Georgia Progressive Exchange

Resources

Resources



Organizations (incl. re Campaign Contributions)      Georgia News Sources      Progressive Legislation      Documents      Historical Documents

In case a resource might be removed from the original source, an "archived" copy may be saved on this website, with a link from this page.

Organizations

  • 159 Georgia Together (also Facebook page)
  • America Votes (America Votes Georgia email contact)
  • American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), ACLU of Georgia
    The ACLU is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit corporation, but gifts to it are not tax-deductible. The ACLU Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation. Gifts to the ACLU Foundation are fully tax-deductible to the donor.
  • American Constitution Society (ACS) (Georgia Lawyer chapters) (Georgia Student chapters)
  • Black Voters Matter (Southeast + Pennsylvania)
  • Brennan Center for Justice (national)
  • NEW! (9/6/2022) Center for Common Ground (with Democracy Centers in Georgia)
  • Congressional Progressive Caucus
  • Fair Fight; StopJimCrow2
  • NEW! (7/9/2022) Galvanize Georgia (website); Facebook page
  • Georgia Alliance for Social Justice
  • Georgia Budget & Policy Institute (GBPI)
  • Georgia Coalition for the People's Agenda (Southeast regional)
  • Georgia Strategic Alliance for New Directions and Unified Policies (Georgia STAND-UP)
  • Georgia Working Families Party (also Facebook page)
  • NEW! (2/17/2023) Groundwork Collaborative ("a Washington, D.C.-based organization that advocates for a more progressive economic worldview")
  • Indivisible Georgia Coalition (also Facebook page)
  • Movement for Black Lives (national)
  • NAACP, Georgia NAACP
  • News Literacy Project (countering misinformation)
  • ProGeorgia State Table (Georgia organizations included) (updated 2021-08-30); State Voices network
  • Progressive Democrats of America (PDA); Georgia Chapter
  • Progressives for Democracy in America
  • Public Leadership Institute
  • Rural areas: (email newsletters available for most)
  • Southern Economic Advancement Project (SEAP) (12 states)
  • Campaign Contributions:
    Return to top

    Georgia News Sources

    Return to top

    Progressive Legislation

    [Below] IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, April 15, 2021. Mr. Johnson of Georgia (for himself, Mr. Nadler, and Mr. Jones) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

    "Judiciary Act of 2021." H.R.2584 — To amend title 28, United States Code, to allow for twelve associate justices of the Supreme Court of the United States. 117th Congress (2021-2022). Introduced in House (04/15/2021)

    [Below] "A bill to expand Americans' access to the ballot box and reduce the influence of big money in politics, and for other purposes."

    "S. 2747 - Freedom to Vote Act" (Introduced 9/14/2021; replaces H.R. 1 and S. 1)
    "The Freedom to Vote Act: Strengthening Our Democracy." Indivisible

    [Below] IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, April 15, 2021. Mr. Johnson of Georgia (for himself, Mr. Nadler, and Mr. Jones) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

    "Judiciary Act of 2021." H.R.2584 — To amend title 28, United States Code, to allow for twelve associate justices of the Supreme Court of the United States. 117th Congress (2021-2022). Introduced in House (04/15/2021)

    [Below] POLICE REFORM: See the summary in the link below.

    "H.R. 1280 - George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2021" (Passed the House on 3/3/2021; received in the Senate 3/9/2021; failed in Senate 9/22/2021)
    "FACT SHEET: George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2021". Judiciary Committee, U.S. House

    [Below] "Every day, we’re getting closer to a very real deadline for Democrats to take action to pass the For the People Act: a Deadline for Democracy.
         "Why is it so important that Congress get this done before the end of July?
         "The For the People Act includes a ton of critically important democracy reforms, including new voter protections and election security provisions that states will need some time to implement prior to the 2022 midterm elections. In addition, the For the People Act includes a provision that bans partisan gerrymandering and requires states to establish independent redistricting commissions to draw fair Congressional maps -- in some states, those maps must be drawn and finalized by February 2022.
         "We (literally) don’t have any time to waste...."

    "Deadline for Democracy Event Toolkit." Indivisible

    [Below] "We the People deserve a responsive, accountable government that gives us all a stronger voice and puts our needs ahead of special interests.
         "Congress must pass the For The People Act (H.R. 1) — a bold, comprehensive package of democracy reforms including independent redistricting commissions, citizen-funded elections, closing the revolving door between government and corporate interests, and protecting voters against discrimination.
         "H.R. 1 — is the boldest democracy reform since Watergate. It’s a massive overhaul of money-in-politics, voting, and ethics laws — all to make our democracy more inclusive."

