Posted on May 25, 2021
How history is taught matters: Results of our survey with Zinn Education Project
How history is taught matters, especially Black history.
That’s why, as our country continues to wrestle with issues of racial justice and civil rights, we recently reached out to CREDO members to answer a short survey in collaboration with our partners at Zinn Education Project about their experiences learning Black history in school and how that informs their views about systemic racism, voter suppression and white supremacy.
More than 5,000 CREDO members shared their experiences with us, and here are the results.
Do you remember learning about the Civil War and the Reconstruction Era in school?
We first asked our members if they remember learning about these two closely-related periods in 19th Century U.S. History. Not surprisingly, most respondents remember learning about the Civil War, but many fewer remember learning about Reconstruction, the era that immediately followed the Civil War and emancipation.
According to Zinn, “too often the story of this grand experiment in interracial democracy is skipped or rushed through in classrooms across the country,” and “the possibilities and achievements of this era are too often overshadowed by the violent white supremacist backlash.”
During the Reconstruction Era, mass political participation by Black people secured many new rights and freedoms.
Which of the following, if any, do you remember learning about?
Likewise, a large plurality of respondents were not aware of the new rights and freedoms afforded to Black people during the post-slavery Reconstruction Era.
There is a growing movement of educators committed to teaching people’s history in their classrooms.
What do you think are the top two benefits of young people learning people’s history?
Howard Zinn wrote the landmark 1980 publication A People’s History of the United States which tells U.S. history from “the point of view of — and in the words of — America’s women, factory workers, African-Americans, Native Americans, the working poor, and immigrant laborers.” Zinn Education Project and many educators are now starting to teach the “People’s History,” and we asked our members how students will benefit from this approach.
Are you aware that Republican politicians in many states are attacking teachers’ ability to teach about racism in the classroom?
As some schools across the country are starting to adopt new approaches to teaching systemic racism, bias and privilege, conservative Republican lawmakers are using the opportunity to hatemonger, spread fear and inflame even more racism, moving to ban these curricula and propping up so-called “critical race theory” as a strawman.
We asked if our members are aware of these attacks, and a strong majority are.
A main strategy for maintaining structures of white supremacy is voter suppression.
Are you aware of any of these types of voter suppression in the state where you currently live?
Lastly, we asked our members if they are aware of any types of voter suppression occurring in their states. Roughly 60% of respondents are aware of voter suppression efforts.
According to our internal analysis, CREDO members residing in Republican-led or Republican-leaning states — including Florida, Texas, Wisconsin, Ohio, North Carolina, and Georgia — have seen the most efforts to restrict voting rights.
Posted on May 19, 2021
How to protect yourself (and your money) from phishing, vishing and smishing scams
If you’ve received a strange email, call or text recently that made you think twice, you may have been hit with a social engineering scam. Hackers and scammers are always looking for new ways to steal our personal information and money, and they are getting more sophisticated by the day.
Three common cyber attacks, known as phishing, vishing and smishing, are scams that criminals have been using recently to get people to click malicious links or hand over personal information, like a Social Security number, bank account login, passwords and more.
Here are some tips to help you identify these scams and protect yourself.
What’s phishing, vishing and smishing, and how do I spot them?
These are three sophisticated cyber attacks that prey on unsuspecting internet and mobile users to trick them into handing over their personal and private information. The sender may look legitimate, like your bank, credit card company, or streaming service, and ask you to reply or click a link to verify your information or sign up for a chance to win a free prize. When you click that link, you may be unknowingly downloading malware to your device or visiting a fake site that looks just like the website of your bank or cable company.
Phishing — which involves a fraudulent email asking you to click a link or download software — is probably the most popular of the three scams. According to the Federal Trade Commission, Americans lost $57 million from phishing scams in 2019 alone.
- How to spot it: Signs of a phishing email include spelling mistakes and grammatical errors, typos in the sender name or reply address (credomobile.com vs. credoomobile.com) and strange or unexpected links pointing to a different URL than what is displayed.
Vishing is a portmanteau of “voice” and “phishing” and is a scam where criminals call or leave a voicemail asking for personal information. A vishing scammer will commonly spoof a phone number to make it look like it originated from a trusted source, like a local bank or an 800 number, and will try to convince you to reveal personal information. The FBI recently issued warnings that vishing scams are on the rise by organized crime rings, especially during the pandemic.
