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Facts & Figures
As we approach the mid-term elections next month, here is some data about the state of our democracy.
61%
of the eligible voters in the U.S. participated in the recent Presidential election. The U.S. ranks
26th
out of the
35
democracies in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
The Pew Research Center
The Constitution does not guarantee the right to vote and
34
states have voter ID laws, requiring some form of government-issued identification at the polls.
Southern Poverty Law Center
A recent study found that strict voter ID laws significantly increased the
turnout gap
between white voters and Latinx, African-American and
multiracial voters.
Southern Poverty Law Center
A US resident is more likely to be hit by lightning than to commit voter ID fraud.
The Brennan Center for Justice
Around
4 million
U.S. citizens living in Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands and Puerto Rico are not allowed to vote for president
unless they move to the mainland
.
The U.S. Census Bureau
15
states that offer election-day voter registration and voter turnout in these states was
7%
higher than in states without.
Southern Poverty Law Center
Approximately
6 million
Americans or
1
in every
40
, is prevented from voting due to a felony conviction. This amount is higher than the popular vote difference that separated major party candidates in the 2000, 2004, 2012 and 2016 presidential elections.
Southern Poverty Law Center
13
states and the District of Columbia allow registration or pre-registration at
16
. Studies show that voting behavior is habit-forming: Those who start voting at an early age are more likely to continue doing so for the rest of their lives.
Southern Poverty Law Center
46%
of Americans
18–29
years old
voted in the 2016 election, while nearly
71%
of Americans
65
and older exercised their right to vote.
U.S. Census Bureau
If an election is tied,
23
states stipulate random drawings to pick a winner. These include: picking from a deck of cards (Nevada), flipping a coin (Idaho), rolling dice (Oregon) and drawing straws (North Carolina).
Southern Poverty Law Center
In Ohio’s May 2018 primary elections,
59
races and
1
local issue, were decided by
1
vote.
The Ohio Secretary of State
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Voting & Voices
A resource from the Southern Poverty Law Center's Teaching Tolerance, for educating about the history and process of voting in the United States with lessons, a quiz about voting in America and a pledge to vote.
Learn more
.
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Is There Room for Me: A Catholic Guide and Response to Immigration
By Daniel Connors. Helps parishes frame, discuss, and answer questions like: How do we build one parish out of many languages and cultures? How do we welcome others in a way that helps
all of us
feel that this parish is our home?
Read more.
For more on
Immigration
,
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Islamophobia in the United States:
A Reading Resource Pack
By Rhonda Itaoui and Elsadig Elsheikh. Developed by researchers from the Global Justice Program at the Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society at the University of California - Berkeley, as part of its larger project of documenting and countering Islamophobia. The purpose of this publication is to enhance the utility of existing academic research on Islamophobia in the United States for a wide range of stakeholders interested in challenging this global phenomenon.
Read more
.
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Teaching Tolerance
A project of the Southern Poverty Law Center, to prevent the growth of hate, provides free resources to educators which emphasize social justice and anti-bias, including lesson plans, film kits, posters, webinars, workshops and the Teaching Tolerance magazine. The project has been named a “Friend of the UN,” recognized by the Desmond Tutu Peace Foundation, and selected by President Clinton’s Initiative on Race as one of the nation’s “Promising Practices” to eradicate racism.
Learn more
.
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An Outrage
One of numerous films from the Southern Poverty Law Center, this 33 minute documentary focuses on the phenomenon of lynching in this country and illustrates how this recent history of injustice engenders further injustice today. Through the voices of scholars and activists in communities across the South, as well as through the descendants of the victims themselves, serves to educate and as a call to action. A viewers guide with activities and lessons are also available. For streaming only, exclusively for registered Teaching Tolerance members.
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War on Peace: The End of Diplomacy and the Decline of American Influence
By Ronan Farrow. An exploration of the collapse of American diplomacy and the abdication of global leadership, by the winner of the 2018 Pulitzer Prize in Public Service.
