Sandy Bolzenius, Coordinator of the Central Ohio MTA affiliate, developed a creative, personal and powerful approach to request Rep. Joyce Beatty co-sponsor HJR 48, the We the People Amendment. In addition to working with others to set up a virtual meeting with Rep. Beatty or an aide, she produced and sent a packet to the Congresswoman. The packet contained a personal letter and booklet appealing to her interest in Frederick Douglass and in making the connections between the efforts of Douglass, Ida B. Wells and Rosa Parks to assert the morality and constitutionality of slaves being human persons, not property, with Move to Amend's efforts that corporations are property, not human beings, and can be defined by We the People.
Below is Sandy's letter to Rep. Beatty. Click on the image to download the booklet
Sandy Bolzenius
88 W. Blake Avenue
Columbus, Ohio 43202
April 17, 2021
Dear Representative Joyce Beatty,
As your constituent, I ask that you consider co-sponsoring Move to Amend’s “We the People” Amendment (H.J.Res.48) that proposes an
“amendment to the Constitution of the United States providing that the rights extended by the Constitution are the rights of natural persons only.”
I appeal especially to your commitment to the black struggle which you live, I study, and both of us hold dear. To present my case, I have organized the attached booklet in which I draw upon the experiences of three of the most bold and courageous people in American history, Frederick Douglass, Ida B. Wells, and Rosa Parks. They and many others knew from experience that democracy is only possible when We the People, not profit-driven entities, direct public policies.
I premise my argument on the historical divisions between those with extraordinary financial and political power in this country and the rest of us, particularly people of color. Recent events testify to how dramatically the dangers of this divide have suddenly escalated. Today, even congressional leaders may be caught in the crossfire. Within one year, you personally have been pepper-sprayed in Columbus and forced to seek safety in Washington, D.C. How many more signs are needed before we recognize the roots of this nation’s divides, namely, the inequitable influence of powerful corporations over the interests of We the People?
With survey after survey showing that eighty percent and more of Americans are concerned that corporations wield excessive power in our government, calls are mounting for our representatives to take action. The People need you and your colleagues to put us in the driver’s seat of our democracy. Congresswoman Beatty, you have the authority along with incredible influence in Congress to make this happen. I therefore ask that you listen to your constituents on this matter, read Justice Louis Brandeis’s warning highlighted below, check out the attached booklet, and join Representative Pramila Jayapal as a co-sponsor of the “We the People” Amendment.
We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both. -- Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis
Sincerely,
Sandy Bolzenius
Encl.:
- “We the People Amendment” booklet
- H.J.R. 48 (April reintroduction)
- H.R. 40, page 1 of sponsors
- List of Anti-Protest bills
