Progressive Priorities for 2023 and Beyond

    • What are our highest overall goals?
    • What policies must we champion?
    • What must be our primary activities?
    • What can we do to prepare for the DA Annual General Meeting?

Our members are providing their input on these questions with our membership survey. If you have not yet done so, please complete it now. Then join us to analyze the results and craft our plan for 2023 and beyond!

Our Global Chair, Candice Kerestan, and Executive Director, Jarryd Rauch, have agreed to join us briefly to discuss how we can optimize our effectiveness in collaboration with them.

We also invite all interested in learning more about the roles of DPCA Voting Representative and DA leaders to attend a 30-minute information session following the meeting.

Nominate your favorite motivational songs to open and close our meeting by email to [email protected]

Make it monthly! Consider a monthly donation to support the impactful work of DA volunteers around the world, making the margin of victory in close races. Please donate whatever you can today. Thank you!

Please RSVP below for the Zoom link.

How do we reverse increasing income inequality in the United States? A 21st-Century Economic Bill of Rights would guarantee all people residing in the United States the right to the essentials of a good life, regardless of their income, race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or country of origin. Join our guest speakers to learn more about this progressive proposal and what we can do to implement it.

Confirmed speakers:

• Harvey J. Kaye: American historian and sociologist. Author of several books, including “Thomas Paine and the Promise of America” and “The Fight for the Four Freedoms.” He is Professor Emeritus of Democracy & Justice Studies and the Director of the Center for History and Social Change at the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay.
• Alan Minsky: Executive Director of the Progressive Democrats of America and a lifelong activist, who has worked as a progressive journalist, as Program Director at KPFK Los Angeles, and coordinator for Pacifica Radio’s national coverage of elections.

Here are some resources to prepare for the event:

Article: “A Call for All Progressive Candidates and Officeholders to Embrace a 21st Century Economic Bill of Rights.” Alan Minsky and Harvey J. Kaye. Common Dreams, 23 February 2022.
Video: "The Ethos of the Greatest Generation"- Discussing the Four Freedoms with Harvey Kaye. FDR Library, 4 January, 2023.

All are welcome to attend! Please RSVP to receive the Zoom link.

Thanks to our co-sponsors: Global Black Caucus, Reparations Task Force, proDA Austria, proDA Germany

RSVP below for the Zoom link!

While there is no donation required to attend, the suggested donation for this event is $10. Click here to donate. Help Democrats Abroad volunteers mobilize voters around the world. Help us fight for progressive policy changes in the new Congress!

A cornerstone of international Black political thought, reparative justice is a demand Democrats of all backgrounds can no longer afford to ignore.

Join the Democrats Abroad Reparations Task Force on January 28 at 10:00 a.m. EST as we discuss the post-George Floyd movement for reparations in the United States. Together, we will learn what reparations are and what they are not, with the help of two esteemed Black thought leaders:

• Nina Turner, former Ohio state senator
• Dr. William “Sandy” Darity, economist and social sciences researcher

As preeminent figures in the modern-day reparations movement, Senator Turner and Dr. Darity will help us gain insight into what drives our party’s most loyal voting bloc: Black Americans.

All are welcome to attend! Please RSVP to receive the Zoom link.

Thanks to our co-sponsors: Global Progressive Caucus, Global Black Caucus

International Voter Registration Day is almost upon us!

Each year, U.S. citizens around the world come together on January 15 to register to vote and request their absentee ballots. Overseas voters should register and request their ballots every calendar year.

Go to VoteFromAbroad.org this International Voter Registration Day to make sure you are all squared away for 2023, and don't forget to contact your local election official to make certain that your Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) was received. You never know when a surprise election may come up, and we need all of our voices to count to elect good candidates into office!

If you have questions, feel free to reach out to [email protected]. 

Looking to make a difference in the 2022 midterm elections? Consider becoming a Voting Assistance Officer. The U.S. Consulate in Frankfurt is hosting a special online Q&A and training session on April 29 from 1:00-3:00 p.m. CET. All U.S. citizens are welcome to attend!

Zoom Meeting ID: 915 9300 2779

Password: XayYz0

This month, all eyes are on Pennsylvania, Ohio, Georgia, and North Carolina as we gear up for May primaries. If you have not registered and requested your absentee ballot, go to VoteFromAbroad.org today.

The Global Progressive Caucus, together with the Global Black Caucus, Ohio State Team, and Reparations Task Force, invites you to a special conversation with the one and only Nina Turner on December 11 at 9:00 a.m. ET / 3:00 p.m. CET / 10:00 p.m. Beijing time! 

We hope everyone had a spooky, festive Halloween weekend!

With Election Day almost upon us, Democrats Abroad Germany is laser-focused on making sure all of our members' voices count. We are also looking ahead to the crucial 2022 midterm year and honing our strategy to get out the vote among Americans overseas. 

Join us in the fight to increase Democratic majorities in Congress and in state and local governments across the country! Keep reading to find out the latest updates on how you can do the following:

I. Participate in DAG Get Out the Vote Initiatives 

II. Support DAG with a donation or Swag Shop purchase

III. Meet the DAG Chairs

IV. Join Local Activities in Your Chapter

V. Learn about DAG Caucus Activities

VI. Stay up to date with all the latest DAG developments

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. 

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

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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!