Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Remembering Those We Lost

What We've Gained and What We Can Do Now

December 1st is a day to remember. Today marks the 60th anniversary of the day that Rosa Parks decided she wasn't going to move to the back of the bus. Today is the 21st iteration of World AIDS Day, and today is also the opportunity to take a break from the gift buying frenzy of the season and give to something bigger than our own individual circle of friends.

Rosa Parks helped spark a movement when she stood up against Jim Crow by sitting down. Rosa's courage to sit where she "didn't belong" on the bus, the courage of Rep. Lewis to march into a head-cracking mob of police, the courage of Martin Luther King Jr. to speak of his own death before reaching our shared goal, and the courage of countless others to be the change they wanted to see, has moved us further than even they could have hoped sixty years ago. But, we're not there yet. Racial profiling and disparate sentencing is still rampant. Educational and economic opportunity is still out of the reach of many people of color. There is still work to be done before we, as a people, get to the Promised Land.

HIV/AIDS has been with us for more than thirty years now. For twenty-one of those years, we have set aside December 1st as a day to remember those lost and those living with the disease around the world. As with Civil Rights, things have improved dramatically with few - in the United States -dying from the disease. Also as with Civil Rights, we're not there yet. Lack of availability of the drugs that can save them still kills many - estimated death due to AIDS worldwide for 2014 - 980,000 to 1.6 million. Throughout the world, including the United States, lack of education and availability to prophylaxis still allows new infections at an unacceptably high rate - approximately 2 million new cases worldwide in 2014. There is still work to be done before we can say that we are the generation.

Many of us have done our patriotic duty by observing Thanksgiving with an orgy of food, drink, football and parades. We've checked out the big deals, and then bought the more expensive stuff at the display by the checkout on Black Friday. We shopped in the neighborhood on Small Business Saturday and we waited by the computer for 12:01 AM on Cyber Monday to do the real binge shopping. Now's a chance to GIVE-back. The Tuesday after Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday has been designated as Giving Tuesday.

Take some time out from the holiday madness to make a donation - both time and money accepted - to Mama's Kitchen, or Kids Eco Club. Get involved in the campaigns to end AIDS now - #BeTheGeneration, or stopping sex trafficking - CAS Research & Education, or in support of women's reproductive health - Planned Parenthood. Or, just go out and buy stuff - like a business suit to donate to a homeless veteran trying to get herself out of poverty by getting a better job - Brown Bag Woman's Clothing Drive. You can even buy it at an AAPI, African-American, Chicano, or LGBT owned store and drop it off when you join us for our Holiday Party (see below) on December 20th.

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Joint Holiday Party

The Asian American Pacific Islander Democratic Club, Chicano Democratic Association, College Democrats of SDSU, Democrats for Equality, Martin Luther King, Jr. Democratic Club, San Diego County Young Democrats and UCSD College Democrats will hold a joint Holiday Party on Sunday, December 20th at the home of Denice Feldhaus and Susan Guinn. The party starts at 2:00 PM.

The Clubs will provide drinks, plates, utensils, etc. We ask you to bring your favorite holiday dish to share. Everyone should bring the sparkling repartee.

We're also asking you to bring gently used and new women's business clothes and toiletries to donate to homeless/under employed women veterans seeking a new/better start in civilian life (See Brown Bag Woman's Clothing Drive info below). If there is ANYONE who doesn't have women's clothing hidden away around the house, checks will also be accepted. We're also looking into other opportunities to give back to those in need during the holidays, so stay tuned.

We'll send you the address for the party when you tell us how many people you are bringing and what dish(s} you will be sharing, by RSVPing HERE.

Happy Holidays and see you on the 20th!

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Give A Hand Up To Women Veterans

It's not a secret that women, as a group, are more economically disadvantaged compared to men as a group. This is a trend that crosses all lines whether it's racial, ethnic or employment status. A significant barrier to employment/better employment for homeless and underemployed women veterans is having clothes appropriate for the jobs they are trying to get. San Diego Democrats for Equality invites you to get involved and make a difference with these veterans working to improve their own lives by donating clothes, toiletries and money to the cause.

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Club Officer Elections

Recently, the Club changed our By-laws to allow for continuity of experience on the Club's executive board by mandating two year, staggered terms for officers. In January, we will be starting the election process for officer elections for President, Vice-President for Resource Development, Secretary and At-Large Board Member.