- How to spot it: Signs of a vishing call include an unfamiliar caller ID, a caller claiming to be from the government, threatening legal action for unpaid taxes or claiming there are problems with your social security account, anyone unwilling to answer basic questions, or recorded messages that sound automated or ask you to press the keys on your phone.
Smishing is an unwanted text message asking for personal information or urging you to click a suspicious link. The word “SMiShing” is a mashup of SMS (short message service, or text) and phishing, so the attack is essentially a phishing scam conducted over text message. The scammer will typically appear to be a trusted source, like a bank or retailer, and attempt to trick you to click a malicious link or convince you to hand over private information.
- How to spot it: A text sent from an unknown number, spelling or grammar errors, or asking you to click a link to verify your information, offering a deal or prize, view an invoice, reactivate an account, or some other action you did not ask for.
How to protect yourself from these scams
- The most obvious: If it feels like a scam, it’s probably a scam. Trust your gut.
- If you receive an unsolicited phone call, text, or email, NEVER hand over your personal information, including passwords, bank account or Social Security numbers. Most creditors, companies and services will never ask for this information when calling you.
- Never click a suspicious link, and never call or text back a number you don’t recognize. The same goes for any suspicious looking emails. Mark them as spam and delete.
- Read our previous tip on how to block robocalls and spam calls.
- Slow down. If the person contacting you is turning up the urgency, it’s most likely a scam. Take a step back and ask yourself if the situation feels right. Again, if this is an organization you recognize, call the customer service number published on its website.
- Protect yourself ahead of time by turning on automatic updates on your computer and mobile device. Turn on multi-factor authentication, especially on your most sensitive accounts.
- If you feel like the call, text, or email is legitimate, hang up with the caller or do not reply to the text message or email. Visit the website of the organization in question and call the customer service number.
- If you’ve handed over your personal information or mistakenly clicked a link that you suspect to be fraudulent, change the passwords to your affected accounts, including your email and bank accounts, immediately. Run a virus or malware scan on your devices. Call the organization or company that you suspect this fraud originated from and explain the situation. Notify your bank, credit card company and/or credit agencies about the situation.
Posted on May 17, 2021
Take Back the Court is fighting the Republican theft of the Supreme Court
After the passing of progressive icon Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Donald Trump and right-wing Republicans rammed through Trump’s third hyper-partisan Supreme Court nominee right before the 2020 election, solidifying for a generation a conservative majority bent on turning back decades of progress on reproductive rights, workers rights, voting and civil rights, the environment, and so much more.
Instead of being America’s last line of defense for liberty, justice and our fundamental rights, the Supreme Court has now become a branch of government reliably looking out for the interests of corporations, the wealthy and the Republican party, over everyday working families.
That’s why, after RBG’s passing in September 2020, CREDO members helped us donate $50,000 to Take Back the Court, an important ally in the fight to expand the Supreme Court and restore the right to vote, ensure reproductive freedom, protect workers, halt our climate emergency and save our democracy.
Since our donation, the assault on our elections, voting rights and democracy has only intensified, with more than 40 states introducing legislation to suppress the vote, especially in communities of color, as well as the insurrection on the U.S. Capitol to overturn the presidential election. This assault on our democracy was enabled by the Roberts’ Court’s outrageous decision to gut the Voting Rights Act.
Take Back the Court has been tirelessly advocating to add more seats to the Supreme Court as the only practical, proportional way to reverse the theft of the Supreme Court and restore its balance, integrity, and independence — and the organization’s victories in the last few months have made waves in Washington and across the country.
In April, the organization advocated for the introduction of the Judiciary Act of 2021, historic legislation introduced by Sen. Ed Markey and Reps. Jerry Nadler, Hank Johnson, and Mondaire Jones, that would expand the Supreme Court from the current nine seats to thirteen as an essential structural reform to counterbalance the theft of the Court by right-wing partisan politicians. The bill’s introduction received 17 original cosponsors, widespread coverage in NBC, CBS, Vox, Good Morning America and other major outlets, and a massive coalition of progressive organizations who back the bill. Speaker Nancy Pelosi even said that court expansion should be considered.
