Jim Crow Business in Georgia

 

Moral Monday Georgia, along with American Friends Service Committee, Held a Rally and Sit in on this past Monday at the Georgia Capitol in Protest of Clear voter Suppression Tactics by Secretary of State Brian Kemp.

Today we learned that the judge presiding over the case has decided not to intervene in the Secretary of State’s work despite the fact that young folks who registered, and have proof that they registered, are missing from the voter polls during an election that has already started.

We are in what appears to be a crisis of democracy, and on Monday several Moral Monday Georgia participants felt strongly enough about the issue to march the following letter into Secretary of State Brian Kemp’s office:

Dear Secretary of State Brian Kemp,

This past year we've seen a historic effort to register new voters in Georgia and change a political landscape that continues to benefit a few people at the cost of everyone else.  

Right now, weeks after early voting has begun 40k eligible voters have yet to be entered into the voter rolls. 40k is enough to win or lose this election. We know that most of these 40k are young people who have never voted before and come from communities of color.

On October 24, 2014 four witnesses were not allowed to testify at the hearing against Brian Kemp's office. All four had registered to vote and are not on voter roll yet. Two of them are young first time voters.

We are troubled that you call the lawsuit, "frivolous” This is not frivolity; access to the ballot box is essential to our democracy.

Imagine if you had gone through the trouble of registering to vote and when Election Day came you were told your name was nowhere to be found.

We have a simple question: Mr. Secretary – if you have found all of our missing registered voters, where are they?

The reality is that the election has begun and already 40k voters have been silenced, shut out of the process. We belief that this is a crisis of democracy, and today some Moral Monday Georgia participants are willing to nonviolently put their freedom on the line to put a spotlight on this crisis.

We have decided to remain in your office until this issue is addressed. This means we would like to see every one of the missing registered voters entered into the voter rolls. We believe that in a democracy every voice matters, and we’re counting on you to do the right thing and make sure the promise of democracy in Georgia is realized.

Signed,

Concerned Georgians

Moral Monday Georgia

____________________________________________________________________________________

Eight Georgians (Kevin Moran 66, Greg Ames 66, Daniel Hanley 33, Lorraine Fontana 67, Peggy Marx 58, Joel Solow 27, Molly Swann 62, and Kathy Acker 62) were arrested for refusing to leave Kemp’s office until he answered.

Ironically they were arrested for disrupting government business. Sadly these days it seems voter suppression is the business of Kemps office, which sits directly across from Governor Deal’s office. Arguably no one stands to gain from blocking young people and communities of color more than Governor Deal who sits several spaces higher on the totem pole above Kemp.

Another sad irony is that the reason Kemp wasn’t in the office that day is that he is currently on a GOP Victory tour. We today Governor Deal and Brain Kemp did get a victory, they have successfully built a barrier to the pole for the group of people who are most likely to vote against them. It’s a victory that should not be celebrated.

 

There's a name for this kind of business, we used to call it Jim Crow. Jim Crow existed to ensure that policies and laws that only benefited some remained by stopping those negatively affected from participating in the democratic process. Jim Crow will forever be synonymous with nasty, mean business. 

We are proud to be able to share space with the Moral Monday Georgia arrestees as their bold action shined a light on the kind of government business that is worth disrupting.

 

Some mainstream press articles on Monday's action:

ThinkProgress

Atlanta Journal Constitution

Creative Loafing

DEMOTIX

 

 

An Open Letter to Governor Deal

Dear Governor Nathan Deal,

As of last night, at the stroke of midnight, the clock of human progress turned back decades. You have caused unfair, unjust and harmful consequences for regular everyday Georgians with the passage of HB 990, HB 772, HB 714 and SB 98.

Sadly, your inaction has and will continue to cost real lives and hardships for Georgians who are already struggling.  You have chosen politics over principle, a short term view of narrow self-interest over a long term vision of what's actually best for Georgia, making public policy turns that further marginalize our most vulnerable citizens while also crippling the state's prospects for economic recovery and prosperity. 

