Windham County Action Network (WeCAN)

“…(W)e owe deeper consideration to those for whom the costs of menstruation go beyond dollars and cents, but also extend to their safety—such as transgender people, those in police custody, and domestic violence survivors. Many people who need support exist outside the societal safety nets where menstrual products are currently made available. While doing so, activists and lawmakers alike should use gender-neutral language as the default in order to be inclusive of trans and nonbinary individuals when advocating for and advancing menstrual policies...It is due time for change. Menstrual equity is essential to creating a fair and just society for all. ”
Jennifer Weiss-Wolf
Founder, Period Equity and VP of the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law

     We hope this lovely Spring weather has you itching to get some work done, WeCAN Friends...and we have the perfect 5 minute social justice action to help you get your week started!
     By the end of 2020, 13 states, including MA and CT, had officially renounced their taxes on menstrual items and at least a dozen more states have legislation awaiting debate that specifically addresses the luxury tax placed on tampons, pads, cups, and other sanitary items. In January of this year, the UK officially abolished the so-called "Tampon Tax" entirely....and it's time Vermont does as well.
     Here's what you can to do help: grab your preferred device for emailing and take 5 minutes to send your State Representatives a quick note. Ask them to please Vote YES and Exempt Menstrual Products from Sales Taxes.
     Menstrual products are a necessity, not a luxury. These products are not subject to a unique or special tax, but are classified as luxury items along with other goods that are not exempted. The effects of this tax are devastating, placing menstruating individuals in situations where they cannot afford or obtain basic necessitates. Vermont’s House Ways & Means Committee is currently considering S.53 (H.53), a bill that would exempt menstrual products from the Vermont Sales and Use Tax. Do you have an opinion about whether menstrual supplies should be exempt from or subject to sales tax? Make your voice heard by contacting the committee & your representatives.
Don't know who to contact? Start here: https://legislature.vermont.gov/people/. 
Learn more about the issue from the @vtwomen one-page info sheet, available at women.vermont.gov/help/publications and shown below. For more information please check out: https://www.periodequity.org. 

"Ours is not the struggle of one day, one week, or one year. Ours is not the struggle of one judicial appointment or presidential term. Ours is the struggle of a lifetime, or maybe even many lifetimes, and each one of us in every generation must do our part." 
Representative John Lewis
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives for Georgia's 5th District
1987-2020

   Georgia has been on the forefront of many of our minds this year, WeCAN friends, and we'd like to offer an up a convenient way to help the residents of Georgia try to overturn the egregious voting bills that have been signed into law. Join Fair Fight Action and the New Georgia Project to help amplify the voices of Georgia voters right from your home in Windham County, Vermont. Details are below: 

Make Voter Protection Phone Calls with Fair Fight Action. We are talking to Georgia voters in counties with one polling location, asking them about their experiences voting and documenting irregularities. It’s one more way FFA is fighting for free and fair elections in Georgia. Sun, Tues, Wed, Thurs, and Sat phone banks: training and support provided. Sign up for a guided phone bank with Fair Fight.   /   Phone Bank Sign Up   /   Texting Sign Up*

Sign Up to Text with the New Georgia Project. They are finding creative ways to push back against voter suppression bills! They use ThruText and have excellent support on Slack. Sign up directly with New Georgia Project.*

* https://www.leanleftvt.org/state-actions-1

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HAPPENING TODAY, SUNDAY, APRIL 4th, 2021

Community Conversations with Representative Emilie Kornheiser
Sunday, April 4th, 2021, Online. 11am.
Please register in advance for this meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEtce-grD4rGNxo9FEE3R8zKpRSj_qBTz03 . After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Emilie Kornheiser, State Representative for Windham 2-1, invites you to join her weekly office hours: Sundays at 11am. We’ll talk about what’s happening in the legislature and in our town. Open conversation format-- come for the full hour or just stop by for a few minutes to share a particular concern or question. 

