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January 15, 2007

Working the Dream
Today, as you most probably know, is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. While it's nice that many of us get to take this day off of work, the real beauty of this national holiday is that it honors not just an extraordinary man, but the crucial work he did that changed the American social and political landscape.

But we would do Dr. King a grave disservice to simply honor him without taking some personal action of our own. The very important work he did to eliminate racial inequities needs to continue.

As we have discovered in our Race Matters work, America's children are still haunted by disparities that fall along racial and ethnic lines. Children of color are still more likely to grow up in poverty than their white counterparts, suffering from all the health, educational and social complications that accompany life in the lowest economic sectors.

Late last year we saw the formation of the New Mexico Race Matters Coalition. This very diverse group is working toward getting the Legislature to pass a memorial that would require racial impact statements on all applicable legislation. If passed, these racial impact statements would give legislators a better idea of the unintended consequences of proposed legislation on ethnic groups.

The coalition is still open to new members (our next meeting is Jan. 23). If you're not so much a "joiner" but would like to lend your emotional support, we invite you to sign on to our Statement of Principles. You can do that here: http://www.nmvoices.org/racematters.htm

And Now it Begins
While the racial impact memorial will be high on our list of priorities for the coming legislative session (which starts tomorrow), we do have a number of other issues we'll be pulling for over the next 60 days.

Chief among them will be legislation that gives working families the tools they need to better their lives for themselves and their children. These include raising the minimum wage statewide (but without preempting the ability of municipalities to institute higher minimum wages), creating a state-level earned income tax credit, available to working families that qualify for the federal credit (a program that's been very successful at reducing poverty nationwide), an increase in childcare assistance so that parents can work and still have affordable and save places to leave their children, and many more.

For a more comprehensive look at our legislative priorities, go to http://www.nmvoices.org/legis_priorities_2007.htm

Of course, we'll be keeping you up-to-date on important legislation through our Legislative Alerts system - and often calling on you to contact your legislator.

It's All About How You Say What You Say
Those of you who attended our Legislative Advocacy Training session last month got a taste of the importance of framing your message. How we talk about things is almost as important as what we talk about. After all, if you're not reaching your audience with the message you intend, it matters not what you talk about.

Some of you may also be familiar with the work of several progressive researchers and cognitive scientists such as Susan Nall Bales (the FrameWorks Institute) and George Lakoff (of the Rockridge Institute and author of Don't Think of an Elephant and Thinking Points).

So far, much of this work has been largely academic, and communications folks have been clamoring for something more pragmatic. Well, George has heard us and responded by launching an interactive website where progressives can dialog about issues and how to communicate them well. Check it out at http://www.rockridgenation.org/

Will Still Work for Change
Just a reminder about the upcoming talk by Barbara Ehrenreich, titled "Will Work for Change," that is sponsored by the Santa Fe Living Wage Network. Ehrenreich is the author of the highly successful and eye-opening book Nickled and Dimed, which looked at just how hard it is to live in this country when you're making minimum wage.

The talk will be at Santa Fe's Lensic Theater on Sunday, March 11 at 7pm. Tickets are $10 general, $5 for students. You can buy tickets at the Lensic box office or online here: http://purchase.tickets.com/buy/TicketPurchase?orgid=23679&schedule=list

You can learn more about the Santa Fe Living Wage Network here: http://www.santafelivingwage.org/

Your financial support is critical to our work. Please consider making a contribution today at http://www.nmvoices.org/donate.htm