The Amp

October is See Us, Support Us Month which raises awareness and amplifies the voices of children with incarcerated parents. Lead by the Osborne Association and partners, the focus.

• Messaging and communication tools: The Osborne Association's SUSU website and social media guide; The Opportunity Agenda's Ensure Decent Detention Conditions; Eliminate the Criminalization of Poverty and Foster an Environment for Respecting Children’s Rights
• Hashtags: #SeeUsSupportUs; #SupportVisiting; #WordsMatter

LGBT History Month celebrates the achievements of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender trailblazers. Use this month to talk about intersectional issues that affect LGBT Americans. Cite the values of Voice and Opportunity.

• Messaging and communication tools: The Opportunity Agenda’s Ten Tips for Putting Intersectionality into Practice; Social Justice Sexuality’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 Disaggregating the Data for Bisexual People; Making Gay History podcast
• Hashtags: #LGBTHistoryMonth

It’s also Filipino American History Month, commemorating the first recorded arrival of Filipinos in the continental U.S. (see Oct. 18 below). Filipino Americans are the second largest Asian American group in the nation and the third largest ethnic group in California, after Latinas/os and African Americans. This year’s theme is “Pinay Visionaries: Celebrating Filipina American Women.” Cite the values of Community and Economic Security.

• Messaging and communication tools: Filipino American National Historical Society’s About Filipino American History Month and Facebook page; Advancing Justice’s Inside the Numbers: How Immigration Shapes Asian American and Pacific Islander Communities; The Opportunity Agenda’s Public Perceptions and Attitudes Relevant to The Racial Wealth Gap
• Hashtags: #FAHM2019; #PinayVisionaries

National Latinx/Hispanic Heritage Month pays tribute to “the generations of Hispanic Americans who have influenced and enriched our nation and society.” Use this month to discuss Community, Opportunity, and Equality.

• Messaging and communication tools: The Opportunity Agenda's 10 Facts About Public Attitudes Toward Economic Opportunity, Diversity, and Media Trust in the Trump Era; UnidosUS and New American Economy's Power of the Purse: How Hispanics Contribute to the U.S. Economy
• Hashtag: #LatinxHeritageMonth; #HispanicHeritage; #HHM

International Wrongful Conviction Day was created to "raise awareness of the causes and remedies of wrongful conviction and to recognize the tremendous personal, social, and emotional costs of wrongful conviction for innocent people and their families." Use this hook to talk about the need for criminal justice reform. Cite the values of Voice and Redemption. 

• Messaging and communication tools: Wrongful Conviction Day's photos and graphics; The Opportunity Agenda's Enhance Prosecutorial Integrity and Ensure Fair Trials and Quality Indigent Defense; Innocence Project's Prosecutorial Oversight: A National Dialogue in the Wake of Connick v. Thompson
• Hashtag: #wrongfulconvictionday

October 3-11, 2020: Dignity in Schools and partners will lead the National Week of Action Against School Pushout to “envision a public school system that values students, parents and communities as decision-makers with the fundamental human right to shape their education… and schools that work towards preventing trauma, repairing harm and promoting healing, and rejecting a culture of punishment and criminalization.” Discuss the school-to-prison pipeline and school privatization using the values of Community and Voice.

• Messaging and communication tools: The Opportunity Agenda's Devos’ “School Choice” Means No Choice for Many American Families; Center for Popular Democracy's Community Schools Toolkit; Dignity in Schools' Demands and Week of Action Assets; Million Dollar Hoods’ Policing our Schools: An Analysis of LA School Police Department Data (2014 - 2017) and Gay Straight Alliance's LGBTQ Youth of Color: Discipline Disparities, School Push-Out, and the School-to-Prison Pipeline
• Hashtags: #DSCWoA2020; #CounselorsNotCops; #EquityForYouthNow;

On this day in 2008, President George W. Bush signed into law the $700 billion bailout bill for the U.S. financial system (The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008), often called the "bank bailout of 2008.” This was done to address the  financial crisis which had developed throughout 2007 and 2008. The act was also supposed to help struggling homeowners, but the Home Affordable Modification Program wasn’t created until February 2009. Few Americans benefited from the program, which resulted in foreclosures and evictions. Discuss this anniversary by citing the values of Economic Security and Community.

• Messaging and communication tools: The Opportunity Agenda’s Thirteen Things America Can Do to Stop Foreclosures and Fulfill the American Dream; On the Media’s Scarlet E series
• Hashtags: #2008bailout; #BankBailout2008; #2008BankBailout

Today is National Diversity Day to “celebrate and embrace who we are, despite our differences, no matter what race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, nationality, or disability.” Use this hook to talk about  the need for acceptance, tolerance and inclusion in our society. Cite the values of Community and Voice.

