The Amp

During National Family Caregivers Month, it’s important to discuss our government's role in supporting caregivers. Cite the values of Community and Economic Security.

• Messaging and communication tools: Caregiver Action Network's National Family Caregivers Month Theme 2019; NFC Month Social Media Kit; Background on National Family Caregivers Month; Caring Across Generations' Policy Agenda and Community is essential; Aspen Institute's post The U.S. Must Improve its Long-Term Care Industry and the documentary Care
• Hashtag: #BeCareCurious; #WeKnowYouCare; #CaringMajority; #NationalCaregiversMonth

For Native American Heritage Month, discuss the values of Voice, Economic Security and Opportunity with your audiences.

• Messaging and communication tools: Everyday Feminism's 6 Ways to De-stereotype Native American Heritage Month; The Opportunity Agenda’s ‘We Are All Related’; Smithsonian Museum and partners’ Native American History Month; U.S. Department of Arts and Culture's #HonorNativeLand: A Guide and Call for Acknowledgement; National Congress of American Indians' Proud to Be Campaign; Reclaiming Native Truths’ Changing the Narrative about Native Americans; IllumiNative’s The false narratives, invisibility, and the erasure of Native peoples must end
• Hashtag: #NAHeritage

DACA recipients, TPS holders & allies are marching from New York to Washington, D.C. ahead of the Supreme Court taking up DACA beginning on Nov. 12. This march is a mobilization that is part of the larger #HomeIsHere national coalition campaign. More events along the march are listed on the campaign's Routes and Events page. Discuss the march and campaign and cite the values of Economic Security, Voice, and Community.

• Take action: If you're in New York, join the Kick-Off Rally. Also follow and support NAKASEC (Facebook and Twitter), Make the Road New York (Facebook and Twitter),  CASA (Facebook and Twitter), FIRM Action (Facebook and Twitter), and the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (Facebook and Twitter)
• Messaging and communication tools: The Opportunity Agenda's Communications to Protect Dreamers and our Nation’s Values; United We Dream's DACA in the Courts Timeline and Federal Judge Rules Trump’s Killing of DACA Was Wrong; The National Immigration Law Center's DACA resources; Center for American Progress' What We Know About DACA Recipients in the United States and What We Know About DACA Renewals
• Hashtag: #HomeisHere; #DACA

Open enrollment for health insurance plans starts today and will end on Dec.15. Besides helping to advertise this fact when the Trump administration refuses to, you can discuss the importance of healthcare insurance by citing the values of Community and Economic Security.

• Enrollment resources: Georgetown University Center for Children and Families' Navigator Resource Guide; GetAmericaCovered.org; Kaiser Family Foundation’s FAQs: Marketplace Eligibility, Enrollment Periods, Plans and Premiums
• Messaging and communication tools: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities'  Social Media Graphics on Open Enrollment; 5 Good Reasons to Visit HealthCare.gov During Open Enrollment and Sabotage Watch: Tracking Efforts to Undermine the ACA
• Hashtags: #ACA; #GetCovered

Today on Netflix, the filmed version of the play, American Son premieres. The film stars Kerry Washington and Steven Pasquale in a gripping tale about who we are as a nation and how we deal with family relationships, love, loss, and identity. It delves into the tensions within police-community relations, interracial relations, and families. The Opportunity Agenda and American Son have partnered to create a discussion guide, community conversations, and tools for civic engagement.

• Messaging and communication tools: Raising American Son: A Discussion Guide
• Hashtags: #AmericanSon; #FutureOverFear

It's also Día de los Muertos or the Day of the Dead. Detention Watch Network often uses this day to remember the people who have died in immigration detention in the U.S. Also this week, MomsRising/MamásConPoder are calling attention to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s "legislative graveyard” that is harming women, working families, the LGBTQ+ community, the immigrant community, and our democracy. Cite the values of Voice and Community when discussing this day.

