Be fierce for all of us.

This week’s hearing to appoint Deb Haaland to Secretary of the Interior holds the promise of a new progressive future. Not only would she be the first Native American cabinet secretary in history, but she would bring the wisdom of 35 generations of ancestry from New Mexico and the Laguna Pueblo Tribe.

“Growing up in my mother’s Pueblo household made me fierce. I’ll be fierce for all of us, our planet, and all of our protected land.”

She plans to bring that fierce leadership to an agency that was originally set up to disenfranchise and colonize indigenous people and will fight for environmental justice and indigenous authority over stolen land.

Haaland’s appointment is perhaps the most significant result of Biden’s electoral win and could bring much needed healing and justice to America’s horrific indigenous history and environmental crisis. It represents not just the promise of progressive change, but a way of doing change that shifts power and leadership to the people who have been most impacted.

With less than 10 years remaining to avert the climate crisis, Haaland’s leadership is exactly what we need right now to show us a new kind of bold leadership and bring balance to our human community and planet.

May we all follow in Haaland’s footsteps and learn “to be fierce for all of us”.

Kerri (she/her)

1. Deb Haaland is everything the Biden Administration needs to be. No Biden cabinet pick has so much potential to frame this administration's vision and to inspire support for transformational change. [click to tweet]

2. White allies, let’s be honest about decolonization. We need solidarity of allied actions that refuses fantastical narratives of commonality and hope. [click to tweet]

3. In addressing the causes and consequences of this pandemic—and its cruelly uneven impact—the elephant in the room is extreme income inequality. How the top 1% of Americans have taken $50 trillion from the bottom 90%. [click to tweet]

4. The lockdown showed how the economy exploits women. And Silvia Federici has been warning for decades of what happens when we undervalue domestic labor. [click to tweet]

5. Why equity is good for everyone. Changing the story, changing the world with john a. powell and Heather McGhee. [click to tweet]

A system that allows billionaires to add 1,100,000,000,000 to their wealth during a pandemic but doesn’t raise the $7.25 minimum wage for over a decade is not OK. Workers have waited long enough for a much needed raise. Myth busting the minimum wage:

1. “Only teenagers earn minimum wage”. Wrong. 90% of low wage earners are non-teens and nearly two-thirds are between the ages of 25 - 52 and are raising children.

2. “Raising the minimum wage will eliminate jobs”. It won’t. Higher paid workers tend to be more productive leading to higher profits that offset the higher wages. It’s not just the right thing to do, its good for business.

3. “Employers can’t afford it, especially in a pandemic”. Not quite. Higher wages means higher spending which helps business owners.

4. AND….$15 minimum wage will reduce federal spending on food stamps by $5-10 billion annually and save another $13-31 billion on other economic safety net programs.

Tell Congress to #RaiseTheWage

Spotlighting our favorite books this month! Here’s what we’re reading:

• The Body is Not an Apology (Second Edition), Sonya Renee Taylor

• The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together, Heather McGhee

• Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America, Ijeoma Oluo

• One Drop: Shifting the Lens On Race, Yaba Blay

• Four Hundred Souls, Ibram X Kendi, Keisha N. Blain

• Radiant Rest: Yoga Nidra for Deep Relaxation & Awakened Clarity, Tracee Stanley

• We Do This Til We Free Us, Mariame Kaba

Remember to breath.

We’re SO excited for the upcoming Muse UNCONFERENCE featuring Sonya Renee Taylor, Pixie Lighthourse, Acosia Red Elk, MILCK and more! Register HERE (it’s pay what you can!)

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