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In This Edition:
HATE WILL NOT WIN Last week, I took to the Senate Floor to address a vile accusation made by one of my Senate colleagues across the aisle. Here are the full remarks of my address: “I didn’t expect to wake up yesterday to the news that the Senator from the 22nd District had, overnight, accused me BY NAME of grooming and sexualizing children — in an email fundraising for herself. So I sat on it for a while wondering why me? Then I realized. I’m the biggest threat to your hollow, hateful scheme. Because you can’t claim that you’re targeting marginalized kids in the name of ‘parental rights’ if another parent is standing up and saying no. So then what? Then you dehumanize and marginalize ME. You say I’m one of THEM. You say she’s a groomer, she supports pedophilia, she wants children to believe they were responsible for slavery and to feel bad about themselves because they’re white. Well here’s a little background on who I really am. Growing up, my family was very active in our church. I sang in the choir. My mom taught CCD. One day, our priest called a meeting with my mom and told her that she was not living up to the church’s expectations, that she was disappointing. My mom asked why. Among other reasons, she was told it was because she was divorced, and because he didn’t see her with us at mass every Sunday. Where was my mom on Sunday? She was at a soup kitchen. With me. My mom taught me at a young age that Christianity and faith was about being a part of a community, about recognizing our privilege and blessings and doing what we could to be of service to others – especially people who were marginalized, targeted, who had less…often unfairly. I learned that SERVICE was far more important than performative nonsense like being seen in the same pew every Sunday or writing ‘Christian’ in your Twitter bio and using it as a shield to target and marginalize already-marginalized people. I also stand on the shoulders of people like Father Ted Hesburgh, the longtime president of the University of Notre Dame who was active in the civil rights movement, who recognized his power and privilege as a white man, a faith leader, and the head of an influential and well-respected institution — and who saw Black people in this country being targeted and discriminated against and beaten, and reached out and locked arms with Dr. Martin Luther King when he was alive, when it was unpopular and risky, and marching with them as a way to say, ‘We got you.’ To offer protection and service and allyship, to try to right wrongs and fix the injustice in the world. So who am I? I am a straight, white, Christian, married, suburban mom who knows that the very notion that learning about slavery or redlining or systemic racism means that children are being taught to feel bad or hate themselves because they are white is absolute nonsense. No child alive today is responsible for slavery. No one is this room is responsible for slavery. But each and every single one of us bears responsibility for writing the next chapter of history. Each and every single one of us decides what happens next, and how WE respond to history and the world around us. We are not responsible for the past. We also cannot change the past. We can’t pretend that it didn’t happen, or deny people their very right to exist. I am a straight, white, Christian, married, suburban mom. I want my daughter to know that she is loved, supported, and seen for whoever she becomes. I want her to be curious, empathetic, and kind. I want every child in this state to feel seen, heard, and supported, not marginalized and targeted if they are not straight, white, and Christian. People who are different are not the reason our roads are in bad shape after decades of disinvestment, nor the reason healthcare costs are too high, or teachers are leaving the profession. We cannot let hateful people tell you otherwise to scapegoat and deflect from the fact that they’re not doing anything to fix the real issues that impact people’s lives. I know that hate will only win if people like me stand by and let it happen. And I want to be very clear right now: Call me whatever you want. I know who I am. I know what faith and service means, and what it calls for in this moment. We will not let hate win.”
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE Wyatt’s Law: House Bills 5274-5280; 5534 and 5594 Last week, the Michigan Senate passed a legislative bill package that created numerous changes to the Child Protective Services and Central Registry. The bills add notice requirements, an administrative review process, and opportunities for individuals to request expungement. The legislation also allows a parent to receive information on the registry status of another caregiver. I voted yes on these bills and they will now be sent to the Governor for her approval. >> Watch Sen. Curtis Hertel Jr.’s speech on Wyatt’s Law. Sincerely,
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