Hope and Possibility
Hi Friends,
First, in case you haven't heard, there's a massive national event happening tomorrow, Saturday, April 5, called Hands Off! There are events happening in every state! Please try to attend if you can (sorry for the short notice).
Have you noticed the feeling in the air? Yes, spring, but also... hope. Possibility. The win in Wisconsin and the inspiration from Cory Booker (who channeled John Lewis and his message of "good trouble."). Doesn't it feel particularly delicious that Booker's speech surpassed the previous record by someone who was a virulent racist and bigot? I'm feeling it. Are you?
The train keeps moving forward, unstoppable. Our ancestors in this work stand behind us, future generations before us, and we, here in the present, continue to move the train of social progress inexorably forward.
In this vein, I'd like to highlight some uplifting messaging I've been seeing lately:
- Anand Giridharadas at The.Ink wrote "The opposite of fascism" and "ESSAY: Welcome back to democracy"
- Rivera Sun at Waging Nonviolence wrote "Resistance to Trump is everywhere — inside the first 50 days of mass protest."
- Rebecca Solnit at Meditations in an Emergency wrote "Stand Your Ground. Plant Some Flowers On It Too" and "Coming Unglued: Week Eight of the Stupid Coup (and the Stalwart Resistance)" and "People Have the Power: Week Whatever of the Stupid Coup and the Pushback"
- Rashida James-Saadiya at truthout wrote "Trump’s Attacks Are Designed to Exhaust Us. Here’s How We Fight Back."
- Doug Melville at Forbes wrote "Do Boycotts Work? As Target’s Traffic Declines, Tesla And Others See Consumer Shifts"
- David Dean wrote "10 Tips for Getting Involved in a Political Organization to Fight Trump"
I would also like to highlight a book just released by a community member, Dr. Emma Violand-Sánchez called Dreams and Shadows: An Immigrant's Journey. Please check it out!
Valarie Kaur is hosting a series starting with "Love as the Antidote to Authoritarianism" on April 16. She says: "We are hosting a Spring Series: “Love as an Antidote to Authoritarianism”—a three-part virtual experience that will explore how we can harness love as a force for courageous action. Please join us for Part One: Love for Others — See No Stranger, to learn how to show up in solidarity and weave care and protection around each other right now."
I want to call attention to one of the people the administration has directed ICE to kidnap. Jeanette Vizguerra is a mother and activist here in Colorado and she was arrested last month and is being held. Here's a petition to support her effort to avoid deportation.
I want to again uplift Deepa Iyer's Social Change Map and encourage you to explore the different roles that contribute to social change. No one person can do all of these roles, nor should they. We need people playing each part to support the process - people looking to the past, present and future, people caring, people visioning, people recording what we have done. Which one speaks to you? Do you know someone who would be particularly good in a role? Do they know that you think that?
One of the common messages I'm hearing from other writers right now is the encouragement to welcome anyone who is feeling the pain of this current moment into the movement for change. No purity tests, no judgment about what exact words they use, no exclusion for petty things. Just acceptance, welcome, and valuing each other. Find your common ground and go from there because we need everyone right now.
Emily
Listen. Amplify. Follow. In Solidarity.