"Toni Morrison: The Pieces That I Am” Film Screening

The film has broadcasted nationally on PBS, and now the filmmakers are partnering with the DA Global Black Caucus, in liaison with the Together Is Better Alliance, for this special screening event and live Q&A!

RSVP below to join us for the live Q&A with Director Frances Causey.

We’re excited to share the PBS film THE LONG SHADOW, which follows former CNN Senior Producer, TED contributor, and Emmy-Award winning Director Frances Causey as she traces her family’s legacy of white privilege, placing it in the context of the history of anti-black racism in the United States that began with slavery and continues to impact our society today.

More about The Long Shadow

The Long Shadow provides much needed and critical background information about the institutional racist oppression and violence against African-Americans that has been perpetuated for more than 400 years. 

The Long Shadow follows former CNN Senior Producer, TED contributor, and Emmy-Award winning Director Frances Causey as she traces her family’s legacy of white privilege, placing it in the context of the history of anti-black racism in the United States that began with slavery and continues to impact our society today.

Frances Causey and Producer Sally Holst passionately seek the hidden truth and the untold stories of how America—guided by the South’s powerful political influence—steadily, deliberately and at times secretly, established white privilege in our institutions, laws, culture and economy.

We encourage you to watch the documentary prior to attending the event.

You can watch the documentary for free via PBS during a 7 day period from September 26th 2021 - October 3rd.  Be sure to RSVP to join the live Q&A September 30th 2021, 1 PM ET / 5 PM UTC / 7 PM CET / 1 AM HKT with Director Frances Causey.

“When you are accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression.”
- Frances Causey

More about the Together is Better Alliance

https://www.togetherisbetteralliance.org/ 

TiBA works to promote reconciliation and recovery through:

• Facilitating screenings of documentaries and other films and relevant information related to the history of slavery and racial inequality
• Conducting continuing conversation series in collaboration with educational, civil, faith-based, corporate, and other institutions committed to addressing the challenges of race in the US
• Continued development of strategic relationships with a broad range of individuals and organizations committed to addressing the issue of race relations
• Expanding and raising awareness around the issues of racism that exist in the US through a variety of strategies, including creating a presence in several locations across the US to perform the described activities, launching a lecture series with learned speakers on the issue of racism and its societal impact, and conducting educational tours to historically significant sites, museums, institutions, etc.

And don't forget to RSVP below for the Q&A!

Join us to map out our outreach for 2021 heading into the 2022 Midterms and crucial State and Local elections. Everyone is welcome! It's all hands on deck as we gear up for the coming months!

Saturday, Sept. 25th, 2pm Eastern/1pm Central/8pm CEST

Zoom info provided on RSVP

Connect with us: [email protected]

Twitter https://twitter.com/TXabroad 

FB Texans Abroad https://www.facebook.com/groups/314592981908872 

Date: Monday, September 27, 2021 at 12:00 pm ET (Washington DC) time
Location: Zoom
Event Title: Left of Karl Marx: The Political Life of Black Communist Claudia Jones by Carole Boyce Davies - - Global Progressive Caucus Book Discussion

All are welcome to attend. Join us!  

“Left of Karl Marx by Carol Boyce Davies is an engaging and long overdue scholarly treatment of the life of one of the most important and yet obscure Black radicals—Claudia Jones. . . . Overall, Left of Karl Marx is a fascinating study of a political figure that deserves recognition. Carol Boyce Davies has done a service to Black Studies and Women and Gender Studies by resurrecting this champion of justice. Now that this difficult work has been done, it is our job to engage it.” — Rashad Shabazz, Wagadu

“[I]t is a must-have for activists and academics alike.” — Brittany Shoot, Feminist Review

“[W]hat Boyce Davies offers to her readers with this book, is a masterful piece of scholarship, made accessible by the author’s skilful presentation of facts, narrative and analysis.” — Madeleine Kennedy-Macfoy, European Journal of Women's Studies