• Messaging and communication tools: Diversity Promotions’ National Diversity Day website; The Opportunity Agenda’s Rise Above: Countering Fear-Based Messaging and Ten Tips for Putting Intersectionality into Practice
• Hashtag: #NationalDiversityDay

October 4-10, 2020: The National Alliance on Mental Illness leads Mental Illness Awareness Week to challenge stigma and misunderstanding by showing that mental illness affects everyone directly or indirectly through family, friends or coworkers. Use this week to talk about how mental illness intersects with poverty and criminal justice. Discuss the need for government support of individuals and families dealing with mental illness. Cite the values of Community and Redemption.

• Messaging and communication tools: National Alliance on Mental Illness’ Mental Illness Awareness Week; Why Care? Campaign and Cure Stigma campaign; The Opportunity Agenda’s Ten Lessons for Talking About Criminal Justice Issues; Center for American Progress’ How Cities and States Are Leading the Way on Mental Health
• Hashtags: #MIAW; #CureStigma; #WhyCare

On Oct. 6, 1917, voting and women’s rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer was born in Mississippi. She co-founded the the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party which challenged the all-white delegation at the 1964 Democratic National Convention where Hamer testified. She asked: “Is this America, the land of the free and the home of the brave, where our lives be threatened daily, because we want to live as decent human beings?” Use Hamer’s birthday to discuss voter registration and rights. Cite the values of Community, Voice, and Economic Security.

• Messaging and communication tools: Zinn Education Project’s Is This America? and lessons, films, and readings; The Opportunity Agenda’s 10 Lessons for Talking About Race
• Hashtag: #FannieLouHamer

On Oct. 8, 2001, President George Bush created the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). This anniversary provides a useful moment to examine how the national security frame has shaped the immigration agencies with DHS. Advocates are calling for the abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for its practices that destroy families and communities. Cite the values of Community and Voice when discussing this anniversary.

• Messaging and communications tools: The Opportunity Agenda’s Quick Tips for Talking Immigration Issues and Media Briefing: Tracking Tax Dollars for Brutality; Detention Watch Network’s ICE Lies: Public Deception, Private Profit; American Friends Service Committee’s Abolish ICE! End ICE Abuse and Cruelty Once and For All and It’s Time to Abolish ICE
• Hashtags: #StopICE; #AbolishICE

Today is World Day against the Death Penalty. Use this hook to talk about how the U.S. criminal justice system is overly punitive, costly, and racially biased. Also discuss how fewer and fewer Americans support the death penalty. Cite the values of Redemption and Voice. 

• Messaging and communication tools: The Opportunity Agenda's Tips for Talking About Law Enforcement Enhanced Penalty Laws and Americans are Becoming Less Punitive; Death Penalty Information Center’s Death Penalty Fact Sheet; World Coalition Against the Death Penalty's website
• Hashtags: #NOToDeathPenalty; #NoDeathPenalty; #racialinjustice

National Coming Out Day challenges homophobia by making the personal political. LGBTQ people are encouraged to come out to friends and family. Use this hook to talk about intersectional issues that affect LGBTQ Americans. Cite the values of Voice and Opportunity.

• Messaging and communication tools: The Opportunity Agenda’s Ten Tips for Putting Intersectionality into Practice; Social Justice Sexuality’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 Disaggregating the Data for Bisexual People
• Hashtags: #NationalComingOutDay; #NCOD

The second Monday in October is Indigenous Peoples Day, a day to celebrate the cultures of North America that thrived prior to the arrival of Christopher Columbus, and that continue to fight erasure and celebrate their heritage today. Use this hook to discuss Voice and Economic Security. 

• Messaging and communication tools: The Opportunity Agenda’s Standing Rock, Ferguson or Mexican Border, ‘We Are All Related’; U.S. Department of Arts and Culture's #HonorNativeLand: A Guide and Call for Acknowledgement; National Congress of American Indians' Proud to Be Campaign; Unitarian Universalist Association's Ten Ways to Honor Indigenous Peoples Day; Reclaiming Native Truths’ Changing the Narrative about Native Americans; IllumiNative’s The false narratives, invisibility, and the erasure of Native peoples must end
• Hashtags: #IndigenousPeoplesDay; #AbolishColumbusDay

On this day in 1792, the cornerstone of the White House was laid. Former First Lady Michelle Obama noted that, during the eight years that she lived there, she “[woke] up every morning in a house that was built by slaves.” Use this anniversary to discuss the role of enslaved people in our nation’s history and the lasting repercussions of racial injustice. Cite the values of Economic Security, Voice, and Equality.

