We Design for Good

Design – the catalyst for social change

No Celebration Without Legislation

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MLK DAY

Martin Luther King, Jr., Day, was established 36 years ago to honor a man and a movement for civil rights in the United States. A Baptist minister who advocated the use of nonviolent means to end racial segregation, he first came to national prominence during a bus boycott by African Americans in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1955. He founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1957 and led the 1963 March on Washington. The most influential of African American civil rights leaders during the 1960s, he was instrumental in the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which outlawed discrimination in public accommodations, facilities, and employment, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. King was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1964. He was assassinated on April 4, 1968. Martin Luther King, Jr., Day is celebrated on Monday, January 17, 2022.

But here we are today, in the year 2022…where voting rights are being denied to many Americans. Between January 1 and December 7, at least 19 states passed 34 laws restricting access to voting. More than 440 bills with provisions that restrict voting access have been introduced in 49 states in the 2021 legislative sessions. These numbers are extraordinary: state legislatures enacted far more restrictive voting laws in 2021 than in any year since the tracking of voting legislation in 2011. More than a third of all restrictive voting laws enacted since then were passed this year. And in a new trend this year, legislators introduced bills to allow partisan actors to interfere with election processes or even reject election results entirely.

More than 440 bills with provisions that restrict voting access have been introduced in 49 states in the 2021 legislative sessions.

Twenty-five faith leaders launched a hunger strike on Jan. 6 — the one-year anniversary of the violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol — in an effort to push lawmakers to pass federal legislation to protect the vote. These leaders, largely Christian reverends, from across the country will go without food, urging Congress to pass voting rights legislation by Jan. 17 — Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

“Inspired by the ‘big lie,’ the violent insurrection on January 6, 2021 was an attempt to overturn democratic rule in the United States,” said the release from the faith leaders, which include Rev. Cornell Brooks, Harvard professor and former president of the NAACP. They note that “this attempt continues across the nation” with over a dozen states passing laws impacting access to the vote, “specifically targeting communities of color.”

What needs to change? In order to pass federal voting legislation, we need to eliminate the misuse of the filibuster, which is being used to intentionally deter and dismantle efforts for equity, social change, and equality. Currently, the filibuster is being used by Republican senators to prevent passage of the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.

These two pieces of legislation would protect the vote by preventing states from enacting laws that make it more difficult for Black, Brown and rural White people to vote and that provide pathways for state legislators to change the outcomes of elections when they are dissatisfied with the results. In addition, both pieces of legislation are just measures for stopping unjust practices that are rooted in fear and misinformation about voter fraud regarding the 2020 United States presidential election. We cannot allow the filibuster to be used as a tool for injustice.

The message is clear… as we remember Martin Luther King… No Celebration Without Legislation… January 17, 2021 is a Day of Action!

Call your representatives: (202) 224-3121 and demand the following: End the misuse of the Filibuster, Pass Voting Rights legislation and honor Dr. King with ACTION!

Now is the time to protect our democracy by maintaining our voting rights, as said by Martin Luther King, “make of this old world a new world.” Protect our democracy now—we have no other choice.

Visit “Deliver for our Voting Rights” at deliverforourvotingrights.com.

Why Design for Social Impact

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Make Difference

You’ll make something undeniably meaningful.

You can feel good that the work you’re doing has a tangible and lasting impact, more than with a pretty consumer package that ends up in the trash. Your work might actually help a progressive candidate get elected to office. Or help a grassroots organization feed a community. Or become part of a movement that advocates for human rights and justice. It’s a whole, huge world of ways to make a difference.

Creative Freedom

You’ll have a lot more creative freedom.

If you’re a young designer getting into this field, you won’t have the same book as someone doing design at a boutique firm. Your printed materials may not always get a budget-busting spot gloss. But clients are usually extremely grateful for good design — they won’t be hung up on the small stuff! They’ll be excited to get really good design, and they may not even have basics like brand guidelines. It’s incredibly rewarding to play a stronger, more visionary creative role that clients often immediately embrace.

You’ll have plenty of chances to learn new things.

In designing for corporate or traditional design agencies, you might find yourself in a bit of a box. Maybe you’re at a company that only does digital marketing, or one that only does social media, or one that focuses entirely on one sector. In designing for social impact, you might be working on a candidates marketing campaign one day and designing an informational poster the next day. One moment you’re learning about healthcare, and the next you’re diving into early childhood education. The possibilities are wide open. If you’re looking for creative opportunities that make a difference you couldn’t find a better network of designers.