Your lack of regard and compassion for the 650,000 hard working Georgians who would benefit from Medicaid expansion is very troubling. You have signed death warrants for thousands who will die needlessly every year without it. Out of your office we continued to hear the same justification for not accepting Medicaid expansion; Georgia couldn't afford it. While repeating a lie over and over again might work in your political universe it doesn't make it less of a lie. Medicaid expansion would turn the 650,000 hard working Georgians that are forced to go to the emergency center as their only means to healthcare into paying customers with access to preventative care. It would bring over 45 billion dollars of revenue and over 70,000 good paying jobs to our state.  As it turns out, doing what's morally right is also economically smart.

When we and future generations look back in history, we will see a Governor who failed to understand this.  That is why he restricted affordable healthcare and expanded gun rights, publicly celebrating the most dangerous and irresponsible gun bill to be passed in the country. We will see a Governor who allowed and supported attacks on the rights of women by further limited access to reproductive choice.  A governor, who condoned removing unemployment benefits to the same bus drivers that protected our children during an unnecessary snow crisis. We will see a Governor that supported drug testing of food stamp recipients and continues to place road blocks against the Affordable Care Act. You have continually shown your support for the few rich at the cost of the overwhelming poor and working class Georgians by capping income taxes, and restricting loans and scholarships for our states students.

Georgia deserves better than this Governor Deal. When we look at the past legislative session through a moral lens we see our state's priorities with deep concern. We see a Governor more concerned with

party agendas than the welfare and progress of the people he represents. Although this is of deep concern to us, we are hopeful that moral responsibility will be reflected in the future legislation of Georgia, and we are willing to organize toward that end. In the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, " We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope."

Reverend Raphael Warnock

Historic Ebenezer Baptist Church

Dr Francys Johnson

NAACP Georgia President

Jackie Rodriguez

Georgia Now President

Tim Franzen

American Friends Service Committee

La’die Mansfield

Global Organizing Institute

Dianne Mathiowetz

Georgia Peace and Justice Coalition

Neil Sardana

Atlanta Jobs With Justice

Moral Monday GA Marches on the Money!

Moral Monday GA's 1st march will follow the funds to the Georgia State Capitol that originate from Georgia Pacific where the Koch Brothers operate to finance ALEC backed right-wing attacks that benefit billion dollar industry men at the expense of everyday Georgians.

Monday April 21st

4:30 PM - Rally at Washington St steps of theGA State Capitol

5:00 PM - March to GA Pacific/Koch Industries, 133 Peachtree St NE

5:30 PM - Rally at GA Pacific/Koch Industries

We will demand that all Georgia politicians withdraw their membership and support from ALEC and other Koch Brothers political initiatives that push everyday Georgian citizens out of the political system. We call on them to express their independence from these outside interests and instead represent the people of Georgia as they are required to do.

Civil rights icon John Lewis has expressed his deep support for Moral Monday GA and is joining us for this march as is Reverend Warnock of the Historic Ebenezer Baptist Church.

Rev Warnock stated, "The majority of Georgians want Medicaid expansion. The well connected billionaire Koch brothers do not. If they win, we have an oligarchy and not a democracy. So we seek not only to expand Medicaid but to expand the circle of who has influence and who has a voice. Healthcare for all, one person, one vote. That's our fight and the people's agenda."

Dozens of bills attacking everyday Georgians were passed by the GA State Legislature this year and in years past. We know that there is a concerted well-funded effort developed by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) & Koch Industries that provides the resources to develop these attacks and works to influence politicians like Governor Deal and others in all levels of government to make sure their right-wing agenda is fulfilled.

Georgia is a breeding ground for these outside monied interest attacks on everyday working people.  Nowhere is this more obvious then the refusal to accept Medicaid expansion. Governor Deal has a choice to make; stand with the people of Georgia who want and need Medicaid expansion, or stand with the Koch and ALEC types.

 Moral Monday will continue to pressure the Governor to do the right thing and we will continue to expose the forces that stand in the doorway of 650k hardworking Georgians that deserve health care.