If we want to restore our democracy, end partisan gerrymandering, restore the Voting Rights Act, and stop the flood of unlimited dark money in our politics, the organization argues, then we must un-rig the system and expand the Supreme Court. You can read more about why expanding the Court is so important from Take Back the Court’s director Aaron Belkin in “The Case For Court Expansion.“
Structural reform of this scale won’t be easy, and Take Back the Court needs our help. Here are some ways to get involved:
- Follow Take Back the Court on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok!
- Call your Senators and member of Congress and urge them to co-sponsor the Judiciary Act of 2021. The Capitol switchboard number is (202) 224-3121
- Sign Take Back the Court’s petition demanding Senators stand with Ed Markey in support of the Judiciary Act of 2021
Posted on May 17, 2021
How CREDO’s donation is helping the League of Conservation Voters act on climate and our democracy
CREDO members know how intertwined the climate crisis is with threats to democracy, and how important defending voting rights, electing climate champions, and holding politicians accountable for their votes on the environment are to the future of our planet.
That’s why in June 2020, CREDO members helped us donate $51,841 to the League of Conservation Voters, an organization that influences policy, holds politicians accountable, wins elections and fights to build a world with clean air, clean water, public lands, and a safe climate that are protected by a just and equitable democracy.
This donation from our members helped LCV and its state affiliates secure new clean energy progress at the state and local levels and helped build momentum for bold federal action on the climate crisis, democracy, and environmental justice by the Biden-Harris administration.Working with its affiliates in more than 30 states and its Chispa and Climate Action organizing programs, LCV’s Clean Energy for All campaign wins policies to equitably shift the U.S. to 100% clean energy through grassroots organizing, advocacy, and partnerships. Since launching this campaign in 2018, LCV has helped advocate for and win historic state-level climate action, such that 1 in 3 U.S. residents now live in places committed to 100% clean energy. In the last few months, the campaign:
- Secured passage of Massachusetts’ NextGen Roadmap Bill — landmark climate legislation that implements the strictest emission limits in the country of at least 50% carbon reductions by 2030, and includes critical environmental justice protections 20 years in the making and expands Massachusetts’ commitment to offshore wind;
- Pushed Lincoln Electric System, one of Nebraska’s three major utility boards, towards a unanimous vote to commit to net-zero carbon by 2040, building on a similar victory with the Omaha Public Power board the previous year;
- Secured the biggest electric school bus deal in the nation when Montgomery County, MD committed to lease over 300 electric school buses as part of Chispa Maryland’s Clean Buses for Healthy Niños campaign;
- Secured approval in Arizona of an electric school bus pilot project in the Cartwright School District, which — along with the rollout of Arizona’s first electric school bus in the Phoenix Unified School Districtin 2020 — is a result of Chispa’s work to organize Latinx parents and students in the state since 2017; and
- Advanced policy expanding solar access for low-income communities in New Mexico, secured critical environmental justice policy in Washington, and passed clean cars legislation in Virginia.
Second, the CREDO grant helped LCV to play a lead role in the environmental movement’s successful efforts to push the Biden-Harris administration to advance a strong agenda on climate and environmental justice. Last year, LCV’s Change the Climate 2020 campaign helped make the climate crisis a top priority for Democratic presidential primary candidates on the campaign trail and ensure that whoever won the nomination would be ready to enact an ambitious and equitable climate plan starting on Day One. The Biden-Harris administration campaigned and won—with more than 81 million votes—on the strongest climate and environmental justice plan of any presidential ticket in U.S. history. In early 2021, LCV released a list of policy priorities for the Biden-Harris administration’s first 100 days and the 117th Congress and launched a $300,000 digital ad campaign to support this work. LCV’s new report, 100 Days in Office, details the many ways in which the Biden-Harris administration has already started to deliver on its historic campaign commitments to tackle the climate crisis, confront racial and economic injustice, and fix our democracy.
Third, LCV played a critical role in securing major climate and clean energy provisions in the year-end omnibus package passed by Congress in December 2020. These provisions include pieces to limit climate super pollutant HFCs, extend clean energy tax credits for wind and solar, invest in clean energy grid modernization, advance energy efficiency, and reduce diesel pollution.
