1776.

American schoolchildren have long been raised to feel pride in that date. We were raised to believe that 1776 means many things: Victory. Democracy. Independence. We think of that as the date when America became America. 

And yet, 1776 wasn’t the end of the fight. It wasn’t the beginning of the fight, either.

—It was 1775 when Patrick Henry declared “Give me liberty or give me death!” in an attempt to rouse troops to fight in Virginia.

—It was 1775 when Paul Revere took his ride, when the battles of Lexington and Concord were fought, and the Battle of Bunker Hill.

—It was 1779 when John Paul Jones declared “I have not yet begun to fight!” before losing his ship, but ultimately winning.

—It was 1783 when the Treaty of Paris ended the Revolutionary War, and we could begin the hard work of creating a functioning nation. 

So what was 1776? It was just a point along the process, a single year in a long, long fight.

Fast forward to 2020.

Did you miss our powerful, moving Zoom discussion (6/22/21) about I.C.E. in N.J., with advocate Kathy O'Leary and refugee/activist Carlos Sierra? Watch it here! 

Kathy O'Leary explains how I.C.E. functions here in NJ, the lack of oversight and accountability they take advantage of, and current legislative solutions we can support to keep them in check.

Carlos Sierra, a refugee and activist, discusses the impact of I.C.E. on immigrant families, and the hardships and injustices he faced during the two and a half years he spent incarcerated at the Essex County Detention Center.

Did you miss our Zoom Q&A session about REPARATIONS, with Ryan Haygood of the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice? Watch it here! 

Join us on TUESDAY, JUNE 22 @7:00 pm.
More info below. SPACE VERY LIMITED!
Register here to get the Zoom link!

Dear Supporter —