As we first shared with you on November 20, Empower Missouri has been convening community groups since late October to seek a way to prevent utility shutoffs this winter as Missouri reels under the combined impact of COVID-19 and a deep economic recession. We have met with the governor’s staff. We have met with the...Read More

In recent days, some very troubling developments have happened in federal government that threaten to deepen the level of policy violence already happening to racial and ethnic minorities, especially among individuals and households with low incomes. It is crucial that policy advocates take note of these and organize in diverse coalitions with personally impacted people...Read More

Labor Day is at the top of my “Most Hypocritical Holiday Observance” list. On most holidays, large numbers of people take some action that is connected to the meaning of the holiday – practicing gratitude on Thanksgiving, giving flowers to a lover on Valentine’s Day, watching “the rockets’ red glare” of fireworks or displaying an...Read More

Whether you have been part of the Empower Missouri advocacy network for a long time or just joined our mailing list this week, there has never been a more important time to be a social justice advocate. Our planet is rocked by three crises simultaneously that interact with each other with synergistic power: The novel...Read More

In just two months, the number of people who have filed for unemployment due to the coronavirus has hit historic records. As businesses shuttered to slow the transmission of the virus, many furloughed workers and immediately laid off millions of people. The cuts were so quick and severe, they wiped out years of job gains....Read More

Even though the final two weeks of the 2020 Legislative Session tempts us to focus all attention on Jefferson City just now, social justice advocates in Missouri cannot afford to do so. We must keep one eye focused on DC, because the first half of May is a crucial window of time in which we...Read More