The Amp

On this day in 1934, writer James Baldwin was born. Baldwin was an outspoken and influential advocate for racial justice. Use this anniversary to discuss the role of artists and culture shifters in challenging white supremacy. Cite the values of Voice and Equality.

• Messaging and communication tools: Magnolia Pictures’ documentary I Am Not Your Negro (now on Amazon Prime); Pop Culture Collaborative’s Imagining a Future Beyond White Supremacy; The Opportunity Agenda’s Working with Cultural Influencers and The Power of Pop; Color of Change’s A Dangerous Distortion of Our Families.
• Hashtag: #JamesBaldwin

Since 2013, The Ella Baker Center and partners have hosted Night Out for Safety and Liberation as a counter-program to the law-enforcement driven National Night Out, both held on the first Tuesday of August. With in-person, socially distanced events, #NOSL21 invites communities to reimagine what #SafetyIs: dignity, opportunity, and freedom for our communities. Cite the values of Community and Economic Security.

• Take action: Sign up to host an event
• Messaging and communication tools: The Opportunity Agenda's What does safety really mean in America?; Night Out for Safety and Liberation's Social Media Toolkit; Discussion Guide; and Community Organizing Toolkit
• Hashtags: #SafetyIs; #NOSL21

Today is also Black Women’s Equal Pay Day 2021, the approximate day that an African-American woman must work into the new year to make what a white, non-Hispanic earned at the end of the previous year. Based on ACS Census data, Black women now earn $0.63 for every $1 made by non-Hispanic white men. Use this news hook to talk about the values of Equality and Economic Security.

• Take action: join Equal Pay Today's Twitterstorm at 2 p.m. ET/11:00 a.m PT on August 3.
• Messaging and communication tools: The Opportunity Agenda’s Talking About Economic Justice, Shifting the Narrative on Poverty and This White Feminist Knows that “Race-Silent” Policies are Insufficient and Part of the Problem; Inequality.org’s Ten Solutions to Bridge the Racial Wealth Divide; 
• Hashtags: #BlackWomensEqualPay and #BlackWomenCantWait

The Voting Rights Act was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on this day in 1965. Following the Supreme Court's gutting of the act, state legislatures nationwide have introduced or passed measures severely curtailing the freedom to vote. Use this anniversary to talk about the need to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and enable everyone to participate in our democracy. Point out the values of Equality and Voice.

• Messaging and communication tools: The Opportunity Agenda’s Value of Voice, Supreme Court Decision Requires Good Trouble to Defend Voting Rights, and Paola Mendoza's Joy to the Polls cultural strategy tool; The Leadership Conference on Civil Rights' And Still I Vote campaign backgrounders; and Demos' Voting Rights & Voter Access resources.
• Hashtags: #RestoreTheVote; #VotingRights

On this day in 2019, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents conducted one of the largest workplace raids in United States' history, arresting as many as 680 immigrant workers across seven chicken processing plants in Mississippi. Traumatic family separations leave lasting emotional and physical impacts on children and families, in addition to economic hardship. Use this anniversary to talk about the need for permanent solutions that create Opportunity and Security for both immigrant families and our Communities.

• Messaging and communications tools: The Opportunity Agenda's Quick Tips for Talking Immigration Issues and Justice Reform & Human Rights in a Time of Crisis: Releasing People from Detention; The Center for Law and Social Policy's The Day that ICE Came; and Latino USA's podcast episode "After the Mississippi Raids"
• Hashtags: #FreeThemAll; 

On this day in 2014, a Ferguson, Missouri police officer shot and killed Michael Brown, an African-American teenager. His death sparked weeks of protest in Ferguson and outrage across the country. Use this anniversary to discuss police brutality and redefining safety in our communities. Cite the values of Voice and Equality.

• Messaging and communication tools: The Opportunity Agenda’s Racial Divide in Attitudes Towards the Police; Implicit Bias and the Limitations of Video Footage in Tackling Police Brutality and Ten Lessons for Talking About Race, Racism and Racial Justice; Magnolia Pictures’ documentary “Whose Streets?” (available on Amazon Prime or Netflix)
• Hashtags: #MichaelBrown; #Ferguson; #BlackLivesMatter; #racialjustice

The United Nations has designated today as International Day of the World's Indigenous People. Use this hook to amplify the voices and issues facing Native American communities by citing the values of Economic Security, Equality, and Voice.

