Wednesday – September 16th
10:00 a.m. – 12:30 pm
Dear Friends of Racial Justice:
We are now in extra innings with the effort to change the state flag and seal, ban the use of Native mascots, and better protect Native cultural artifacts in Massachusetts.
At the end of July, the state Senate voted UNANIMOUSLY in favor of changing the state flag and seal, and sent the bill – which is now labelled S.2848 – to the House Ways and Means Committee. Shortly thereafter, the legislature voted to go into an unusual extended session, due to the COVID pandemic. This gives us a little more time to get the bill to change the flag and seal passed in the House, while we build more support in both chambers for S.247/H.443 (to ban the use of Native mascots at public schools in the Commonwealth) and S.1811 / H.2948 (to protect Native Heritage).
All supporters are invited to take part in a Zoom Lobby Day this coming Wednesday at 10:30 am – 12:30 pm during which we will hear from the lead legislators of the flag and seal bill, among others. Then we will contact our own legislators, either thanking them for their support of the various bills, and urging them to do more to reach out to their undecided colleagues, or asking them to reply if they have not yet indicated their support for S.2848 (to change the flag and seal) and the other two bills in the MaIndigenousAgenda that still have a chance of passage this session.
S.2848 – the bill to change the flag and seal – is closer to passage now than it has ever been (and we have been waiting for this small measure of Racial Justice to get approved for the last 36 years in a row!)
But we have been advised by House sponsors of the bill to change the flag and seal to build the list of known supporters of S.2848 among all House members until we can count at least 80 in support. In other words – we need to show House leadership that a majority of the members are willing to vote YES, in order to get the bill moved forward to a final vote during this unusual extended session. As of this moment, we can count 46 members who are already on record willing to vote YES. So we have our work cut out for us!
Please join us on the Zoom Lobby Day this coming Wednesday.
If you are not able to be with us at that time – but if you are willing to help contact undecided legislators in your part of the state – please contact: daviddetmold@gmail.com
Thank you!
To sign up for the Lobby Day, go to: http://masspeaceaction.org/event/virtual-lobby-day-change-the-flag-and-seal-and-ban-native-mascots/