by Sulma Arias | Apr 7, 2024 | Biden, Blog, Economy, Featured
Giant corporations and billionaires want to keep their taxes low and the prices we pay high. That’s why they want Trump back in office. SUPPORT OUR WORK ESPAÑOL In 2004, I was a single mom raising three daughters on my own. I worked three jobs, including an overnight...
by Sulma Arias | Apr 7, 2024 | Blog, ESPANOL, SULMA
Las grandes empresas quieren pagar menos en impuestos, y que nosotros paguemos mas en los supermercados. Es por eso que quieren que Trump vuelva al poder. APOYE NUESTRO TRABAJO INGLES Hace veinte años, yo era una madre soltera, criando sola a mis tres hijas. Para...
by Sulma Arias | Feb 19, 2024 | Blog, Democracy, Election, Featured
Democracy dies when we give up freedoms, thinking they are a small price to pay. That's why we need to defend our right to vote and defeat authoritarian leaders everywhere. SUPPORT OUR WORK SPANISH I recently returned to El Salvador for the first time in many years. I...
by Sulma Arias | Feb 19, 2024 | Blog, ESPANOL, SULMA
La democracia muere cuando renunciamos a nuestros derechos, por más insignificante que estos parezcan. Por eso necesitamos defenderlos y aprender a reconocer cuando estamos a punto de sacrificarlos a líderes autoritarios en todas partes. APOYE NUESTRO TRABAJO ENGLISH...
by Sulma Arias | Jan 14, 2024 | Blog, ESPANOL
APOYE NUESTRO TRABAJO ENGLISH Los días entre Navidad y el Día de los Reyes son una época de gran alegría en nuestra casa en Wichita. Con mi esposo Reuben, compartimos una familia grande y mixta con nuestros cinco hijos, que ahora tienen entre 20 y 30 años. Una de mis...
by Sulma Arias | Jan 14, 2024 | Blog, Democracy, Election, Featured
SUPPORT OUR WORK ESPANOL The holidays are a joyous time at our house in Wichita. My husband Reuben and I share a big, blended family of five kids, now in their twenties and early thirties. One of my daughters lives in a small town with her husband, and through her...
by Sulma Arias | Dec 21, 2023 | Democracy, Featured, Organizing Revival
It would be easy to despair in times like these. Powerful corporations profit from our climate crisis. Millions suffer from war or must flee their homes, and democracy is under attack. This is a time when we need each other more than ever. Yet many people feel alone....
by Sulma Arias | Nov 19, 2023 | Blog
Aquí en People's Action Institute, el entrenamiento y capacitación son fundamentales - Son la base de quienes somos. Para nosotros, es un compromiso. Sabemos que si tenemos alguna esperanza de transformar la sociedad en la que vivimos para que todos puedan no solo...
by Sulma Arias | Nov 19, 2023 | Blog, Featured
Here at People’s Action Institute, training is our foundation. These are not just nice words - this is our commitment. If we have any hope to transform society into a place where everyone finds a home and where they can survive and thrive, it’s because someone,...
by Sulma Arias | Oct 15, 2023 | Democracy, Featured
"This is what is possible with good government that works for people. This is what happens when people are put closer and closer to decision-making power." - Carrie Santoro, Pennsylvania Stands Up Country singer Jason Aldean recently sparked a firestorm with his song...
by Sophia Cheng | Oct 9, 2023 | Blog, Climate, Democracy, Environment, Featured
Fossil fuels are killing our planet and our communities. Michael Witten, who used to mine coal in West Virginia, has seen this up close, and that’s why he’s demanding change now. Witten worked in coal mines for more than eight years in West Virginia’s Boone County...
by Sulma Arias and Eboni Taggart | Sep 16, 2023 | Blog, Featured, Organizing
Here at People’s Action Institute, we feel the way Jill Murphy, a Michigan schoolteacher who is now a full-time organizer for one of our affiliates, felt when she first joined a deep canvass in her home state four years ago. A light bulb goes on in our heads when we...
by Sulma Arias | Jul 3, 2023 | ESPANOL
¡Nuestro avivamiento popular está AQUÍ! Más de mil de ustedes vinieron de todo el país para unirse a mí en Arlington, Virginia, para nuestra convención de People’s Action de 2023. APOYE A NUESTRO TRABAJO ENGLISH Llamamos a esta convención "Volvemos a casa," y...
