Social Action Initiatives

by Brian Dugas

I probably don’t need to tell you that this country is at a dangerous crossroad. I think we all knew after the 2024 elections that things were going to get bad, but little did we know how bad they were going to get. We are not even at the halfway point with this administration and already the government has become a tool of incompetence, greed, and revenge. It is unknown how far he is willing to go in order to keep the Epstein Files from being revealed, but I’ll wager it will be quite a way.

In the middle of this insanity our very own Social Action Committee is working hard to address issues that are important to all of us. I have spoken in the past about our efforts in the immigration field. We recently held a very successful immigration clinic, opened a new CSS office, and are looking into providing English and Civics classes to immigrants. Note* We are looking for someone to join us in the office by attending the CLINIC class. This person should be willing to commit to part time flexible office work helping the immigrants in the Wilkes Barre area. If you or anyone you know are interested let me know.

What I really want to talk to you about is another Social Action initiative we have taken on - Voting! You probably have heard about the recent Supreme Court decision Louisiana v. Callais which arose from a dispute over a new voting map drafted by Louisianian lawmakers after the 2020 census. Before that time only one of the state’s congressional districts was majority black even though the Black Louisianians make up about a third of the state's population. This decision stuck down the revised voting map and opened up other states to redraw their voting districts.