“Carole Boyce Davies offers a critical intervention for understanding how the life and work of black communist, activist and intellectual, Claudia Jones illuminates the interlocking trans-Atlantic histories of leftist politics, feminism, anti-colonialism and black internationalism in the twentieth century. . . . much like Claudia Jones, Davies reminds us that the history of twentieth-century Britain is indeed a history that encompasses the Caribbean, the Atlantic and the African Diaspora.” — Kennetta Hammond Perry, Twentieth Century British History

“Davies conducted extensive ethnographic and archival research to write Left of Karl Marx and her work successfully situates this Caribbean black radical intellectual and activist within a history of black radical thought. . . . The most important lesson we learn after reading Left of Karl Marx is that black women’s writings are fundamental to our discussions on black diasporic formation and political radicalism. How many other Claudia Joneses are in need of scholarly recovery?” — Keisha-Khan Y. Perry, International Feminist Journal of Politics

“Davies makes a strong case for taking Jones seriously as a militant intellectual whose work shaped radical thought in her lifetime and prefigured the currents of change in the decades after her death in 1964.” — Marian B. Mollin, Journal of American History

Participants need to know that if there are access, affordability, etc. problems for a book/books, they should contact co-leaders, John Esteban Rodriguez and Betsy Ettorre ([email protected]) who will help them with the listed books. Learn more about the proDA Book Club.

Location Local Event Start Time

The DA Germany Veterans and Military Families Caucus has several important announcements this month regarding donations to Afghan evacuees at Ramstein Air Base and military retiree benefits. 

Join DA Saxony and the newly formed DAG Climate Caucus on September 26 to discuss Growing a Revolution: Bringing Our Soil Back to Life by David R. Montgomery. 

You might have seen Kiss the Ground recommended to you on Netflix recently. While we highly recommend watching it, this book is also an in-depth analysis of the material covered in the documentary. David R. Montgomery is a MacArthur Fellow and geomorphology professor, internationally recognized for his studies on "landscape evolution and the effects of geological processes on ecological systems and human societies."

It can be exhausting to read tragic climate crisis stories constantly in the news, so that's why we're offering you a chance to meet with like-minded individuals who care about the environment. We hope to rejuvenate your passion about this issue and brainstorm possible solutions within our reach as Americans overseas. 

"For centuries, agricultural practices have eroded the soil that farming depends on, stripping it of the organic matter vital to its productivity. Now conventional agriculture is threatening disaster for the world's growing population. In Growing a Revolution, geologist David R. Montgomery travels the world, meeting farmers at the forefront of an agricultural movement to restore soil health. From Kansas to Ghana, he sees why adopting the three tenets of conservation agriculture – ditching the plow, planting cover crops, and growing a diversity of crops – is the solution. When farmers restore fertility to the land, this helps feed the world, cool the planet, reduce pollution, and return profitability to family farms." – Goodreads.com 

Our meeting location will depend on the weather that day.

Plan A: Pop up Biergarten "An der Fontäne", 06108 Halle (Saale)

RSVP to receive an email with the exact meeting location ahead of the event. 

By Beverly Seebach

On June 15, Democrats Abroad Germany revived the DAG Women’s Caucus with a Relaunch Event. Following a welcome by DAG Chair, Kenton Barnes, the Global Women’s Caucus Chair, Ann Hesse, gave an excellent overview of the GWC history, mission, and principles.

If you are overseas and your passport expired on or after January 1, 2020, you may be able to use your expired passport to return directly to the United States until December 31, 2021.

You qualify for this exception if all the following are true:

• You are a U.S. citizen.
• You are currently abroad seeking direct return to the United States.
• You are flying directly to the United States, a United States territory, or have only short-term transit (“connecting flights”) through a foreign country on your direct return to the United States or to a United States Territory.
• Your expired passport was originally valid for 10 years. Or, if you were 15 years of age or younger when the passport was issued, your expired passport was valid for 5 years.
• Your expired passport is undamaged.
• Your expired passport is unaltered.
• Your expired passport is in your possession.