• Messaging and communication tools: The Opportunity Agenda’s Standing Rock, Ferguson or Mexican Border, ‘We Are All Related; IllumiNative’s Reclaiming Native Truths and Change the Story toolkit; Rebecca Nagle’s podcast, This Land; National Congress of American Indians’ Tribal Juvenile Justice Background & Recommendations
• Hashtags: #WeAreIndigenous; #NativeTruth; #IllumiNative

On this day in 1988, President Ronald Reagan signed the Civil Liberties Act to provide reparations for Japanese-Americans who were interned by the U.S. government during World War II. The act gave each surviving internee about $20,000 in compensation (roughly $43,600 in inflation-adjusted 2020 dollars). Given the marked increase in anti-Asian attacks over the past year, this anniversary reminds us of the continued work to create an inclusive country where everyone feels safe. Cite the values of Community, Voice, and Equality.

• Messaging and communication tools: The Opportunity Agenda’s Five Strategies for Talking About Anti-Asian Racism; What does safety really mean in America? and The Relationship Between Racial Integration and the Duty to Further Fair Housing; Densho’s Righting a Wrong and Why This Matters Now
• Hashtags: #WeChooseSolidarity; #AAPIisRising

In 1965, the Watts Rebellion was ignited by the violent arrest of an African-American driver in Los Angeles. Use this anniversary to discuss policing and economic opportunity with your networks. Cite the values of Equality and Economic Security.

• Messaging tools: The Opportunity Agenda’s Create Fair and Effective Policing Practices and Ten Lessons for Talking About Race, Racism and Racial Justice 
• Hashtag: #WattsRebellion

On this day in 1973, hip hop was officially born. At a dance party in the Bronx, NY, DJ Kool Herc used two turntables to create a “break beat.” Hip hop became a messaging tool for political activism. Some even credit it for violence prevention since some gang members stopped fighting in order to breakdance. Use this anniversary to talk about art and culture’s role in creating social justice. Cite the values of Voice and Community.

• Messaging and communication tools: The Opportunity Agenda’s Working with Cultural Influencers and Ten Lessons for Talking About Race, Racism and Racial Justice; Sourcebooks’ Hip Hop Speaks to Children; Laban Carrick Hill’s When the Beat Was Born: DJ Kool Herc and The Creation of Hip Hop; The Rethinking Schools’ Rhythm and Resistance: Teaching Poetry for Social Justice
• Hashtag: #hiphopbirthday

On this day in 2017, during a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, VA, a counter protester, Heather Heyer, was killed. Use this anniversary to talk about the values that Heather was defending: racial justice as exemplified by the values of Equality and Community.

• Messaging and communication tools: The Opportunity Agenda’s Rejecting Bigotry, Demanding Action and Ten Lessons for Talking About Race, Racism and Racial Justice; Southern Poverty Law Center’s One Year After Charlottesville
• Hashtags: #Charlottesville

On this day in 1935, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed into law the Social Security Act. Use this anniversary to discuss policy changes that would undermine the social safety net by reaffirming the values of Economic Security and Community. 

• Messaging and communication tools: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities' Social Security Lifts More Americans Above Poverty Than Any Other Program;
• Hashtags: #TruthAboutSocialSecurity

Today also marks when professional football player Colin Kaepernick first protested racial injustice and police brutality during the national anthem in 2016. Use this news hook to talk about the First Amendment right to challenge injustice and the value of Voice.

• Messaging and communication tools: The Opportunity Agenda’s The Case of the Cultural Influencers; Working with Cultural Influencers; Ten Lessons for Talking About Race, Racism and Racial Justice; Create Fair and Effective Policing Practices; and Talking About Black Women in Sports
• Hashtags: #TakeAKnee; #ImWithCap

On this day in 2012, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) began to be implemented. Judge Hanen's recent order in Texas v. United States creates more urgency for federal legislators to create a pathway to citizenship for DACA recipients, TPS holders, farmworkers, and essential workers through budget reconciliation. Refer to the values of Community, Voice, and Economic Security when discussing this news hook.