January

Officer Nominations

February

Officer Elections

March

Installation of Officers

If you are interested in election to one of the Club offices, or would like to nominate someone else, contact us HERE. Nominations will be accepted from the floor at the January meeting.

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2016 All Peoples Celebration

Join us in honoring the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by attending the 2016 All Peoples Celebration. Now in its 28th year, the All Peoples Celebration is the preeminent event in San Diego County where more than 1,000 business leaders, elected officials, faith leaders, community organizers, artists and students come together for an inspiring program and common goal of honoring the work and sacrifice of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The event will take place Monday, January 18th 2016 from 10:00 - 11:30 AM at the Balboa Activity Center on the breathtaking grounds of Balboa Park. The program will be a dynamic commemoration of the Civil Rights Movement, featuring local musical and spoken work artists, multimedia presentations, and visionary speakers.

Tickets are $50 each. If you would like to attend with other Dems for Equality members, please let us know HERE.

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Celebrate 40 Years of Activism by Joining the Club

Democrats for Equality had a very successful 1st half of 2015 and we're well on our way to our goal of 400 members to celebrate our 40th Anniversary. Much of the progressive change in San Diego and in our community can be traced directly or indirectly through the work of our members.

We're not finished and we need you to get the job done. If you've let your membership lapse, NOW would be a good time to renew. If you want to be a part of the change, join NOW. Our members make history. Join us.

The Club depends on membership dues to keep the lights on and promote our

candidates and issues to the community. A large number of community members depend on our Voters Guide to help them make an intelligent choice when marking their ballots so your membership renewal is critical to ensure those Guides get into those hands. At the risk of sounding like a Public Television pledge drive, if you depend on our endorsements, Voters Guide, newsletters, social media posts and programs, you should be a member!

If your membership has lapsed or if you know your membership is soon to expire, please re-up now. You might also consider upgrading your membership to a higher level.

San Diego Democrats for Equality would like to thank Matthew Rice for upgrading to Patron level and Steven Paull for renewing at the Sustaining level. Welcome back for another eventful year. We'd also like to introduce our newest members, Kyle Heiskala and Carol Pierce. Welcome!

You can find out more about the Club's membership levels and benefits online HERE. If you would prefer to use a check, send the check, made out to Democrats for Equality to:

San Diego Democrats for Equality

PO Box 33050

San Diego CA 92163

Note that in order to comply with Federal and State election laws, please include your full address where you are registered to vote and your job title/employer with your check. Telephone number and email address would be nice too!

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What A Party It Was

The Club's 40th Anniversary Brunch was a success. Money was raised, people were thanked and a good time was had as we talked about where we are, how we got there and where we're going in the future.

Check out more pics from the big event in our Facebook album HERE.

Save the Date - 80th Anniversary Brunch

November 4th 2045

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Like Us, Really Like Us

San Diego Democrats for Equality's Facebook page has been number 1 among County Democratic Clubs for a while now. Even so, we've got quite a few new members so we're putting this out again. Please Like Us! Facebook includes the number of likes on a page as part of their complex algorithm to decide if our posts should be widely distributed or not. If you like us now, more people will see our Voter's Guide in their timeline next year. Twitter has different rules, but the effect is the same. The more people who follow us on Twitter means more people seeing our Tweets.

If you are on Facebook or Twitter and you haven't already liked/followed us, please do it now.

https://www.facebook.com/dems4equality

@SDDems4Equality

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Dems for Equality Endorsed Candidates 2016

President

Hillary Clinton

US Senate

Kamala Harris

Congress

CA-53 Susan Davis

CA-52 Scott Peters

California Senate

SD-39 Toni Atkins

California Assembly

AD-78 Todd Gloria

AD-79 Shirley Weber

Board of Supervisors

Dist 3 Dave Roberts

San Diego City Council

Dist 3 Chris Ward

Dist 7 Justin DeCesare

Dist 9 Georgette Gomez

SDUSD

Sub-Dist D Richard Barrera

Sub-Dist A John Lee Evans

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As we work toward a better future for our community and Country, take a couple minutes to remember what we've already done with a short history of the our accomplishments.