By now, I hope everyone in the tri-boro area has heard about the upcoming 10-2-10 March in Washington, D.C. The National NAACP is holding one of the most important rallies in decades entitled “One Nation Working Together” and it’s about reordering our nation’s priorities to invest in our most valuable resource—our people.
We believe everyone deserves the opportunity to achieve the American Dream—a secure job, a safe home and a quality education. In these times of economic crisis, it’s easy to find a scapegoat for the problems that plague us. One Nation Working Together seeks to transcend our superficial differences and bring us together in a common quest for equal opportunity and justice for all. We urge you to join us and add your voice to the new story One Nation Working Together seeks to create. The NAACP is leading the effort to build a broad coalition that will work to pull America back together, and put America back to work.
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Two years ago, NAACP members and our allies were responsible for one of the biggest surges in grassroots movement activity in history. Since then, by working together, we have successfully increased rights for women to work; expanded health care coverage to tens of millions of Americans; cut sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine by more than 80 percent; and created more than 3 million jobs throughout the economy. Yet we know that 8 million American jobs have been lost and not replaced, more than 2.5 million Americans have lost their homes, and 5 million are at risk of losing their homes, schools, farms and small businesses are closing at unprecedented rates. In each case, people of color are always worse off, and Black Americans are bearing an especially high portion of the burden. Moreover, as in the past, with real progress comes massive resistance and backlash. The Tea Party has risen to media prominence—too often welcoming appeals to racism and hatred as a motivating force within its ranks. We have stood up to the forces of extremism within the Tea Party because it is the right thing to do, and it’s what the NAACP has always done.
The mission of the NAACP has always called on us—in the face of disparity, injustice and rising hate—to build big, diverse coalitions that dream bold dreams and win big victories. Together we will rally in Washington, D.C. on Oct. 2 for jobs, justice and education.
The Pittsburgh Branch NAACP will host two buses to the Washington, D.C. rally and the trip is absolutely FREE. Call the Pittsburgh office at 412-471-1024 to sign up. Seats are on a first come/first serve basis. We invite you to “GET ON THE BUS.”
(Marcella Lee is second vice president of the Pittsburgh Chapter NAACP.)
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