by Sulma Arias | Jul 3, 2023 | Democracy, Featured
EN ESPANOL The Organizing Revival is HERE! More than a thousand of you came from all across the country to join me in Arlington, Virginia for our 2023 People’s Action convention. We called this convention “Coming Home,” and it truly was a homecoming: a time to meet...
by Sulma Arias | Jun 14, 2023 | Democracy, Featured
I can’t wait to see you all at the People’s Action Convention! Our members, friends and allies from across the country are coming to Washington, D.C. this June 25th through 27th. This year’s theme is “Coming Home: An Organizing Revival.” For me, it is truly a...
by Sulma Arias | Mar 24, 2023 | #BuildBackBetter, Biden, Blog, Democracy, Economy, Featured
I am so excited about what it means to organize right now. Not only are there unprecedented federal resources on the table to spark transformational change in communities, it’s clear that organizers, because they are trusted and engaged where they live, can turn this...
by Ann Pratt | Mar 10, 2023 | Blog, Democracy, Featured, Infrastructure
Ever since the passage into law of the American Rescue Plan, Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act, CHIPS Act and Inflation Reduction Act, here’s what I say to friends and family whenever they bring up a problem we all know needs to be fixed right now. “Do you know...
by Sulma Arias | Jan 16, 2023 | Blog, Democracy, Environment, Featured, Future of Work
As a community organizer, I often imagine what it would have been like to march with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and win the Voting Rights Act. I always find inspiration in Dr. King’s words, especially this passage from his final book, Where Do We Go From Here? “Let...
by Ellen Glover | Jan 5, 2023 | Biden, Blog, Featured
I want you to meet Ronnie “Pony” Morris. He is a street canvasser for People’s Action’s youngest member group, VOCAL-KY, changing hearts and minds in his hometown of Louisville about how to save lives from overdose with medication assisted treatment and harm...
by Aija Nemer-Aanerud | Jan 5, 2023 | Blog, Featured, Health
“There is no one in this country who is not impacted by the cruelty of our for-profit healthcare system,” Kiah Morris told the crowd gathered at the corporate headquarters of Elevance/Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield in Indianapolis. “While they have their profits on the...
by Bryce Oates | Dec 7, 2022 | Democracy, Featured
The 2022 midterms were full of surprises to many political pundits, analysts, and consultants. A popular narrative predicting a massive Republican wave election turned out to be wrong, with Democrats retaining the U.S. Senate and performing stronger than expected in...
by Sulma Arias and Marta Popadiak | Nov 10, 2022 | Blog, Democracy, Election, Featured
"Together, we will create new ways that people can engage in all parts of public life so that we can equally get to imagine and shape the structures in which we live." - People's Action Long-Term Agenda The 2022 midterm elections are historic not only because they...
by Sulma Arias | Nov 3, 2022 | Democracy, Election, Featured
Photo credit: Vickie D. King, Mississippi Today (CC) LEA EN ESPANOL The right’s decades-old strategy to divide voters has taken a dangerous turn. What can bring us back together? It’s said a frog will sit calmly in warming water until it boils. Will we do the same?...
by Sulma Arias | Nov 3, 2022 | Blog, ESPANOL
Photo: Vickie D. King, Mississippi Today (CC) LEA EN INGLES La estrategia de la derecha para dividir a los votantes ha tomado un vuelta peligrosa. ¿Qué puede unirnos? Se dice que una rana se sentirá tranquilamente en agua que se calienta hasta que hierva. ¿Haremos lo...
by Sulma Arias | Sep 19, 2022 | Blog, ESPANOL
LEA EN INGLES Debemos salir de nosotros mismos para volver a vernos como parte de una comunidad, como vecinos, y no como enemigos. Pero esto no sucederá por sí solo. Si queremos comunidad, tenemos que construirla. A principios de este mes, el presidente Biden nos...
by Sulma Arias | Sep 19, 2022 | Biden, Democracy, Election, Featured
LEA EN ESPANOL Earlier this month, President Biden asked us to “save the soul of America” in a speech he gave at Independence Hall in Philadelphia. “The soul of America is defined by the sacred proposition that all are created equal,” Biden said. “All are entitled to...
by Sulma Arias | Aug 5, 2022 | Blog, Democracy, Featured
LEA EN ESPANOL LISTEN TO THE PODCAST “It’s got to be about how we are creating opportunities for folks on the ground to build their power. Because that is the only thing that we are about.” - Bill Przylucki, GroundGameLA The movement for racial and economic justice in...