    "For the People Act (H.R. 1/S. 1)." Common Cause

    [Below] "The For the People Act would transform our democracy by making it fairer, stronger, and more inclusive. The Brennan Center explains the key provisions of this historic bill."

    (H.R. 1) "Annotated Guide to the For the People Act of 2021." Brennan Center for Justice


    H.R. 4 - Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2019
     
    S.4263 - John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act
         To amend the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to revise the criteria for determining which States and political subdivisions are subject to section 4 of the Act, and for other purposes.

    Labor Unions: H.R.2474 - Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2019 (116th Congress) (text) (Fact Sheet, House Education & Labor Committee)

    Return to top

    Documents

    [Below] "Moral Foundations Theory was created by a group of social and cultural psychologists (see us here) to understand why morality varies so much across cultures yet still shows so many similarities and recurrent themes. In brief, the theory proposes that several innate and universally available psychological systems are the foundations of 'intuitive ethics.' Each culture then constructs virtues, narratives, and institutions on top of these foundations, thereby creating the unique moralities we see around the world, and conflicting within nations too. The five foundations for which we think the evidence is best are" linked below.

    • "For the most complete and accessible overview of the theory, read The Righteous Mind.
    • "If you just want to read about the foundations themselves, here is Chapter 7 of The Righteous Mind."

    "Moral Foundations Theory". YourMorals.org collaboration, updated June 2021

    [Below] CIVICS EDUCATION: "In recent decades, we as a nation have failed to prepare young Americans for self-government, leaving the world’s oldest constitutional democracy in grave danger, afflicted by both cynicism and nostalgia, as it approaches its 250th anniversary. The time has come to recommit to the education of our young people for informed, authentic, and engaged citizenship.
         "Educating for American Democracy (EAD) is an unprecedented effort that convened a diverse and cross-ideological group of scholars and educators to create a Roadmap to Educating for American Democracy—guidance and an inquiry framework that states, local school districts, and educators can use to transform teaching of history and civics to meet the needs of a diverse 21st century K–12 student body."

    "Educating for American Democracy." March 2021

    [Below] The following statement is taken from "Open Letter to Our Nation's Lawmakers on Systemic Racism," by The Poor People's Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival, June 2020 (Rev. Dr. William Barber, II and Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis, co-chairs).

    What is Systemic Racism?
         Systemic racism is more than an individual act of hatred. It is state-sanctioned violence that dehumanizes all people of color. Whether through police brutality, mass incarceration, denial of democratic rights, health inequalities or generations of dispossession, systemic racism has denied the humanity of black, brown and indigenous people since the very founding of this country. It has taken the lives of millions of people and criminalized those who assert our humanity.
         The recent killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, Sean Monterrosa, Ahmaud Arbery and others have prompted hundreds of thousands of people to take action together. Generations of injustice are coming to bear on our streets today. Out of this pain, we are also seeing a new and unsettling force rising up to disrupt a system that is killing our people, smothering our communities and disregarding our basic needs in a global pandemic.
         The truth is that while our government was totally unprepared for this pandemic, and is taking months to deliberate over whether black, brown and poor lives are deserving of housing, health care and economic security, it is fully prepared to quickly mobilize to wage war against us. Over the past decades, the U.S. military’s budget has increased to over $738 billion, taking up more and more of our federal resources, while funding for basic needs like education, housing, food security and water has declined. Military spending is 30 times greater than the federal public school budget, 14 times greater than the federal housing budget and 81 times greater than the EPA budget. Our federal government also spends $100 billion every year on policing and another $80 billion on incarceration. Through the 1033 program, local and state law enforcement agencies have received over 450,000 items, worth $1 billion — rifles, tanks, military aircraft and more — of military equipment from the Department of Defense. Some local law enforcement agencies have received tens of millions of dollars of weaponry.
         This is why police are equipped like soldiers and essential workers are wearing garbage bags. This is why our national guard is deployed within hours to multiple cities to protect property, but we still don’t have protection against a virus that has killed over 100,000 people, including approximately 60,000 people of color. While hundreds of millions of dollars were sent to federal, state and local law enforcement to address heightened needs during the pandemic, 20 million people still have not received their stimulus checks, 30 million people remain uninsured, 40 million people are unemployed, 50 million people will face hunger in the weeks ahead and 60 million people do not have living wages.
         All of this has a disproportionate effect on people of color, who face higher rates of unemployment, poverty, infection and death. George Floyd had lost his job and survived the coronavirus before he was suffocated on the ground by the police. Breonna Taylor was an emergency medical technician on the frontlines of this pandemic, saving the lives of others before her own life was taken.
         We have been facing the pandemic of systemic racism for too long. We have the right to protect our ourselves and our communities from a system that is killing us.
         We will not stop until we can all breathe.

