Contra Costa NOW

The deadline to register to vote online in CA is October 21. Elections materials will be sent out to the voters starting this week.

Gottheimer forges coalition of representatives who pledge to abide by 2024 election results - New Jersey Globe In two months’ time, we’ll likely know who won the 2024 presidential election – but if the 2020 election was any indication, that’s no guarantee that

Information from the Rainbow Community Center:
Dear Rainbow Community,

We are thrilled to introduce ourselves as the new Co-Executive Directors of Rainbow Community Center. It is an honor to serve this incredible community and to continue building on the vital work that has been done to uplift, support, and empower everyone we serve.

Together, we’re committed to fostering inclusivity, creating safe spaces, and expanding the programs that make a real impact in people’s lives. We look forward to working with you, listening to your ideas, and continuing to grow as a community.

Thank you for your unwavering support, and we are excited for what lies ahead!

En comunidad,

Jorge & Cori
Co-Executive Directors

Rainbow Community Center Mental Health Services

Women's Equality Day Photos

Please join us for our Women's Equality Day Picnic. August 24, 2024, 11AM-1PM at Livorna Park.
Please RSVP to [email protected] by Aug 19
Please state your name and number of guests

HISTORY MADE. At 20 years old, Amit Elor is the youngest-ever American Olympic gold medalist in wrestling!

Video Collage for Kamala Harris
Thanks to the Virginia women’s rights coalition Network NOVA
NOT for commercial use

Celebration of Kamala Harris for President on Social Media Enjoy this celebration of all things Kamala Harris for President on social media to the ABBA song "Dancing Queen."Brought to you by the unstoppable women of ...

CA NOW State Conference
Saturday, August 10, 2024 at 9AM both Virtual and in person.
Contact: https://www.canow.org/2024-annual-conference/
for more information and/or to register!

Come join Contra Costa County NOW at this event on Saturday, August 17!

An Acalanes graduate from Martinez, Jewel Roemer is playing in her first Olympic games with women’s water polo, and she's already scored for Team USA. We wish Jewel and her team luck in their game against France tomorrow and in their quest for gold with Flavor Flav & USA Water Polo.

UPDATED: Women for Harris National Organizing Call · The Democratic National Committee NEW DATE: To accommodate the unprecedented demand, we are now moving the Sunday call to Monday, July 29th at 7:00 PM ET. We are committed to ensuring that all women can be a part of this moment. It is clear that we are fired up and ready to elect Kamala! We will see you Monday for a call with specia...

Contra Costa NOW 2024 Scholarship Winners

Haley Solis:
Haley Solis is an undergraduate student at Stanford University, where she is pursuing a degree in Environmental Systems Engineering. She attended Hercules High School where she founded their Environmental Club. One of her accomplishments while she was in high school was to implement a composting program. This was no easy feat as it required her to coordinate with the school district’s unionized custodial staff. She also set up composting programs for several small businesses in her community.

Thyra Cobbs:
One of our previous winners in 2021 Thyra Cobbs earned her Baccalaureate Degree in African American Studies at UCLA. At UCLA she currently is a McNair Scholar and also serves as Chairperson of the African Student Union. Thyra has been accepted to continue her studies at UCLA in their African American M. A. Program. Thyra is from the Brentwood area of Contra Costa County.

Each winner received a $1000 scholarship.

NOW On The Record
NOW Celebrates Juneteenth
June 19, 2024

Juneteenth, the day that marks of the end of slavery in the United States after the Civil War has been celebrated by African Americans since the late 1800s, but it wasn’t until 2021 that it became a federal holiday.

President Biden signed legislation to make June 19th a federal holiday that year, following the renewed demand for attention to be paid following the death of George Floyd the previous summer. Standing beside him was 93-year old Opal Lee, “the Grandmother of Juneteenth,” who as this NPR story explains, had waged a decades-long fight to make Juneteenth a U.S. holiday.

After decades of working on Juneteenth celebrations in her home state of Texas, with the Tarrant County Black Historical and Genealogical Society, at the age of 89 she decided to “spread the word about Juneteenth to everybody.” She set out on a walking campaign from her home in Forth Worth to Washington, D.C.

“I was thinking that surely, somebody would see a little old lady in tennis shoes trying to get to Congress and take notice,” she said. What became annual walks culminated in a trip to the Capitol to deliver a petition signed by 1.5 million Americans supporting a federal holiday.

You can learn more about Opal Lee, and about today’s Opal’s Walk 2024 here. And you can meet Opal Lee in this video from just this past Friday showing her recent Forth Worth homecoming.