To learn more and get involved with LCV’s important climate justice work, visit https://www.lcv.org/ or follow them on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Posted on May 17, 2021
When Black Lives Mattered: Why Teach Reconstruction
Republicans are pushing voter suppression legislation at an alarming rate across the United States. And despite the guilty verdict in Minneapolis for the murder of George Floyd, police continue to kill African Americans with impunity. In the face of the Uprising for Black Lives that swept the nation and the world, and the electoral victories in Georgia, white supremacists are doing all they can to hold on to power.
To help students understand the roots of white supremacist attacks and how to organize for racial justice, it’s worth remembering a time in U.S. history when Black lives mattered.
Reconstruction, the era immediately following the Civil War and emancipation, is full of stories that help us see the possibility of a future defined by racial equity. Though often overlooked in classrooms across the country, Reconstruction was a period where the impossible suddenly became possible.
As historian David Roediger writes in his book Seizing Freedom, “If anything seemed impossible in the 1850s political universe, it was the immediate, unplanned, and uncompensated emancipation of four million slaves.”
When this once seemingly impossible fate became real, it democratized and revolutionized U.S. society. It was a moment in which people who had been enslaved became congressmen. It was a moment where a Black-majority legislature in South Carolina could tax the rich to pay for public schools.
It was a moment that spawned the first experiments in Black self-determination in the Georgia Sea Islands, where 400 freedmen and women divided up land, planted crops, started schools, and created a democratic system with their own constitution, congress, supreme court, and armed militia.
It was a moment where millions of Blacks and poor whites organized together across the South in the Union Leagues, engaging in strikes, boycotts, demonstrations, and educational campaigns. And it was a moment where other social movements — in particular, the labor movement and the feminist movement — drew strength from the actions of African Americans to secure and define their own freedom. In sum, the Reconstruction era was a moment when Black lives, Black actions, and Black ideas mattered.
Yet too often, the story of this grand experiment in interracial democracy is skipped or rushed through in our classrooms. And when it is taught, the possibilities and achievements of this era are overshadowed by the violent white supremacist backlash. Although it is crucial to teach the counter-revolution that led to the establishment of Jim Crow, it’s also important that teachers don’t make the backlash the only story — once again putting whites at the center of U.S. history. To ignore or minimize the successes of Reconstruction reinforces the narrative of slow American racial progress — a historical myth of gradual evolution from slavery to Jim Crow to a post-racial society.
The story of Reconstruction, as it is told in nearly every major textbook, highlights the ideas and actions of those at the top — the debates between the president and Congress. For example, the popular textbook The American Journey spends about 15 of the 21 pages it devotes to Reconstruction explaining the actions of Congress and the president. The book dedicates most of the remaining pages to white resistance to Reconstruction in the South. The message communicated through textbooks like The American Journey is clear: The actions of those at the top matter most. Yet as Howard Zinn, author of A People’s History of the United States, wrote:
An education that focuses on elites, ignores an important part of the historical record. . . . As a result of omitting, or downplaying, the importance of social movements of the people in our history . . . a fundamental principle of democracy is undermined: the principle that it is the citizenry, rather than the government, that is the ultimate source of power and the locomotive that pulls the train of government in the direction of equality and justice.
The Reconstruction era is one where the government was pulled “in the direction of equality and justice” by the actions of citizens — many of whom had only recently won that designation. This is why the Zinn Education Project has a Teach Reconstruction Campaign. While the textbooks emphasize what was done to or for newly freed people, our lessons ask students to confront the questions that shaped the Reconstruction era from the perspective of freedmen and women, in order to mirror the era’s sense of power and historical possibility.
Today — in a moment where activists struggle to make Black lives matter — every student should probe the relevance of Reconstruction. If anything, the Reconstruction period teaches us that when it comes to justice and equality, what may seem impossible is indeed possible — but depends on us, not simply on the president or Congress. It’s time to make Reconstruction an essential part of the U.S. history curriculum.
Help support Zinn Education Project’s work and increase their CREDO grant by casting a free vote during the month of May.
Adam Sanchez is a U.S. history teacher in Philadelphia, Penn. and an editor of Rethinking Schools magazine.