Georgians like Nancy Daniell who stated, " I'm too young for Medicare, I don't qualify for Medicaid since Governor Deal has chosen not to opt in for Medicaid Expansion. Since I live at below national poverty levels of income & have no health insurance, I chose to try to enroll in the Affordable Care Act's health plans;However, since the ACA's plans do not count social security income as a tax exempt status, the most "affordable" health care plan they could offer me would cost approx. 40% of my monthly gross income." Nancy will be one of several speakers negatively affected by the extreme attack on everyday Georgians.

Jackie Rodriguez, who also falls into the Medicaid gap stated, "Governor Deal and other Georgia politicians would rather take special interest money to pass harmful legislation than take federal money to help 650k fellow Georgians like me."

American Friends Service Committee is a convener of the Moral Monday Georgia movement and is excited to be a part of such a broad historic coalition with over 50 organizations and dozens of church congregations. 

Georgian's Surround The Governor's Mansion

 No Mr. Governor, we will not go around back. While you might think it is hard to get hundreds of people to agree instantaneously, for this question the answer was swift and unanimous. We, the people, assembled in front of the Governor's Mansion, the People’s House, would not leave the front of the mansion and deliver the wishes of 50,000 people to the back door of our house.

Instead, we stood, in the rain. Packing the street in front of the mansion we waited for the opportunity to deliver the message from 50,000 of our fellow Georgians. Expand Medicaid Now. Do it without delay and help stop 10 people from dying everyday. We stood for hours, hundreds of us, just waiting to have our voices heard. We were there to tell Governor Deal, that all lives matter; that is what we chanted as we lined the streets, Expand Medicaid Now; All Lives Matter, we chanted this because Governor Deal has put politics before the people he is sworn to protect.

We were there to deliver our message because we believe that the 650,000 people in the Medicaid gap matter. We believe that the estimated 10 people who will die every day matter. So we lined the streets and marched up to the gate to demand to be heard. Acception our  petition. Accept the voice of 50,000 people in Georgia who believe that all lives matter. In the end we were denied. We came in good faith to be received by a public servant and instead we were refused. We were turned away from the front gate and told we could deliver our petition around back. Use the back door of our house? That was not an option.So, there the gate stood. Blocking our path to the People’s House much in the same way that Governor Deal is blocking health care to 650,000 people.

Refusing to acquiesce we instead decided to converge on a different door. Before we left the mansion we placed crosses in the fench, each one representing a Georgians that has already needlessly died without Medicaid expansion. The next morning we again met. Faith and community leaders, old and young, black and white, gay and straight, we met at the Governor's office at the Capitol. We came together in front of his office door, holding hands we prayed; that Governor Deal would open his heart and stop letting Georgian’s suffer and die needlessly at his hand. Refusing to meet us in person we were instead able to deliver the messages of 50,000 people to his office staff. We are all different types of people, from all different walks of life, but our message was the same. Expand Medicaid Now. All Lives Matter.

Make your voice count. Join us at the Capital, 4pm April 21st. 

Guest Writer,

Jackie Rodriguez

Moral Monday Georgia

Moral Monday's Big Plans For The Governor's Mansion

The 2014 legislative session in Georgia saw some of the most extreme regressive legislation seen in a generation and included attacks on the poor, women’s rights, immigrants, the working uninsured, voting rights, victims of gun violence, people of color, and public education among others. Numerous bills that will turn the clock back in Georgia are now awaiting Governor Nathan Deal's signature in order to become law.

On Monday March 31, community groups, faith leaders, American Friends Service Committee,NAACP Georgia, Atlanta Jobs With Justice, and concerned Georgians will come together under the banner of Moral Mondays to plan out their response.  A rally is being organized at the Governor's mansion on April 7, urging him to veto the immoral legislation. The group has also launched a petition calling on Governor Deal to veto HB 990 and expand Medicaid in Georgia with a goal of reaching 65,000 signatures (10% of the number of Georgians who would be eligible for healthcare under the expansion) and plan to deliver the petition to the Governor at the demonstration.

