by Indivisible Tacoma | Sep 11, 2022 | Actions, Events
An honest and equitable education – all students deserve that. it’s time to kick our advocacy for public education into high gear!
Start with the Clover Park School Board, Monday, Sept.12, 6PM.
What can you do? Support the staff, administration, parents, and board members who work for honest and equitable education for all students.
~Write notes of encouragement to school personnel.
~Write a letter-to-the-editor celebrating the freedom to learn and the heroic daily work of educators.
~Attend school board meetings to show strength in the face of irrational attacks on public education.
Extremists may bring complaints about:
diversity-equity-inclusion policies, sex education, teaching about systemic race or gender impacts, etc. We have to be clear and strong standing for academic freedom.
Indivisible Tacoma now convenes a small group to work on school issues. If you would like to join, send an email to:
indivisibletacomachapter@gmail.com
Local school board meetings coming up:
CLOVER PARK SD
Monday, September 12, 6PM
Room 4 of the Student Services Center, 10903 Gravelly Lake Dr. SW, Lakewood
UNIVERSITY PLACE SD
Wednesday, September 14, 6:30PM
Educational Service Center, 3717 Grandview Dr. W, University Place, WA 98466
TACOMA SD
Thursday, September 22, 6PM
4th Floor Auditorium, Central Administration Building, 601 South 8th Street, Tacoma (Public parking and main entrance west side of the building at South G Street.)
FRANKLIN PIERCE SD
Tuesday, October 11, 6PM
Other local districts needing public education advocates:
PUYALLUP SD
BETHEL SD
PENINSULA SD
by indivisibletacoma | May 28, 2019 | Actions, Events, News
We’re ending spring with a bang as we gear up for summer and the 2020 election. Here’s what’s in this week’s newsletter.
Indivisible Tacoma General Meetings
? June: Tacoma Liquid Natural Gas Plant: Environmental Benefit or Tragedy?
With featured speakers Daniel Villa from 350 Tacoma and Bradley Thompson from 350 Seattle.
Weds. June 5, 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Tahoma Unitarian Universalist Congregation
1115 S 56th St Tacoma, WA 98408
Map with Directions.
? July: Disinformation and Elections
With featured speakers from FUSE Tacoma: Pierce County and the Progressive Voters’ Guide
Weds. July 10, 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Tahoma Unitarian Universalist Congregation
1115 S 56th St Tacoma, WA 98408
Map with Directions.
Learning from PLU’s Winning Gen Z Voter Registration Campaign
Riley Dolan and Deanna Hobbs talking with Indivisible Tacoma’s Sue Schaeffer on registering Gen Z voters Photo: Nina Rook.
Think of 74 million Americans who are growing up with school shootings and climate change, who don’t remember the world before 9/11, who are more diverse than any previous generation, and who saw the loser of the popular vote take the White House in 2016.
Now, how do we get them to register to vote?
Last week seven of us from Indivisible Tacoma and the Tacoma Women’s Think Tank sat down with Riley Dolan and Deanna Hobbs from Pacific Lutheran University (PLU). This duo’s voter registration efforts were featured in Forbes, and they just won the Governor’s Student Voter Registration Challenge. Naturally, we wanted to find out what makes their campaign so successful.
Among their findings:
- Show young people that other people their age register – they register when they see people like themselves
- Make it social – turn registering and voting into a social event (We loved the idea of ballot parties in coffee shops!)
- Show how small vote numbers swing the results of elections with major consequences
- Focus on engagement as well as registration – they mailed students “pledge card” reminders as the ballots were arriving
- Know your constituency – for instance, it does not make sense for an Alaskan student to register in Washington if this will cost them their Permanent Fund dividend; better register as an Alaska absentee voter
We thank Riley and Deanna, for giving us their time during a busy finals week.
Congratulations on Our Huge #StopTheBans Rally Turnout!
Wow. On Tuesday, May 21 at noon, nearly 200 of us came together at the U.S. District Courthouse in downtown Tacoma to protest harsh anti-choice laws in 15 states. This was part of a nationwide action to support freedom for women. We thank our members and progressive allies at 350 Tacoma, Indivisibles Puyallup and Gig Harbor, Red Berets Medicare for All, and others for this incredible turnout. And thank you, Damita O’Dell from our Events & Rallies team for organizing it.
Here are more photos from our Facebook feed.
by indivisibletacoma | Apr 27, 2017 | Actions, News
25 April 2017
Dear Mayor Strickland and Tacoma City Council Members:
Indivisible Tacoma is a nonpartisan group of over a thousand local citizens. We came together after the election out of concern that the Trump administration does not represent our welcoming, West Coast values. Although we are not experts on immigration, law enforcement, or the zoning of real estate, as neighbors and community members we reject the politics of fear.
Here are our thoughts on the zoning regulations before the Council today:
1. We are strongly opposed to the existence of any private prison anywhere, including here in Tacoma. No private corporation should be put in a position where profit steers them toward the incarceration and mistreatment of human beings.
2. We strongly support increased scrutiny of public correctional facilities, which should include a difficult permitting process that includes input from the community on whether this kind of facility is even addressing a genuine need, or whether we can find other solutions for public safety.
3. It is important to get this process right, and we do want the City Council to make sure that any regulatory framework the City imposes will be effective and will hold up in court. However, promptness is also important. Please update these zoning regulations and make them permanent as fast as possible.
4. We would like to request an additional hearing or other forum to discuss our concerns about human right violations at the Northwest Detention Center. We are very concerned with reports coming out of the NWDC about the conditions in which people are being held, the nutrition and hygiene situation, and the fact that detainees are being put to work for literal slave wages. We support the Northwest Detention Center Resistance and would like the City Council to listen to people with firsthand experiences and accept their guidance when directing the Health Department or other appropriate agencies to address these issues. An additional hearing would be very helpful.
Thank you for listening to our concerns. We look forward to speaking with you again at the next opportunity on conditions inside the Northwest Detention Center.
Sincerely,
Indivisible Tacoma
