Hi Everyone!                                                                                               October 4, 2016

Thanks for supporting the work of the Transformative Justice Coalition (TJC)! 

The Transformative Justice Coalition  is a nonpartisan, 501(c)(3)  nonprofit organization , formed in 2015
by Renowned Civil Rights Leader Barbara R. Arnwine.


On Tuesday, October 4th from 12:00-1:00 p.m. EDT, please join radio show host Barbara Arnwine, Founder and President of Transformative Justice Coalition, and her guests: Sharon J. Hill of the National Women's Political Caucus; Glynda C. Carr, co-founder of Higher Heights for America; and other prominent women's leaders and political activists. Click on each guests' names for their bios and click on the show title for the full show description. Barbara and her guests will detail the First Annual Fannie Lou Hamer Birthday of Political Action to be held on October 6th, 2016.  This special 99th Birthday celebration will highlight and promote the incredible legacy of Fannie Lou Hamer, who galvanized Black political power in the South in the 1960's.  The Political Day of Action will focus on the push for voter registration before the closing of voter registration in numerous states on October 8, 9, 10th and 11th. How do we educate and continue Fannie Lou Hamer's legacy?  How do we mobilize voters before voter registration deadlines close?  What are the plans for celebrating the critical 100th Birthday Anniversary next year?

If you can't listen live or you just want to hear the show again, you can listen to the podcast on BarbaraArnwine.com after 8:00 PM EDT on Tuesday. You can also catch up on key highlights from the show or follow along by searching "#IgnitingChange" on your Twitter or Facebook, or by scrolling down the timeline of our @TJC_DC Twitter or @TJC.DC Facebook accounts. We live tweet during every show!
Voter Registration Deadlines 

The following is taken from 
MSNBC's "The Rachel Maddow Show". 
Click screenshot below to be taken to the first part of the video clip. Video clip of interest that we recommend starts at :18 (18 seconds) and goes through the end of video. (Skip ahead to the 18 second mark by dragging the cursor along the bottom of the video; we do not endorse anything said before this part of the video)
See below for continued video clip.  Click the screenshot below to be taken to the second part of the video clip. Video clip of interest that we recommend starts at the very beginning and ends at :56 (56 seconds). We do not endorse anything said after this point in the video.
Don't have a minute to spare? We understand! Below are the remaining slides Rachel Maddow showed that highlight the voter registration deadlines.  
States M-N Registration Deadlines 
States O-W Registration Deadlines 
    Happy October!
Please note: Transformative Justice Coalition does not own some of the pictures used in the image above; they have been collected using Google Images from a number of sources. If there is an individual, unedited picture that  is used below, its original source can be viewed by clicking on the image. 
Hello, and happy October, on behalf of all of us here at Transformative Justice Coalition. October is often most well-known for fall weather, pumpkin pie, and Halloween, and all the new scary movies and attractions that come with it. However, the month of October, especially in this election cycle, is so much more than just Halloween. October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month,  Breast Cancer Awareness Month, National Disability Employment Awareness Month, and  Filipino American History Month. Not only is it a symbolic month to raise support, education, and awareness of important issues; but, it's also an important political month. We're not just talking Presidential Debates: as we highlighted above, most voter registration deadlines are this month. And if you miss your voter registration deadline, then you won't be able to vote in November in the Presidential or local elections! Lastly, October holds important key dates like October 6th, which is Fannie Lou Hamer's 99th Birthday Anniversary and newly-declared Annual Fannie Lou Hamer Day of Political Action, and October 10th, which is Indigenous Peoples' Day (also known as Native American Day). You can read more about all of these important dates and celebrations below, and we hope you have a great October and that you make the most of this critical month. 
  Oct. 6th- First Annual Fannie Lou Hamer Day of Political Action

Reporting by: Caitlyn Cobb   

"Fannie Lou Hamer (1917-1977) was a civil rights activist whose passionate depiction of her own suffering in a racist society helped focus attention on the plight of African-Americans throughout the South. In 1964, working with the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), Hamer helped organize the 1964 Freedom Summer African-American voter registration drive in her native [home,] Mississippi. At the Democratic National Convention later that year, she was part of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, an integrated group of activists who openly challenged the legality of Mississippi’s all-white, segregated delegation....She brought the civil rights struggle in Mississippi to the attention of the entire nation during a televised session at the convention. The next year, Hamer ran for Congress in Mississippi, but she was unsuccessful in her bid. Along with her political activism, Hamer worked to help the poor and families in need in her Mississippi community.

She also set up organizations to increase business opportunities for minorities and to provide childcare and other family services. Hamer died of cancer on March 14, 1977, in Mound Bayou, Mississippi."
The African American Women and the Law Conference (AAWLC) and other supporters have declared October 6th as the Annual Fannie Lou Hamer Day of Political Action . The Political Day of Action will focus on the push for voter registration before the closing of voter registration in numerous states on October 8, 9, 10th and 11th. Events will include a twitter town hall and other events to celebrate African American political power and the need for African American women to be elected into office. The twitter town hall will take place this Thursday, October 6th at 3:00 PM EDT via our @AAWLC2016 twitter handle. We are also urging everyone to change their profile pictures to a picture of Fannie Lou Hamer on October 6th-9th to show your support.
Oct. 10th- Indigenous People's Day!