Reverend Raphael Warnock of historic Ebenezer Baptist Church will be present at the meeting on Monday and plans to give a brief welcoming. Reverend Warnock, who was recently arrested at the Capitol for protesting the Governor's refusal to expand Medicaid, was quoted as saying "It is no exaggeration to say that we are here on a matter of life and death." As many as 10 Georgians die each day from a lack of access to healthcare.

With the stakes so high, and with Georgians increasingly supporting Medicaid expansion, plans have been made across the state this week to collect signatures in churches, on campuses, at events, and door-to-door in neighborhoods in order to reach the ambitious goal of 65,000 signatures by April 7.

Ronnie Mosley, a Morehouse student who plans to collect signatures on campus this week said, "It's gonna take a lot of work, but we believe we can meet our goal. People are tired of elected officials putting politics before what is best for our state. Most Georgians want the expansion, so we're committed to getting these signatures and sending a clear message to Governor Deal that he can't ignore our voices forever."

An online version of the petition can be found by clicking here.

Moral Monday Brings National Spotlight To Georgia

So it’s been an extremely eventful few weeks The Atlanta Economic Justice Program of the American Friends Service Committee was one of several organizations that made the initial call to organize Moral Monday Georgia and we’ve been a convener during the ongoing process. We are really proud to be a part of a really exciting coalition in Georgia!

In what has been called on of the worst Georgia legislative sessions in 50 years. Moral Monday Georgia's bold action ensured that a powerful spotlight shinned on policy's that basically declare war on the poor, women, working families, people of color, and basically everyone that's not already wealthy.

 There have literally been hundreds, below I'm including a few.

New York Times piece about the budding movement

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/19/us/protest-disrupts-georgia-senate-session-on-bill-to-block-medicaid-expansion.html?_r=0

MSNBC TV piece 

http://www.msnbc.com/melissa-harris-perry/watch/approaching-3rd-world-healthcare-conditions-204216899646

Rachel Maddow piece that focuses on Rev Warnock:

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/watch/outcry-as-state-gop-moves-bad-samaritan-bill-199523395851

Check out some of the coverage here.

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/watch/outcry-as-state-gop-moves-bad-samaritan-bill-199523395851

http://www.msnbc.com/all

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/18/georgia-moral-monday-_n_4988411.html?utm_hp_ref=politics

http://clatl.com/freshloaf/archives/2014/03/18/moral-monday-activists-bring-protest-inside-georgia-senate

http://www.ajc.com/news/news/protesters-disrupt-state-senate/nfFwg/

http://www.therepublic.com/w/GA--Georgia-Legislature-Protests

http://www.11alive.com/story/news/politics/2014/03/18/ga-legislative-medicaid-protests/6582659/

http://onlineathens.com/breaking-news/2014-03-19/votes-arrests-over-medicaid-expansion-state-capitol

http://www.wsav.com/story/25017758/senate-approves-bill-to-control-medicaid-expansion-opponents-react

http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20140318/NEWS/303189971/reform-update-n-h-may-be-first-of-medicaid-expansion-holdouts-to

http://www.times-herald.com/local/20140319-Legis-obamacare-protests-and-arrests

http://www.thewire.com/politics/2014/03/moral-monday-movement-spreads-across-south-41-arrested-georgia-protests/359333/

http://wabe.org/post/despite-protests-bill-moving-medicaid-expansion-decisions-heads-gov-deal

http://www.ajc.com/news/news/protesters-disrupt-state-senate/nfFwg/

http://www.peachpundit.com/2014/03/19/moral-monday-protesters-arrested-on-legislatures-penultimate-day/

http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/police-arrest-and-jail-dozens-after-state-capitol-/nfGQ7/

http://www.wsav.com/story/25009802/georgia-senate-to-soon-vote-on-medicaid-expansion-bill

http://blog.al.com/wire/2014/03/dozens_protest_georgias_refusa.html

http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/medicaid-protesters-arrested-state-capitol/nfFw7/

http://www.wsbradio.com/news/news/moral-monday-protestors-arrested-after-disrupting-/nfF2c/