• Messaging and communications tools: Moms Rising’s #LegislativeGraveyard Social Media Toolkit; The Opportunity Agenda’s Five Questions to Ask When Crafting Messages about Refugees in the Current Climate and 5 Tips for Talking About Border Communities Without Talking about a Wall; Detention Watch Network's Day of the Dead Digital Strategy resources;
• Hashtags: #LegislativeGraveyard; #diadelosmuertos; #DetentionDeaths; #DayoftheDead

The Carlisle Indian School opened in Carlisle, Pennsylvania on November 1, 1879. It was the first boarding school of many that the federal government set up to forcefully assimilate Native children into white culture after taking them from their families. This shameful anniversary is a historical precedent for the Trump administration’s separation of families at the U.S. border. Discuss both the Indian schools and family separation by citing the values of Economic Security, Community, and Voice.

• Messaging and communication tools: The Carlisle Indian School Project’s Institutional History; The Opportunity Agenda’s ‘We Are All Related’; Smithsonian Museum and partners’ Native American History Month; U.S. Department of Arts and Culture's #HonorNativeLand: A Guide and Call for Acknowledgement; National Congress of American Indians' Proud to Be Campaign; Reclaiming Native Truths’ Changing the Narrative about Native Americans; IllumiNative’s The false narratives, invisibility, and the erasure of Native peoples must end
• Hashtag: #NAHeritage

On this day in 2013, 19-year-old Renisha McBride was shot and killed for asking for help after a car crash in Dearborn Heights, Michigan. The homeowner said that he thought his home was being broken into after he heard her knocking on his door early in the morning. Discuss the anniversary of McBride’s death by citing the values of Voice and Community.

• Messaging and communication tools: The Opportunity Agenda’s What does safety really mean in America? and Ten Lessons for Talking About Race, Racism and Racial Justice; Movement for Black Lives’ A Vision for Black Lives
• Hashtag: #RenishaMcBride; #BlackLivesMatter; #racialjustice

On this day in 1952, Malcolm Little was released from prison and changed his name to Malcolm X. He then became an outspoken critic of racial injustice in the United States. Use this anniversary to talk about the needs and concerns of “returning citizens” who have completed their sentences but face challenges reintegrating into society. Cite the values of Redemption and Community.

• Messaging and communication tools: The Opportunity Agenda’s Foster Successful Reintegration and Eliminate the Criminalization of Poverty
• Hashtags: #MalcomX; #returningcitizens

Election Day: Across the country, voters will go to the polls to cast ballots for their representatives as well as ballot issues, many related to economic opportunity and racial justice. After the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act, states are finding new ways to disenfranchise voters. But a year ago, voters in Florida supported a measure to give the vote back to people with criminal convictions (which is now under attack by state legislators).  Cite the values of Voice and Community when talking about Election Day.

• Messaging and communication tools: #GoVote's Free digital art for sharing online; The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights' All Voting is Local project; Voting Record and the Leadership Conference Education Fund's The Great Poll Closure; U.S. Commission on Civil Right’s Assessment of Minority Voting Rights Access in the United States; Movement for Black Lives' BlackNovember.org
• Hashtags: #govote; #togetherwevote; #blacknovember

On this day in 1986, President Ronald Reagan signed the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) of 1986, legalizing all undocumeted immigrants who entered the U.S. before 1982. Charles Kawasaki of The Migration Policy Institute points out that it was “an important milestone in U.S. immigration history, representing the first and most comprehensive legislation to take on the issue of illegal immigration to the United States.” Use this anniversary to talk about the need for truly just and humane immigration reform. Cite the values of Economic Security, Community, and Voice.

• Messaging and communication tools: Vice’s What a Reagan-Era Policy Can Teach Us About Immigration Reform Today; Documented Circa ‘86’s Immigration Reform Turns Thirty; Migration Policy Institute’s IRCA in Retrospect: Guideposts for Today’s Immigration Reform and  Video: Will Immigration Reform Ever Succeed Again? The Legacy of IRCA & Its Enduring Lessons
• Hashtags: #IRCA1986; #IRCA86

On November 8th, undocumented youth from across the country are walking out in support of #DACA recipients and everyone in our undocumented community! They are demanding that the Supreme Court protects DACA recipients and the immigrant community. Students, educators, and allies are invited take action with us to show solidarity as November 12th, the day the Supreme Court hears oral arguments, gets closer and closer. Cite  the values of Economic Security, Family Unity, Voice, and Community. 

