Social Justice Alliance

Contact us: [email protected]
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Overview

We are a multi-racial / ethnic / generational coalition pursuing a more diverse, engaged, inclusive electorate by educating voters and advocating policies that directly impact underserved communities through empowering, supporting and elevating front line groups to achieve economic, political and social justice.

Monthly Meeting Structure

First Saturday: Listening, Learning, and Elevating Voices from the Frontline

Join us to learn from and engage with people on the frontlines of the fight for social justice.

Second Saturday: Suppression Free Democracy: Roadmap to 2022

Update each month to provide a big picture reminder as well as concrete actions for engagement

Third Saturday: Disinformation at School Board Meetings

Workgroup to combat disinformation related to CRT in local school boards.

Fourth Saturday: Voter Registration

Hear from Field Team 6 / ILVOTE with concentration on partnering with community leaders in underserved neighborhoods

Social Justice Alliance Blog

VIDEO: A Revolution of Values

A Revolution of Values: How the Race/Class Narrative Can Help Build a Coalition for the Common Good

RECORDING LINK

The Indivisible Illinois Social Justice Alliance continued our Build Bridges not Walls series. We are at a turning point in our democracy with Christian Nationalism taking on an oversized role. Look to the U.S. Supreme Court for an example of its effects. Christian Nationalists seek to promote the status of a Christian state which doesn’t adhere to the separation of church and state guaranteed in the 1st Amendment of our constitution. Our guest speakers addressed Christian Nationalism and how the Race Class Narrative can provide a progressive response to the tactics of divisive racism which some say Christian Nationalism is based. Addressing this movement is crucial for our future and the proper functioning of our government in the United States.

More about our featured speaker, Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove:
“Jonathan has served as a scribe for the moral movement in America today. In Revolution of Values, he tells the truth about how the Bible was hijacked by the religious Right. But more importantly, he highlights the people who are challenging a false moral narrative and shows us how faith can revive the heart and soul of this democracy.”
— William J. Barber II, president of Repairers of the Breach, co-chair of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival

We were also joined by Jessica Motsinger, Founder and Co-Lead of Metro East Indivisible and Co-Lead of IISJA, and Diane Ore, Core Leader, of Bend the Arc: Jewish Action Champaign-Urbana who shared their stories and experiences of addressing Christian Nationalism in their own communities.

Gun Violence – Elevating Voices from the Front Lines

We have a lot of trouble looking at gun violence straight on let alone talking about it, but we do know how to count it. Public Citizen recently estimated that the US population of 333 million owns at least 400 million guns (“or more guns than people”). Guns outpaced auto accidents as the leading cause of death for children in our country in 2020.

On the upside, we are learning how to name it more correctly. On June 4, The Lancet, an internationally respected medical journal, devoted its monthly Editorial to the task. Titled ”Gun violence in the USA: children’s right to health” the editors make the case for gun violence as a public health issue (“rather than a debate over the US Constitution’s Second Amendment”). The USA is the high-income country with the greatest burden of gun-related injury, the editors write, adding that research should go beyond the strategies and practices of the gun industry and its supporters. Then, in what could become a wake-up call, they describe US gun violence as “a classic example of a commercial determinant of health” – a term used to describe things like tobacco and alcohol.

Also encouraging, in 2018, Illinois Senator Richard Durbin launched a partnership of 10 major hospitals serving Chicago to address the root causes of gun violence. The Chicago Hospital Engagement, Action, and Leadership (HEAL) Initiative has enabled productive community partnerships among ordinarily fierce competitors. One of many outcomes has been a 21 percent increase in the number of local people newly hired by those hospitals.

Yet, as those living the day-to-day reality behind the dismal fatality statistics of gun violence know all too well, we need to do far more. And when members of the Indivisible Illinois Social Justice Alliance team invited Yolanda Androzzo and Tangela Jones to speak at their monthly Listening, Learning and Elevating Voices from the Frontlines meeting, they made fast tracks to the “what.”

Androzzo and Jones know far too much about the ways that trauma affects children, parents, and communities. Androzzo is Coalition and Programming Director for One Aim Illinois, which employs research, public education, outreach, and coalition building to educate the public about gun violence and evidence-based solutions that can save lives. As a former youth educator who has worked in underserved communities and juvenile detention settings, Androzzo has first-hand knowledge of the ways students’ lives are impacted by gun violence. Jones, whose son died as a result of gun violence, is a member of Moms Demand Action Hyde Park/South Side and the Everytown for Gun Safety Survivor Network. (Everytown for Gun Safety is a nationwide community of survivors who work to end gun violence by advocating for and amplifying survivor voices, offering trauma-informed programs, and providing information on direct services.)