Avast, me hearties! Calling all swabbies and mates with an interest in choral singing and a smartphone! DA Germany is pursuing a sea-shanty project with a GOTV twist. We’ve written a parody version of the extremely popular song "Wellerman" centered around the importance of voting from abroad. We have a simple arrangement with 5 parts (Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Baritone and Bass), MIDI rehearsal tracks and straightforward recording instructions for people who would like to learn it, record it and have it edited together as a choral piece.

Dash Nesbitt has generously agreed to serve as conductor and Daniel Hoever-Eckardt has consented to take on the tenor solo line, so we only need to collect a virtual choir for a full sound on the chorus. Depending on how much interest there is in this project, we can hold one or two sessions for Q&A or troubleshooting regarding the music, in lieu of a rehearsal. If you choose to participate, you are giving Democrats Abroad permission to use the video for its purposes. 

Please fill out this form to get started. Once we have your contact information and part preference, we’ll send you rehearsal materials so you can start recording. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to e-mail us at [email protected].

Statement by Angela Fobbs, Global Black Caucus Chair, and Julia Bryan, Democrats Abroad Global Chair

Justice has been delivered to George Floyd and his family, and we can all breathe a sigh of relief - for now. 

We must take this moment to not only deliver justice for the dead but to protect the living. We must help make our country a place where we can all breathe freely, a place where the color of our skin does not put us at risk. 

Philonise Floyd said after the verdict, "As an African American, we usually never get justice."

This inequality cannot stand. 

The House has passed the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. It is time for the Senate to do so too. Democrats and Republicans must rise to the challenge of our times, unite our United States behind this issue, and transform policing in America.

Our moral compass is bending towards justice. It’s time to put policies in place to make this transformation complete. The time is now. 

#BlackLivesMatter

********************
Take action now - contact your senators today and demand they support the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. 

Statement by Angela Fobbs, Global Black Caucus Chair, and Julia Bryan, Democrats Abroad Global Chair

Justice has been delivered to George Floyd and his family, and we can all breathe a sigh of relief - for now. 

We must take this moment to not only deliver justice for the dead but to protect the living. We must help make our country a place where we can all breathe freely, a place where the color of our skin does not put us at risk. 

Philonise Floyd said after the verdict, "As an African American, we usually never get justice."

This inequality cannot stand. 

The House has passed the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. It is time for the Senate to do so too. Democrats and Republicans must rise to the challenge of our times, unite our United States behind this issue, and transform policing in America.

Our moral compass is bending towards justice. It’s time to put policies in place to make this transformation complete. The time is now. 

#BlackLivesMatter

********************
Take action now - contact your senators today and demand they support the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. 

Spring has finally arrived – and not without many exciting updates from Democrats Abroad! Here is some of the most important news we have to share:

I. DA Germany is proceeding full steam ahead under the leadership of our newly elected 2021-2023 Executive Committee. The election results are listed below. 

II. Our chair and vice chair have special messages for all DAG members.

III. The GOTV team is hard at work devising strategies to increase voter turnout. Learn how YOU can make a difference in the 2021 elections and 2022 midterms. 

IV. Want to get involved in specific issue areas? DA’s Caucuses and local chapters have a lot of exciting events in store. 

V. Germany members can get great deals on awesome gear – all for a good cause! 

VI. Our communications teams are looking for volunteers. 

Keep reading to find out more!

Candice Kerestan's 2021 Birthday Fundraiser

As many of you know, Democrats Abroad has been a big part of my life since I moved to Germany seven(!) years ago, and it’s remarkable what the organization has accomplished in that time! This past election cycle, we engaged Americans abroad like never before and delivered decisive votes in races across the United States.

But as they say, “after the election is before the election”, and it’s important to me that we continue setting up Democrats for success in 2022. As I start this next year of my life, I invite you to join me in making a contribution to Democrats Abroad, an organization near and dear to me.

Donations are made to Democrats Abroad (Democratic Party Committee Abroad) and not to any candidate for Federal Office.

Donations to Democrats Abroad are not tax-deductible.

Happy Thanksgiving from everyone at DA Saxony! Our volunteers have created this very special video sending you their holiday greetings. Check it out to hear what they have to say!