this year.

Right now President Obama and his State Department are weighing their decision on whether this disastrous dirty energy pipeline is in our national interest. Our job must be to show enough opposition to the pipeline to ensure the president stands on the right side of this historical moment. That’s why we need you to join those standing up against Keystone XL in protest.

Will you join more than 75,000 people saying No to Keystone XL? Sign up for an action near you TODAY!

More than 75,000 people, including many of you, have signed RAN, Other 98% and CREDO’s Pledge of Resistance to the Keystone XL pipeline—pledging to participate in peaceful civil disobedience, to risk arrest if necessary, to stop this dangerous tar sands pipeline.

This is our next big step in the Pledge of Resistance together. This summer, after months of hard work and organizing, more than 400 volunteers have stepped up to lead acts of dignified protest in towns and cities across the country.

Will you join them by signing up today to participate in a local protest in your hometown?

To be clear, this is a serious request of your time, your passion and, potentially, your liberty. We’re asking now because it’s critical.

These actions are coming together because of months of work by literally hundreds of people. A group of seasoned direct action organizers built a training curriculum and traveled to cities around the country to teach people like you how to plan and lead a safe, strategic sit-in. Hundreds of activists stepped up to attend these rigorous two-day weekend trainings, and then went home to put that training into action. Now we’re asking: Will you join them?

The dates for these local actions have not been set, but the dates of action trainings have. We’re asking everyone to get in touch with local action leaders so we can prepare for action now and are ready to respond if President Obama signals his intention to approve the pipeline. That is our most strategic window to have the biggest impact.

Find your nearest Pledge of Resistance action and sign up to be a part of it!

Soon after you sign up for an action, you’ll be contacted by your local action leader, who will send out a time for your group to meet in person, get trained up, and move forward to put together everything you will need for a local sit-in action. There will be roles for everyone: those risking arrest and those not risking arrest.

The location for these actions will be relevant to your town. Likely locations will be: Administration buildings like State Department, EPA and Federal offices, oil industry contractor offices, and branches of TD Bank, a major investor in tar sands development.

All that’s missing is you.

		In Solidarity,
		Scott Parkin Senior Energy and Finance Campaigner Twitter:@dirtyenergy

P.S. Got questions? Check out http://nokxl.org/why-pledge-resistance/.

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NMAAHC — SI folklife Festival 2013 starts June 26

06/25/2013 Nativegrl77

SI folklife Festival 2013 starts June 26

THE WILL TO ADORN: African American Diversity, Style, and Identity

Congregants from the Alfred Street Baptist church enjoy a Mother’s Day hat fashion show in Washington, D.C., 2012. Photo by Sharon Farmer, courtesy of National Museum of African American History and Culture

What is African American about African American dress and body art and why does it matter?

African American traditions of dress and body adornment are creative expressions grounded in the history of African-descended populations in the United States. Visit the Smithsonian Folklife Festival to learn more!

Smithsonian Folklife Festival June 26 — 30, 2013 & July 03 — 07, 2013 National Mall, Washington DC

To view the full festival program, please visit http://www.festival.si.edu/

The Will to Adorn: African American Diversity, Style, and Identity festival program is produced by the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage in partnership with the National Museum of African American History and Culture.