Local Activist Voices

Diversifying our acts of resistance: One Million Rising

There is more we can do as these activities we are doing might not appeal to everyone. They stressed the importance of diversifying our movement. Many are not happy with what is happening for different reasons (see above about the Epstein files). They may not want to protest but might want to take different types of actions, such as against ICE, for instance… Read more

Engaged Durhamites for Democracy - 7/17/25

Still have some fight in us. Time to make some Good Trouble

Great news! In a future post, I will cover how we make it clear that the big bad bill will hurt so many, but they designed it craftily so the cuts take effect after the midterms. You can run but you cannot hide. Case in point, Over the weekend, folks the group Fair Share America flew a plane with a banner that read: “Rep. Lawler chose billionaires over us.” We must shine a light on the cruelty that they will try to say was not their doing.

Senator Josh Hawley is trying to save his hide after voting for the big bad bill by introducing a bill that will fail to reverse the Medicaid cuts. A little too late buddy. You voted yes even though you said you could not cut Medicaid. I hope your constituents remember what you did… Read more

Engaged Durhamites for Democracy - 7/16/25

Guilt vs. Shame: Lead by example

Amazing news about Avelo Airlines who contracts with ICE. We have held demonstrations at RDU weekly since April 28th. Avelo has shut down some of their routes, including one route in NC!! Yes! The small cog in the big machine is having an impact!! Let’s keep the pressure on so they break their contract and stop flying innocent people in shackles to detention centers. Here is portion of the Coalition to Stop Avelo’s press release:

Avelo Airlines in Retreat Amid Financial Distress and Mounting Protests

Nationwide — Under mounting financial pressure and relentless public protest, Avelo Airlines is scaling back operations across the country. This morning, the airline announced it will shut down its base in Sonoma County, California; eliminate routes in Connecticut, North Carolina, and Montana; and end commercial service in Salem, Santa Rosa, and Las Vegas. The sweeping cuts point to both a shrinking business model and the growing power of organized opposition. Read more

Engaged Durhamites for Democracy - 7/15/25

Democracy Out Loud #440.1: Honoring the legacy of John Lewis

This week, we remember and honor Congressman John Lewis. We can do this in many ways: by reading about him, watching movies and videos about him online, reading his words, showing up on Thursday July 17, and taking other actions related to defending our democracy. I do not need to tell you we are in an emergency now. We can invite his courage and determination into ourselves and our movement.

“We had a moral obligation to say something, to do something, to speak up and speak out. We may get arrested, we may get thrown in jail, we may be beaten, left bloody, left for dead. But we couldn’t stop. And it became a way of life for many young people….When you see something that is not right, not fair, you have to say something. You have to do something.” - The Honorable John Lewis, The Soul of America… Read more

Democracy Out Loud - 7/14/25

To act or not to act?: You can help someone answer

You will encounter people who have never acted in their life. They are not opposed to acting. It just has not entered their brain. Many who are part of our family fit into this group. Judy, for instance, who sometimes attends 5 demonstrations per week and is what we call an “unrelenting force” as she puts QR codes in front of folks to sign up for our events has NEVER been politically active. She is in her 80s!! Way to go Judy. Acting is also new to Beth who also attends at least 5 demonstrations per week and we have called our “nurturing force” as she brings signs for people, helps build canopies to keep our demonstrators from overheating, and brings Freddie and Ferdinando wherever she goes. This is a new identity for Beth, and she has embraced it like no other I have seen. Thank you, Beth and Judy for your amazing energy and dedication!

So how do we help people who have never acted and also don’t have a preconceived notion that they will not get involved? How do we help them form a new identify as an activist? I meet these folks a lot when phone banking or canvassing. People are busy. We have a lot going on, some more than others given our circumstances.

I believe that helping folks is easier than if they have an identity as someone who will not act. What it takes is helping them believe they can do it and also helping them believe their acting will have an impact… Read more

Engaged Durhamites for Democracy - 7/14/25

Cages. For Humans. In Florida.

By definition, this is a concentration camp. Don't look away.

From Merriam Webster: Concentration Camp: a place where large numbers of people (such as prisoners of war, political prisoners, refugees, or the members of an ethnic or religious minority) are detained or confined under armed guard.

Thirty two men per cage with three toilets per cage, the only source of water is from a spigot connected to the toilet. Mosquitos, heat, inadequate food, no privacy, no due process. Most of us have heard about this.

Let’s show up in the streets, let’s learn to register voters. If Durham had turned out 5% more of our voters in 2024, there would have been no need for recounts with Allison Riggs. We need to re-elect Justice Anita Earls in 2026; for that we need to turn out in numbers too big to challenge… Read more

Durham Dems Action - 7/14/25

Everyday Election Activism: An Insider's Guide (#20)

I am always asking myself where we activists should put our energy. Should we focus primarily on building the resistance to MAGA, or should we go all in to prepare for the elections ahead? When our emotions run high in the face of the harms inflicted on our country, it feels more urgent to resist than to build for the future. This is understandable, and our outrage provides necessary fuel for our movement. As a result, however, we end up postponing the work to engage voters.

IMHO this is not a good plan. Our long-term strategy to stop Project 2025 must broaden ASAP to include both building the strength of the resistance AND voting out the MAGA Republicans. Here’s why I think it’s critical to think this way… Read more

Everyday Election Activism - 7/13/25

Bull City Indivisible 7/13 Meeting Notes & More

For next meeting (July 27th) we’re going to do something a little different! There are two events with organizations that we are in coalition with, and we want to support them. You can use the Signal group to find people to go with if you want.