by Sulma Arias | Aug 5, 2022 | Blog, ESPANOL
LEA EN INGLES ESCUCHE EL PODCAST “Lo que importa es si estamos creando oportunidades para la gente, para que puedan desarrollar su poder. Porque eso es lo único que a nosotros nos toca.” - Bill Przylucki El movimiento por la justicia racial y económica en los Estados...
by Sulma Arias | Jun 30, 2022 | Blog, ESPANOL
LEA EN INGLES ESCUCHE EL PODCAST Miles de manifestantes han salido a las calles tras la decisión de la Corte Suprema de poner fin a la libertad reproductiva. Como madre de tres hijas, comparto esta angustia e ira. Temo por nuestras vidas en un país que tan fácilmente...
by Sulma Arias | Jun 30, 2022 | Blog, Democracy, Featured
LEA EN ESPANOL LISTEN TO THE PODCAST Protesters have poured into the streets following the Supreme Court’s decision to end reproductive freedom. As a mother of three, I share this anguish and anger. I fear for our lives in a country that so easily takes away a...
by Sulma Arias | May 26, 2022 | Blog
LEA EN INGLES Mi corazón ha estado quebrantado en las últimas semanas. Desde los asesinatos racistas en Buffalo hacia lo que parece el fin inminente de la libertad reproductiva en tantos estados del país, hasta hace unos días, con la terrible matanza de 19 niños con...
by Sulma Arias | May 26, 2022 | Democracy, Featured, Violence, White Nationalism
LEA EN ESPANOL My heart has been breaking for the last several weeks. The racist murders in Buffalo, the looming end of reproductive freedom in so many states across the country, and now the tragic murder of 19 young children and two teachers in Texas. There is a deep...
by Sulma Arias | Apr 27, 2022 | Blog, Democracy, Featured
In his 2004 book What’s the Matter with Kansas, Thomas Frank describes how working-class voters in his home state came to support a party that does not stand with them on policies that affect their livelihood and ability to make ends meet. Why, he asks, do they vote...
by Megan Essaheb | Mar 22, 2022 | Blog, Democracy, Featured
Too often, it feels like our government is run by and for the wealthy and powerful industries, like pharmaceuticals and fossil fuels, insurance and finance. They spend hundreds of millions every year to sway politicians’ votes towards their interests. They have...
by Barb Stanerson | Mar 2, 2022 | #AmericanRescuePlan, #ARP, #BuildBackBetter, Biden, Featured
On February 14, more than 60 immigrant workers with the Iowa Fund Excluded Workers Coalition packed into the Johnson County Supervisors office to demand direct cash payments for workers ineligible for previous relief. Johnson County Executive Director Mike Hensch...
by Ann Pratt | Mar 1, 2022 | #BuildBackBetter, Blog, Economy, Featured
President Biden’s Build Back Better agenda may be stalled in Congress, but let’s not forget: the American Rescue Plan, which directs $1.9 trillion towards rebuilding communities, has been signed into law. Now it’s up to us to ensure these funds reach those who need...
by Amanda Khan | Dec 2, 2021 | #BuildBackBetter, Blog, Featured
When the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan (ARP) became law in March, People’s Action was filled with joy and delight. This was a hard-won victory for our organizers, with tangible benefits for real people, and - we hope - it will be the start of an equitable...
by Sondra Youdelman | Jul 26, 2021 | #BuildBackBetter, Biden, Blog, Democracy, Featured, Organizing, Policy
July 15th is a day every American should celebrate. That’s when families began to receive direct payments of as much as $300 per child, payments they’ll now get every month through the end of the year, along with a tax credit. This is a game changer for the millions...
by Alfrieda Hylton | Jul 16, 2021 | Blog, Criminal Justice, Featured, overdose crisis, Race
The War on Drugs has been with us for more than fifty years, and hasn’t been a war on drugs at all. It’s been a war on people: people like me, and my family. Black people. The part where it was supposed to decrease drug use? That part failed. I live in Prince George’s...
by Brenda Siegel | Jul 7, 2021 | Blog, Criminal Justice, Featured, Opioid Crisis
On June 1, Vermont became the first state in the nation to remove criminal penalties for possession of “therapeutic amounts” of buprenorphine. This amounts to a one- to two-week supply of this lifesaving treatment for people who suffer from Opioid Use Disorder....
