Friday, May 1, is a nation-wide General Strike in response to the current administration’s increasingly erratic and authoritarian acts. It’s imperative that we not only participate in this strike, but we tell others about it as well. (Not everyone’s as plugged in as you are, friend.)
🚫 No shopping. 🚫 No working. 🚫 No school. 💪🏽 💪🏻 Mass rally and march.
Demands:
✊ Tax the rich so our families come first – not their fortunes. (This article on Inequality.org highlights 20 companies at the heart of our affordability crisis.)
✊ No ICE. (This report by the American Immigration Council details ICE’s expanding and increasingly unaccountable detention system.)
✊ No war. No army serving authoritarian power. (The independent, nonpartisan Center for American Progress outlines the human and environmental costs of the war. )
✊ Expand democracy. Hands off our vote. (The Southern Poverty Law Center offers an overview of voter suppression efforts across the country.)
Fri, 5.1 | 5:30 p.m. | Washington Square Park | 100 E. Pershing Rd. KCMO
➡️➡️➡️ BOTG will meet at the Southwest Corner of the park! Join us!!!
Join us for the second part of our series exploring why, in Kansas, partisanship counts more than voters’ opinions on the issues.
The Gulf Between Popular Opinion and Political Reality in Kansas
Wed. April 22 | 6:30 - 7:30 p.m. | Virtual | Must RSVP
Results of a statewide public opinion survey from The Docking Institute of Public Affairs at Fort Hays State suggest that Kansas voters are much more progressive on issues than their party label indicates.
Hear from the survey’s authors: Professor Brett Zollinger, Fort Hays State; Professor Michael Smith, Emporia State; and Professor Alexandra Middlewood, Wichita State University. They’ll discuss Kansans’ views on: sin taxes, marijuana, minimum wage, elder care, water conservation and gun ownership. Q&A follows.
If you really want to make a difference in the midterms, this is your event. The Voter 2 Voter program uses a simple peer-to-peer online tool proven to increase voter turnout in Kansas significantly. In fact, the program has found that sporadic voters are 10 times more likely to vote if a friend asks them.
Join us at one of our kick-off events for the Boots on the Ground Voter 2 Voter team. We’ll learn how to use the tool, get tips on how to talk with friends about voting – and meet amazing people.
Space is limited. Please sign up only if you plan to attend. We understand things can come up at the last minute, but we’ll consider your reservation a commitment to join us. RSVP to attend. Links below.
Mon., April 27 | 6 - 7: 30 p.m. | JoCo Central Resource Library | 9875 W. 87th | OPKS
Thurs., May 14 | 6 - 7:30 p.m. | JoCo Central Resource Library | 9875 W. 87th | OPKS
This August, judicial impartiality will be on the line. Proposed amendment SCR 1611 would make the Supreme Court political and undercut the entire idea of checks and balances. Learn why it’s critical to VOTE NO on this amendment by attending these panel discussions. Keep cash out of our courts!
✅ Elected vs Appointed: Inform Your Vote, sponsored by the Voter Rights Network of Wyandotte County. Confirmed panelists include: Professor Steve Leben, UMKC Law School and former appellate court judge; Clay Wirestone, Opinion Editor, KS Reflector; and Teresa Woody, former founding Litigation Director at Kansas Appleseed
Sat. April 25 | 11 a.m. - 1 p.m | | West Wyandotte Public Library - Auditorium | 1737 N 82 St, Kansas City, KS 66112
✅ Who Will Control Supreme Court Judges if They’re Elected?, hosted by Boots on the Ground Midwest. Chief Judge Karen Arnold Burger, Kansas Court of Appeals, and David L. Stutzman, former District Judge, will discuss how the process of appointing Supreme Court Justices currently works and has worked for decades.
Wed. June 24 | 6:30 - 7:30 p.m. | Shawnee Mission Unitarian Universalist Church | 9400 Pflumm | Lenexa | RSVP here.
Mark your calendars for this fascinating look at how our country is moving toward fascism with Les Leopold, author of Wall Street’s War on Workers, and David N. Smith, author of The Anger Comes: Who Voted for Donald Trump in 2016 and Why?
Mon. May 4 | 6 - 7:30 p.m. | Trailside Center, 9901 Holmes, KCMO
The event is free but donations are always welcome to the Cross-Border Network for Justice and Solidarity’s Bienvenido Fund, which helps immigrants with legal fees and bail.
Precinct Committee Leaders represent their political party within a specific geographic area, called precincts. These are important positions but they’re often empty because people don’t file to run. Each precinct has two representatives for each political party, Republican and Democrat. It’s one of the most accessible ways to participate meaningfully in the political process and build leadership experience within your party. As a PCL, you:
Bring your community’s priorities to the table in broader party decisions
Influence candidate selection
Make sure voters have the information they need to get to the polls
Meet party leaders
Here’s how to run for PCL:
File as a candidate with your county election office before the deadline (typically June 1 at noon in election years):
Filing is typically simple, with no fee required, making PCL one of the most accessible elected roles for getting involved in local politics.
Here are three outstanding opportunities to learn more about what’s happening in our world today.
✅ Socialism 101: What is Capitalism?
Join the DSA for the first of a three-part series on the foundations of socialism. The first session will provide core insights and concepts to help prepare for subsequent sessions! RSVP to receive an email with reading materials. HYBRID
Thurs. April 23 | 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. | Turnsol Books | 1664 Broadway Blvd | KCMO |
✅ Say NO to New Nuclear Bombs: The KC chapter of Peace Works
Plutonium pits are the radioactive cores or triggers of nuclear weapons. The U.S. hasn’t mass produced these since 1989 and we have about 15K stockpiled. Still, the National Nuclear Security Administration is pushing to ramp up production. A public hearing will be scheduled HERE in KC. Why? Because 80 percent of the mechanical and electromagnetic (non-nuclear) parts to U.S. nuclear bombs are made here at the Kansas City National Security Campus on Botts Road.
Thurs. May 7 | 5:30 - 8 p.m. | Hillcrest Community Center | 10401 Hillcrest Rd.| KCMO
✅ BOTG Book Club: Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During This Crisis and the Next, by Dean Spade
UMKC professor Drew Bergerson will lead a critical discussion about the practical opportunities and challenges for cultivating mutual aid in our life today. Author Dean Spade is a lawyer, transgender activist and professor of law who outlines inot only the nature of mutual aid but many of the pitfalls that activists encounter when trying to implement it.
Wed. May 13 | 6:30 – 8 pm | First Lutheran Church, 6400 State Line Rd, Mission Hills, KS | RSVP
The Boots on the Ground calendar offers a curated list of action items in Kansas and the KCMO metro.
Please submit items for the calendar to: calendar@bootsonthegroundmidwest.org
First, thanks for being part of the resistance. We need every one of you!
We keep our work free because we want everyone to have access to information and resources aimed at preserving democracy and fighting authoritarianism.
You can support through Substack by opting for a paid subscription. Or, you can donate through ActBlue. Thank you so much!
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