• Messaging and communication tools: The Opportunity Agenda's Communications to Protect Dreamers and our Nation’s Values; United We Dream's Walkout video and DACA in the Courts Timeline and Federal Judge Rules Trump’s Killing of DACA Was Wrong; The National Immigration Law Center's DACA resources; Center for American Progress' What We Know About DACA Recipients in the United States and What We Know About DACA Renewals
• Hashtag: #HomeisHere; #DACA

At 1pm EST, The Urban Institute will host a webinar, Developing Metrics to Measure Mobility from Poverty, in which they “will preview a concise set of short- and medium-term metrics against which local stakeholders can establish goals, benchmark with similar communities, and track progress in increasing mobility from poverty.” Register here.

On this day in 1897, Dorothy Day was born. Day was a pioneering social justice advocate who co-founded of the Catholic Worker movement in the United States. She was quoted as saying, "“I firmly believe that our salvation depends on the poor.” Use the anniversary of her birth to talk about economic opportunity and poverty. Cite the values of Economic Security, Community, and Voice. 

• Messaging and communication tools: The Opportunity Agenda's Talking About Poverty & Economic Opportunity Today: Three Core Pillars and Talking About Economic Justice
• Hashtag: #DorothyDay

This week, America's Voice and its partners are commemorating the 25th anniversary of the passing of California's Proposition 187 on November 8, 1994, one of the cruelest anti-immigrant proposals in U.S. history. Cite this anniversary by citing the values of Economic Security, Community, and Voice. 

• Messaging and communication tools: America’s Voice's social media toolkit; The Opportunity Agenda's Quick Tips for Talking Immigration Issues and Immigration Coverage in Spanish Language Print Media 
• Hashtag: #Prop187; #25After187; #Proposition187

This November 9 marks 30 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall. To commemorate this, the Global Day Of InterAction For A #WorldwithoutWalls will bring together activists who have lived with the realities of 70 walls across the world. They plan to challenge policies that build walls against their struggles for justice and call for an end to “the architecture of impunity that shields corporations enabling, facilitating,and profiting from the construction and growth of visible and invisible walls of injustice.” Cite the values of Economic Security and Community.

• Messaging and communication tools: The Opportunity Agenda’s Five Questions to ask when Crafting Messages about Refugees in the Current Climate and Five Tips for Talking About Border Communities Without Talking about a Wall
• Hashtag: #WorldwithoutWalls

On November 10, 1969, fifty years ago, the public television children’s show, Sesame Street, first aired. At the time, it was the most racially diverse children’s show ever on TV. As one of the actors, Loretta Moore Long, noted: ‘“Sesame Street’ has incorporated a hidden curriculum … that seeks to bolster the Black and minority child’s self-respect and to portray the multi-ethnic, multicultural world into which both majority and minority child are growing.” Use this anniversary to talk about the need for inclusion and intersectionality in television programs. Cite the values of Voice and Equality.

• Messaging and communication tools: The Daily Beast’s The Forgotten Tale of How Black Psychiatrists Helped Make ‘Sesame Street’; The Opportunity Agenda’s Power of Pop: Media Analysis of Representations of Immigrants in Popular TV Shows and Ten Lessons for Talking About Race, Racism and Racial Justice
• Hashtag: #ThisIsMyStreet

Today the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on the Trump Administration’s unlawful attempt to terminate DACA. Ending the program would have devastating impact on DACA recipients, their families and our communities. Join the discussion by citing the values of Economic Security, Community, and Voice. 