• Messaging and communication tools: Zinn Education Project’s White House Cornerstone Laid; The Opportunity Agenda’s Ten Lessons for Talking About Criminal Justice Issues;
• Hashtag: #WhiteHouse and/or @whitehouse

On this day in 2016, the #MeToo movement went viral online and quickly became a national discussion about sexual assault and harassment. The movement was founded in 2006 by activist Tarana Burke to address the lack of resources for survivors, specifically black and brown women and girls. The Me Too Movement is now also an organization committed to healing and action by centering survivors. Discuss this anniversary by citing the values of Voice, Equality, and Community. 

• Messaging and communication tools: The Opportunity Agenda's The Case of the Cultural Influencers: Colin Kaepernick, Jimmy Kimmel, and #MeToo; MeToo Movement's Creating a 360 Degree Day of Healing, Empowerment, and Strength
• Hashtag: #MeToo

On Oct. 15, 1966, the Black Panther Party for Self Defense was founded to seek justice for African Americans and other oppressed communities through a combination of revolutionary theory, education, and community programs. Discuss this anniversary by citing the values of Economic Security, Voice, and Community.

• Messaging and communication tools: The Zinn Education Project’s What We Don’t Learn About the Black Panther Party—but Should; The Opportunity Agenda’s 10 Lessons for Talking About Race and Opportunity for Black Men and Boys;
• Hashtags: #BlackPantherParty

On this day in 1968, African-American medal winners in the Olympics, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, gave a Black Power salute during the award ceremony. This anniversary provides a useful hook to discuss today’s activism by athletes like Colin Kaepernick. Cite the values of Voice and Community.

• Messaging and communication tools: The Opportunity Agenda’s Opportunity for Black Men and Boys; Rejecting Bigotry, Demanding Action; Ten Lessons for Talking About Race, Racism and Racial Justice and Create Fair and Effective Policing Practices
• Hashtag: #blacklivesmatter

It’s also World Food Day, which the United Nations created to focus on how people and communities can take action to end hunger. Use this hook to talk about hunger and poverty in the United States, especially now as Congress considers changes to the federal food stamp program, SNAP. Cite the values of Economic Security and Community.

• Messaging and communication tools: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations’ World Food Day Communication Toolkits; The Opportunity Agenda’s Talking About Economic Justice; Center on Budget and Policy Priorities’ SNAP Works (video series);  Food Research and Action Center’s Rural Hunger in America – Get the Facts; Rural Hunger in America – SNAP: Get the Facts and Senior Hunger resources
• Hashtags: #WFD2019; #ZeroHunger; #HandsoffSNAP

The United Nations' International Day for the Eradication of Poverty recognizes "the knowledge and courage of families living in poverty throughout the world, the importance of reaching out to the poorest and building an alliance with citizens from all backgrounds to end poverty." Use this hook to discuss the values of Economic Security and Community in the United States.

• Messaging tool: The Opportunity Agenda’s Talking About Economic Justice; United Nations Special Rapporteur’s Statement on Visit to the USA; United Nations' International Day for the Eradication of Poverty
• Hashtags: #EndPoverty; #USAPoverty

World Values Day is an opportunity to think about our most deeply held values and act on them. This year’s core theme is about putting our values to action through our communities. Discuss these values with your audiences: Opportunity, Mobility, Equality, Voice, Redemption, Community and (Economic) Security.

• Messaging and communication tools: World Values Day’s tools and resources; The Opportunity Agenda’s Values; Countering Fear-Based Messaging; Rejecting Bigotry and 10 Lessons for Talking About Race
• Hashtags: #WorldValuesDay

On this day in 1972, The Clean Water Act became law. The legislation is now under attack. Use this anniversary to discuss the importance of infrastructure spending, citing the values of Community and Economic Security.

• Messaging and communication tools: The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities' A Four-Point Fiscal Policy Blueprint for Building Thriving State Economies and Natural Resources Defense Council's Advisory on Safe Drinking Water; NDRC's Watered Down Justice; Topos Public Will Initiative's Public Water; Our Neighborhoods, Our Future’s principles, Partnership for Working Families’ We Make This City
• Hashtags: #cleanwateract; #wemakethiscity

On this day in 1587, the first Filipino immigrants arrived in U.S. by way of a Spanish galleon that docked at what is now Morro Bay, California, the first recorded arrival of Filipinos in the continental U.S. Because of this anniversary, October is Filipino American History Month. Filipino Americans are the second largest Asian American group in the nation and the third largest ethnic group in California, after Latinas/os and African Americans. This year’s theme is “Pinay Visionaries: Celebrating Filipina American Women.” Cite the values of Community and Economic Security.

