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Congress was busy in December. How did social justice issues fare?
Congress’s last week in session in 2019 was dramatic, tense, and consequential for millions of people in America and around the world.
Continuing the Call for Pregnant Workers’ Rights
In June, we applauded the reintroduction of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, or PWFA (S. 1512/H.R. 2654), which gained bipartisan support for the first time since it was originally introduced in 2012. When the bill was reintroduced in June, only the Senate version of the bill was bipartisan—but now, the House bill is bipartisan as well!
Representative Mike Coffman (R-CO-06) joined the House bill as its first Republican co-sponsor. In the Senate, Senators Ayotte (R-NH) and Heller (R-NV) joined Senators Casey (D-PA) and Shaheen (D-NH) as lead sponsors, helping to lead the way in support of pregnant workers. This bicameral, bipartisan co-sponsorship is significant progress, meaning PWFA has a much stronger chance of moving forward in this Congress.
Garden of Sharon: A Community in Life Is a Community in Death
I’ve often wondered what it is like to be buried in the local Jewish cemetery that is a part of a much larger non-denominational facility in Long Beach, California.
A Woman’s Place is on the Money
When I was in eighth grade, my family and I took a vacation to England. It was an awesome trip, from visiting Oxford (or Hogwarts, as I recognized it) to Big Ben to the London Eye.
Learning from the Past to Create a More Economically Just Future
In this week’s Torah portion, Devarim (and the beginning of the book of Deuteronomy), Moses begins his recounting of the Israelites’ forty-year-long journey in the wilderness from Egypt to the Promised Land (Deuteronomy 1:1-21). Moses’ reflection on the past as the Israelites’ time of wandering comes starts to end offers a timely lesson for us to take stock of where we are in our journey towards economic justice.
A Woman’s Place is on the Money
When I was in 8th grade, my family and I took a vacation to England. It was an awesome trip, from visiting Oxford (or Hogwarts, as I recognized it) to Big Ben to the London Eye. Something else stands out about my first trip across the pond: seeing Queen Elizabeth’s face on pound notes was the first time I saw a woman’s face on paper money.
Over the past several months, the call to put a woman’s likeness on the twenty dollar bill has risen to national attention. Suggestions have ranged from Sojourner Truth to Emma Lazarus to Margaret Sanger. A grassroots campaign, Women on $20s, held an online election in which hundreds of thousands of voters chose Harriet Tubman as their top choice to appear on the bill.
Healthy Families, Healthy Nation
This Fourth of July weekend, we gathered together to celebrate our nation’s birthday and the values for which it stands. It is clear from their writings and the way they shaped our founding documents that the Framers and revolutionaries were concerned with the most basic articulation of justice and equality (as much as the prejudices of the time and of their lives would allow). Throughout American history, we’ve expanded and nuanced those rights, recognizing that laws about justice and equality touch even family life and workplaces. So, this early July as we celebrate the United States, we also celebrate state-level laws that are taking effect. Earlier this month, Connecticut’s paid sick days law, as well as laws in California, Massachusetts and in Eugene, Oregon are being implemented.
Catholic and Jewish Faith Traditions Call for Climate Action
Though Pope Francis may not know it, he and the ancient rabbis have a lot in common.
Making DREAMs a reality
By Jenny Swift
When I was a senior in high school, the question I was asked by family and friends more times than I would like was where I would be attending college next year. For students who are undocumented the question might be different: what will you be doing next year? It’s a small difference, but a noticeable one. Tens of thousands of children who have grown up in this county and have attended and graduated from public schools are stuck, without the opportunity to advance, because the documentation required to apply to college, and more importantly, federal aid, is often out of the grasp of students whose parents brought them to this country when they were small children. Future doctors, lawyers, teachers, and the scientist who will cure cancer are all unable to reach their true potential due to immigration laws that keep children down, not raise them up to achieve the American dream.
Recap: Catholic and Jewish Faith Traditions Call for Action on Climate
By Jennifer Queen
Listen to the full text of the July 15: Interfaith Update on Papal Encyclical webinar here.
Though Pope Francis may not know it, he and the ancient rabbis have a lot in common. As I participated in the Interfaith Update on the Papal Encyclical webinar yesterday, Rabbi Tarfon’s words, “it's not your obligation to finish the work, but neither are you free to desist from it,” from Pirkei Avot (2:15-16), continually came to mind. The conversation between Rabbi Jonah Dov Pesner and Rachel Laser from the Religious Action Center, founder of the Catholic Climate Covenant Dan Misleh, and Mark Rohlena from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, unfolded around Laudato Si: Sulla cura della casa commune (or Praised Be You: On the care of the common home), Pope Francis’ encyclical, released in June.