Illuminates one of the most consequential and poorly understood changes in American history. Provides a personal look at some of the last standard bearers of traditional statecraft, including Richard Holbrooke, who made peace in Bosnia and died while trying to do so in Afghanistan.
Drawing on newly unearthed documents, and richly informed by rare interviews with warlords, whistle-blowers, and policymakers―including every living former secretary of state from Henry Kissinger to Hillary Clinton to Rex Tillerson―makes a powerful case for an endangered profession. Diplomacy, it argues, has declined after decades of political cowardice, shortsightedness, and outright malice―but it may just offer America a way out of a world at war.
Read more.
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Trafficked in America
A documentary from Frontline and the Investigative Reporting Program at the University of California Berkeley, that tells the inside story of Guatemalan teens who were forced to work against their will on an Ohio egg farm in 2014.
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Left Behind America
A documentary from Frontline and ProPublica that reports on the economic and social forces shaping Dayton, Ohio, a once-booming city where nearly 35 percent of people now live in poverty.
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Solidarity
Dignity of Work and Rights of Workers
Two videos of a 7 part series from the US Conference of Catholic Bishops and Catholic Relief Services on the main themes of Catholic social teaching.
Watch
Dignity of Work and Rights of
For more
Catholic Social Teaching
resources,
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When We Visit Jesus in Prison:
A Guide for Catholic Ministry
By Dale Recinella. Combines Catholic teaching, current sociological and psychological thinking on incarceration and the reflections and stories of a trained and certified lay chaplain who has been doing prison ministry for over 20 years.
Read more.
For more on the
Criminal Justice System
,
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Mercy in the Bible: Why it Matters
By Ronald Witherup, PSS. Beginning with the special biblical vocabulary of mercy, presents an overview of the Bible's teaching on mercy and why it remains an important theme. Reflection questions at the end of each chapter makes it a useful tool for either individual or small group study.
Read more
.
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Climate Change is Real
A short, animated video that addresses six common arguments challenging the science of climate change:
- This is the Coldest Winter Ever
- Climate Change is Totally Natural
- Plants and Animals Will Adapt
- Why is Antarctica Ice Increasing?
- Scientists Don't Agree on Climate Change
- Climate Change is Actually a Good Thing
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The Challenge of Reducing Waste:
A Parish Guide
A free resource from The National Catholic Reporter, inspired by Pope Francis' encyclical on the environment, Laudato Si.
Learn more.
For more resources on
Simple Living
,
click here
.
For more resources on the
Environment
,
click here
.
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Youth in Front
Offers free advice on leading change from experienced youth activists and allies, such as:
- Why Protest
- How to Organize a Protest
- How Does a March Become a Movement
- How Can Teachers Be Allies
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The Ultimate Cheatsheet for Critical Thinking
A resource from the Global Digital Citizen Foundation, that seeks to improve understanding with many kinds of subjects, problems, or situations. The open-ended questions are intended for mindful communication and problem-solving with freedom from bias and can be helpful for addressing social justice issues.
Learn more.
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Important Dates This Month
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Individuals Honored This Month
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Be the change you wish to see in the world.
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While you are proclaiming peace with your lips, be careful to have it even more fully in your heart.
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October 5th
One is called to live nonviolently,
even if the change one works for seems impossible.
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If you want peace, you don't talk to your friends, you talk to your enemies.
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October 11th
The solidarity which binds all people together as members of a common family makes it impossible for wealthy nations to look with indifference upon the hunger, misery and poverty of other nations whose citizens are unable to enjoy even elementary human rights. The nations of the world are becoming more and more dependent on one another and it will not be possible to preserve a lasting peace so long as glaring economic and social imbalances persist.
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October 11th
Looking deeply requires courage.
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Since we launched our website
19
months ago, we've had over
21,000
visitors, from
123
countries.
with over
2,000
Resources including:
Films, Publications, Websites
Facts & Figures, Church Teaching, Prayers, Quotes,
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Social Justice Resource Center Newsletter
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contact@socialjusticeresourcecenter.org
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