• Messaging and communication tools: Filipino American National Historical Society’s About Filipino American History Month and Facebook page; Advancing Justice’s Inside the Numbers: How Immigration Shapes Asian American and Pacific Islander Communities; The Opportunity Agenda’s Public Perceptions and Attitudes Relevant to The Racial Wealth Gap
• Hashtags: #FAHM2019; #PinayVisionaries

On this day in 1870, the first African Americans were elected to the House of Representatives. In South Carolina, Black Republicans won three of the state’s four congressional seats. The Zinn Education Projects points out that Reconstruction, the era immediately following the Civil War and emancipation, “is full of stories that help us see the possibility of a future defined by racial equity” and that “it’s worth remembering a time in U.S. history when Black lives mattered.” Discuss this anniversary by citing the values of Voice and Community.

• Messaging and communication tools: Zinn Education Project’s When Black Lives Mattered: Why Teach Reconstruction and Teach Reconstruction Campaign; The Opportunity Agenda’s 10 Lessons for Talking About Race
• Hashtags: #TeachReconstruction; #blacklivesmatter

The Oct. 22 Coalition  to Stop Police Brutality, Repression and the Criminalization of a Generation has mobilized every year since 1996 for a National Day of Protest against Police Brutality on Oct. 22nd. Cite the values of Voice, Equality and Community.

• Take Action: Wear black and join an event near you.
• Messaging and communication tools: The Opportunity Agenda's Beyond Policing: Supporting Defund the Police and Implicit Bias and the Limitations of Video Footage in Tackling Police Brutality; October 22 Coalition’s Resources and Stolen Lives project; Movement for Black Lives' A Vision for Black Lives
• Hashtags: #O22; #BlackLivesMatter

The first woman farmworker hired to be a union representative, Maria Moreno, was born on this day in 1920.  Moreno was a vocal fighter for impoverished farm workers in California in the late 1950s and early 1960s. A film about her life is premiered on PBS in September. Discuss Moreno's birthday by citing the values of Community, Voice, and Economic Security.

• Messaging and communication tools: PBS' Adios Amor - The Search for Maria Morenotrailer; The Opportunity Agenda's Talking about the Importance of Unions and Economic Security
• Hashtag: #MariaMoreno

On Oct. 23, 1947, W. E. B. Du Bois and the NAACP petitioned the United Nations with a document titled “An Appeal to the World: A Statement on the Denial of Human Rights to Minorities in the Case of Citizens of the United States of America and an Appeal to the United Nations for Redress.” They asked for the U.N.’s help to address human rights violations the United States committed against its African-American citizens, such as lynching, segregation, and the gross inequalities in education, housing, health care, and voting rights.

• Messaging and communication tools: W. E. B. Du Bois’s statement at the United Nations; The Opportunity Agenda’s 10 Lessons for Talking About Race; Lyonette Louis-Jacques’ Black history at the United Nations
• Hashtags: #WEBDubois

October 24 is Vote Early Day. More and more jurisdictions allow voting before Election Day. Early voting is often faster and as simple as voting on Election Day. Use Vote Early Day to encourage your community to vote. Voting resources and early voting messaging are available on the Vote Early Day website.  

On Oct. 24, 1938, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) took effect, creating for the first time a federal right to a minimum wage and overtime while also banning child labor. Discuss this important anniversary by citing the values of Economic Security and Mobility.

• Messaging and communication tools: National Employment Law Project's A Baseline for Economic Freedom and social media guide
• Hashtags: #FairLaborStandards; #FLSA

On Oct. 26, 2001, just weeks after the 9/11 attacks, President George W. Bush signed the PATRIOT Act into law. The legislation expanded surveillance powers of the government and permitted indefinite detention of non-citizens. In 2015, many of its expiring provisions were extended or modified by the USA FREEDOM Act. Discuss this anniversary by citing the values of Community and Voice.

• Messaging and communication tools: The Opportunity Agenda’s Immigration Policy Solutions: Due Process and Fair Treatment Under the Law; American Civil Liberties Unions’ Surveillance Under the Patriot Act; American Bar Associations’ 9/11 and the Transformation of U.S. Immigration Law and Policy
• Hashtag: #PatriotAct

On Oct. 27, 1978, President Jimmy Carter signed into law the Humphrey–Hawkins Full Employment Act to address rising unemployment. Today, overall unemployment is low, but it remains high for black workers, formerly incarcerated people, and others facing discrimination. Talk about how the government still has a role in assisting Americans who are bearing the brunt of our unfair economic system. Use this hook to discuss the values of Community and Economic Security.

