Dear Mr. Congressman: A Student's Message to Leonard Lance
Dear Mr. Congressman,
My name is Sid, and I’m a Senior at Somerset VoTech. I’m typing out this letter to you on my phone, in the middle of a packed crowd at the Temple B’nai Abraham in Livingston, NJ.
This is the first rally I’ve ever been to in my life, because I’m a cynic, Mr. Congressman. I’ve never held the hope that a protest could shake this country onto the right path, or that a clever sign could be the mirror that sparks real reflection on Capitol Hill.
Mr. Congressman, I write to you today that I will be the last of the cynics. There is no more room in our democracy for the tired deflections of the past. I recognize that there are nuances to the issue of gun violence in America, but there is one divide that will forever and always be black-and-white: Mr. Congressman, we can either commit to act, or sit back and enable these horrific tragedies to continue.
Read moreWhy She Marched; One Woman’s Patriotic Journey
GUEST BLOG: Why She Marched; One Woman’s Patriotic Journey.
“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare of, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” There it is: the Preamble. Our nation’s “mission statement.” I know it by heart. Truly with heart and soul. Sometimes I have to sing the song that goes with it, but I have it committed to memory. Because I believe in it. Because it matters.
Read moreHonoring NJ07 Resisters: The Birth of the Resistance 2017
As we approach the anniversary of the 2017 Women's March, NJ7 Citizens for Change would like to thank our members for their tireless work and persistence. We look forward to joining you during 2018 as we bring back Democratic representation to New Jersey's 7th Congressional District!
We boarded buses in the cold pre-dawn light
to protest the beginning of an ill-gotten presidency.
We found solace in numbers
while teaching the next generation to fight for their rights.
We gathered outside libraries to defend free speech
and inside places of worship that opened their doors to us.
Many of us were new to this activism
but hit the streets out of a collective sense of duty.
We never thought that we’d have to march for science.
But we did.
And so we did.
We never thought that we’d have to march against racist policies that tried to divide us.
But we did.
And so we did.
For our neighbors, for our children,
and for our neighbors’ children,
and for anyone that continues to believe in the American Dream.
We are awoken from our slumber,
and we are undeterred
because we are fighting for the soul of this great nation.
You can hear us
whether you chose to listen or not.
Ours are the voices of decent hard working people
who have seen this country take a dangerous turn
and are concerned about where we are headed.
And we are raising our hands
and holding our elected leaders accountable.
And when they try to violate the social contract
we will hit the streets in protest
Because we know what’s at stake
and it’s bigger than all of us.
So we are organizing
in coffee shops and living rooms.
This is our new normal.
And until we have won
we will resist.
Words and photography by NJ7 Citizens for Change volunteer John M Flores