• Messaging and communication tools: National Immigration Law Center’s Overall Coalition Message Frames for DACA SCOTUS Campaign; SCOTUS DACA Communications Dos and Don’ts;  DACA Heads to the U.S. Supreme Court: Where We Are Now & What Could Happen Next; Home is Here campaign website; The Opportunity Agenda's Communications to Protect Dreamers and our Nation’s Values and 5 Tips for Talking About the American Dream and Promise Act of 2019 (H.R. 6); United We Dream's DACA in the Courts Timeline and Federal Judge Rules Trump’s Killing of DACA Was Wrong; The National Immigration Law Center's DACA resources; Center for American Progress' What We Know About DACA Recipients in the United States and What We Know About DACA Renewals
• Hashtag: #HomeIsHere; #HereToStay

Transgender Awareness Week raises the visibility of transgender and gender non-conforming people in order to address the issues faced by the community. When discussing transgender concerns, be sure to refer to the values of Voice and Community.

• Messaging and communication tools: The Opportunity Agenda’s Ten Tips for Putting Intersectionality into Practice; GLAAD's Media Reference Guide and resource kit for journalists covering Transgender Day of Remembrance
• Hashtags: #TransWeek

Today is the National Call-in Day to #DefundHate and stop the flow of money to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Members of Congress have the ‘power of the purse’ and must exercise that power to prioritize critical programs that support immigrant communities instead of funding detention and deportation. Congress continues to negotiate the budget for Fiscal Year 2020. The current stopgap measure is set to expire by November 21st, which means Congress must reach a decision soon. Congress can pass either a final negotiated bill or a temporary continuing resolution. No matter which path Congress takes, our values and demands are the same - Congress must protect our communities by decreasing funds for ICE and CBP.  Cite the values of Community and Economic Security.

• Take action: Call and encourage your networks to call 1-844-332-6361 and follow the instructions to connect with your Member of Congress. Use this script.
• Messaging and communication tools: Defund Hate Campaign's one-pager and social media graphics; The Opportunity Agenda's Talking About Due Process and Racial Profiling
• Hashtag: #Defundhate

Today is World Kindness Day. Started by the World Kindness Movement, the day highlights "our good deeds in our communities, cities, and nations; it is for us to further focus on the positive power and common thread of kindness, which binds us together." WQED, the public television station in Pittsburgh, is piggybacking on the day to observe Cardigan Day inspired by renowned cardigan-wearer and children’s television icon, Fred Rogers, and his quote, “There’s no person in the whole world like you, and I like you just the way you are.” Use these observances to discuss the values we share as a nation, like Community, Voice, and Equality.

• Messaging and communication tools: The Opportunity Agenda's Vision, Values, Voice: A Communications Toolkit; TribLive's Be like Mister Rogers: Wear your cardigan for World Kindness Day
• Hashtags: #WorldkindnessDay2019; #CardiganDay

Today from Noon - 1:30 p.m. EST, the Aspen Institute will host a livestreamed event in Washington, D.C.: Building a Democratic Economy: How Do We Create Prosperity for All? A new book, The Making of a Democratic Economy by Marjorie Kelly and Ted Howard of The Democracy Collaborative, explores this question by looking at organizations and individuals across the country working to reshape our economy to make it more equitable and to restore power to individuals. Register to attend in person or watch via livestream.

On November 13, 1956, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down segregation on Montgomery buses (Browder v. Gayle) and ordered Alabama to desegregate all public buses. Less than a year before, activist Rosa Parks was arrested for violating bus segregation laws by refusing to give up her bus seat to a white man. Her action launched a boycott of the buses that lasted for months. Fred Gray filed a lawsuit challenging bus segregation in federal district court on behalf of four black women who had faced discrimination. Discuss this anniversary by citing the values of Voice and Equality.

• Messaging and communication tools: The Opportunity Agenda’s Ten Lessons for Talking About Race, Racism and Racial Justice
• Hashtag: #BrowderVGayle

At 1pm EST, the Narrative Initiative will host an online conversation with Spitfire Strategies, State of the Field: Narrative Change Research about openings and trends in narrative change research that expose opportunities to create bigger impact as well as gaps that need attention. They will unpack themes and relay the limitations of the recently released State of the Field: Narrative Research Methodologies. Join the conversation by registering here.