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/19/us/protest-disrupts-georgia-senate-session-on-bill-to-block-medicaid-expansion.html?hpw&rref=us&_r=0

http://www.accessnorthga.com/detail.php?n=272618

http://www.democracynow.org/2014/3/19/headlines/dozens_arrested_protesting_denial_of_medicaid_expansion_in_georgia

http://www.atlantaprogressivenews.com/interspire/news/2014/03/19/39-arrested-in-moral-monday-protest-for-medicaid-expansion-in-georgia.html

http://www.sfgate.com/news/crime/article/39-arrested-in-Georgia-Statehouse-protests-5329138.php

http://www.macon.com/2014/03/18/2998232/39-arrested-in-georgia-statehouse.html

http://ourfuture.org/20140318/moral-mondays-goes-down-to-georgai

http://www.times-herald.com/local/20140324-third-world2014-03-24T06-26-01

Moral Monday Arrestees Speak Out

Over the course of Georgia's 2014 legislative session the American Friends Service Committee has been excited to be able to play a leadership role in launching Georgia's Moral Monday movement. We were all inspired by North Carolina last year and as 2014 approached many had come to believe that the Moral Monday model could be an effective southern strategy.

Since Georgia's 2014 session began there have been a number of Moral Monday Georgia actions at the State Capitol. Over the course of two of those actions over 30 Moral Monday Georgia coalition members participated in very principled nonviolent civil disobedience. 

On Monday February 17th arrestees gathered together to speak out about why they felt moved to put their freedoms on the line. Below is their collective statement along with some video footage:

"We are young, we are old, we are black, we are white, we are gay, we are straight, we are men, and we are women. Many of us are very religious, some are not.  As a group we are not aligned with one political party. We have many differences, we are people who would normally not mix, but there is something that has brought as all together for a cause we believe so deeply in that we have been willing to put our freedoms on the line.

We believe that Georgia has been high jacked by an extreme radical agenda that our state simple can no longer afford. Year after year we see a budget and tax code the benefits a few at a cost to everyone else. We see the standard of living going down for the overwhelming majority for the benefit of those that already have too much. We see the majority of our state’s politicians acting in the interest of big business to the detriment of everyday Georgians.

So we have come together to build a Moral Movement in our state, to remind our elected officials who they are accountable to. We believe our state budget is a Moral document, and that all Georgians should benefit from our state's prosperity, not just the rich. We are in a crisis of economic priority, not one of economic resource; we know there is enough to go around.

So far over 30 of us have been willing to put our freedom and public records on the line to bring attention to this extreme radical agenda.

On January 27^th 10 members of the Moral Monday Georgia Coalition refused to leave Govenor Deal’s office until he expanded Medicaid to Georgians, a move that would bring health care to an estimated 600,000+ uninsured Georgians and 70k good paying jobs to our state at no cost initially. Ironically struggling Georgians pay for people all over the country to have these benefits yet we are denied do to our Govenor’s ideological stubbornness.

On Monday February 10^th 24 of us held a sit in State Senator Jesse Stone’s  office because he refused to move forward SB280, which would repeal Georgia’s Stand Your Ground law, a law that has a proven track record in making our state less safe, and has come to represent the legalization of modern day lynching.

We have risked our freedom because we believe that everyday Georgians are worth fighting for, we believe our standard of living should be on the rise, not decline, we believe there’s enough to go around, we believe that the least of these is worth fighting for, we believe that a Georgia that prioritizes education, health care, women's rights, LGBT rights, good jobs with fair wages, fair housing practices,racial justice, and environmental justice is possible and worth fighting for."

Marching For Healthcare on Martin Luther King Day

Yesterday the American Friends Service Committee marked the Martin Luther King holiday by working with the Moral Monday Georgia Coalition to organize a contingent in this year's march to focus of pressuring Governor Deal to accept Medicaid expansion in Georgia.

The contingent was big, energetic, and committed to building people power through the Moral Monday Coalition. Thousands of fliers for Moral Monday Georgia's next action at the capitol were enthusiastically passed out yesterday.