• Messaging and communication tools: The Opportunity Agenda's Communications to Protect Dreamers and our Nation’s Values; United We Dream's Top 5 things you need to know about the Texas case on DACA and Guidance for DACA Recipients and Legal Practitioners – Frequently Asked Questions (available in seven languages); The National Immigration Law Center's DACA resources
• Hashtags: #WeAreHome; #HereToStay; #FreedomTogether

Woodstock, one of the biggest rock festivals of all time and a cultural touchstone for the late 1960s, began on this day in 1969. Use this anniversary to talk about art and culture’s role in creating social justice. Cite the values of Voice and Community.

• Messaging and communication tools: The Opportunity Agenda’s The Case of the Cultural Influencers and Working with Cultural Influencers; PBS American Experience’s documentary; Woodstock: Three Days that Defined a Generation
• Hashtag: #Woodstock

On or about August 20, 1619, the first enslaved people from Africa arrived in North America. In recent years, the recounting of the 1619 Project and 400 Years of Inequality, combined with narrative change related to the Movement for Black Lives, has thrust the United States' legacy of slavery and ongoing racial inequality into the spotlight. Discuss this anniversary by citing the values of Voice, Equality, and Economic Security. 

• Messaging and communication tools: The Opportunity Agenda’s Ten Lessons for Talking About Race, Racism and Racial Justice; Talking About the Attacks on Critical Race Theory
• Hashtags: #400YearsofInequality

On this day in 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Economic Opportunity Act into law. This created Head Start and nine other federal programs to combat poverty. Use this hook to discuss the benefits that these programs have had for Americans and how government should invest in "human infrastructure" to ensure everyone has access to a basic standard of living. Reference the values of Economic Security and Community.

• Messaging tools: The Opportunity Agenda’s Talking About Poverty & Economic Opportunity Today: Three Core Pillars and A Window of Opportunity: Media and Public Opinion on Poverty in America
• Hashtags: #HandsOff; #Headstart; #EconOpp4All

On this day in 1988, President Ronald Reagan signed a proclamation declaring today National Senior Citizens Day. Use this hook to discuss how safety net programs are vital for elderly Americans. Use the values of Economic Security and Community.

• Messaging tools: The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities' More Adequate SNAP Benefits Would Help Millions of Participants Better Afford Food; Emergency Vouchers Can Help Seniors and People With Disabilities Live in Safer, Community-Based Settings; 
• Hashtag: #seniorcitizensday

In 2018, men and women incarcerated in prisons across the nation declared a National Prison Strike in response to the riot at the Lee Correctional Institution, a maximum-security prison in South Carolina, where seven people lost their lives. The strikers demanded “humane living conditions, access to rehabilitation, sentencing reform and the end of modern-day slavery.” Cite the values of Redemption and Voice when discussing the anniversary of the strike.

• Messaging and communication tools: The Opportunity Agenda’s Justice Reform & Human Rights in a Time of Crisis: Releasing People from Detention; Ensure Decent Detention Conditions; and Promote Community Safety through Alternatives to Incarceration;
• Hashtags: #OurSafetyOurFreedom; 

On this day in 1996, President Bill Clinton signed into law the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, known as “Welfare Reform.”  The act created Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). Today, most states have severely weakened supports for low-income families, with a disproportionate impact on Black and Latino or Hispanic children. Use this anniversary to talk about the need for safety programs and the values of Economic Security and Community.

• Messaging and communication tools: The Opportunity Agenda’s Talking About Poverty & Economic Opportunity Today: Three Core Pillars and Shifting the Narrative on Poverty; The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities' TANF Benefits Still Too Low to Help Families, Especially Black Families, Avoid Increased Hardship and Rescue Act’s Pandemic Emergency Assistance Will Help Families With Lowest Incomes
• Hashtag: #HandsOff

Today, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) recognizes the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition. Use this day as another opportunity to demand the United States reckon with its history of racial oppression. Cite the values of Voice, Equality, and Community when talking about this event.

• Messaging and communication tools: The Opportunity Agenda’s Ten Lessons for Talking About Race, Racism and Racial Justice and Talking About the Attacks on Critical Race Theory; The New York Times’ 1619 Project and podcast; 400 Years of Inequality’s timeline and Guidebook to Planning Your Place-Based Observance; UNESCO’s The Slave Route: breaking the wall of silence and Legacies of Slavery: A Resource Book for Managers of Sites and Itineraries of Memory
• Hashtags: #1619Project; #CriticalRaceTheory; #FightRacism

Today is the birthday in 1945 of LGBTQ activist Marsha P. Johnson, a prominent figure in the Stonewall uprising of 1969. She was a founding member of the Gay Liberation Front and S.T.A.R. (Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries) along with Sylvia Rivera. When discussing Marsha P. Johnson’s birthday, cite the values of Economic Security, Community, and Voice.