Most of us want to believe that if we knew a family that had lost a child to gun violence, we, too, would immediately reach out to the newly bereaved and become more active advocates for meaningful change. But this is relentlessly demanding and profoundly draining work; an exhausting job that never stops. Many of us would rather see the movie. Which is a big part of the problem.

When the Illinois legislature adjourned on May 31, goals outstanding included laws to provide for expanded background checks, an assault weapons ban, and a higher minimum age for gun purchases. And at the federal level, while the legislative language has not yet been nailed down, leaders of a bipartisan team announced in mid-June that an agreement in principle on gun-violence prevention priorities was near.

Androzzo and Jones were generous mentors that afternoon, modeling the steady urgency that has driven the successes that gun violence prevention advocates have achieved to date. But far more is needed. They will continue to press for measures that have been proposed to legislators but not yet passed, and others with lower profiles, such as requirements that gun purchasers pass psychological screening tests and complete safety classes. More generous time off work for the bereaved and support services to cover repeated home visits by a social worker are on their agenda too.

Maybe the biggest takeaway is that we need to get personal, which is scary stuff. It is all to the good to collect the data, but we need to learn from the courageous people at the frontlines if we are to drive real change. People who can teach the hard lessons. People who can help us work with our hearts and our minds at once.

Shortly after Uvalde, newspapers published a photo of a young man holding a large sign that said simply, “Don’t look away.”

We need to hear more from people like him.

By: Mariann Stephens

 

Join IISJA and NWSOFA at noon CDT on Sat., June 25th as we partner with Field Team 6, Indivisible Milwaukee and Michigan Democrats to promote massive voter registration in IL, WI and MI with a focus on registering LGBTQ+ voters.

Field Team 6 identifies unregistered voters, likely Democrats, especially those who identify as LGBTQ+ or are strong allies. When we reach out and help LGBTQ+ voters register and vote, they can shift the balance in their state to make sure every LGBTQ+ person can live openly and freely.

  • Statistically, 1 in 5 LGBTQ+ folks are eligible but not registered to vote.
  • In 2016, 1 in 5 of those registered voters did not vote in the election.
  • In 2020 turnout was nearly 90%, among registered queer voters, with 81% voting for Biden.

We will not give up until ALL Americans have access to the ballot box. Massive voter registration needs to happen before Midterm elections. Working together – we will get the job done.

Please join us at 11:55 AM CDT on Sat., June 25th for the noon start and learn how YOU can help!

Signup link: https://bit.ly/IISJA_VR_LGBTQ_plus

Video: IISJA Guest Speaker Penn Garvin on the Race Class Narrative

Indivisible Illinois Social Justice Alliance:

Build Bridges Not Walls Part II: How the Race Class Narrative can create cross-racial solidarity and unite all voters

Wednesday, June 8, 7:30 PM CDT

 

Last March the Indivisible Illinois Social Justice Alliance hosted speakers who addressed the unifying language of the Race Class Narrative. Back by popular demand is Penn Garvin who will provide additional training. Since the last event America has faced more gun violence, attacks against reproductive freedom and troubling information about the January 6th insurrection against our country. We gather on Wednesday, June 8th at 7:30pm CDT to learn how to move forward in a divided nation with help from the Race Class Narrative.

 

What is the Race Class Narrative? Our opposition regularly uses racial fear as a tool to exploit economic anxieties. They do this by framing their arguments in terms of one group getting more at the expense of the other group even when, in reality, the economic interests of both groups are the same. In doing this, our opposition turns each group against a government that works for all groups. Race Class Narrative messaging fights back at these attacks by showing that both groups are fighting the same enemy, namely, the politicians and corporations holding both groups back. This is what convinces the largest possible group of White people to support our economic and racial justice policy solutions. Learn how proper messaging can fight back against these attacks and what actions we can take today to address these challenges.

Build Bridges Not Walls Part II: How the Race Class Narrative can create cross-racial solidarity and unite all voters

Indivisible Illinois Social Justice Alliance:

Build Bridges Not Walls Part II: How the Race Class Narrative can create cross-racial solidarity and unite all voters

Wednesday, June 8, 7:30 PM CDT

 

Last March the Indivisible Illinois Social Justice Alliance hosted speakers who addressed the unifying language of the Race Class Narrative.  Back by popular demand is Penn Garvin who will provide additional training. Since the last event America has faced more gun violence, attacks against reproductive freedom and troubling information about the January 6th insurrection against our country. We gather on Wednesday, June 8th at 7:30pm CDT to learn how to move forward in a divided nation with help from the Race Class Narrative.

