Why We Must Escalate Now

We stand at a crossroads in the history of our nation and the world. Our climate is in chaos, democracy is under assault at home and abroad, fundamental rights are at risk, and working families of every color and creed whose sacrifice carried our nation through the pandemic struggle still while the fortunes of the wealthy few explode.

A majority of American voters elected a Democratic President, House, and Senate to solve these crises. But the senior Senators of our states, Arizona and West Virginia –– just two members of a 50 seat majority –– are standing with the party of January 6th to block the change we so desperately need. Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin are protecting an abused, outdated Senate rule -- the filibuster -- and the profits of their corporate donors over our people, our democracy, and our planet.

On May 23rd, Arizonans and West Virginians will come together in our states to say, “No more!” We will join in peaceful protest and nonviolent direct action to demand that Sinema and Manchin stop their corrupt obstruction and end the filibuster so the majority can finally pass legislation to deal with the urgent crises that plague our nation. 

Majorities elect legislatures that pass laws by majority vote. That’s democracy. That’s how it works in our state legislatures in Arizona and West Virginia. That’s how it works in almost every state in the union and nearly every democratic republic on the planet. It’s time for the US Senate to work the same so it can deliver for the people.

We cannot wait. As Sinema, Manchin, and their filibuster are blocking the change we need, now we will block business as usual to demand it. In the great American tradition of Dr. King, John Lewis, Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta, the suffragettes, the sit down strikers, and other freedom struggles, we will use the tool of nonviolent direct action -- the most powerful means of political action available to everyday people every day -- to dramatize this emergency and make it impossible to ignore.

In West Virginia, we will take action in the capital city of Charleston where Manchin hides his office in the state lottery building. In Arizona we will take action in Tucson, where Sinema was born and has a Senate office that has never once been staffed or open to the public. These actions will include a family-friendly rally and march before the nonviolent direct action. Even if you can’t risk arrest at this time, we need you with us to rally and march and be counted! This is a time for all who believe in our just demand to stand together.

To break the Manchin-Sinema blockade on progress we believe that people across our country will need to take bold action. But they're our Senators, so we are going to lead the charge and re-ignite this existential fight. 

Too much is at stake for our democracy, our planet, and working families to give up or back down now -- we must escalate instead. We must bring together all of the movements that are being blocked by the filibuster to fight in unity to bring down the common barrier to achieving all of our missions. Not only the voting rights and democracy movement but labor, climate, immigrant rights, the fight for $15, pro-choice, LGBTQ rights, gun violence prevention, public education, criminal justice reform, health care, and more. And together we must use mass nonviolent action to create a political crisis that forces change.

As a coalition of movement leaders in the Mountain State and the Grand Canyon State, we call on our fellow West Virginians and Arizonans to join us in Charleston and Tucson on the 23rd. And we call on Americans who love freedom, democracy, justice, and life on earth to join us and act in your states in the weeks after. It’s time to Sit In to Save America! Like the generations of Americans who rose to meet the challenges of their time, now we must take the baton of freedom and rise to meet this test.

Forward together to liberty and justice for all.