Deed’s Digest from Wendy Davis

The Newsletter of the Deeds Not Words Community

January 10th, 2016 | Deeds Digest No. 34

Hello #ChangeMakers!

With nomination hearings beginning on Capitol Hill, your actions are desperately needed. Today and tomorrow, Senator Jeff Sessions will undergo his confirmation hearing as the nominee for attorney general. This excellent Vox article explains what’s at stake. Senator Sessions will have an opportunity to undermine decades of voting rights protections, to accelerate deportations of undocumented immigrants, and to loosen oversight of police department adherence to civil rights protections, just to mention a few.

Take note of the outcome, #ChangeMakers, and hold your congressional members accountable if they do not vote in a manner in keeping with your values.

Next week, on the 17th, is Betsy DeVos’ confirmation hearing on her appointment to become education secretary. Many legitimate concerns have already been voiced about Ms. DeVos’ animosity toward traditional public schools and her work in Michigan to weaken accountability of for-profit charter schools. Her appointment threatens to destabilize our public schools and create a dramatic ripple-effect into the education, and therefore the opportunities, of countless American students.

Lesser known is the power she will have as education secretary in enforcing the protections against gender discrimination embedded in Title IX of the Civil Rights Act. Title IX has been successfully used to hold colleges and universities accountable when they fail to protect women’s rights to be free from sexual discrimination, harassment and violence as part of their education experience. Because Betsy DeVos will have the power to enforce or weaken those protections, our partners at Know Your IX and End Rape on Campus have teamed up to ensure DeVos' nomination hearing is also a platform to ensure the continuation and strengthening of Title IX’s protections.

Sofie Karasek from End Rape on Campus explains the #DearBetsy campaign, and why #ChangeMakers must hold Betsy DeVos accountable for Title IX's continued protections.

In our “DO” section below, find ways to support asking DeVos to pledge her continued support for Title IX’s protections. You’ll also find ways to contact your congressional members and ask them to press Ms. DeVos to do so in her confirmation hearings.

So, as our “DO” section suggests, sign their petition and record your videos #ChangeMakers. And thanks for all you "DO"!

xo,
- Wendy

This week’s #ChangeMaker: Minnah Stein

Minnah is committed to ending sexual assault, which she believes to be one of the largest civil rights issues of her generation. At just 16, she has made a huge difference in this area and isn't stopping any time soon. Minnah believes that, because K-12 schools serve as the breeding ground for college sexual assault, we must tackle the problem where it starts in to reduce the number of sexual assaults later on in college.

To fight this root cause, she started a community action program called EMPOWERU, conducting local outreach with sexual assault prevention and education programs throughout high schools in her county. Eventually, this led her to found to Stop Sexual Assault In Schools (SSAIS.org), a nonprofit spearheading the movement to end sex discrimination in K-12 schools. SSAIS has now launched the Sexual Harrassment: Not In Our School! initiative, using video content to support this education.

You are amazing Minnah Stein, and we are blown away by your #Deeds!

Know a hero making a difference in their community? Send us a picture of someone you’d like to see as #ChangeMaker of the week here, along with their story, and you might just see it in the next Deeds Digest.

This year's Golden Globe Awards was chock full of #GirlPower. 2017's first red carpet event showed how women are speaking and owning their truth and their power.

Our fearless leader Wendy Davis outlines a plan to fight the defunding of Planed Parenthood with all our might.

"We need to call work what it is—work—whether you do it at home or whether you do it out in the labor force," Melinda Gates. Read how Ryan Gosling's Golden Globe reception speech thanking his partner Eva Mendes is an important step for society.

"The idea that rapists solely exist in dark alleyways ready to pounce on unsuspecting women is an outdated and even dangerous notion." Read why.

Here are some great examples of #DearBetsy campaign videos. See our #Do section below to learn how to make your own!

To sway this hearing, we must know what we're asking Betsy for! Read up on the history of Title IX and what it includes to make the best informed #DearBetsy video. (Instructions on how to DO that below!)

Did you know 90% of campus sexual assaults are committed by perpetrators that the survivor knows? Knowing the facts on gender based violence makes it easier to shut down those who think it's not a big deal!

Below are actions #ChangeMakers you can take to ensure Title IX is upheld and enforced by our incoming administration:

Supporter

Add your name to the petition to ask Betsy DeVos to keep students safe and enforce Title IX.

Advocate

Call your representatives to ensure they hold Betsy DeVos accountable for answering questions on Title IX:

You can find the members of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pension Committee here.
When you call them, use these talking points to help you express why Title IX is essential in protecting each student's right to equal access to education and an educational experience free from violence

Activist

Make a video explaining why #TitleIX matters to you. Sharing your story is the best way to get Betsy's attention and educate others in the process:

Use these talking points to help you express why Title IX is essential in protecting each student's right to equal access to education and an educational experience free from violence
Share the video on social media and tag @BetsyDeVos using the hashtag #DearBetsy (pre-drafted tweets might help you get started!)

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