SiX and SiX Action Welcome Eliseo (EJ) Juárez as New Executive Director

We are thrilled to share that Eliseo (EJ) Juárez has been named our new executive director! EJ is a bold, equity-driven leader with deep experience across public service, philanthropy, advocacy, and civic engagement.

At a time when our democratic institutions face mounting threats and when states are becoming critical arenas for both resistance and progress, EJ brings the vision, strategy, and accountability we need to rise to the challenge. Please join us in celebrating EJ Juárez as SiX’s new executive director!

562 State Legislators Sign SiX’s Letter to Congress, Opposing Efforts to “Defund” Planned Parenthood

SiX organized a letter to Congress in opposition to efforts to “defund” Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers through cuts to Medicaid. With an impressive 562 signatures from lawmakers from all 50 states and the District of Columbia, the letter adds pressure and demonstrates that the public is against cuts to Planned Parenthood and, more broadly, Medicaid, which provides millions of people access to essential healthcare in nearly every state.

Learn more about the letter here, and you can read the letter in full here!

SiX’s Economic Power Project Virtual Education Series

To defeat authoritarianism, we cannot just protect what we have. We must also build a vision for the future. SiX’s Economic Power Project virtual education series holds this conviction at its center, focusing on how state legislators across the country are dreaming and building people-powered state economies. In May, we tackled private equity with the Private Equity Stakeholder Project. In June, we're teaching how states can build wealth for working families through guaranteed income, baby bonds, & public retirement. Join us by clicking below!

State Legislators Travel to Brazil to Build Global Power for Reproductive Rights

SiX and the Women’s Equality Center organized a delegation of U.S. state legislators to travel to Brazil. A delegation of women of color, state lawmakers met with Black Brazilian women policymakers and advocates to exchange strategies for protecting and expanding reproductive rights. As authoritarian policies rise in both the U.S. and Brazil, the trip gave critical insight into Brazil’s local movements for systemic change and how similar strategies could be applied in the U.S. Check out what delegation members Arizona Senator Analise Ortiz and Tennessee Senator London Lamar shared of their experiences!

Our First CROP Rotation: Illinois Black Farmers & Growers Lobby Day

Cohort for Rural Opportunity and Prosperity (CROP) members, South Carolina Representative Annie McDaniel, and Mississippi Senator Hillman Frazier, joined the third annual Illinois Black Farmers & Growers Lobby Day. Led by CROP member and Illinois Representative Sonya Harper, this year’s event gathered over 100 farmers and advocates at the state capitol to push for policy rooted in equity, land access, and rural prosperity. This visit to Illinois marks the first in a series of CROP Rotations, which bring policymakers together with other members to share innovative and effective strategies across state lines.

190 Local Officials Sign Letter in Solidarity with Mayor Baraka & Against Authoritarian Intimidation

On May 9, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested by federal agents when he and other lawmakers visited a reopened ICE facility to observe its conditions. SiX Action, Local Progress, and Working Families Power coordinated a letter and more than 190 signatures from local and state officials in solidarity with Mayor Baraka. The letter also calls for the dropping of charges against Rep. McIver and an end to authoritarian intimidation of local officials across the country. Find out more about this powerful letter in this MSNBC feature and learn more about how Mayor Ras Baraka’s fight against federal intimidation continues!

State legislators, if you’d like to go deeper into SiX’s issue areas, join our legislator cohorts: the Economic Power Project, the Cohort for Rural Opportunity and Prosperity, and the Reproductive Freedom Leadership Council!