Progressive Maryland tries to keep activists up to date on the matters that really matter. Here is our account from last week, starting with federal issues that affect every worker and working family in Maryland.

Media conventional and unconventional give us a perspective on the pandemic's latest threat, the enduring climate threat, Build Back Better in the Senate sausage machine, and other issues.

This Indigenous Peoples Heritage Month, we acknowledge the Accohannock Indian Tribe, Assateague Peoples Tribe, Nause-Waiwash Band of Indians, Piscataway Conoy Tribe, Piscataway Indian Nation, Pocomoke Indian Nation and Youghiogheny River Band of Shawnee Indians as the original stewards of Maryland's lands.

It is our responsibility as settlers to acknowledge the ongoing effects of settler colonialism, and to recognize that we benefit from the displacement, genocide, and past and present violence against Indigenous people on whose ancestral lands present-day United States, including the state of Maryland, stands. 

How you are doing has a lot to do with where you start. In an age when many politicians like to point to a "level playing field" we need to check out the history of inequality to make good judgments on how to make change that works for all of us --including our state's use of federal funds.

As we approach the Thanksgiving holiday, we’re taking time here at Progressive Maryland to focus on gratitude and giving. 

We draw instruction and inspiration from social justice movement leaders everywhere, especially during these tumultuous times. We’re so grateful for their work and perspective. Our grassroots members, supporters, and volunteers who persisted with us in the struggle to get the U.S. House of Representatives to pass the Build Back Better Act last Friday inspire us, too. Now it’s time to take the fight to the Senate!

November is Native American Heritage Month, and we hope our efforts honor our Native American brothers and sisters.

Thanks for all you do — have a safe and happy holiday!

In Solidarity,

The Progressive Maryland Team

Progressive Maryland and Working Families Party have announced their allied endorsement of Robbie Leonard, a "proven champion of justice," for Baltimore County State's Attorney. "Voters are ready for real criminal justice reform ..."

Thank you for your ongoing support! Today’s Memo has updates, calls to action, news about our upcoming events, and ways to stay involved. We hope you’ll continue to support our issue campaigns and check out our opportunities to volunteer for the 2022 elections!

Thanks for being in this together.

In Solidarity,

The Progressive Maryland Team

We’ve had a busy start to November and we can’t let up until Congress votes to pass the Build Back Better budget deal, the Freedom To Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.  And given the attacks by right wing lawmakers around the country on reproductive rights and on policies that support unions and the right to organize we should also be urging the House and  Senate to  pass legislation that will  guarantee abortion health care for women and workplace democracy for workers. Congress did pass and the President did sign the infrastructure bill (BIF) last week. We preferred to see Infrastructure and BBB voted on at the same time but there is a promise and a plan coming together for a vote next week on the budget deal. There are things to cheer about in the infrastructure bill: job creation, funding to  help mitigate environmental and health hazards posed by lead water pipes and Superfund sites, and investments in public transit and the manufacture of solar panels and wind farms that will help us green our energy supply. But we have more to do. Read on, and find out how to pitch in.

"[It's easy to fall for the] myth that the fight for LGBTQIA rights was only about protecting wealthy white people like Caitlyn Jenner. This false narrative is currently spread by numerous online commentators, who are hostile to the idea of transgender people. I discovered the irony of this false narrative when I started to investigate the history of trans-gendered people across the world. The white supremacy that caused racist whites to segregate schools based on race was the same white supremacy that attempted to invalidate the fluidity of gender and sexuality identities.  

     While it may seem like endless letters are being added to the LBGTQIA label, a deep dive into human history reveals just how fluid the idea of gender has always been in cultures around the world.

On the eve of the nail biting Virginia elections and Supreme Court hearings on reproductive rights it may be hard to feel optimistic or to stay determined. We get it--right wing groups and the public officials who support them seem at times to be holding sway even though our positions on issues are popular among voters. The public knows that things like the Build Back Better Act will help many people, especially folks facing health and housing insecurity issues, workers, seniors, kids and everyone who lives in a community that desperately needs public resources and government support. That’s why we need to keep organizing; we can’t let others discourage us from speaking up and speaking out for better laws and public policies.

This week the Build Back Better (BBB) agenda may finally get a vote, along with the infrastructure bill (BIF.) These budget proposals and policies in their final form will not contain all the things for which we have been advocating. But if taken together (BBB and BIF)  the approach that the Congressional Progressive Caucus has insisted on,  they will create a framework for delivering hundreds of billions of dollars in investments for education, universal pre-K,  jobs, healthcare programs, home care, housing, clean energy and climate initiatives, The passage would mean that long overdue upgrades to human and physical infrastructure can finally begin to happen.  We have also not  given up on getting Rx price negotiations into the final package; nor will we  back down on demanding that the Medicare expansion piece include dental and vision care.  Many organizations and dozens of Congressional Democrats, not a single Republican it should be noted, have joined together to save Medicare expansion (see below.)   

Thanks for keeping the faith and for rallying, texting, phone banking and volunteering to win the transformative change we need.

In Solidarity,

The Progressive Maryland Team