From Interfaith Power and Light (http://interfaithpowerandlight.org):
As part of the service for Rep. John Lewis, in addition to remembering John the man, the loyal friend, the loving father and dedicated congressman, the service was a call to action. It was a call to pick up the baton in the race for justice.
Today, at https://interfaithpowerandlight.salsalabs.org/goodtrouble0/index.html, will you join in pledging taking the baton, and pledge to ‘get into some good trouble’ as John used to say, on behalf of voting rights? After you pledge, IPL will give you a way to get involved, from pledging to vote with climate justice in mind, to registering voters, to keeping local voting safe.
There were so many stirring tribute’s to John’s life and legacy, but none more powerful than President Obama’s eulogy. He ended with a call to action for voting rights and voting. He noted that Lewis worked for decades to protect and ensure Americans’ right to vote. And today, “you may not be asked to guess how many jelly beans are in a jar before you cast your ballot” (a 60’s-era intimidation tactic used against Black voters at polling places) “but there are those in power who are doing their darnedest to discourage people from voting, by closing polling locations and targeting minorities and students with restrictive ID laws, and attacking our voting rights with surgical precision, even undermining the postal service in the run up to an election that’s going to be dependent on mail-in ballots so people don’t get sick.”
We must mobilize to defend and protect our right to vote. If you agree, please join in pledging today to do whatever it takes to protect our right to vote.
John wrote in an op-ed that ran yesterday “Ordinary people with extraordinary vision can redeem the soul of America by getting in what I call good trouble, necessary trouble. Voting and participating in the democratic process are key. The vote is the most powerful nonviolent change agent you have in a democratic society. You must use it because it is not guaranteed. You can lose it.”
We know that one of the reasons this election is so important is the climate crisis. What is happening now with the coronavirus pandemic will look like a picnic if the worst impacts of climate change come to pass. That’s why we must vote with climate justice in mind. If you agree, please take the pledge today.
We know we have the solutions and the ability to protect our people and our world from extreme climate impacts. We have the God-given, everlasting power of the sun and the wind. We can put people to work in good jobs for clean energy, while we protect our planet and our health.
Climate justice is also racial justice. In the United States, the effects of the climate crisis are felt first and worst by frontline communities of color and low-income people. These are people living closest to power plants and other sources of pollution; research also shows that these communities are suffering and dying disproportionately from COVID-19.
Together we will protect our planet, and build a more perfect union. Rep. John Lewis, pledge to get into some good trouble.
Thank you for picking up the baton for justice!
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