Your October newsletter enclosed 🗞️

--------------------------------------------------------------- OCTOBER 2022 NEWS ROUNDUP As the Program Manager here at Groundwork Project, I work closely with our grantees and local community organizers. There is a lot of important news coming out of our Southern partner states, from the ongoing water crisis in Jackson, MS, to the Supreme Court case Merrill v. Milligan out of Alabama, which would undermine the Voting Rights Act and make it easier for states to dilute the voices of Black voters in my Congressional district and across the country. So I wanted to make sure you were up to date on all that’s going on. Groundwork’s mission is to provide support to folks putting in the work to build equitable power for the long term. Particularly in places too often overlooked by the establishment, we’re here to help when they need us – including bringing attention to what’s happening at the state level and in their communities. Like the work of one of our amazing Alabama grantees, Faith & Works, which just launched their new Black voter initiative, (RE) Vote, to reach voters where they are — in their faith communities — meaning higher turnout and better representation. Below you’ll see one of our Mississippi grantees, Immigrant Alliance for Justice and Equity, speak on how the climate crisis impacts Black and Brown communities, and what Groundwork Grantee Rev. Jenny Williams from West Virginia Faith Coalition has to say about classroom bans on pride flags. Finally, get the latest on how Mississippi’s state government corruption led to scandal with an NFL star and millions of taxpayer dollars being stolen and misappropriated from poor and working Mississippians who need it most. These are the battles our partners and grantees are fighting every day, and they need our attention and energy. Thank you for taking the time to stay engaged and be a part of this work. In solidarity, Trey – Trey Walk (he/him) Program Manager Groundwork Project --------------------------------------------------------------- News You Should Know --------------------------------------------------------------- [The Supreme Court is likely to weaken, but not destroy, the ban on racial gerrymandering]( Last week, arguments began in the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Merrill v. Milligan out of Alabama. This case has the potential to undermine the Voting Rights Act and make it easier to discriminate against voters based on race. “Alabama Solicitor General Edmund LaCour came to the Supreme Court on Tuesday with a raft of ambitious arguments — many of which would dismantle one of the key remaining prongs of the Voting Rights Act, and potentially give states broad authority to draw legislative maps that favor white voters at the expense of racial minorities.” [READ MORE]( [Update: Mon County Bans Pride Flags In Schools, Receives Pushback]( Groundwork Grantee Rev. Jenny Williams from West Virginia Faith Coalition was quoted by WV Public Broadcasting on Monongalia County’s ban on Pride flags in county schools. Students, teachers, parents and community members gathered outside of the Monongalia County Board of Education meeting to protest the removal of Pride flags from classrooms at Morgantown High School (MHS). Last month, the county superintendent sent a letter to the county’s principals asking that Pride flags be removed from classrooms. The justification for the action was county policy [3231.01]( which bans political activities in the county’s classrooms. “The policy specifically bans literature being printed or distributed that deals with candidates, issues or points of view,” said Rev. Jenny Williams. “It's clear from the content of the policy that it's aimed at keeping election politics out of the classroom. I'm not really sure why the Pride flag is coming under that and the board will have to be able to state that tonight.” [READ MORE]( [Grassroots organization hopes to reach infrequent Black voters through the church]( Groundwork Grantee Faith & Works Collective unveils a new program to reach Black voters who don’t vote often. The (Re) Vote Black Church Community Voter Project will conduct non-traditional outreach efforts to meet non-registered and low-propensity voters where they are. “Historically, the church served as a hub, and we believe it’s important to get back to those roots in order to build stronger communities,” said Cara McClure, founder of Faith and Works, a Birmingham organization with a mission of bringing voting power to disenfranchised communities. “(Re) Vote Black Church Community Voter Project’s most important goals are to organize and help rebuild the relationship between the church and the community. We can rebuild our political muscle when community activists and faith leaders work together to increase voter engagement, education and participation.” [LEARN MORE]( --------------------------------------------------------------- MISSISSIPPI WATER CRISIS UPDATES --------------------------------------------------------------- While the people of Jackson are no longer under a boil water advisory, the community is still dealing with the fallout of the crisis and are working to fix their long-neglected infrastructure. For decades the state government ignored the cries for help from city officials until it was too late – a disturbing lack of action on their part. Now, the state government has been in the news about widespread welfare fraud involving a small group of wealthy Mississippians including former football star Brett Favre. Want to provide on-the-ground support for those impacted by the Jackson water crisis? [Click here to donate to a group of organizations that are working to help those directly impacted.]( [DONATE NOW]( [Connecting the dots between climate devastation and fossil fuel profits]( Our Groundwork Grantee Immigrant Alliance for Justice and Equity out of Jackson, MS was quoted by AlterNet speaking on the water crisis and the failure of state government that caused it. Lorena Quiroz, founder of the Immigrant Alliance for Justice and Equity, a Jackson-based group doing multiracial grassroots organizing, told me how the city’s residents have been struggling without clean running water since major rains and resulting floods overwhelmed a water treatment plant this summer. “It’s a matter of decades of disinvestment in this mostly Black, and now Brown, community,” says Quiroz. In a state run by white conservatives, Jackson is overseen by a Black progressive mayor, Chokwe Antar Lumumba, who is now suing the state government over inaction on the city’s water infrastructure. Quiroz says it’s “painful to see how government is not doing what they should, how the state government is neglecting its most vulnerable populations.” [READ MORE]( Read more about the $77 million stolen from taxpayers below. [Mississippi Welfare Scandal Spreads Well Beyond Brett Favre]( [Mississippi: Welfare Fraud Highlights A State Facing Crisis Of Leadership]( --------------------------------------------------------------- >Founded by Joe Kennedy III, Groundwork Project invests in year-round, local community organizing in places Democrats have gotten used to writing off. With a focus on Appalachia, the Deep South, and the Plains, we support local advocates and activists working to build durable political infrastructure and secure power for those historically excluded. 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