7/13 Meeting Notes & More
Plus actions & event calendar
Hi all,
So great to see everyone!
For next meeting (July 27th) we’re going to do something a little different! There are two events with organizations that we are in coalition with, and we want to support them. You can use the Signal group to find people to go with if you want: access the Signal group here.
You have two options:
Join Neighbors on Call/County2County for their Summer Shindig. There are multiple locations: Carrboro with Sen. Sydney Batch, Fuquay-Varina with Sen. Lisa Grafstein, Hillsborough with The Hometown Holler (this is where I’ll be - hope to see some of you there!), Oxford with Sen. Terence Everitt, Pittsboro with Evonne Hopkins, Wake Forest with Rep. Robert Reives, Wilson with Rep. Dante Pittman, and Zoom with everyone! Sign up here.
Join Flip NC for their monthly canvass and debrief at Motorco. Sign up here!
Our next meeting will be on August 3rd. You can sign up on Mobilize here for the next meeting and all future events here:
ACTIONS
(This is by no means a complete list - check out Durham Dems Action newsletter, Chop Wood, Carry Water NC, Democracy Out Loud and Engaged Durhamites for Democracy for more). And, of course, the 5calls app always has all the things to call about!
DONATE OR VOLUNTEER for flood relief efforts with Triangle Mutual Aid or Day One Relief in Durham. This was the list of needs from Day One as of yesterday:
CALL your representatives and demand the immediate release of billions in K-12 funding. Read more about it here.
SIGN. We learned about Durham Rising - the coalition formed by Durham For All (who joined us today), DAE, Siembra, USSW, NCPSWU, and Siembra, NC. Learn more and sign the petition here.
EVENTS
This is not a complete list (in fact today’s will be very short because I’ve been away this weekend and short on time), but these are some high yield events going on over the next few weeks. Also check out Durham Resistance Hub. Marilyn also has an incredible newsletter about opportunities for getting involved. Check it out here!
Tuesday, July 15th, 7 PM. VIRTUAL. How to build an ICE Watch Network with Siembra. Sign up here.
Wednesday July 16th, 6 PM, VIRTUAL. Join Clean Water NC for a discussion about what we can do this JULY to protect ourselves from climate disasters & higher electric bills. Sign up here.
Wednesday July 16th, 8 PM, VIRTUAL. First of Indivisible’s One Million Rising —-series about what’s next. Learn more and sign up here.
Thursday, June 17th, 6:30 PM. IN PERSON. Good Trouble Lives on event. Learn more here. Sign up here.
Wednesday, July 23rd, 5-6 PM. VIRTUAL. A conversation about the voting rights act with Justice Earls and Heather Cox Richardson. Watch it on her YouTube channel.
Friday, July 25th, 7-9 PM. IN PERSON. Solidarity Singalong with the Pinkerton Raid and Songs for Humans Durham at Common Market. We’ll be tabling! Hope to see you there!
MEETING NOTES:
A HUGE thank you to Julianne for taking notes while I had a wiggly almost 5 year old there today (who, to her credit, led us in both song “We Shall Overcome”, and chant, “Forward Together, Not One Step Back!” —none of this was planned or rehearsed, FWIW!).
Durham for All (D4A) is a member-led organization and chapter of the Carolina Federation that focuses on issue campaigns in Durham. Their current campaign is education for all, specifically Durham Public Schools and mobilizing DPS parents in support of the Durham Association of Educators (DAE) and better investment in education.
As an example, the Durham School Board approved a $700 million budget this year, yet North Carolina ranks 49th out of 50 states in terms of public education funding. Certainly some of this is due to lack of funding from the GOP, though D4A and the DAE feel that our school board could do more.
D4A's education for all campaign started in January and consists of member-led teams in each school district talking with and organizing DPS parents via canvassing, phone banking, and 1:1 meetings.
D4A's goal is to have a coalition of approx. 300 DPS parents able to show up and support DAE, as well as advocate for their own interests as parents of DPS school children. This coalition of parents and supporters will also be a powerful voice in the upcoming school board elections.
D4A is asking for people interested in supporting their efforts, especially if you are connected to DPS, to sign up to volunteer. You'll be able to help via canvassing, phone banks, and participation in district-specific member groups.
D4A also spoke about Durham Rising, an initiative formed from several organizations including D4A, DAE, the Carolina Federation, the Duke Graduate Association, and others. Despite Duke University's ~12 billion endowment, the university pays no local taxes. Durham Rising is calling for Duke to make payments in lieu of taxes that will help the community grow. The movement is also advocating for Duke to pay its workers a living wage (at least $25/hr) and protect its workers and students amidst funding cuts. You can sign the Durham Rising petition here.
This is the quote I read today:
HOUSEKEEPING:
We don’t have an email list - this is it! If you want to join the group, just subscribe to the Substack. You can come to meetings (some meetings, all meetings) or just read along and do the action items and learn.
You can find us on Bluesky, Threads, TikTok and Instagram, where we have an active social media presence. Links to that and a whole lot more on our Linktree, found here: Linktr.ee/Durhamgotv.
Check out prior posts for recommendations on our favorite news sources, tips on calling your representatives, link to a Signal channel for carpools, and more!
Feel free to post events or discuss things in the chat and comments.
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We’re all in this together. And we’re not going anywhere.
Anna
Thanks for this informative and inspiring update! Anna, you continue to amaze me with how much you have accomplished by bringing more and more people together to learn and act in community. We are so grateful for your strategic skills, your organizing skills, and your people skills. I love seeing the meeting photos and the meeting summary each month. Keep up this great and important work!