Medicaid expansion would mean health coverage for 650,000 uninsured Georgians and 70,000 new good jobs in our state. It's estimated that Georgia loses $93 a minute as a result of Governor Deal's choice to not accept Medicaid expansion.

Link to Facebook event for next Moral Monday action.

The Movement Launches in Georgia

After more than four months of long meetings, countless hours devoted to phone calls to organizations all over Georgia, deeper coordination than I’ve ever see between groups that normally don’t mix, visits to over 60 churches, and lots of tasks completed by countless people, the MoralMonday Georgia movement was launched yesterday in the pouring rain.

Many of us were inspired by the Moral Monday movement inNorth Carolina. For the first time since the Occupy movement,  we were seeing folks let go of organizational identity to work under one banner around a number of important issues that all had clear intersections; but Moral Monday was different from the Occupy Movement.

The Occupy Movement never intended to have a clear goal for every action, every march. The Occupy movement forced a much needed spotlight onto wealth disparity; it changed the national conversation, and has brought more awareness to corporate corruption. It certainly can be said that Occupy planted the seeds that eventually landed historic settlements between the big banks and the federal government with more to come, though certainly not enough.

What we saw in North Carolina was different. Although the movement had clear broad aspirations and clear intersections between many issues, it seemed from the get go that Moral Monday intended to directly challenge legislation that hurt people in their state. Every week we heard of a new piece of terrible legislation that they were fighting, and boy did they seem committed. Every week it was another mass demonstration with principled nonviolent civil disobedience, week after week after week. Almost 1000 people were arrested through the course of North Carolina’s legislative session.

By the end of last year what North Carolina had built began to look like what could be a new southern strategy, like one we haven’t seen in my lifetime. It’s highly organized and disciplined, but also very diverse and inclusive, it sees all the issues as connected, but understands strategy and aims to win real victories, the movement seemed media savvy and continued to do what folks least expected, the movement intentionally targeted their state budgets and policies; understanding the organizations like the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) have been quietly targeting state houses for decades.

 

In Georgia we were paying attention, some of us even took road trips to North Carolina. Over the summer last year folks from Occupy Our Homes Atlanta lead a campaign to stop Desert Storm Veteran Mark Harris from being evicted from his home at the hands of housing giant Fannie Mae. On Mark’s eviction day dozens of us converged on his property and stood with Mark, refusing to leave until Fannie Mae made a fair deal with Mark.  We set up a camp in Mark’s yard and late into the evening we began to talk about Moral Monday and the Dream Defenders, we talked about the need to build bridges between all the amazing organizing in our city, to build the movement that intersects all our work. It was in that late night that we first began to talk about what the Moral Monday movement would look like in Georgia.

We lost Mark’s home, but the resistance of his wrongful eviction spark the first Moral Monday planning meeting and over the course of the last four months we’ve built an exciting diverse coalition that includes over 50 groups.

Yesterday we launch our first ambition action, the issue of the day; Medicaid expansion. Though there are dozens of policy issues we could have focused on nothing seems more urgent, nothing seems to cut to the core of our state’s crisis of moral priority then our Governors decision to block 650,000 struggling Georgian’s from receiving healthcare and 70,000 good jobs to our state. The cruel irony is that as of January 1^st Georgians are paying for folks all over the country to receive lifesaving healthcare, yet Georgians are refused, per Governor Deal’s decision, the very same healthcare.

 

Yesterday Moral Monday demonstrators have a presence at the Capitol all day. Around 100 people showed up to lobby their representatives on the first day of the legislative session and through many of them were able to talk with the person elected to represent them, most were refused a meeting.

In the early afternoon Central Presbyterian, the church directly across the street from the Capitol, hosted a two hour workshop led by Rev William Baber who’s a leading voice in the movement.

