United for Peace and Justice has endorsed Democracy Spring and your organization should too!
It’s time to take mass nonviolent action on a historic scale to save our democracy. This April, in Washington, D.C., we will demand a Congress that will take immediate action to end the corruption of big money in our politics and ensure free and fair elections in which every American has an equal voice.
The campaign will begin on April 2nd with a march from the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia to Washington, D.C. where thousands will gather to reclaim the US Capitol in a powerful, peaceful, and massive sit-in that no one can ignore. Over 2,000 people have already pledged to risk arrest between April 11th-16th in what will be one of the largest civil disobedience actions in a generation. Together we can open the door to reforms previously considered impossible and reclaim our democracy. Join us!
Click here to RSVP for Democracy Spring!
Democracy Spring will be an epic journey. We’ll begin at the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia, then move by the dozens across 140 miles on foot, and arrive in DC for massive civil disobedience to end the corruption of big money in politics and ensure an equal voice for all in our elections.
Check out these links learn more about our plans for each step along the way:
Information about our convening rally at the Liberty Bell: Philadelphia Logistics
Information about the 140-mile march from Philadelphia to DC: March Logistics
Information about our protest and mass civil disobedience actions: DC Logistics
WHY THIS? WHY NOW?
Every American deserves an equal voice in government. That is our birthright of freedom, won through generations of struggle. But today our democracy is in crisis. In this post-Citizens United era, American elections are dominated by billionaires and big money interests who can spend unlimited sums of campaign money to protect their special interests at the general expense. Meanwhile, as the super-rich dominate the “money primary” that decides who can run for office, almost half of the states in the union have passed new laws that disenfranchise everyday voters, especially people of color and the poor.
This corruption violates the core principle of American democracy — “one person, one vote” citizen equality. And it is blocking reform on virtually every critical issue facing our country: from addressing historic economic inequality, to tackling climate change and ending mass incarceration. We simply cannot solve the urgent crises that face our nation if we don’t save democracy first.
But if the status quo goes unchallenged, the 2016 election — already set to be the most billionaire-dominated, secret money-drenched, voter suppression-marred contest in modern American history — will likely yield a President and a Congress more bound to the masters of big money than ever before. And our planet and people just can’t afford that. But there is another possibility.