"'In fourteen hundred and ninety-two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue!'...Ask someone who Christopher Columbus is, and you'll get some variation on that chant about the man who 'discovered' America...But, as we know, Columbus didn't so much 'discover' America, as 'land on an already inhabited continent and claim it as his own.' Did it take bravery to sail off into the unknown? Absolutely. But it's kind of disrespectful to the land's indigenous people to claim Columbus 'discovered' it...The idea of Indigenous Peoples' Day is starting to catch on in a number of cities across the country... Why not just have a separate holiday for indigenous people? In Seattle's resolution to adopt Indigenous Peoples' Day in place of Columbus Day, they explained it like so:

'The City of Seattle has a responsibility to oppose the systematic racism towards Indigenous people in the United States, which perpetuates high rates of poverty and income inequality, exacerbating disproportionate health, education, and social crises.'

The United States' history regarding the Native American population has been filled with everything from genocide to theft to systemic discrimination and exclusion. Columbus existed. He had a massive impact on history. But maybe he's not worth celebrating as some sort of savior or hero. If anything, this is a call to remember Columbus' history in a more thorough, accurate sense."
Filipino American History Month
"The Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS) has been observing October as Filipino American History Month for the past 21 years, since 1991. The month was established to commemorate the first documented landing of Filipinos in what is now kown [sic] as the continental United States over 425 years ago. FANHS was the first to pass a resolution to commemorate Filipino American History Month...The United States Congress passed subsequent Resolutions to Recognize October as Filipino American History Month nationally in 2009, 2010, and in 2011. Thank you to all the friends of FANHS nationwide and in D.C. who made it possible."
National Disability Employment Awareness Month


 "Americans with disabilities are entitled to the same rights and freedoms as any other citizen -- including the right to dignity and respect in the workplace.  Too often in our Nation's history, individuals with disabilities have been eager to work but could not find a job, facing red tape, discrimination, or employers who assumed that disabled meant unable and refused to hire them.  This month, we recognize the significant progress our country has made for those living with disabilities, and we honor the lasting contributions and diverse skills they bring to our workforce." -President Barack Obama 
  Domestic Violence Awareness Month

Reporting by: Caitlyn Cobb

We have heard the painful statistics on domestic violence. We have heard that it affects women more than men, and we assume that it affects heterosexual relationships more often than it affects the LGBTQIA community. Some of the harrowing things we have heard are true; others are not, and the truths are even more heinous...As the image above depicts, just when you thought you knew all there was to know about the dehumanizing act of domestic violence, you figure out you didn't know what you thought. ...If these statistics aren't making your stomach turn already, 21 "LGBT people [were] murdered by their intimate partners in 2013. Fifty percent of them were people of color. This is the highest documented level of domestic violence homicide in the LGBT community in history." (n. 3) It is 2.6 times "more likely [that] a transgender person of color [will] become a victim of intimate partner violence than a non-LGBT person. (n. 3)   Which brings us to the next terrible domestic violence fact:
...Gun violence, homelessness, poverty, police brutality, structural racism, patriarchy, sexism- it is all intertwined with domestic violence. Be aware this October, because domestic violence isn't far from anyone's doorstep. 
  Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Reporting by: Caitlyn Cobb
Just like domestic violence, there are some surprising statistics about breast cancer and is another thing you should be aware of this month and all year long.

"About 1 in 8 U.S. women (about 12%) will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of her lifetime. In 2016, an estimated 246,660 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed in women in the U.S., along with 61,000 new cases of non-invasive (in situ) breast cancer...For women in the U.S., breast cancer death rates are higher than those for any other cancer, besides lung cancer. Besides skin cancer, breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among American women. In 2016, it's estimated that just under 30% of newly diagnosed cancers in women will be breast cancers...In women under 45, breast cancer is more common in African-American women than white women. Overall, African-American women are more likely to die of breast cancer. For Asian, Hispanic, and Native-American women, the risk of developing and dying from breast cancer is lower...About 40,450 women in the U.S. are expected to die in 2016 from breast cancer, though death rates have been decreasing since 1989. Women under 50 have experienced larger decreases. These decreases are thought to be the result of treatment advances, earlier detection through screening, and increased awareness."
 As with everything discussed in this newsletter, awareness isn't enough- you need action. Ladies, take action and find out how to get free or low cost mammograms or more breast cancer information by using the link below.
  UPCOMING BARBARA ARNWINE SPEAKING EVENTS 

* Oct. 22nd--Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, NAACP Freedom Fund Banquet 
* Nov. 17th -- Washington D.C., Independent Sector  
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