What is the Race Class Narrative? Our opposition regularly uses racial fear as a tool to exploit economic anxieties. They do this by framing their arguments in terms of one group getting more at the expense of the other group even when, in reality, the economic interests of both groups are the same. In doing this, our opposition turns each group against a government that works for all groups.

Race Class Narrative messaging fights back at these attacks by showing that both groups are fighting the same enemy, namely, the politicians and corporations holding both groups back. This is what convinces the largest possible group of White people to support our economic and racial justice policy solutions.

Learn how proper messaging can fight back against these attacks and what actions we can take today to address these challenges.

Register for this important meeting on Wednesday, June 8, 7:30-9pm CDT!

Registration Link:  https://bit.ly/IISJA_RCN_PartII

Race Class Narrative Training with Indivisible Illinois Social Justice Alliance June 8, 2022

Last March the Indivisible Illinois Social Justice Alliance hosted speakers who addressed the unifying language of the Race Class Narrative.  Back by popular demand is Penn Garvin who will provide additional training. Since the last event America has faced more gun violence, attacks against reproductive freedom and troubling information about the January 6th insurrection against our country. We gather on Wednesday, June 8th at 7:30pm CDT to learn how to move forward in a divided nation with help from the Race Class Narrative.

What is the Race Class Narrative? Our opposition regularly uses racial fear as a tool to exploit economic anxieties. They do this by framing their arguments in terms of one group getting more at the expense of the other group even when, in reality, the economic interests of both groups are the same. In doing this, our opposition turns each group against a government that works for all groups.

Race Class Narrative messaging fights back at these attacks by showing that both groups are fighting the same enemy, namely, the politicians and corporations holding both groups back. This is what convinces the largest possible group of White people to support our economic and racial justice policy solutions.

Learn how proper messaging can fight back against these attacks and what actions we can take today to address these challenges.

RSVP

“Confronting Disinformation at School Board Meetings”​ – Saturday May 21, 2022 at 12:00 pm​

Open to all to Attend: School Board Members, parents and interested folks.

This is a forum for School Board members across the state to share, strategize and collaborate. All SB Members, parents and non SB members are invited to attend and learn / contribute what is happening locally / across Illinois and Nationally.

There is an organized effort to spread disinformation, we need to understand who is sponsoring the disinformation, and how to stop it. This is hand-to-hand combat as these conservative activists try to promote racist policies, unseat duly elected representatives and disrupt our local school board meetings,

Learn what we can do to level the playing field! Registerr Here.

Social Justice Alliance Discusses Race-Class Narrative, March 16, 7:30pm

Building Bridges Not Walls: How the Race-Class Narrative Can Create Cross-Racial Solidarity and Unite All Voters

The Indivisible Illinois Social Justice Alliance will host the next Community Collaborative virtual event on Wednesday, March 16, 2022 at 7:30pm CDT. We will discuss the Race Class Narrative (RCN) and welcome guest speakers who will share their dynamic stories with you. Our guests will be representatives from the Poor People’s Campaign IL, Black Leaders Organizing Communities WI (BLOC) and the Hubb for Progress PA.

What is the Race Class Narrative? Our opposition regularly uses racial fear as a tool to exploit economic anxieties. They do this by framing their arguments in terms of one group getting more at the expense of the other group even when, in reality, the economic interests of both groups are the same. In doing this, our opposition turns each group against a government that works for all groups.

Race Class Narrative messaging fights back at these attacks by showing that both groups are fighting the same barrier to unity, namely, the politicians and corporations holding both groups back. This is what convinces the largest possible group of White people to support our economic and racial justice policy solutions.

RSVP to learn how proper messaging can fight back against these attacks and what actions we can take today to address these challenges:
https://act.indivisible.org/event/local-actions/165688

Webinar: Evanston Reparations

Indivisible Illinois Community Collaborative was hosted by Indivisible Illinois Social Justice Alliance, February 2, 2022. Guest speakers on this webinar on Evanston Reparations included Justin Marchoviche-Garnett from Indivisible NWSOFA and Kelly B from Indivisible REI Illinois.

Indivisible Illinois Social Justice Alliance educates voters and advocates policies that directly impact underserved communities.

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