A New York Times interview with Dr. Calvin Butts, Pastor, Abyssinian Baptist Church
The black church has been at the forefront of black leadership and social protest in America. In fact, Abyssinian Baptist Church was founded out of protest.
American Educator Addresses Gaping Hole in State Education Standards
State standards are vague and repetitive, preventing a shared understanding of what students must learn in each grade. The spring issue of American Educator is devoted to drawing attention to the critical need for clear, specific and content-rich state education standards.
When parents are involved in their children's education, kids do better in school.
Want to learn how to help your child achieve and succeed? Read on! You'll learn why involvement is so important and suggestions for how to get involved.
NEA Launches Campaign Aimed at Africans and Caribbeans, Names 'Ambassadors'
We know that caregivers of all children have their best interests at heart. Here's a look at our newest outreach effort aimed at Africans and Caribbeans.
Welcome to Clergy Strategic Alliances (CSA) and thanks for visiting our website. At CSA our goal is to equip pastors and congregations with the skills necessary to build power and improve their communities. We do this through teaching organizing skills, coalition building, issue education, legal and effective ways churches can be involved during an election year. Because of our strong relationships in the religious community we are able to build strategic alliances between foundations, labor organizations, and non profit corporations, to work with the faith community in a way that allows every institution to maintain the integrity of its mission and achieve its goals. We welcome the opportunity to work with you so that together we can bring about equality and fairness in your community and across the country. Together we can make a difference for our families, friends, and the future of our children.
“Rev. Romal Tune and the
Clergy Strategic Alliances are doing the most impressive
social and civic justice work of this century. This
organization has proactively begun to train and prepare pastors, congregants,
and grassroots organizations to empower communities by involving
them in civic and social justice work around the country. I
encourage every civic minded Pastor, individual and organization
to support the work of Clergy Strategic Alliances. It
is my firm belief that through their work we are preparing
another generation of civic minded activist to continue the
legacy and ministry of the late Dr. Martin Luther King and
so many others.”
Minyon Moore,
Principal DeweySquare Group
Former, Political Director, President Bill Clinton
Clergy Strategic Alliance Services:
Public Relations: Using communications to ensure your message targets and reaches your core audience.
Strategy: Identifying the most effective ways to meet your goals and achieve deliverables.
Training and Workshops: Community organizing, political organizing, voter registration, issue education, and voter turnout.
Messaging: Crafting messages for your organization that resonate with a target audience in the religious community.
Marketing and Image Development: Ensuring that community knows our clients and is aware of the services they provide.
Coalition Building: Creating strategic relationships with religious leaders that maintain the integrity of our clients and the religious community in order to achieve common goals
The Leadership Conference on Civil Rights is pleased to announce our involvement in a major new anti-poverty initiative - Half in Ten: From Poverty to Prosperity.
Half in Ten is an initiative of ACORN, the Center for American Progress Action Fund, the Coalition on Human Needs, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, and Senator John Edwards, to reduce poverty in the United States by 50 percent in ten years. Given the persistence of poverty in recent decades, many Americans may consider the alleviation of poverty an insurmountable challenge; but this is not the case. We believe that this goal is attainable if we focus our attention on key policies, such as expanding the EITC and child tax credit and raising state and federal minimum wages, which have quantifiable results and have the immediate potential for advancement and public attention. To learn more about the Half in Ten campaign, please visit: http://www.civilrights.org/halfinten/ or www.halfinten.org.
Wade Henderson
President, Leadership Conference on Civil Rights
URGENT! Digital Television Transition
CALL THE TOLL-FREE, 24-HOUR HOTLINE AT 1-888-388-2009. TV goes digital Feb. 17, 2009. If you use rabbit ears or a rooftop antenna to get television signals, your television may not work.
The government is offering two free $40 coupons per household to buy converter boxes to keep you connected. Coupons are limited and going fast. Access to communications in the 21st century is not a luxury; it is a necessity. 21 million households rely on analog television — many of which include low-income families, the elderly, minorities and individuals with disabilities. Many of these people are unaware of the switch and will need help making the transition.
Expand the Children's Health Insurance Program
Dear Friend,
During the 2006 campaign, I wrote you often about children's issues. I pledged that once in the Senate I would make this a primary focus and that together we would fight for the health care, education, and child care that working families need to ensure that their kids can succeed.
So far, we are fighting to expand the Children's Health Insurance Program and we've introduced legislation to provide high-quality pre-kindergarten education (Senate Bill 1374). Today, we began the fight to ensure that working families have the child care they so desperately need.
