This post unveils our Equity Summer strategy, describes roles you can play and the degree to which Santa Fe is not quite the home of justice and equity you may think. Also, a curious report from the New Mexican. The same Congress that wants Trump to reveal his tax returns, won’t reveal theirs, including all of New Mexico’s representatives.

Santa Fe: Not the Home of Equity and Justice You Might Assume

The table to the left and the map below are pretty clear. We live in an economically and racially divided city. For a very succinct one-page description of just how deep inequity runs in Santa Fe, click here. It won’t take 3 minutes to get the picture. But today’s report focuses on what we plan to do about injustice in Santa Fe.

Retake Kicks Off Campaign to Support Equity Summer. Eighty supporters jammed the Center for Progress & Justice to kick-off Retake Our Democracy’s Campaign to Support Chainbreaker’s Equity Summer. Those attending were first told about why Retake is supporting Equity Summer, and then Tomás Rivera,from Chainbreaker facilitated an excellent discussion outlining the degree to which Santa Fe is economically and racially divided.

Tom Samuels, then introduced the audience to Deep Canvassing, a research-based canvassing technique that is also a compelling approach to all forms of political communication– more listening and sharing stories than explicitly trying to convince people to take your position.Click here to read: What Is So Great About Deep Canvassing? and to see a brief video illustrating how it works. We will continue to provide training and support to those interested in participating in this effort and we will add more resources to this page. At the end of the training virtually everyone in the attendance had completed written testimonials of support to Equity Summer. About 40 people participated in a breakout on Deep Canvassing, but we failed to get everyone there signed-up so they could receive updates on canvassing plans. If you are interested in learning more about Deep Canvassing and Retake’s efforts on behalf of Equity Summer, please write us at volunteer4retake@gmail.com.

Those attending also heard about the varied roles that volunteers can play in advancing social justice in Santa Fe and in New Mexico. There are going to be a wide variety of ways in which you can be involved, some things you can do at home and others where you will come together with friends and new friends to form a community focused on the area of the campaign that interests you. Click here to find out about these opportunities.

Why is Retake Supporting Equity Summer?  The answer is simple: Our City is full of progressive, humanistic people and yet by not paying close enough attention to how policies, laws, and regulations are implemented, our City is becoming increasingly stratified and segregated economically and racially. Retake’s support for Equity Summer is our effort to address this injustice.

Lujan and All Other NM Representatives Fail to Provide Tax Returns. Today’s New Mexican, reported that Roll Call, a Washington publication, disclosed that Ben Ray Lujan was among most Congressional representatives who believe they should not provide their tax returns, citing that there is no precedent for doing so. “Rep. Ben Ray Luján — like many in Congress — wants President Donald Trump to release his tax returns,” the article begins. “But he doesn’t want to release his own tax returns. And that puts him in good company on both sides of the aisle.” Roll Call sent requests to all 535 Congressional Representatives with only 37 responding and only 7 providing returns. Lujan’s aide Joe Shoemaker told The New Mexican, that “there’s an order of magnitude difference between asking a president worth billions of dollars to disclose holdings and a member of Congress whose financial disclosure form shows total assets less than like $150,000.” My view: elected officials probably should walk the walk if they are going to talk the talk. Transparency is not just about our President. Congressional representatives make important decisions about our lives every day. It doesn’t seem unreasonable to know something about their financial situation and also their investment holdings.  Click here to read the full report.

Please, if you care about justice in New Mexico and in our home town, click to get involved or write to us at volunteer4retake@gmail.com.

In solidarity,

Paul & Roxanne

Categories: Actions, Economic justice

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