Posted on May 17, 2021
Slow Food USA is Working to Address Inequality in Our Food Systems
As the pandemic swept through the world this past year, the inequalities of our food system became crystal clear. When we trace food from fork back to farm, we see how injustices — theft of land and water, worker exploitation, lack of access to healthy foods, food apartheid neighborhoods, and diet-related health problems — are rooted in race, class and gender discriminations. Building healthy food systems means building a world in which all people can eat food that is good for them, good for the people who grow it and good for the planet.
Slow Food is a global network of local communities. Slow Food started in Italy over 30 years ago, and is now embedded in 160 countries from north to south. In the USA, over 115 chapters all around the country are made up of local community members — chefs, farmers, policy activists, educators and more — who work together on good, clean and fair food for all.
Given the enormous complexity of global food systems, there is no single solution, and so we believe that change happens when we cultivate trusting relationships, align around shared values, and work together for collective impact. Our work extends from influencing national food policy, to growing school gardens to help guide our children to being more informed eaters and create healthier communities.
We believe that when we slow down and build relationships, when we celebrate culture and flavor, and when we nourish healthy relationships with the land and sea, then we will change the world. We reject an economy based on profit and speed, and instead embrace a gift economy and reciprocal exchange. The impact that we have is focused in three areas: cultural and biological diversity, educating and mobilizing citizens, and influencing policies in public and private sectors.
Over this past year, we have seen the need for building connections and taking direct action more than ever. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we created the National Resilience Fund to give direct financial support to vital businesses and workers in community-based food systems, through local Slow Food chapters and working groups. We are now in our third round, focused on the hospitality industry, with priority on Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. In the first round, with the support of our community, we funded seed projects, children’s programs, food distribution to elders, the cultivation of food for communities, and much more. Round Two focused on Black-led food initiatives, and funded community-led organizations from Puerto Rico to Los Angeles.
We are also in the midst of launching a more long-term project, Snail of Approval, with the goal to stimulate greater support for these important businesses—by eating, participating, volunteering, patronizing, donating, and spreading the word.
The importance of building relationships and strengthening community also happens through our gatherings and events, and this past year this turned to virtual platforms allowing people from around the world to join in. We continued to open up and hold space for conversations through our Slow Food Live series, having weekly conversations with change-makers in the field, to cooking demos and talks with chefs. Our first annual Slow Seed Summit brought together growers, experts and activists to discuss seed sovereignty and preservation and other central topics in the world of seeds, in tandem with the Plant a Seed, Share a Seed campaign. The annual Slow Fish Gathering included deep-dive discussions and talks, gathering together fish harvesters with chefs, youth, farmers, and seafood eaters to discuss how to make our seafood more good, clean and fair for all.
Here at Slow Food USA, we believe that the world is best understood when we approach it with all of our senses. These emotional sensations change individuals and forge communities. And this approach is not just an effective technique for conveying knowledge; more importantly, it is an approach that makes learning relational, in which each of us is simultaneously student and teacher. Through this approach we urge the promotion of best practices around the world and highlight the bond between the health of the planet and our own.
With the help of supporters like CREDO, we are uniting the joy of food with the pursuit of justice in our food system and our world. Join us!
Posted on May 13, 2021
How to quickly find a lost or stolen phone
What to do if your Apple device has been lost or stolen
1) Prepare now before your iPhone or iPad is lost. All newer Apple devices come with a feature called Activation Lock, a feature that’s designed to prevent anyone else from using your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, if it’s ever lost or stolen. Activation Lock turns on automatically when you turn on Find My [device]. Even if you’ve erased your device remotely, this feature will prevent the person who stole your device from using it.
To ensure Activation Lock is on, enable Find My on your device, and remember your Apple ID and password. Here’s how to set up Find My, and here’s a handy tip on using password managers to securely store your passwords.
2) Locate your device with Find My. You can find your device on a map by logging in to iCloud.com/find or by logging into the Find My app on another Apple device. If the phone is on, you should be able to see your device on the map and in the list of registered devices. If your phone is misplaced and nearby, you can have the device play a tone to locate it. If the device is offline, the battery has died or it’s been more than 24 hours since the device communicated with Apple, your device may still be displayed on the map at its last known location.
3) Turn on Lost Mode. Lost Mode is a feature that will remotely lock your device with a passcode and allow you to display a custom message on the device’s screen so the person who finds your phone can contact you. This mode turns off key features like Apple Pay but also enables location services so you are able to track the phone when it turns on again.