    [Below] From the George Packer article, 'Make America Again,' (in Media Articles): "Last year, a commmission created by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences spent months talking to a variety of groups around the country. Disaffection with the state of American democracy was nearly universal, but so was a longing for connection to a unifying American identity. In June the commission released a report called 'Our Common Purpose,' which put forth 31 proposals, some quite bold....
       "...The aim is not to realize any partisan cause, but to set Americans into motion as civic actors, not passive subjects. 'Democracy works only if enough people believe democracy works,' Eric Liu, a co-chair of the commission that produced the report, told me."

    Our Common Purpose: Reinventing American Democracy for the 21st Century. Commission on the Practice of Democratic Citizenship, American Academy of Arts & Sciences. June 2020. (PDF available; PDF also archived on this website)

    [Below] The following is a paper on the differences between progressive and conservative values.

    Political Differences: Why We’re "Divided" Politically. From ValuesMessage.org. September 7, 2018

    [Below] The document below was developed by Andrea Miller, with Progressive Democrats of America (PDA), and Terence Dicks, Southern Coordinator for PDA

    Progressive Southern Strategy (Developed by Andrea Miller and Terence Dicks, 2016)

    [Below] This is a digital history exhibit on the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) created by Chloe Ammons, Rachel Hunt, Shalaundye Felton, and Anna Roberts for History 4120 (History of the Civil Rights Movement), University of Georgia, 2017.

    Students for a Democratic Society

    [Below] "Made possible by the generous support of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the SNCC Digital Gateway: Learn from the Past, Organize for the Future, Make Democracy Work is a collaborative project of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC—pronounced “Snick”) Legacy Project, Duke’s Center for Documentary Studies, and Duke University Libraries.
         "This documentary website tells the story of how young activists in SNCC united with local people in the Deep South to build a grassroots movement for change that empowered the Black community and transformed the nation. The SNCC Digital Gateway portrays how SNCC, alongside thousands of local Black residents, worked for Black people to take control of their political and economic lives. It also unveils the inner workings of SNCC as an organization, examining how it coordinated sit-ins and freedom schools, voter registration and economic cooperatives, anti-draft protests and international solidarity struggles."

    SNCC Digital Gateway

    [Below] March 22, 2013: "People often ask what, exactly, do progressives believe? Over the past few years, we’ve worked with a great group called the American Values Project, representing a cross section of leaders from think tanks, philanthropic organizations, and environmental, labor, youth, civil rights, and other progressive groups, to try to distill progressive beliefs and values into clear language in one digestible resource.
         "The result of this collective effort is called Progressive Thinking: A Synthesis of Progressive Values, Beliefs, and Positions. The document is free and we encourage you to read, review, critique, and pass it around to others." (More)

    Progressive Thinking: A Synthesis of American Progressive Values, Beliefs and Positions (copyright 2012; 114 pp.; website for the publishing group no longer exists)

    Return to top

    Historical Documents

    "Declaration of Independence: A Transcription." National Archives (archives.gov)

    "The Constitution of the United States: A Transcription." National Archives (archives.gov). This transcription contains but identifies words (in blue) that have since been changed by one of the Amendments to the Constitution. Clicking on those words links to the relevant Amendment.

    "The U.S. Bill of Rights": Amendments 1-10 to the Constitution. National Archives (archives.gov)

    "The Constitution: Amendments 11-27." National Archives (archives.gov)

    Social Security Act of 1935 (from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

    Civil Rights Act of 1964 (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

    Voting Rights Act of 1965 (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

    Medicare (1965) (from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

    [Below] Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

    "Letter from Birmingham Jail," April 16, 1963:
       "Letter from Birmingham Jail." Jason Pamental
       "Letter from Birmingham Jail." Christian Century
       "Letter from a Birmingham Jail [King, Jr.]." African Studies Center, University of Pennsylvania
    "I Have A Dream" speech, August 28, 1963:
       "'I Have A Dream' Speech, In Its Entirety." (audio recording). NPR, January 18, 2010
       "‘I Have a Dream’ Speech." (text and historical background). History.com Editors, March 16, 2021
       "I Have A Dream." (video, full speech with subtitles). YouTube

    [Below] THE POWELL MEMO (1971): "In this excerpt from Winner-Take-All Politics: How Washington Made the Rich Richer — and Turned Its Back on the Middle Class, authors Jacob S. Hacker and Paul Pierson explain the significance of the Powell Memorandum, a call-to-arms for American corporations written by Virginia lawyer (and future U.S. Supreme Court justice) Lewis Powell to a neighbor working with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce."

     

    Return to top

 


Date Revised

September 21, 2024