February 2021

Faith in Indiana launches Season of Action!

The new year has begun, and with it comes massive change. Faith leaders across Indiana and the nation helped swear in new leadership, and it’s our time now to have all who govern in our name deliver what our families need to thrive. That’s why we’re calling the first 100 days of 2021 a Season of Action—and we want you to be a part of it.

All good action starts with a plan, so Faith in Indiana leaders across the state will be meeting for Strategy Summits to decide chapter priorities for the year and map out how to harness our collective power to make our vision for Indiana a reality. After all, #WeMakeIndiana!

Tell Senator Young: Fund the Frontlines

We cannot overcome COVID without the frontline workers and services that we all depend on -- nurses, teachers, EMS, custodians, corrections officers, child care providers. Over 1.4 million of these front-line public service workers have been laid off due to budget shortfalls caused by the pandemic -- that's nearly double the total number of jobs lost during the entire Great Recession. 

This unprecedented job loss in the public sector disproportionately affects women and people of color, and the cuts to public services caused by the pandemic hurt every community across Indiana and the nation. President Biden has put forward a bold stimulus plan that has exactly the right priorities. 

We need robust, unrestricted aid to state and local governments so they can keep doing their jobs and taking care of communities.

Call Indiana Senator Todd Young now to demand he vote YES on President Biden's American Rescue plan so Hoosiers have the resources we need to defeat COVID.

Indiana Legislative Session Has Begun

Hoosiers believe in a government that protects our health and our lives - let’s make sure that our budgets and policies reflect that this legislative session.  In these next 100 days, Indiana legislators will decide how we recover, setting a budget for the next two years and the fairness of our democracy, redistricting for the next decade.  Above all, these choices illustrate how we plan to tangibly take care of one another, especially in a pandemic.

Faith in Indiana will advance our vision of a more just and inclusive Indiana and urge lawmakers to reform law enforcement so deadly force is always a last resort not a first response (HB 1006), and all Hoosiers have the Freedom to Drive to work, and take care of our families no matter where we were born or what language we speak (SB 319 & HB 1138). Certain politicians hope to benefit from making us afraid of each other. They introduced bills to stop local communities from choosing how we work with law enforcement (SB 394, SB 311, SB 168).  We know a better future is possible, and by pulling together - Black, white, and brown, we can demand that our elected leaders make Indiana a place where all of us have our rights and our lives respected.

Like everything in our lives, how we ‘show up’ during the pandemic is different.  We’ll likely be speaking at virtual hearings to testify instead of in-person ones at the Capitol. We’ll be sending more emails and letters and making more phone calls and social media posts than ever before.

But some things will be the same -- we won’t have a ton of advance notice when we need to boldly show up for one another and ourselves and you don’t need to be an expert to make your voice heard.

Stay tuned for more information as we march on to get all the good things our families deserve!

VICTORY ALERT!

Congressman Carson champions push to create a pathway to citizenship for 5 million essential workers and their families. 

Last Monday, Faith in Indiana, along with more than 25 coalition partners, released an open letter demanding that a pathway to citizenship for essential workers be included in the Biden Administration’s $1.9 trillion dollar COVID package. 

Indiana Congressman Andre Carson has since joined us in this push for equitable COVID relief, becoming a signatory on the letter. We applaud and thank Congressman Carson for taking a stand for immigration reform and becoming one of the first champions of the initiative in Congress. Now over 100 members of congress have joined us to support an amendment that if passed, would provide protection and a path to citizenship to over 5 million undocumented immigrants and their families.

If you’re interested in joining the fight for immigration reform, RSVP to attend Faith in Indiana’s Immigration Strategy Summit on February 11 at 7 pm ET.

Faith over Fear

In both the triumph and horror of this past month, we can see clearly that organizing works! Years of organizing for racial justice and building a multiracial democracy are what made it possible for the people of Georgia to elect leaders who have plans for expanding voting rights and healthcare, caring for the planet so it can care for us, raising wages and providing sick time—policies that benefit everyone while eclipsing previous leadership’s centuries-long work to benefit the very wealthy to the detriment of everyone else.

On January 6, we also witnessed the organized opposition to that change. Incited by the president and other elected officials who routinely attempt to divide us, provoke violence, and undermine our democracy, insurrectionists at the Capitol leveraged police forces, skin tone and gender, to induce fear, panic, and violence. This has been the opposition’s tactic since the inception of America.

But the true fear felt now is their own. They know that the era of their oppressive reign is coming to an end. Because organizing works. We the People—across race, region, and religion—have created a promised era of possibilities and the ability for us all to thrive. We have the power, courage, and tenacity to keep moving forward—we just need to make the choice to do it.

Faith in Indiana leaders in South Bend recently issued a statement in response to violence at the capitol. You can watch it here:

VICTORY ALERT!

Dr. Clyde Posley joins nation’s first law enforcement co-governance board in Indianapolis

Thanks to the hard work of countless Faith in Indiana leaders Indianapolis became the nation’s first city to create a co-governance board between our law enforcement agency and the community it serves. Ordinance 237, passed by the city-county council in October 2020, went into effect in January. Faith in Indiana’s own Dr. Rev. Clyde Posley appointed by the council, will be among the inaugural members charged to shape law enforcement policy on behalf of our community. 

Congratulations, Dr. Posley!

Faith in Indiana Welcomes New Board Members

ICYMI: Celebrating Faith in Indiana Wins of 2020

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Faith in Indiana is a 501(c)(3) organization. Faith in Indiana and its chapters are strictly non-partisan and do not endorse or support candidates for public office.
We are not affiliated explicitly or implicitly with any candidate or party.

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