TCC Newsletter: January 2022
We spend January 1 walking through our lives, room by room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched. Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives...not looking for flaws, but for potential.
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The Fight for Voting Rights
The Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act, has failed to pass in the senate after Congressional Republicans voted unanimously against it. Congressional Democrats subsequent move to change the filibuster rules in order to pass the bill failed shortly after. Democratic Senators Joe Manchin (W.V) and Krysten Sinema (AZ) voted with Republicans against the rule change to the filibuster, which would have allowed for a simple majority vote on the voting rights legislation. Both senators cited concerns of enflaming already rampant partisanship by changing the rules to the filibuster.
The Freedom to Vote act would have standardized voting election laws across the country, significantly expanding voting access which would massively benefit marginalized POC communities. The bill would also have reversed the effects of dozens of new state level laws which have restricted voting rights in at least 19 states. Some of the aspects of the Freedom to Vote act include making election day a national holiday, an expansion of the early voting period; as well as online, automatic and same day voter registration. More than 440 bills with provisions restricting access to voting have been introduced in 49 states since the 2021 legislative sessions across state lines, which many cite as a conservative backlash against the increased voter participation rate in the 2020 election putting the Biden Harris administration in the White House.
Martin Luther King III, son of the late civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stated in a retweet on Twitter, that passing the voting right legislation would have been a fitting tribute to his father’s legacy of championing civil rights on the day honoring his legacy, MLK day was celebrated nationwide on January 17th. Following the failure of the bill’s passage, King III expressed his frustrations: “Senator Sinema and Senator Manchin have let down the United States of America”. Now the country waits once again to see if the government will get voting right changes passed once again before the 2024 election.
Champion Change Now with the Super Bowl Champions
Do you want to join The Committed Collective in championing change and possibly win a little bit of cash? For the second year in a row The Committed Collective will be hosting our Super Bowl squares game to help raise money for our foundation.
To get in the game with us, choose your Super Bowl team, and look out for more information in The Committed Collective Facebook page, forum and Instagram the week of Super Bowl Sunday 2/7 -2/13! Squares will be $10.00 each and will payouts for winners will be each quarter for the score and even the reverse score!