Despite the constant pouring rain 500 people came out in the rain for a rally on the steps of the Capitol. After the crowd heard from clergy, doctors, community leaders, and the uninsured folks that would benefit from Medicaid expansion, a solemn precession was led by faith leaders up the stairs of the capitol. Everyone took their turn to walk to the steps of the capitol and lay down a religious symbol, each symbol represented a Georgian who will die this year because Governor Deal refuses to accept Medicaid expansion.

After a brief tense moment with police, many at the rally chose to join clergy in walking all the way up to the steps and placing their hands on the door of the capitol. The message was clear; this is life or death for Georgians.

The struggle to bring healthcare to Georgians is one the Moral Monday Movement will continue to engage in. Next week Moral MondayCoalition members will march in the MLK March on the 20th, and we will be back at theCapitol January 27th to either celebrate Governor Deal’s decision to do the right thing or escalate the campaign using creative, disciplined nonviolent direct action.

OVER 50 Georgia Churches Get Message of Moral Monday Movement During Church Services Today

Right now in Georgia, wealth disparity has never been worse. Our budget and its tax breaks have never benefited those that already have much more than they would ever need at the cost of folks that are already struggling to keep their head above water, while the number of those forgotten by our system and relegated to the streets or incarceration continues to grow at an alarming rate.

The Moral Monday movement captured the nation's attention last year in North Carolina as a diverse coalition from the state decided to put their bodies on the line to resist an extreme agenda aimed to stripe the state of voter's rights, worker's rights, women's rights, and programs of social uplift.

As months have passed momentum has continued to grow in North Carolina and what looks like a real southern strategy to address historic wealth inequity has emerged.

The movement is growing, and  it's coming to Georgia on the first day of the Legislative session January 13th for an all-day event that will include lobbying legislators, education, and a powerful rally at the steps of the Georgia Capitol from 4-6pm.

On the 13th, the issue we will focus on in Georgia is Medicaid Expansion. Our Governor has decided not to sign off on Medicaid expansion on purely ideological grounds, essentially refusing free resources. What does this mean for Georgia? It means 600,000 Georgians will go uninsured, and we will not get the 70,000 good jobs Medicaid expansion will bring. Governor Deal’s commitment to rich people will cost lives in Georgia. The conservative estimate is that 1 out of every 1,000 uninsured people will die a year due to lack of health insurance. That means at least 600 fatalities this year.

In an effort to build momentum for the Moral Monday movement, and the passage of Medicaid expansion, over 50 Georgia Churches spread the message of Moral Monday through their congregations. I had the pleasure of attending and speaking at Higher Ground Empowerment Center in the historic Vine City community as part of the effort and the reception was more than positive. It was also very exciting to know that 50 other Georgia Churches where receiving the same message. Everyone knows and loves someone that simply can't afford healthcare.

Our state budgets can no longer be ignored. We must begin to look at our budgets as a list of moral priorities. We must take a hard look at who is prioritized, which communities benefit year after year, and which communities are left behind to fall behind more as each year passes.

Click here for more details about Moral Monday's January 13th action.

Special Delivery For Governor Deal

A delegations of struggling homeowners, some of whom already lost their homes, join community leaders in delivering the newly release Wasted Wealth Report to Governor Nathan Deal, who declined to accept the report in person.


The delegation of about 15 people had to deal with a considerable amount of hassle to get into the Capitol. At one point we were put under the impression that we were not going to be allowed in the building despite having taken all the appropriate measures.


After delivering the report we held a press conference outside the Governors office. Struggling residents called  for mass mortgage principle reduction and for Governor Deal to change the requirements for Georgia's HomeSafe program. HomeSafe was created with the over 360 million dollars Georgia got from the federal settlement the big banks made. The money is supposed to go to the hardest hit. Instead only 1% of the funds have ended up in the hands of those that need it the most.

How Do We Make Sure HB87 Fails?

Today Governor Deal signed HB87 and effectively ushered in a new era in Georgia history. We now live in what some are calling the Juan Crow era, an era that we all must work to ensure is brief.

As news of HB87's signing spread folks started heading to capitol to express their outrage at Governor Deal's seemingly inevitable action. Knowing the Governor was politically committed to signing the bill did not soften the emotional impact. To be frank, today has been a very tough day for countless people.

