The "For the People Act", Community Restoration Project, Justice & Opportunity
Pop Up Cookout/Photo Booth Creates Space for Education and Connection
Published June 4, 2021
This past Thursday, June 3, Open Buffalo held an outdoor Pop Up Cookout/Photo Booth event at the corner of Jefferson Avenue and Utica Street where the community could eat lunch, have the opportunity to learn more about legislative reforms including the Clean Slate law being considered in the NYS Legislature and the For the People Act before Congress, and pose for photos with messages about these important pieces of legislation. If you were to have visited the Pop Up, you would have found community members excited to find a way to take action on legislation that would impact them, and their lives. People shared their experiences, explained how their or their loved ones’ lives could be changed by passing bills like Clean Slate and the For the People Act, and helped to further spread awareness on the work that’s being done in Buffalo. From the postcards containing personal messages urging Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to take a stand against voter suppression on the national level, to the dissemination of literature explaining the recently passed Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act, to people posing with bold signs like #FreedomToVote and #CleanSlateNY, all while enjoying a great lunch, it’s safe to say the Pop Up was a success!