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Igniting Grassroots Hustle & Electoral Muscle in 2020 & Beyond
In this edition of News from the Frontlines, we head into the November election full of hope for the future and ready to make our voices heard through the power of our vote.
In this issue: 1) Liberty Vote! Honors Longtime Liberty Hill Champion Gary Stewart, 2) Liberty Vote! Supports Electoral Organizing in This Election & Beyond, 3) Powering Liberty Hill’s Electoral Outreach: Donor Activist Jody Uttal, 4) Shifting Power Through The Ballot Box, 5) Election Season Prop Parties Ignite Enthusiasm Among Progressive Voters, 6) Divest, Defund, Reform, Abolish? Next Steps for Justice and Policing After the 2020 Protests
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It’s Get Out the Vote (GOTV) weekend! Liberty Hill is proud to endorse and support Schools and Communities First (Prop 15) and Reimagine L.A. (Measure J).
Join us in actively supporting our top priorities on the ballot by signing up to
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The late Gary Stewart’s first encounter with activism came in 1988, when he walked into the offices of a shoestring progressive group called Coalition 88 in a strip mall on Western Avenue and asked, “How can I help? What can I do?”
“Gary believed in the basic principle of every person having a vote, and an equal voice,” said Michele Prichard, a longtime friend of Stewart’s. “But he clearly saw the barriers faced by people who experienced some of the biggest social challenges, who were poor, young, jobless, didn’t speak English, and he saw that these represented an unfair obstruction of democracy that we have to work to surmount.”
Gary’s cheerful, can-do fighting spirit would be a fixture in progressive Los Angeles advocacy for the next three decades, including 20 years on the Liberty Hill board, several of them as chair. He is the guiding inspiration for the relaunch of the Liberty Vote! Initiative in advance of this November’s vital elections.
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Liberty Hill recently announced the relaunch of its Liberty Vote! initiative, which supports nonpartisan electoral engagement efforts through grants and other electorally-focused initiatives with the aim of building power at the grassroots level in L.A. County’s most disenfranchised communities.
Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA) Action, which works with Latino voters who are immigrants and the children of immigrants, said that it's funding from Liberty Vote! enabled the organization to engage 180 of its members in developing a comprehensive voter guide focusing specifically on how critical initiatives on the ballot this fall will affect immigrants and their families.
“Our people want to vote, so we get them all the tools they need to vote, and we give them all the information they need to cast an educated vote,” said Diana Colin, Political Director of CHIRLA Action. “When they understand their ballots, they can really step into the power of using their vote.”
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As one of the original co-founders of Rock the Vote, Jody Uttal is also dedicated to supporting voter engagement efforts such as our Liberty Vote! Initiative—a nonpartisan electoral engagement program committed to voter engagement in disenfranchised communities.
“Gary was the first person who taught me about the concept of donor activism. He stressed to me that as a person with access to resources, being a donor activist is not a passive act—it’s just as important as other forms of activism such as going door-to-door,” said Jody. “My support for Liberty Hill connects me to the work happening on the ground because I know I’m supporting the people fighting for real change.”
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“Voting is an important way to shift the relationship of power between everyday people of color and governing officials and bodies,” said Leslie Cooper Johnson, Executive Director of Community Coalition Action Fund. “The support we receive from Liberty Vote! has enabled us to publicly launch the Community Coalition Action Fund this year, allowing us to organize in ways that hadn’t previously been possible. These efforts will help empower our community to elect representatives, pass legislation that can improve the living conditions of Black and Brown people in Los Angeles, and ultimately eradicate the conditions that foster violence, substance abuse, and poverty.”
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At Liberty Hill, we believe the people most affected by injustice should be leading the fight for change—from the community meeting to the protest march to the ballot box. That’s why we relaunched our Liberty Vote! Program this year to encourage electoral engagement in our most disenfranchised communities.
As we head into the critical final days of this election season, we also have hosted several virtual “Prop Party” events designed to make sure our constituents are ready to make their voices heard on the issues they care about on this year’s ballot. We partnered with our BLACC Giving Circle to co-host their “Allies on Me” and “Black Lady” Prop Parties, along with partners at the Latino Community Foundation, Black Women for Wellness, and California Calls.
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Guests heard about their life experiences as well as the critical frontline work that is driving change across the County. They also shared personal challenges of persevering through interactions with systems of harm and how those experiences have shaped their positions as community leaders.
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Here's an update you might have missed! Don't forget to follow us on social media and share with your friends.
- Shifting Power Through General Operating Support [Center for Effective Philanthropy]: Our very own Vice President of Strategic Partnerships, Julio Marcial, shares the need to trust and support nonprofits led by, and building power with, those most impacted by systemic racism. Learn More
- Meet Shane Murphy Goldsmith of Liberty Hill Foundation in Mid-Wilshire District/Mid-City [VoyageLA]: Get to know Liberty Hill President and CEO, Shane Murphy Goldsmith, and learn about the beginnings of her journey on the road to social justice work. Learn More
- Special City Impact Lab Post-Election Conversation on November 6th [City Impact Lab]: Featuring our President and CEO Shane Murphy Goldsmith, Cecilia Estolano of Estolano Advisors, and Dr. Lucy Jones of the Center for Science and Society. Learn More
- Foundation CEO Letter on the Appointment of the Next Los Angeles County Chief Probation Officer [Liberty Hill]: Foundation Leadership writes to L.A. County Board of Supervisors to prioritize alternatives to incarceration. Learn More
- Autographed Helmet Auction [Los Angeles Chargers]: Bid on one of these seven signed Chargers helmets to benefit Liberty Hill and the fight for social justice now through November 8th. Learn More
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