Promising Stories

Most Recent Stories:

Racial Justice, Economic Justice, and Money in Politics | July 1, 2020

Global business leader MaryAnne Howland has dedicated her career to furthering racial and economic justice. As a signer of the American Promise Statement of Principle for Business Professionals, MaryAnne shares her thoughts on the systems changes we need, including ending big money in politics, to build a more… Read more

Statement of Jeff Clements on the Anniversary of Shelby v. Holder | June 25, 2020

Statement of Jeff Clements, president of American Promise, on the anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision in Shelby v. Holder: “Over the past decade, the Supreme Court has substituted its own prejudices and preferences in place of the law of the land and the equal Constitutional rights of… Read more

6 Reforms to Reinvent American Democracy: Which Are Most Important for You? | June 17, 2020

“In this age of globalization, centralized power, economic inequality, deep demographic shifts, political polarization, pandemic and climate change, and radical disruption in the media and information environments, we face these converging trends in a constitutional democracy that feels to many increasingly unresponsive, nonadaptive, and even antiquated.” With that… Read more

The Time for Equality Is Now | June 17, 2020

America faces an existential crisis: we urgently need sweeping reforms to address the many issues contributing to systemic racism in institutions across our nation. On June 30, join Bernie 2020 co-chairs, Nina Turner and Congressman Ro Khanna, for a conversation around equality, the power of money in the… Read more

Events Across the U.S.—Online and In Person—Will Celebrate Juneteenth | June 17, 2020

Juneteenth celebrates the emancipation of enslaved people in Galveston, Texas—the last to learn of emancipation—on June 19, 1865, more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation at the start of 1863 amid the Civil War. In the decades since, Juneteenth has become a time… Read more

American Promise Amendment Among Top Reforms in Commission’s Call for a More Resilient Democracy | June 11, 2020

June 11, 2020 Cambridge, MA American Promise Amendment Among Top Reforms in Commission’s Call for a More Resilient Democracy A constitutional amendment to end the dominance of concentrated money in politics is prominent among the key reforms recommended in a report announced today by the Commission on the Practice… Read more

Donor Spotlight: John Boynton | June 9, 2020

John Boynton is a technology entrepreneur and investor who lives in the Boston area. He is the president of Firehouse Capital. Boynton was drawn to American Promise because of the connection between big money political spending and many pressing issues. Unlimited political spending underpins much of the dysfunction… Read more

Meet Corinne Noonan: Working to End Corporate Domination of Politics | June 8, 2020

With a personal connection to how the political power of elite special interests disenfranchises everyday Americans, new American Promise team member Corinne Noonan is committed to helping fix the system and ensure a voice for every American. People connect with the American Promise movement for many reasons. For… Read more

Our Common Purpose: Reinventing American Democracy | June 3, 2020

After two years of study, research, and nearly 50 community meetings with hundreds of Americans from different demographic and political backgrounds around the nation, the Commission on the Practice of... Read more

America’s Broken Heart | June 1, 2020

The police killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor break our hearts. The devastation of their families and so many families and communities breaks our hearts. Our catastrophic failure to overcome racism and murderous, racist hate, breaks our hearts. To be an American is hard. Sometimes, to believe in the American promise is hard. That promise is that every human being has equal, inalienable rights and liberty; that every American citizen has an equal right and... Read more

Taking the Long View in a Crisis: It’s Time to Fix the Rules So the Future has a Voice | May 19, 2020

An internationally renowned futurist and business strategist, Peter Schwartz specializes in scenario planning, working with corporations, governments, and other institutions to create alternative perspectives of the future and develop robust strategies for a changing and uncertain world. As senior vice president strategic planning for Salesforce, he directs policy… Read more

Donor Spotlight: Scott Wallace | May 7, 2020

Scott Wallace is a social change activist, philanthropist, and former attorney who ran to represent Pennsylvania’s 1st Congressional District in 2018. During that election, Scott saw firsthand the effects of political spending from malicious, sometimes untraceable, sources. He has since become a supporter of American Promise and attended… Read more

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Special Content Pages:

Keep the Promise: America250

America is in crisis. The convergence in 2020 of the Covid-19 pandemic and the interrelated crises of economy, racial justice, political violence, climate disasters, and a collapse of trust has laid bare the danger and high stakes we Americans now face. Our constitutional democracy and commitment to the American promise of human liberty, equal citizenship, and effective self-government are in urgent need of repair and renewal. Read More

#ChallengeAccepted: The American Promise Amendment + Reinventing Democracy for the 21st Century

Americans are in a huge moment of possibility for profound reform, and in that we can find hope. In the midst of systemic failures—in our economy, society, government—American citizens are rising to the challenge of reshaping our democracy for the 21st century and beyond. Read More

Building Support in Congress

Passing a constitutional amendment is difficult by design: the only way to achieve it is with widespread, cross-partisan support driven by grassroots action. While there are two routes to passing a constitutional amendment, only one method has ever been successfully used—acquiring two-thirds support from both houses of Congress and approval by three-quarters of the states. Read More

Money in Politics and Health Care

Big money political spending affects all facets of our society, including our nation’s health-care system. Lobbying from health insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies, and other health care-related interests has resulted in a dysfunctional system that is more expensive and provides less coverage than those in other developed countries. Read more

A History of People Power

Throughout our nation’s history, citizen leaders have coalesced around reform movements that expand our fundamental rights to broader coalitions of Americans and improve our democratic self-governance—often through the amendment process. Read more

7 Critical Democracy Reforms: Which Are Most Important to You?

There are several election reforms at the core of the nascent democracy movement growing in the United States, and the prospect that we need to pass constitutional amendments to fix some of the structural issues is gaining traction. Read more

Citizen's United 10th Anniversary

In the decade since the 2010 Citizens United Supreme Court decision, Americans have seen its devastating effects: Election spending by the wealthiest individuals and untraceable dark money groups has skyrocketed, faith in our representative democracy is historically low, and legislative outcomes don’t represent the wishes of Americans, but rather serve the interests of the wealthy elite. Read more
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