You can turn on Lost Mode from the Find My app or by logging into icloud. Here’s how.
4) Report your missing device to law enforcement. They may want your serial number when you contact them. Here’s how to find your Apple device serial number.
5) File a loss or theft claim. If you have coverage through AppleCare+ with Theft and Loss or other insurance for your device, you may be able to file a claim. Here’s how to file a claim with Apple, or contact your carrier or device’s insurance provider.
6) Contact your carrier. If you have service with CREDO, please call us at 866-306-2900 to discuss suspending your service or options for a new device. If you have service with another carrier, call their customer service number and explain the situation.
7) Erase your device remotely. If you believe your phone has been stolen or lost for good, you should erase your device. You will not be able to track your phone once it’s been erased. If you have an open claim with Apple, your carrier or insurance company, do not erase your device until the claim has been processed. Here’s how to erase your Apple device remotely.
What to do if your Android device has been lost or stolen
1) Prepare now before your Android device is lost.
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- Add your Google account to your Android device to automatically turn on key features, like Find My Device.
- Double check that Find My Device is on. Go to your device’s Settings > Security > Find My Device. If you don’t see “Security,” tap Security & location or Google > Security.
- Check that Location is turned on. Go to Settings > Location, and ensure it’s turned on.
- Check Google Play visibility. Open play.google.com/settings. Under “Visibility,” pick the device.
- If you have two-step verification turned on, you will need a backup phone or backup code.
- Create a secure lock screen by enabling a passcode and fingerprint authentication.
2) Find your phone remotely. Go to android.com/find and sign in to your Google Account. Your lost phone should get a notification, and you should be able to see your device on a map. If the phone is off, its last known location will be displayed. You can also play a sound on your lost phone to locate it.
3) Secure your device. Select “Secure Device” to lock your phone and sign out of your Google account (you should still be able to track your phone at this point). You can display a message on the lock screen with contact information. This will also turn off features like Google Pay so that someone else can not make purchases with your device.
4) Report your missing device to law enforcement. They may want your serial number when you contact them. Here’s how to find your Android device serial number.
5) File a loss or theft claim. If you have insurance coverage through your carrier or other insurance for your device, you may be able to file a claim.
6) Contact your carrier. If you have service with CREDO, please call us at 866-306-2900 to discuss suspending your service or options for a new device. If you have service with another carrier, call their customer service number and explain the situation.
7) Erase your device remotely. If you believe your phone has been stolen or lost for good, you should erase your device. You will not be able to track your phone once it’s been erased. If you have an open claim with your carrier or insurance company, do not erase your device until the claim has been processed. Here’s how to erase your Android device remotely.
Posted on May 10, 2021
Enough is Enough: CREDO grantee Brady is fighting to end gun violence
Our nation is slowly returning to normal as we emerge from over a year of quarantine and our ongoing battle against COVID-19. But as one pandemic ends, there remains an imminent threat to American life: America’s decades-long epidemic of gun violence. Fomented by the deadly influence of the gun lobby, the inaction of our lawmakers, and more, gun violence claims the lives of over 100 people every single day in the United States.
We have already seen the deadly gun violence that comes with our return to normalcy: High-profile mass shootings, many of which were perpetrated with military-style assault weapons, occurring in Atlanta, GA, Boulder, CO, and Indianapolis, IN, within mere weeks of each other. What’s worse is that these shootings are a small fraction of the gun violence that our country has already experienced this year. In fact, by some measures, there have been over 50 mass shootings since the hate-fueled attack in Georgia. And these mass shootings are only a fraction of the types of gun violence that our nation experiences: Suicide by firearm, firearms involved in domestic disputes, community gun violence, and more are just some of the forms of gun violence — the combination of which have already taken the lives of 13,000 people this year.
That’s why Brady, one of our nation’s oldest and boldest gun violence prevention organizations and a CREDO grantee, has been fighting for decades to pass common-sense gun legislation – since we passed the bipartisan Brady Bill in 1993, establishing the Brady Background Check System for gun sales in America. Since its inception, the Brady Background Check System has blocked approximately 4 million prohibited purchasers from buying a firearm and saved innumerable lives. But as times and technology have evolved, our federal gun laws have not, leaving deadly loopholes and critical gaps in our current laws that have allowed dangerous individuals to obtain firearms and kill innocent people. Today, we continue the fight for our namesakes, Jim and Sarah Brady, to strengthen and expand the Brady Background Check System.
