3/ email) and urge them to vote NO on SB 460, no matter what amendments are proposed. Time is critical!

Michael Hite 📧 michael.hite@wvhouse.gov 📞 304-340-3269

2/ afford to risk losing the herd immunity that protects our children, seniors, and those with weakened immune systems. ACTION NEEDED: SB 460 is up for a vote in the House Health Committee TOMORROW – TUESDAY at 3 PM. We just got word, and we need your help. PLEASE contact your delegate (via phone or

Unfortunately, Berkeley County's other Republican Delegates Hite and Hornby voted for this bill. We hope they see how unpopular this bill was and look to their constituents to understand their needs.

This failed bill makes it obvious who would rather listen to the needs of corporations versus the needs of West Virginians. We are thankful to Republican Delegates Miller, Masters, Kump, Horst, White, and Anders for voting against this bill.

Check which district you live in: www.bcdec.info/voter-info

Call:
94th: (304) 340-3122
96th: (304) 340-3274
97th: (304) 340-3350

Sources:
westvirginiawatch.com/2025/02/21/g...

www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Status/...

If you live in the 94th, 96th or 97th state House district, call your delegate as soon as you can to ask why they want to take away medical care for those who have been abused and ask them where the line ends. Does it end with women being forced to give birth no matter the medical realities?

The bill would take away one of the few exceptions for West Virginia's harsh abortion ban and would include taking away those protections for minors. Women throughout the state would not be able to decide for themselves and abusers would absolutely take advantage of this.

Rep. Riley Moore: rileymoore.house.gov/contact
Sen. Capito: www.capito.senate.gov/contact/cont...
Sen. Justice: www.justice.senate.gov

Meanwhile, Senator Capito has no qualms about this and instead supports the illegal freeze. She believes, falsely, that because the OMB memo was rescinded, the freeze is lifted. It is not and these two cases make it obvious. Reach out to her office and the rest of our Congressional delegation.

You can read more about J.R. Clifford, his life, and accomplishments here: www.jrclifford.org.

Clifford's life is one of hard work in the face of adversity. Our state is made all the better for having had him as a resident and active member of the community. We hope to highlight more local West Virginian African-Americans this month and continue to think on their example throughout the year.

The WV Supreme Court would write that "Discrimination against the colored people, because of color alone ... is contrary to public policy and the law of the land. If any discrimination as to education should be made, it should be favorable to, and not against, the colored people."

More than fifty years before Brown v. Board of Education, Clifford successfully argued before the West Virginia Supreme Court that discrimination based on race was illegal. It was one of the first cases in the nation to challenge segregated schools.

Just a few years later, he became the first African American attorney admitted to the West Virginia State Bar. He would practice law until age 85, becoming the oldest active lawyer in the state. One of his most unique and powerful contributions involved a successful argument against segregation.

After receiving an education in Harper's Ferry, Clifford became a teacher at a segregated school in Martinsburg. While there, he also studied law and eventually established the first African-American newspaper in West Virginia, the Pioneer Press.

We want to take the time to recognize West Virginia's history and how African-Americans have had a great impact on our state. J.R. Clifford was a civil rights pioneer in one of the worst times in our country. He enlisted at the age of fifteen in the Union Army at the end of the Civil War.