Just hours ago, I introduced the Starting Early, Starting Right Act. This legislation addresses an enormous unmet need by increasing funding for child care, with the dual goals of helping more families afford care and improving the quality of early care.
This legislation has already received the endorsement of community leaders and advocacy groups. But it will not succeed without the support of people like you. So today I ask you to help raise the volume and show that our citizens are demanding change.
Child care develops America's potential and helps both families and communities prosper. Children in high quality child care programs learn and develop skills they need to succeed in school and in life. Child care helps families get ahead by giving parents the support they need to be productive at work. And child care helps our nation stay competitive with a stronger work force now and in the future.
Working families and children do not have highly paid lobbyists ensuring their needs are met and their interests are represented. But, what they do have is people like you and me who are ready to fight and make sure that Congress does the right thing.
So again, please stand up today, make your voice heard, and add your name as a citizen co-sponsor.
WRIGHT AND OBAMA:
TWO DIFFERENT INGREDIENTS TO A NEW AMERICA
This has been a sad week for me. I have watched two friends who I respect, admire, and have a deep love for, torn apart by pundits and editorialists, talking heads, and political strategists! It has been sad because both men that I know, Senator Barack Obama and Reverend Jeremiah Wright, love America, are passionate about its future, and desire at their very core the best for this country and for each and every one of its citizens. I must also say that I find it quite hypocritical that conservative preachers and commentators who have identified themselves as the protectors and respecters of life are consistently silent on the issues of gun violence, poverty, no health care, poor education, and the effects of racism and classism that are continually killing life in our inner cities. Yet when other voices identify them, they’re called angry and unpatriotic.
Presidential Candidates On Pending Judicial Nominations
In response to a query from Senator Arlen Specter, the presidential candidates have written letters staking out their positions on proposed petitions to move pending judicial nominations to the Senate floor. Citing her “tremendous respect for the Judiciary Committee and its jurisdiction,” Senator Clinton said, “I do not believe that taking the unprecedented step of filing a petition to discharge the nominations of Article III judges from the Judiciary Committee is warranted.” Senator McCain wrote that he hoped the Committee would approve Specter’s discharge petition: “Such partisan gridlock only serves to harm all Americans who seek justice in our courts only to find our courts understaffed.” Senator Obama referenced his “great respect for the Senate’s constitutional advice and consent role in the confirmation of these judges,” and like Clinton argued for a bipartisan solution. www.justiceatstake.org
Voter Contact Magazine Inaugural Issue
Democracy South is preparing to kick-off its Inaugural Issue of Voter Contact Magazine. Voter Contact Magazine is a publication designed for people and groups, especially nonprofit/ nonpartisan groups, that plan, organize, manage and fund civic engagement campaigns. Our purpose is to provide our readers with a broad range of information, news, resources and research that will magnify the effectiveness and productivity of voter contact campaigns.
We offer two full-time summer program internships that begin between May 26 and June 16, 2008 and will last for 10-12 weeks. Internship duties include supporting research and writing for state-specific reports, grant reports, press materials, websites and action alerts, internal updates, and other materials; managing campaign databases; organizing issue-specific media contact lists; assisting with press events; assisting at coalition meetings, congressional hearings and conferences; supporting state affiliates; and some light office support.
The Civic Engagement Assistant will work directly with the national Civic Engagement Director to provide support to USAction affiliates and USAEF partner organizations to plan and implement their voter education and mobilization campaigns. The Civic Engagement Assistant will have extensive telephone and e-mail contact with grassroots leaders around the country, and will have the opportunity to learn more about issue and campaign organizing. This is an ideal opportunity for someone who wishes to contribute to the growth and shaping of a national organization that is making real, grassroots, social change happen.
Welcome to Clergy Strategic Alliances (CSA) and thanks for visiting our website. At CSA our goal is to equip pastors and congregations with the skills necessary to build power and improve their communities. We do this through teaching organizing skills, coalition building, issue education, legal and effective ways churches can be involved during an election year. Because of our strong relationships in the religious community we are able to build strategic alliances between foundations, labor organizations, and non profit corporations, to work with the faith community in a way that allows every institution to maintain the integrity of its mission and achieve its goals. We welcome the opportunity to work with you so that together we can bring about equality and fairness in your community and across the country. Together we can make a difference for our families, friends, and the future of our children.
Democracy South is preparing to kick-off its Inaugural Issue of Voter Contact Magazine. Voter Contact Magazine is a publication designed for people and groups, especially nonprofit/ nonpartisan groups, that plan, organize, manage and fund civic engagement campaigns. Our purpose is to provide our readers with a broad range of information, news, resources and research that will magnify the effectiveness and productivity of voter contact campaigns.