Brady works across Congress, courts, and communities to drive change. We understand the complex issues that lead to gun deaths in our nation, and with the help of CREDO and our generous supporters, we are enacting multi-faceted solutions that are proven to save lives.
We have not backed down from our fight in Congress despite the deadly influence of the gun lobby and the years of inaction by NRA-bought lawmakers. Because of our tireless work, we helped elect gun violence prevention champions to the House, Senate, and White House and finally stand on the precipice of landmark legislative change once again.
Our legal team takes on cases in courts across the country, representing the families of gun violence victims and prosecuting the gun manufacturers that contributed to the gun violence epidemic. And right now, our legal team is preparing to take on the gun lobby in the highest court in the land when the Supreme Court of the United States hears a case on the Second Amendment this fall.
In communities, we focus on the everyday gun violence that disproportionately affects namely Black and Brown Americans — and this is a critical piece of the solution, as Black Americans are twice as likely as white Americans to die from gun violence and are 14 times more likely than white Americans to be wounded. We believe that gun violence is a racial justice issue that necessitates systemic change to our critically flawed and racist systems. We are the only organization taking a “supply-side” approach, working to stem the flow of crime guns into disproportionately impacted communities. We are also working with the gun-owning community to promote safe gun storage and end family fire.
Brady is led by gun violence survivors who intimately know the pain of losing a loved one to gun violence and who have dedicated their lives to ensuring no one else has to go through that loss. Survivors and experts of gun violence alike direct our comprehensive efforts toward the most critical pieces of the fight to prevent gun violence, ensuring that we are making progress at every turn and continuing the Brady legacy of landmark change.
Supporting Brady means saving lives, to put it plainly. We know what it takes to end this uniquely American epidemic of gun violence, and we have been working for decades to do it. The progress we’ve made already has saved innumerable lives and saved so many families from tragedy, but we won’t stop fighting until Americans no longer have to wonder if they will be shot and killed
at school…
at work…
in their homes…
at the movie theatre…
in their neighborhoods…
It is only with the help of dedicated donors, like CREDO, that we are able to continue this vital, multifaceted work. Thank you to CREDO and CREDO’s loyal supporters for your investment in our gun violence prevention mission.
To learn more about Brady and how you can get involved, please visit https://www.bradyunited.org/
Posted on May 4, 2021
8 easy ways to extend your phone’s battery life
If your smartphone is a little older, you know what it’s like when your battery dies unexpectedly. It’s the side effect of having a powerful yet tiny computer in your pocket.
But a draining battery is not usually your fault. The lithium-ion batteries in most smartphones charge in cycles, and their capacity diminishes slightly after each one, which slowly decreases battery life over time.
Luckily, there are some easy ways to preserve and extend the battery life of your smartphone. Here are 8 tips to keep your phone running a little longer.
Update your phone’s operating system
It’s always a good idea to keep your phone’s operating system up-to-date. Most updates include patches and fixes, some of which could help save energy and keep your battery running longer or more efficiently.
If you have a much older phone, check with your manufacturer to ensure your phone is able to run the latest operating system, or else you may run into unexpected issues.
Here’s how to update the iOS on your Apple device or check and update your Android system.
Avoid extreme temperatures
According to Apple, your phone is designed to perform its best when the ambient temperature is between 62° to 72° F. Samsung, a leading Android phone manufacturer, also suggests that you do not expose your phone to extreme temperatures to keep your device running smoothly.
When it comes to extreme temperatures, cold will temporarily affect battery life, but extreme heat could permanently damage battery capacity. You may have noticed that when you leave your phone in the sun, your device may warn you or automatically turn off when it’s too hot, but be advised that storing your phone in extreme heat could also damage the battery. That’s why phone manufacturers recommend keeping your device in a comfort zone between 32° to 95° for best performance and battery life.
Try low power or power-saving mode
The low power or power saving mode on your phone will use less power when your battery reaches low levels by dimming your display, checking for incoming mail less often and turning off certain functions, like “Hey Siri” or “Hey Google,” automatic downloads and background app refresh.