“Every aspect of our lives is, in a sense, a vote for the kind of world we want to live in.” 
Frances Moore Lappé
author of Diet for a Small Planet

      This week's Weekly Email Update has more than a few new opportunities to connect with our community in Windham County, WeCAN readers. Whether your passions lie in social, environmental, racial, food, or economic justice, there is something for you in this week's offerings. Grab your calendar and pick an event or two to attend either in person (with a mask) or virtually. Don't feel like putting yourself out there all on your lonesome? That's ok! Ask a friend or family member to join you as you create positive change for your community. Until next week, friends...

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HAPPENING TODAY, SUNDAY, MARCH 28th, 2021

Community Conversations with Representative Emilie Kornheiser
Sunday, March 28th, 2021, Online. 11am.
Please register in advance for this meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEtce-grD4rGNxo9FEE3R8zKpRSj_qBTz03 . After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Emilie Kornheiser, State Representative for Windham 2-1, invites you to join her weekly office hours: Sundays at 11am. We’ll talk about what’s happening in the legislature and in our town. Open conversation format-- come for the full hour or just stop by for a few minutes to share a particular concern or question. 

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Vermont Renews Convergence
Sunday, March 28th, 2021, Online. 1pm-3:30pm.
Register now for access! Register for Vermont Renew Convergence with Mobilize. Accessibility: Closed captioning will be available. Have accessibility questions? Reply to your registration email to confirm your requirements or request more information.
On Sunday, March 28th, The Vermont Renews Coalition is hosting a mass convening for activating, exciting and educating Vermonters on the systematic change work of the VT Renews Campaign. (Think Thrive Agenda on a statewide level)
We're pushing for just, equitable solutions to the many interconnected crises we're facing through the policy framework outlined by Renew New England Alliance ( www.renewnewenglandalliance.org) 
Join us to learn about how our work in Vermont in connected to national and regional movements, the 2021 VT Renews legislative priorities, and to connect with fellow activists as we continue to build a movement in Vermont.
The Vermont Renews Coalition consists of Rights & Democracy, Vermont State Labor Council AFL-CIO, 350 VT, Democratic Socialists of America: Champlain Valley,  Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont, Migrant Justice, Community Action Works, and Justice For All.

"...(T)he racial violence happening across the country is concerning. Especially when the tragedy in Atlanta happened this week— that really scared us and most of (my fellow) Asian women. So that is a concern we do have. And we really don’t have to live in fear just because of where we are from.”
Lan Luo
attendee at the Burlington, VT #StopAsianHate rally, 3.20.21

     This week has been more difficult than most, WeCAN friends. From grief over yet another hate crime against the AAPI community and a bloody coup in Myanmar, to NeoNazis on our streets in Brattleboro this weekend, it is safe to say that emotions are riding close to the surface for many of us right now.
     In times of strife or in moments of uncertainty, like now, it is often productive to put your mind and body to work creating the environment and culture you wish to see, to help friends and neighbors stay safe, and to stand up for what you believe in loudly and boldly. WeCAN is an informational hub that can help you do just that. This week's email has plenty of ways you can become involved in our community, in whatever ways suit you best. 
     When Ann Braden and I created the WeCAN Weekly Email Update over 4 years ago, we envisioned it as a way to help guide our community: to show our friends and neighbors that their unique talents and skills, their individuality, could help bring about deep and meaningful change here in Windham County. Whether you are a long time reader of this email or this is your first time joining us (welcome!), we implore you to take a moment to think about how your YOU-NESS, your uniqueness, fits into these events listed below. Your YOU-NESS, your ideas, and your time is needed now more than ever. We sincerely hope you can make a plan to join us at an event or meeting soon where our collective uniqueness can create the change we wish to see in Windham County. Together, WeCAN. 

With deep gratitude and hope,
Joanna Wilson Phillips
(Editor, WeCAN’s Weekly Email Update)

Editor's Note:
To sign up for our Weekly Email Update and our Rapid Email Response, please head here: https://www.wecantogether.net/sign_up
For more information about how to submit an event to the Weekly Email Update, please go here: https://www.wecantogether.net/about_us_submission_guidelines
For previous Weekly Email Updates, please go here: https://www.wecantogether.net/updates
For Covid19 Resources, please go here: https://www.wecantogether.net/covid19_resources                                                                                                         

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HAPPENING TODAY, SUNDAY, MARCH 21st, 2021

Community Conversations with Representative Emilie Kornheiser
Sunday, March 21st, 2021, Online. 11am.
Please register in advance for this meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEtce-grD4rGNxo9FEE3R8zKpRSj_qBTz03 . After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Emilie Kornheiser, State Representative for Windham 2-1, invites you to join her weekly office hours: Sundays at 11am. We’ll talk about what’s happening in the legislature and in our town. Open conversation format-- come for the full hour or just stop by for a few minutes to share a particular concern or question. 