• Messaging and communication tools: The Opportunity Agenda's Expanding Opportunity for All: Economic Justice; Center for Popular Democracy's The Full Employment Mandate of the Reserve;
• Hashtags: #unemployment

On this day in 1994, the Department of Justice announced that the U.S. prison population surpassed one million people for the first time in U.S. history. In 2020, that number has reached 2.3 million. The United States has the highest rate of incarceration in the world (nearly 25% of the world’s prison population). Use this anniversary to discuss the explosion of mass incarceration and the need to end money bail. Discuss this anniversary by citing the values of Redemption and Voice.

• Messaging and communication tools: Vera Institute of Justice's #ReimgaineJustice event video and The Next 25 Years video; The Opportunity Agenda’s Promote Community Safety through Alternatives to Incarceration and Encourage Equitable Sentencing; Union Theological Seminary's Exodus event video: Building a Movement to End Mass Incarceration and Mass Detention; Color of Change’s End Money Bail and Video: The Truth About the Money Bail Industry; Black Love’s Bail Out; ACLU’s We Can’t End Mass Incarceration Without Ending Money Bail; The Marshall Project’s Everything You Think You Know About Mass Incarceration Is Wrong
• Hashtags: #EndBailMoney; #ReimagineJustice

On this day in 1886, the Statue of Liberty was dedicated in New York City. Use this anniversary to talk about the importance of this national symbol in welcoming immigrants to the United States. It’s also a useful hook for the new “public charge” rule, since it runs counter to the statue’s message. Cite the values of Community and Economic Security.

• Messaging and communication tools: The Opportunity Agenda’s Quick Tips for Talking Immigration Issues; On the Media’s Who Is Lady Liberty, And What Does She Want?; Welcoming America’s Stand Together; Protecting Immigrant Families’ campaign resources
• Hashtag: #StatueofLiberty; #ProtectFamilies

In 2020, October 29 is Latina Equal Pay Day, the date when the typical Latina woman’s wages since January 1 of last year (almost 22 months ago) finally catch up to what the typical white man was paid for 12 months of work. 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 kit; 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 this day in 1929, the Wall Street stock market crashed and plunged the nation into the Great Depression, creating economic insecurity for millions of American families. Use this anniversary to talk about the government’s role in assisting Americans facing economic hardship. An array of programs that were part of “The New Deal” assisted millions of unemployed and starving citizens. Today, programs like SNAP and Medicaid help working Americans stuck in low-paying jobs. Cite the values of Economic Security and Community.

• Messaging and communication tools: The Opportunity Agenda’s Talking About Economic Justice; Bill Moyers’ Why is SNAP Part of the Farm Bill? ; Center for American Progress’ How Classical Liberalism Morphed Into New Deal Liberalism; SNAP to Health’s The History of SNAP
• Hashtags: #GreatDepression; #HandsOffSNAP; #BlackTuesday

On this day in 1969, the Supreme Court ruled in the case of Alexander v. Holmes County Board of Education that schools in the South had to desegregate “immediately,” instead of the previous ruling of “with all deliberate speed.” The case  was brought by Beatrice Alexander, on behalf of her children, after she sued the Holmes County, Mississippi School District. Discuss this anniversary by referring to the values of Voice, Equality, and Mobility.

• Messaging and communication tools: The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human rights’ Oppose the Confirmation of Judicial Nominees Who Decline to State Brown v. Board of Education Decision Was Correctly Decided; The Opportunity Agenda’s Helping Brown Forward and Devos’ “School Choice” Means No Choice for Many American Families
• Hashtags: #AlexanderVHolmes; #RetireSegregation

On October 29, 2012, Hurricane Sandy hit New York City causing extensive damages to infrastructure in the city. As we’ve seen many times before, natural disasters have the ability to reveal existing inequality among those directly affected. People living in poverty are disproportionately affected by natural disasters. Use Hurricane Sandy to push for economic justice in infrastructure, storm preparedness and recovery spending. Cite the values of Economic Security and Community.

• Messaging and communication tools: Shriver Center on Poverty Law’s What Natural Disasters Reveal About Racism and Poverty; Center on Budget and Policy Priorities’ History Shows What Steps Trump Administration and Congress Can Take to Ensure Access to Health Care for Those Affected by the Hurricanes; The Brookings Institute’s Can people afford American infrastructure?; Sightline Institute’s Talking about Climate Change and Weather; Latino Rebels' Climate Change, Poverty and Human Rights: An Emergency Without Precedent
• Hashtags: #HurricaneSandy; #climatejustice