From 3-4pm EST, join state and local partners around the country to fight back against the administration’s third attack on SNAP this year during a #HandsOffSNAP/#ProtectSNAP tweet storm. The Trump administration barely waited a week after the closing of the (first round of) SNAP comments before issuing yet another proposed rule – sidestepping Congress, again – to decimate the SNAP program. This latest proposed rule would cut SNAP benefits by $4.5 billion over five years, and again, will hurt households with children, seniors, and people with disabilities the most. Discuss this proposal by citing the values of Community and Economic Security. 

• Messaging and communication tools: Center for American Progress' SNAP 3.0 SUA Digital Toolkit; The Opportunity Agenda's Talking About Poverty & Economic Opportunity Today: Three Core Pillars and Casseroles Against Trump: Standing Up to a Proposal that Would Slash SNAP
• Hashtags: #HandsOffSNAP; #ProtectSNAP

On this day in 1960, six-year-old Ruby Bridges integrated her New Orleans elementary school. She was escorted by four federal marshals and was met by a white mob who screamed insults and slurs. True school integration is still an issue in places like New York City. Discuss this anniversary and the need for real school integration by citing the values of Voice and Equality.

• Messaging and communication tools: The Opportunity Agenda’s Ten Lessons for Talking About Race, Racism and Racial Justice; Integrate NYC’s Real Integration and Constitution
• Hashtag: #RubyBridges

Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week is sponsored each year by the National Coalition for the Homeless and the National Student Campaign Against Hunger and Homelessness. When talking about homelessness this week, cite the values of Community, Voice, and Economic Security.

• Messaging and communication tools: Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week’s website; The Opportunity Agenda's Perceptions about Poverty and Homelessness and Talking About Economic Justice; Center on Budget and Policy Priorities' Republican Plans to Cut Taxes Now, Cut Programs Later Would Increase Homelessness and Hardship; National Coalition for the Homeless' Manual for HHWeek; Western Regional Advocacy Project's' Homeless Bill of Rights
• Hashtag: #hhweek

Tonight in the Atlanta area, MSNBC and The Washington Post will host the fifth Democratic presidential debate of the 2020 campaign.

At 2pm ET, The Opportunity Agenda’s Immigration Research Consortium will hold its monthly webinar. Lucila Figueroa and Melissa Garlick from the Vera Institute of Justice will share results from a recent survey of 6,000 people living in the United States exploring support and/or opposition to government-funded attorneys for people in deportation proceedings, among other attitudes towards immigration. Results show that most Americans support publicly-funded legal representation programs for immigrants, and that support crosses ideological and partisan lines.Register here to join the webinar.

Today is the Transgender Day of Remembrance/Resilence honoring those killed by anti-trans violence, which overwhelmingly targets Black and Latinx trans women and femmes. In 2014 the Audre Lorde Project founded Trans Day of Resilience to celebrate the power of the living trans family. When talking about these issues, cite the values of Voice and Equality.

• Messaging and communication tools: Forward Together’s Trans Day of Resilience art project; The Opportunity Agenda’s Ten Tips for Putting Intersectionality into Practice; GLAAD's Media Reference Guide and resource kit for journalists covering Transgender Day of Remembrance
• Hashtags: #TDOR; #TransDayofRemembrance; #TransDayofResilience

Today is also Latina Equal Pay Day, the date when the typical Latina woman’s wages since January 1, 2017 finally catch up to what the typical white man was paid in calendar year 2017.  Use this day to talk about the values of Economic Security, Mobility and Opportunity.

• Messaging and communication tools: Latina Equal Pay Day's website and social media resources; Demos' Rebellious Dignity on Latina Equal Pay Day; Sargent Shriver Center for Poverty Law's Women, Poverty, and the Gender Wage Gap; National Employment Law Center's What a $15 Minimum Wage Means for Women and Workers of Color; Center for American Progress' The State of the Labor Market for Latinas: Pre-October Jobs Day Release
• Hashtag: #LatinaEqualPayDay

On November 20, 1962, President John F. Kennedy issued Executive Order 11063, banning federally-funded housing organizations from racially discriminating. The order was symbolic and it wasn’t until the passage of the Fair Housing Act of 1968 that fair housing regulations were enforced. Today anti-discrimination housing policies are under attack by the Trump administration. Under the leadership of current Secretary Ben Carson, Housing and Urban Development has stepped back its enforcement of fair housing laws. And last month, fair housing groups settled an historic lawsuit with Facebook after alleging that its advertising platform enabled landlords and real estate brokers to exclude people of color, and other protected groups from receiving housing ads. Use this hook to discuss home opportunity and fair housing. Cite the values of Voice and Economic Security.