Folks also came out to a town hall meeting held at Trinity United Methodist Church to discuss the impact of HB87. Groups shared resistance actions that they have been organizing and further strategized on effective next steps we all can take in the effort to make sure HB87 fails.

Throughout the course of the town hall meeting it became apparent that HB87 will be defeated. There were just too many committed folks in the room, too many communities represented, too many dynamic ideas put out and too many organizations lining up to support resistance to this bill. It's clearly a question of when and how, not if.

Some of the projects presented during the meeting included:

A boycott of Georgia. Already calls have gone out to avoid traveling to our state of hate. It is urged to no longer plan vacations to Georgia, have your conferences booked elsewhere, skip Georgia if you're booking a music/cultural tour, and make it known why you are boycotting our state.

Georgia Undocumented Youth Alliance is working on creating space for youth in the movement to defeat HB87. Here at AFSC we also hope to raise the voices of migrant youth through our Migrant Youth Voice project. We hope to launch a new website in the next month where we will be publishing a series of short films documenting the lives and struggles of undocumented youth in georgia, in edition we'll also be hosting a number of film screening across the state in the fall.

Southerners On New Ground and the Georgia Latino Alliance on Human Rights (GLAHR) will be leading an effort to organize businesses and sanctuaries to become hate free zones. Houses of worship and places of business that commit to non compliance of HB87 will be certified "hate free" zones where immigrants and human rights supporters are welcome to shop or worship. Contact Southerners on New Ground or the Georgia Latino Alliance on Human Rights if you're down to help with this ambitious effort. We all shop, and many of us are active in a church, so that's where we can start!

GLAHR has also organized an action for women in the defense of immigrant families. Women from all over Georgia will come together to demand a stop to the separation and persecution of their families and to put a stop to 287g and HB87. Wearing white, with their children by their side, women and those in solidarity opposing this legislation will gather at Centennial Park on May 22, 2011 at 10am.

Finally I just want to say that in my personal experience, sometimes failure can be the foundation by which success is built upon. I mention that just to highlight the opportunity that has been presented by HB87's signing today. The chance to build and strengthen communities, the thousands of people that will experience a life changing political awakening as a result of Governor Deals pen stroke today is inconceivable. It is on the foundation of HB87's failure that we can build something new, something different.

Tim Franzen

American Friends Service Committee

Governor Deal, Veto That Bill

Today is the last day that HB 87 can pass the house and senate and as I type bill is being debated on the floor of the Georgia house of representatives.

Outside the capitol hundreds of human rights activist have been holding a vigil, and holding onto hope that those under the dome will vote to kill HB87.

During a time of economic crisis it's not surprising that some in the Georgia house and senate have attempted to scapegoat our state's money problems on anyone but themselves, and undocumented workers seem to be a pretty easy target being that they have been politically voiceless for decades.

The reality, however, is much different then what HB 87 Architects painted. Georgia's top two industries are agriculture and tourism, both industries are fueled by undocumented workers, both industries have lobbied against HB 87. The similar Arizona bill that passed last year sparked international boycotts of the state which cost the state millions in revenue.

Georgia's economy simply can't afford this type of legislation.

But this is about much more than economics.

This is a human rights issue.Immigrant's rights are human rights. What people who vigiled today at the capitol are fighting for is simply the right to exist in a space they have called home for years, a space they have contributed to greatly.

Borders, boundaries, corporations, and nations are simply ideas. We should care less about these ideas than we do actual human beings with beating hearts and dreams of their future. A future where we're all free to travel where we please, attend school where we please, seek employment where we please. A future where we all have the dignity and freedom to exist is a space we call home. A future that never again rolls out the red carpet for Jim Crow laws, a future that refuses to legislate hate.

Sadly HB 87 passed tonight, effectively rolling out the red carpet for Jim Crow. The fight isn't over, we then turn our eyes, our energy, our voice, and our prayers to Governor Deals office with one singular message: Veto This Bill!


Tim Franzen
American Friends Service Committee