Building Power Together
This last week was a tough one, with the House Legislature passing bad bills including HB 1266, an anti-sanctuary bill, HB 1476, undoing bail reform, and HB 1393, relating to school district budget caps. The New Hampshire Legislature also decided to pass a resolution in support of Israel, even though they should not be taking on international issues. This resolution will now go to the Senate.
Thank you for taking the time each week to contact committee members and your legislators. By doing your part, you are making a real difference for housing, healthcare, racial justice, and more in the Granite State.
Rights & Democracy (RAD) is entering a new phase with the announcement of its next executive director, Kiah Morris. Kiah steps into the role after serving for nearly two years as the organization’s Vermont Movement Politics Director.
2022 Legislative Update, Week of February 14thThis past week saw some hopeful developments, as well as some difficult losses, as both the House and Senate met to cast floor votes on priority legislation. Important progress was made on expanding access to healthcare.
Thank you to everyone who supported online, through letters or in person last week when the House heard testimony on key bills to repeal divisive concepts. You can read about the hearing here. They did not vote on a recommendation for these bills yet so you can still write to the House Education committee and demand they support HB 1090 and HB 1576.
Rights & Democracy stands in solidarity with Dartmouth student workers who are seeking to unionize. We believe that to truly advocate for students’ rights and fair wages, students should be able to have a recognized union. This current effort is closely aligned with our vision for a society where all people earn a livable wage, and our work for a more truly democratic and just society.
This February, we are celebrating leadership across our movement. We’re seeing mounting interest in running for local office and grassroots organizing in both states, and we are excited to keep growing the work of our Grassroots Leadership Academy to support, educate, and motivate movement leaders.
Rights & Democracy is committed to building a movement for honest, accurate, and fully funded public education. The following is the current information coming into this year centered on ways we can influence specific bills in the House and Senate regarding our HEAL Together campaign.
We hope you are not losing the passion to keep doing your part – your voice matters! We keep hearing from elected officials that the most effective way to influence the legislative process is to talk to your legislator.
Rights & Democracy is founded on the principles of universal human rights and the liberation of all people. We seek to advance freedom from fear and intimidation by ending all forms of oppression. In light of State Rep. Nicole Klein-Knight’s recent behavior, we stand in solidarity with BIPOC progressive leaders
This past week was quite a week, with Legislative committees hearing testimony on priority bills around divisive concepts, school vouchers, housing justice, and abortion bans. Thank you to everyone who came out to make their voices heard. We are still waiting on the committees to issue vote recommendations.
This week, two more bills related to divisive concepts will be heard; we are asking people to register their opposition online or go in person to testify.
January is a special month at Rights & Democracy, one full of assessment and preparation. In each state, we’re at a moment of opportunity.
Following the start of the New Hampshire legislative session, this is our first weekly legislative update of 2022. With last year’s assaults on public education, reproductive rights, racial justice and more, we are preparing for some challenging fights ahead, and we can’t do it without you!
Calling all members – new and old – the Membership Assembly is on the horizon! Every year, our members come together to reflect upon and celebrate our work, deepen our relationships, renew our commitment to this movement, and strategize for the year ahead.
What a night for the Granite State! Yesterday’s elections were electric – out of RAD’s 23 endorsed candidates in municipal elections across the state, 17 won their races!
Over the past month, hundreds of our members across New Hampshire were able to vote in our second round of member endorsements. We’re thrilled to introduce you to more of our leading candidates across the state!
We are all feeling deeply how much is at stake right now, and have been showing up in so many ways to shift the political landscape. So please: be gentle with yourself, and let’s take inspiration from all the powerful work we did together this past month.
I hope the final days summer have given all of you a chance to recharge. As one RAD staff member put it, August “has been like Friday afternoon for a whole month.” So rested and restored, we shake off summer and step into September, gearing up for a busy fall.
We made it! December is here at last.In January, everyone sensed we were embarking on one of our most critical years as an organization.
The voters spoke in record numbers. Prominent in that record turnout were working class folks, people of color and women.