• Messaging tool: The Opportunity Agenda's Why Fair Housing, Fair Lending and Equal Opportunity and Reforming HUD’s Regulations to Affirmatively Further Fair Housing; The National Fair Housing Alliance's The Fair Housing Act at 50
• Hashtags: #FairHousing; #FightforHousingJustice; #DefendCivilRights

On November 20, 1969, fifty years ago, Native American activists landed on Alcatraz Island in the San Francisco Bay and occupied the island. They called themselves “Indians of All Tribes” and issued a proclamation, “We Hold the Rock.” The protest lasted for nineteen months until the protest was forcibly ended by the U.S. government. Cite this anniversary as part of Native American History Month by using the values of Voice and Equality. 

• Messaging and communication tools: National Park Service's American Indian Occupation - 50th Anniversary; Zinn Education Project's Alcatraz Occupation; The Opportunity Agenda’s ‘We Are All Related; Smithsonian Museum and partners’ Native American History Month; U.S. Department of Arts and Culture's #HonorNativeLand: A Guide and Call for Acknowledgement; National Congress of American Indians' Proud to Be Campaign; Reclaiming Native Truths’ Changing the Narrative about Native Americans; IllumiNative’s The false narratives, invisibility, and the erasure of Native peoples must end
• Hashtag: #NAHeritage

On Nov. 22, 2014, teenager Tamir Rice was murdered by police. Discuss the anniversary of his death by citing the values of Voice and Community.

• Messaging and communication tools: The Opportunity Agenda’s What does safety really mean in America? and Ten Lessons for Talking About Race, Racism and Racial Justice; Movement for Black Lives’ A Vision for Black Lives
• Hashtag: #TamirRice; #BlackLivesMatter; #racialjustice

Thanksgiving is often a time when tough or awkward conversations arise around the dinner table. Use these tools to keep your conversations focused on values.

• Messaging and communication tools: The Opportunity Agenda's Five Tips for Surviving Holiday Conversations; Zinn Education Project's The Politics of Thanksgiving Day; Colorlines' 5 Ways to Face Race at the Thanksgiving Table and Not Choke; Teaching Tolerance's Teaching Thanksgiving in a Socially Responsible Way
• Hashtags: #Thanksgiving; #thankstaking

The Friday after Thanksgiving is often dubbed “Black Friday” because consumer spending puts retailers’ revenues “in the black.” And the day after has been declared to be "Small Business Saturday."

• Take Action: Use these hooks to share the Shop Your Values campaign run by the Main Street Alliance to support small businesses that are active community members advocating for economic and racial justice across the country. Also see Give Women Your Money: A Shoppable Spreadsheet for women-lead businesses.
• Messaging and communication tool: BlackOut Black Friday's Why Black Out Friday?; The Opportunity Agenda’s Campaign for Community Values Message Toolkit; TalkPoverty's Black Friday Isn’t the Only Time Workers Face Unfair Schedules; Center on Budget and Policy Priorities' 5 Things to Tell Your Family on Thanksgiving About ACA Coverage
• Hashtags: #blackfriday; #shopyourvalues

It’s Shirley Chisholm Day, commemorating the birthday of the first black woman elected to Congress, which was 50 years ago.  Cite the values of Voice and Equality when talking about this day.

• Messaging and communication tools: Shirley Chisholm Day’s website; The Opportunity Agenda’s Voice and Equality; National Public Radio’s A Look Back On Shirley Chisholm's Historic 1968 House Victory; Smithsonian’s “Unbought And Unbossed:” When a Black Woman Ran for the White House; WVTF’s 50 Years Later, Chisholm's Election Still Inspires Candidates
• Hashtags: #ShirleyChisholm #UnboughtUnbossed