On August 4, Anthony Thigpenn addressed the hundreds of KFTC members at our 2018 Annual Membership Meeting. Thigpenn is a Los Angeles-based community organizer with more than 30 years of experience. He currently leads California Calls, a powerful alliance of 31 organizations in 12 counties around the state. The primary mission of California Calls is to achieve progressive, long-term tax and fiscal policy reform by engaging underrepresented, low-income voters in state public policy decision-making.
Anthony is widely recognized as a leading expert in grassroots, civic engagement technology and programs. He ran successful field campaigns for Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Congresswoman Karen Bass, State Senator Kevin de León, and former City Councilmember Martin Ludlow, among others.
We are excited to share his speech and question and answer session with you below.
The Southern Kentucky chapter has been hard at work preparing for the May 22 primary elections and building the grassroots power we will need for November.
On March 29, nearly a 150 people from across Kentucky and central Appalachia gathered in Harlan County for a community conversation with each other and with Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II and Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis, as part of the national listening tour of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival.
The cold and chilly weather brought by hurricanes ceased in Louisville the 4th annual Smoketown GetDown for Democracy block party. The energy of friends, neighbors, vendors, and performers were only rivaled by the clear, bright sky. Taking place at the Jefferson County Chapter headquarters of 745 Lampton Street, the block party proved to be another success.
Louisville has experienced many ups and downs of the current political climate in the nation. Widespread violent crime, threats to undocumented immigrants, continued environmental injustices, and many other issues are evidence of the uphill battle that is present. Yet, hundreds gathered in Smoketown to celebrate gains in affordable housing, community revitalization, and unified organizing efforts across various issues. The Smoketown neighborhood is no different in its successes – it has maintained a strong momentum toward creating a neighborhood where all residents thrive.
Kentucky is one of only four states that ban former felons from voting, ranking third in the rate of disenfranchisement overall and first in disenfranchisement of African-Americans. Many states allow persons to vote once their sentences have been served and some never take away voting rights, allowing prisoners to vote.
Showing that we are solid as a rock, rooted like a tree and standing strong, hundreds of KFTC members and friends took to the halls of the state capitol on Tuesday to Stand For Kentucky.
“I’ve always been guided by the principle of looking at what people do, not what they say,” said [Rep. Darryl] Owens, who has sponsored bills in recent sessions to allow automatic restoration of civil rights for felons (with some exceptions including violent crimes and sexual offenses) upon completion of all terms of their sentences.
We took our climate justice work to the world stage at the COP21 climate talks in Paris, helped pass a minimum wage increase in Lexington, and moved the needle on voting rights. And in communities across Kentucky, we raised our voices for renters’ rights, environmental protection, racial justice and more.
Members gathered all over the state, from Madison County to Whitesburg to Covington to Lexington, last night to watch, process, and come up with action plans to push for adequate funding for health care and preserving kynect and Medicaid expansion, access to higher ed, protecting the arts, and community health.