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Happening Outside Windham County
#StopAsianHate Rally: Concord New Hampshire
Sunday, March 21st, 2021, The NH State House (107 N Main Street, Concord, NH, 03301). 1pm. Masks and maintaining social distance is mandatory. PPE will be provided for those in need. 
The NH Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) caucus of the NH Democratic Party in conjunction with the Kent Street Coalition NH is holding a peaceful rally to stand in solidarity with our AAPI community who are terrorized and in pain, and to condemn any and all discriminatory actions against AAPIs.
We mourn the lives of the six Asian women lost following the mass killing in Atlanta last Tuesday. This is yet another manifestation of Donald Trump’s racist rhetoric against China and the COVID-19 pandemic. It is crucial we say the names of the six Asian women: Soon Chung Park, Hyun Jung Grant, Suncha Kim, Yong Ae Yue, Xiaojie Tan, Daoyou Feng. They were not only the victims of anti-Asian hate, but also of systemic racism, xenophobia, sinophobia, gender-based violence, misogyny, and white supremacy.
Last year, 3,800 hate incidents against Asian Americans were reported. The United States has a long history of national and foreign policies fueled by racism that systematically oppress marginalized and working-class communities, especially women. We call upon our NH-elected officials to denounce anti-Asian racism, racism in all forms, and such policies including NH House Bill 266 and House Bill 544. 
The United States is a melting pot of immigrants from all over the world and our strength lies when we stand united regardless of our race, gender, identity, and class.
Walter King
NH AAPI Democrats - Cora Quisumbing-King & Sumathi Madhure (Co-Chairs) 

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Happening Outside Windham County
Speaking Up: Histories of American Protest and Activism (Part of the 2021 Virtual Winter Lecture Series)
presented by Historic Deerfield
Sunday, March 21st, 2021, Online. 2pm.
Gain access here: zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_4eJ8JhtvSc2UsQkgsZ2M7g. Free, registration is required. This lecture series will be presented live via Zoom webinar. The link to the webinar will be sent to registrants prior to the event. Webinars will be recorded and available to registrants for viewing for two weeks after the live event.
Protest and dissent are an integral part of American political and cultural identity. Join us this winter for three virtual webinars devoted to exploring vibrant, lesser-known histories of American activism including the radical abolition movement of the 19th century, how women of color transformed the women’s suffrage movement, and the raucous electoral politics of the post-Civil War era.

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Harm Reduction Week of Action Event: Teach-In on the Overdose Crisis and History of the War On Drugs
hosted by National Harm Reduction Coalition, Drug Policy Alliance, and VOCAL NY
Sunday, March 21st, 2021, Online. 4pm-5:30pm. Register Here: Teach-in on the Overdose Crisis and the History of the War on Drugs led by VOCAL-NY and other members of the Overdose Crisis Cohort. 
This is like no other teach-in on how we got to this place with the Overdose Crisis, where our friends and family dying and very little being done to stop this. Even for those who understand the disease, this perspective really changes how we advocate and make change. Local advocate, Brenda Siegel will be a guest speaker at this event. Other incredible speakers from across the country will share their story and where we need to go from here.
Please join the National Overdose Crisis Cohort with People's Action and Organizations/Leaders Across the Country for the Harm Reduction Week of Action coming up next week - find all the details and RSVP links here 
In 2020, it’s estimated that at least 100,000 people died from preventable overdoses - the worst year in recorded history. The War on Drugs created this crisis, and pharmaceutical and insurance corporations have exacerbated and expanded the scope of the catastrophe. 
With our allies from National Harm Reduction Coalition, Drug Policy Alliance and VOCAL NY we're hosting a series of educational and action-focused events to fight for compassion and science-based solutions OVER criminalization and stigma.