Most phones by default may have this function enabled when your phone battery falls to 20%, but you can also enable this feature manually to save battery life. Here’s how to enable Low Power Mode on your iPhone, and Power Saving Mode on a Samsung device (these steps may be similar for other Android devices, too.)
Dim your screen
Keeping your screen at full brightness all the time can really drain your battery, so it’s a good idea to turn your screen brightness down to a level that allows you to comfortably use your phone while preserving your battery.
Your device may already adaptively adjust your screen brightness level depending on your usage or the amount of available light, but you can override those features in your phone’s settings. Here’s how you can adjust the brightness on your Apple or Android device.
Turn off location services & GPS
Location services are a very convenient feature of most smartphones. They are essential to navigation and maps, and they provide apps with your location to make it easier to order food, hail a cab or countless other functions. However, your GPS can eat up a lot of battery life, too.
You have a couple options when it comes to saving battery life and using GPS. If you don’t use any apps that use location services, you can turn the feature completely off. But, some apps require it, like Google Maps, so you can disable GPS for apps that don’t need it (which can also help keep apps from tracking your location).
On an Apple device, go to Settings > Privacy > Location Services and toggle which apps you don’t want using location services.
On an Android device, go to Settings > Security & Location > Location.
Turn on dark mode
We love dark mode, but we know it’s not for everyone. Dark mode essentially flips the whites to black and blacks to white on your phone, reducing all that white space on your screen that requires more power and light and, in turn, drains your battery.
Both Apple and Android support dark mode in their operating systems, and many developers include dark mode within their apps.
Here’s how to enable Dark Mode on your Apple device, or switch to the dark theme on Android (versions 11.0 and above).
Shorten the timeout or auto-lock feature
Does your screen stay bright for a long time after you put it down? Unfortunately, that’s draining your battery too. You can shorten the time the screen stays illuminated — and save your battery — by heading over to your settings and adjusting the timeout or screen lock feature to turn off your screen a little faster.
On an Apple device, go to Settings > Display & Brightness > Auto-Lock and choose the time.
On an Android device, go to Settings > Display > Screen timeout.
Upgrade your phone
If all else fails and your phone’s battery just isn’t holding a charge for very long, you could have your device repaired — or you could upgrade to a newer phone.
Right now, we have a lot of great offers available for the newest phones with great battery life! Visit CREDOMobile.com to see which phone is right for you.
Posted on May 3, 2021
Vote for Brady: United Against Gun Violence, Slow Foods USA and Zinn Education Project this May
Every month, CREDO members vote to distribute our monthly donation to three incredible progressive causes – and every vote makes a difference. This May, you can support gun violence prevention, food and climate justice, promoting the “people’s history” in education by voting to fund Brady: United Against Gun Violence, Slow Food USA and Zinn Education Project.
Brady: United Against Gun Violence
For more than 40 years, Brady has been uniting gun owners and non-gun owners alike in the fight against gun violence. With programs that tackle the root causes of America’s gun violence epidemic, Brady works to ensure that every community is safer.
Your support will bolster Brady’s on-the-ground programs in areas most impacted by gun violence, help the organization take the gun industry to court, promote safe gun storage, and more. Each vote gets Brady closer to reducing gun violence 25% by 2025.
Slow Food USA
Slow Food is a global network of local communities. Slow Foods believes in uniting the joy of food with the pursuit of justice. We are committed to transforming the world to guarantee good, clean and fair food for all.
Funding from CREDO will help Slow Food USA defend cultural and biological diversity, educate and mobilize citizens, and influence food policies in public and private sectors. After you vote, join a local chapter and get involved!
Zinn Education Project
The Zinn Education Project introduces students to a more accurate and engaging understanding of history than is found in traditional textbooks and curricula. We equip students with analytical tools to make sense of and improve the world today.
Funding from CREDO will allow the Zinn Education Project to engage more teachers in our Teach Climate Justice, Teach Reconstruction, and Teach the Black Freedom Struggle campaigns — and help them offer students a more honest history of our country.
Your vote this month will determine how we divide our monthly donation among these three progressive groups. Be sure to cast your vote to support one, two or all three by May 31.
CREDO members who use our products and services everyday are the reason we are able to make these donations each month. Learn more about CREDO Mobile and CREDO Energy and join our movement.