Of course, having a federal holiday to commemorate the date that enslaved Africans and African Americans in Texas learned of the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation doesn’t mean that white supremacy has been put to rest. Black Americans are continuously mistreated and harmed by systemic racism, discrimination and denial of opportunity at every level.

Vice President Harris has declared this Juneteenth as one of three National Days of Action on Voting. With a focus on voter engagement, these National Days of Action on Voting aim to ensure all Americans have the information they need to vote, promote voter participation for students, protect election workers, and fight voter suppression laws. Other National Days of Action on Voting are the anniversary of the Voting Rights Act on August 6, 2024 and National Voter Registration Day on September 17, 2024.

Juneteenth has always been a family celebration with an eye on history. This November, we can change the course of history and keep the spirit of Juneteenth alive by electing more Black women! And more leaders who will fight for equality.

In solidarity,
Christian F. Nunes
President

NOW Hear This

Message from National NOW President Christian F. Nunes

May 17, 2024

Greetings Feminists,

When the Supreme Court overturned a half-century of nationwide legal protection for abortion in the 2022 Dobbs decision, the Justices ruled that Roe v. Wade was wrongly decided and it was time to “return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives” in the states.
But what happens when our system of representation in state legislatures is hijacked by big money, special interests and extremists intent on controlling the legislative process through partisan gerrymandering?

The Dobbs ruling followed a ruling from 2019 that said the Supreme Court had no role in addressing partisan gerrymandering—where instead of voters picking their political leaders, politicians get to pick their voters by manipulating the boundaries of districts and engaging in blatant voter suppression.

Twenty states now ban or restrict abortion—five with no health exception and ten with no r**e or in**st exception. But many states with draconian antiabortion laws have strong reproductive-rights supporting majorities.

Research performed by Christopher Warshaw, a political scientist at George Washington University looked at what percentage of people in each state support legal abortions found that a majority of the public in about 40 states supports legal abortion rights.

Writing in the Washington Post, Professor Warshaw said:
“The Supreme Court majority says that its decision returns authority to the people and their elected representatives. In many states it is in fact providing politically insulated legislators with the opportunity to enforce antiabortion policies opposed by a majority of their population.

“State governments are playing an increasingly influential role in the lives of Americans in a wide range of policy areas. Now that the Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade, state governments will become even greater forces in shaping the lives of Americans.”

The Brennan Center for Justice says,
“There is a straight line from America’s broken systems of democracy to the Supreme Court’s catastrophic majority ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health. That’s because both abortion access and systems of civic participation and representation are essential for autonomy and equality.”

NOW members know how important it is for Congress to pass legislation that would end partisan gerrymandering and restore true representation to our democracy.

In solidarity,
Christian

Anti-Abortion Laws Cause More Domestic Violence Deaths, According to New Study Since 2007, Jezebel has been the Internet's most treasured source for everything celebrities, s*x, and politics...with teeth.

Douglas Emhoff Wants Men to Stand Up for Abortion Rights—He Should Start With Joe Biden! Since 2007, Jezebel has been the Internet's most treasured source for everything celebrities, s*x, and politics...with teeth.

Missouri Anti-Abortion Groups Seem to Think Missourians Are Super Dumb Since 2007, Jezebel has been the Internet's most treasured source for everything celebrities, s*x, and politics...with teeth.

Florida’s 6-Week Abortion Ban Takes Effect: ‘Not Survivable’ Since 2007, Jezebel has been the Internet's most treasured source for everything celebrities, s*x, and politics...with teeth.

Trump Says He'd Let States Surveil Pregnancies So They Can Prosecute Women for Violating Abortion Bans Since 2007, Jezebel has been the Internet's most treasured source for everything celebrities, s*x, and politics...with teeth.

Go to **shoutforequality.com** and learn how you can use your voice to enshrine the ERA in the constituiton.

This Campaign for Women's Equality Reinvents the Petition Ogilvy and the ERA Coalition reinvented the petition to galvanize the TikTok generation behind a fight for women’s equality.

New House Speaker Mike Johnson Wants Women to Pop Out 'Able-Bodied Workers' to Fund Social Security House Republicans spent the last three weeks debasing themselves to find a new Speaker. They've chosen an election-denying anti-abortion extremist.

22 Democrats Sponsor a Bill That Could Censor Abortion Info From the Internet The Kids Online Safety Act is “a blank check” for Republican AGs to "intimidate any way they can," a digital civil liberties advocate told Jezebel.

The Crushing ‘Double-Whammy’ of Surviving Assault Only to Face Student Loans A new bill aims to give campus survivors a 3-year grace period to help them try to heal before the debt piles up.