Friend – 

From the MTA team, we want to wish you a happy Black History Month. In a time where more and more powerful figures wish to hide from this country’s history and erase its diverse voices, it’s more important than ever to uplift, celebrate, and empower Black voices. 

Our struggle to end corporate personhood is intrinsically connected to enriching democracy, and no democracy is complete without working to end oppression. Corporations and the Supreme Court have abused what are meant to protect the marginalized in our communities – such as the wanton misemployment of the Fourteenth Amendment, which was used to establish corporate personhood in the late 19th century, when the Amendment originally intended to enshrine the personhood of formerly enslaved Black people and establish birthright citizenship. Equal protection under the Amendment is used more to protect corporations than Black and other oppressed Americans. Plus, when money is considered “free speech”, those who have been historically disenfranchised and institutionally kept in poverty are more and more shut out of the political process – we are split apart and further pitted against each other by those with power. Division is the enemy of organizing and now is not a time in which we can afford to be divided. 

It’s clear to see all of our struggles are connected, and to stand up for Black rights means to stand up against corporate personhood and the flagrant abuse of the Fourteenth Amendment. It’s more integral than ever to pass the We the People Amendment, and to have a politics that values all of our speech – our true speech – equally. As the We the People was introduced earlier this month, we ask you to take action and urge your representatives to fight against the corporate interests that shut out the voices of us all. 

Take action today. Use our OneClick program to urge your representative to co-sponsor HJR54. This is our moment to stand for a democracy that is truly of, by, and for all people.

We leave you with the words of indomitable African-American human rights organizer and activist, Ella Baker: 

“In order for us as poor and oppressed people to become a part of a society that is meaningful, the system under which we now exist has to be radically changed. This means that we are going to have to learn to think in radical terms. I use the term radical in its original meaning – getting down to and understanding the root cause. It means facing a system that does not lend itself to your needs and devising means by which you change that system.”

In solidarity,

Hanaan, Tara, Cole, Alfonso, Shelly, George, Daniel, Kelsey, Jennie, Keyan, Michael, Katie, Cat, Jason, Jessica, & Greg

National Team