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General WOW News
North Texas, specifically Collin County, has received a lot of national attention this year. Unfortunately the reason for this, just like after the El Paso massacre by a Collin County resident and the viral incident where a police officer pulled a gun on teenagers, relates once again to systemic sexism and white supremacy. From being home to several shocked insurrectionists facing the consequences of their actions, a county college that fired several female professors speaking out about the lack of COVID-19 precautions and daring to be part of a union, bullying that escalated into a hate crime, an 18-year-old walking home in a snowstorm with his groceries spending a night in jail after being arrested for "walking in the road," and 26-year-old Marvin Scott III dying in a county detention center after being pepper sprayed in the face.
When the massacre targeting Asian women hit the national news, the results of the amplification of hate once again came home. As local elections near, who represents us and what they do and say is even more important. Collin, Dallas, Denton, and Tarrant Counties are home to a variety of religious, cultural, ethnic, and economic backgrounds and experiences and deserve to be represented by people who reflect their constituents.
Local elections impact our lives the most, from county sheriff to city council to school district board to who those people appoint to the local boards and commissions that affect our infrastructure and funding. Even the biggest presidential election of our lifetimes only drew out 52% of the voting age population in Texas. In comparison, 4-8% turned out for each of the constitutional amendments of the last 10 years, and less than a quarter turned out to elect the governor from 2010 until 2018 when 42% showed up. And while 42% might seem like a lot, that means only eight million people voted, four million weren't registered, and therefore, couldn't participate, and seven million were registered but didn't vote. Eleven of nearly 20 million didn't participate in democracy. Even with early voting, there may be valid reasons why these Texans didn't vote, and Republicans in the Texas Lege have already introduced bills that would further restrict voting access.
Photo by Glen Carrie on Unsplash
We know it can seem discouraging to look at our elected officials who are choosing their voters, ignoring their constituents, and seeing a vocal subsection of hate around us. YOU ARE NOT ALONE. The millions of people who registered and didn't vote may have believed their votes didn't count but if they didn't, Republicans wouldn't be working so very hard to take them away.
Words matter. Elections matter. Please lift up your voice to stand against the discrimination and dehumanization of anyone because who they love, who they worship, where they were born, or what color their skin is. Please speak with your vote at the ballot box and show for the record that hate will be uprooted, and we will be the change we demand to see. Accountability belongs to each of us, and decisions are made by those who show up.
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WOW Committee Updates
Events and Outreach Committee
WOW Dems was the proud host of "And She Could Be Next", a documentary that focuses on a defiant group of women of color- as candidates and organizers- who are harnessing the political power of this New American Majority. We had close to 75 attendees for both our March 19th and March 26th viewings.
Our next general member meeting is Thursday, May 20 at 7:00 PM and will feature two guest speakers to discuss "Understanding & Preventing Anti-Asian Racism": Nancy Tien and Jan Xie.
Nancy Tiên is a Board Member with Act to Change, policy fellow with Leadership for Educational Equity and a lead organizer and founding member of Dallas Communities Organizing to Reach Equity (CORE). As a child of Vietnamese immigrants and a first-generation college graduate, she is passionate about pursuing equitable outcomes for communities of color and advocating for marginalized and underrepresented identities.
Jan Xie is the Founder and President of Asian Culture and Education Society USA, President of OCA-DFW, Board Director of AAUC, UCA and ACP as well as Board Director of Gendercide Awareness Project. She holds the Executive certification in Nonprofit Governance from The University of Texas at Dallas.
The Events and Outreach Committee meets the second Tuesday of every month at 7:30 p.m. via Zoom. If you are interested in joining us, please email eventsoutreach@wowdems.org.
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Candidates Committee
On Saturday, May 1, voters will head to the polls for local elections -- City Council, Mayor, School Boards, and Community College Boards of Trustees. These are nonpartisan elections and do not have primaries.
Last Day to Register to Vote: Thurs. April 1, 2021 Election Day is Saturday, May 1 but don't wait -- vote early!
Early Voting: First day: Mon. April 19 - Last day Tues. April 27 (check your county clerk website for times and locations)
... and don't forget to vote again on Saturday, June 5, 2021 in the Local Elections runoffs. This happens in certain races where no candidate gets 50% of the votes cast. The top two finishers will advance to a June 5 runoff. Runoffs are likely for Plano, Dallas, Allen City Council & others - verify with your city.
Again, please vote early and don't wait to vote on a busy Saturday. Early Voting is Mon., May 24 - Sat., May 29, Tues, June 1 (dates may not be the same everywhere - check your City website for info).
WOW Dems does not endorse in the municipal elections, although several of our members participated in endorsement processes with other groups and we encourage our members to consider supporting these candidates.
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Legislative Committee
We need YOU! Our democracy is under attack at all levels and we must remain laser focused. Our primary focuses right now are redistricting, encouraging voter registrars to help oversee voting rights are protected, and the actions of the Texas Legislature.
Redistricting: We stand with efforts of the League of Women Voters on redistricting. Learn more on their website.
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This month, we were excited to celebrate Women's History Month. Our President, Sarah Lassberg, wrote a blog article #HERSTORY for the occasion. We also shared articles on social media highlighting important women who paved the way, as well as posted ideas on how to celebrate Women's History Month.
We also continued to grow our web presence and content. Volunteer Caroline Evans, liaison between the Legislative and Communications committees, has been tracking bills and sending out Calls to Action on Facebook. Volunteer Vijayalakshmi Linman wrote the first in a series of healthcare articles for our blog, To Mask, or Not To Mask, about Greg Abbott's decision to reopen Texas will the pandemic continues to rage.
Our committee continues to grow, but we can always use more volunteers. We continue to seek blog content for our website. We can also use help with our social media, website maintenance and organization of our digital library. Email communications@wowdems.org if you are interested in helping.
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We are currently at 158 members, 80 of whom are new members. We will be reaching out to committee members to devise a plan to engage with members from 2020 that have not yet renewed their membership. If you are interested in joining, visit our Join page, or if you need to renew, visit our Renew page.
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Not yet a member? Join here.
Interested in some WOW Dems swag? Check it out here.
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WOW Dems | president@wowdems.org | wowdems.org
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