• Messaging and communication tools: The Opportunity Agenda’s Ten Tips for Putting Intersectionality into Practice; Social Justice Sexuality Project’s Intersecting Injustice: A National Call to Action Addressing LGBTQ Poverty and Economic Justice for All; Center for American Progress' Protecting Basic Living Standards for LGBTQ People; and Making Gay History podcast’s episode Marsha P. Johnson & Randy Wicker
• Hashtag: #MarshaPJohnson

On this day in 1925, A. Philip Randolph and colleagues launched the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters (BSCP). The union was the first labor organization led by African Americans to receive a charter in the American Federation of Labor and played a vital role in U.S. labor and civil rights movements. Discuss this anniversary by citing the values of Voice and Economic Security. 

• Messaging and communication tools: The Opportunity Agenda’s Talking about the Importance of Unions and Economic Security and Talking About Economic Justice; BlackPast’s Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters
• Hashtags: #brotherhoodofsleepingcarporters; #aphiliprandolph; #DecentWork

On this day in 1920, the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution was formally adopted. While a groundbreaking accomplishment, it only gave white women the right to vote since Jim Crow laws prevented many women of color from exercising this right for decades. Cite the values of Equality and Voice when talking about this anniversary.

• Messaging and communication tools: The Opportunity Agenda's This White Feminist Knows that “Race-Silent” Policies are Insufficient and Part of the Problem; Southern Poverty Law Center's Challenging the whitewashed history of women’s suffrage; National Park Service’s African American Women and the Nineteenth Amendment; New York Times Editorial Board’s When the Suffrage Movement Sold Out to White Supremacy; Zinn Education Project’s Seneca Falls, 1848: Women Organize for Equality
• Hashtag: #19thAmendment

On this day in 1955, African-American teenager Emmett Till was abducted for allegedly offending a white woman. His brutalized body was found a few days later. This year would have been Till's 80th birthday. And today, vandals continue to tear down and shoot historical markers that were erected to recognize Till’s death. Cite the values of Voice, Equality, and Community when discussing this anniversary.

• Messaging and communication tools: The Opportunity Agenda’s Ten Lessons for Talking About Race, Racism and Racial Justice; Building a Narrative to Address Violence in the U.S. and Opportunity for Black Men and Boys
• Hashtag: #EmmettTill

Also on this day during the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech. Use this anniversary to remind your audiences about the importance of reaffirming our values and our commitment to winning liberation. Cite the values of Community, Voice, and Equality.

• Messaging tools: The Opportunity Agenda’s Ten Lessons for Talking About Race, Racism and Racial Justice and Talking about Economic Justice
• Hashtags: #ihaveadream; #civilrights

On this day in 2005, Hurricane Katrina made landfall in Louisiana and Mississippi. The humanitarian disaster that followed laid bare racial and economic inequities and served as a precursor to recent hurricanes like Harvey and Maria. Use the anniversary to discuss the need for equitable infrastructure spending and emergency assistance. Cite the values of Community and Economic Security.

• Messaging and communication tools: The Opportunity Agenda’s The State of Housing in New Orleans; Gulf South Rising’s Final Report;
• Hashtags: #HurricaneKatrina; #GulfSouthRising

In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Food Stamp Act, which formalized the federal program now called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Use this hook to discuss protecting a program that supports the economic security of families and protects the American values of Community and Economic Security. 

• Messaging and communication tools: The Opportunity Agenda's Talking About Economic Justice, Talking About Poverty & Economic Opportunity Today: Three Core Pillars and Shifting the Narrative on Poverty;
• Center on Budget and Policy Priorities' More Adequate SNAP Benefits Would Help Millions of Participants Better Afford Food, American Families Plan Could Substantially Reduce Children’s Food Hardship and Number of Families Struggling to Afford Food Rose Steeply in Pandemic and Remains High, Especially Among Children and Households of Color
• Hashtags: #HandsOffSNAP;