Let's Invest in Ruth Bader Ginsberg's Legacy
My heart is moved by all I cannot save:
so much has been destroyed
I have to cast my lot with those
who age after age, perversely,
with no extraordinary power,
reconstitute the world.”
―Adrienne Rich, Dreams of a Common Language
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg brought her lived experience into the courtroom, methodically and tenaciously moving our laws and culture toward greater gender equity. She was also a strong champion for climate action. In her later years on the Supreme Court, she inspired many fighting for justice against overwhelming odds through her powerful dissents. "Dissents,” she said, “speak to a future age…The greatest dissents…gradually over time…become the dominant view. So that's the dissenter's hope: that they are writing not for today, but for tomorrow."
Our dissent today is against the frailty and failure of the systems Ruth Bader Ginsburg fought to improve. “It is up to us to undertake the demanding revolutionary work of remaking them, this time stronger and more just,” as Rebecca Traister put it.
As we mourn RBG’s death, as well as nearly 200,000 dead from Covid-19 and millions of lives lost and upended by extreme weather and fire, now is the time to significantly increase investment in groups protecting voters, expanding the electorate, and mobilizing to strengthen and rebuild our democratic institutions. Investments in this work today will pay off tomorrow by decreasing the chances this election cycle will end in violence and helping set the stage for the longer-term systems change work we need to achieve climate, gender, and racial justice.
The Hive Fund can move funds quickly to c3 organizations doing important mass mobilization and voter protection work. Because we are committed to multi-year, long-term support, we have existing grant relationships with the groups below that can be augmented as soon as we learn of new funding commitments.
JOLT Initiative (Texas)
New Georgia Project
ProGeorgia
Texas Freedom Network
In addition, here are some other important c3 organizations poised to provide outsized impact with increased direct funding:
Blueprint NC: Provides training and convenes partner organizations that use civic engagement and education to advocate for a healthy democracy in North Carolina.
DownHome NC: Builds local power by supporting and training a multiracial coalition of poor and working-class people committed to growing democracy.
North Carolina Black Alliance: Works to protect and inform Black voters across NC and ensure they are able to safely cast their ballots in the 2020 election.
Southern Coalition for Social Justice: Partners with communities of color and economically disadvantaged communities in the South to defend and advance their political, social, and economic rights. This organization has been key in defending voting rights in North Carolina and beyond.
In moments when hope is flagging, we remember that hope is a practice--not a wishing or a waiting, but a call to purpose fueling us to dedicate ourselves to building the world we know is possible. Now is the time to invest in the changemakers actively building on Ruth Bader Ginsberg’s legacy. Please reach out to either of us to schedule a conversation about what your organization can do to meet the moment.