You have two options:

Join Neighbors on Call/County2County for their Summer Shindig. There are multiple locations: Carrboro with Sen. Sydney Batch, Fuquay-Varina with Sen. Lisa Grafstein, Hillsborough with The Hometown Holler (this is where I’ll be - hope to see some of you there!), Oxford with Sen. Terence Everitt, Pittsboro with Evonne Hopkins, Wake Forest with Rep. Robert Reives, Wilson with Rep. Dante Pittman, and Zoom with everyone!

Join Flip NC for their monthly canvass and debrief at Motorco… Read more

Bull City Indivisible - 7/13/25

Shifting identity: Helping others become activism warriors: Part I

You almost certainly will not change their identity with one conversation. This conversation might be planting a seed. The next conversation, could be the water. The next one could be the sunshine. And next thing you know, a new identity, one where they go from “I do not want to get involved” to “I might be willing to get involved” sprouts up. And then next thing you know, they might say, “You know, when is that rally again? I think I might go.” This happened with my neighbor who voted for TACO all three times and attended the June 14 march, the first march he has ever attended in his life at the ripe age of 76! I had multiple conversations with him, and in the first one, he was someone who voted and that was all he did. He did not get involved. Next thing I know, after multiple conversations, he is attending a march!

Through multiple respectful conversations and with permission to share why you have chosen to act, you can make a difference. Even though I love to call us activism warriors, that identity is too strong for many (and maybe even too strong for some of you). We just want people to know why we identify as someone who feels they have agency and are using that agency to try to bring about change... Read more

Engaged Durhamites for Democracy - 7/13/25

Democracy Out Loud #441: Pushing back

Between the passage of the big genocidal police state bill in Congress last week and the floods in Texas and North Carolina, many of us feel enraged, overcome with grief, afraid, or all of the above. No matter what you are feeling, you are not alone.

Still, our resolve is not floundering. There are now over 2500 Indivisible groups around the country, and many other organizations of resistance are growing in strength. We are going to have to learn to take breaks and rest, yet at the same time we are all pressing forward, understanding that we must increase the size and complexity of our effort and strategy… Read more

Democracy Out Loud - 7/11/25

KIPS: Keep It Positive, Silly! Part I

Today, I want to talk about the importance of positivity in how we are trying to get others to join the movement. You have heard me talk about the signs that we bring to protests and that we want positive messages. One of the big things that help Mamdani win the NY Mayor primary was his positivity. He was not telling people what they don’t want. He was telling people what they do want, and in the case of his campaign, he focused on affordability. He did not slam his opponent. He kept things positive and upbeat. He talked about this in his interview with NPR and how this was a deliberate move to be positive.

That’s why when I ask you to make signs, I ask you to talk about things that we want because people are more likely to join when they see something that they also want. But if we are just telling people what we don’t want, that might just exclude people. We are all about inclusion and inclusion; this must have positivity as one of its components… Read more

Engaged Durhamites for Democracy - 7/5/25

Democracy Out Loud #440.1: The totally insane budget passed; now what?

Sherrilyn Ifill wrote in her newsletter, “We must question our nation today precisely because our ability to openly question it in the coming days may be in peril. Every day that we still retain the right to speak, to protest, to demand, to refuse, to boycott, to march, to file suit, to argue – every day that we can still exercise those rights, we must exercise them.” Read more

Democracy Out Loud - 7/4/25

Increase the power of your one vote by registering voters

If you looked at that article about Mamdani, some of his reels were all about registering to vote. Some people feel disinfected and helpless, and don’t feel like their vote matters. In North Carolina, all we need is to point to the last two Supreme Court races where the difference was 401 votes for Cherie Beasley who lost and 743 votes which helped Allison Riggs win. If anybody thinks that their vote doesn’t matter, this was among over 15 million people in North Carolina!!! Every vote matters, and your vote cannot matter if you are not properly registered. They also will take the opportunity to let those 60,000 who Griffin was trying to throw out that they need to update their voter registration.

I hope people in this group will be willing to be trained to register voters and will volunteer to help the week of Good Trouble. This is literally the key to fair elections and getting candidates in who share our values. YouCanVote has two trainings coming up next week on the evening of July 8th and midday on July 9th. Please consider attending these trainings so you can up your activism warrior skills to register voters. It might be one of the most important things you do for our future elections. You will learn not just about voter registration but also about voting behavior… Read more

Engaged Durhamites for Democracy - 7/4/25

Embrace the youth and our future

Today I want to talk about the role of young people in our movement. We are all still just in awe of Mamdani’s win in the primary for mayor of New York. He came out of nowhere and just got so much support. He didn’t raise as much money, yet his message got to many people and helped him beat Cuomo by a big margin. But it’s been so disappointing to see how our Democrat leaders, like Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jefferies, have not been supportive of Mamdani. I’m not sure what is stopping them from supporting such a dynamic person who has such brought appeal. I think some of this might be ageism.

One of the most helpful workshops I attended last year at work was working across the generations. I’m Generation X, and my generation is known for having work-life balance, unlike our Boomer predecessors. Yet, we do still work very hard and often exceed 40 or 50 or sometimes 60 hours a week. And we don’t have great boundaries about the limits on our work (e.g., rather than stay at work like Boomers would do, we leave to attend our kid’s soccer match but then work later that night). Because of these loose boundaries (e.g., we often check our email in the evenings and weekends), we struggle with Millennials and the GenZ folks who don’t do that. They draw harder lines between work and play (e.g., don’t check email over the weekend). That can be hard for those of us who blend the two or prioritize work over play… Read more

Engaged Durhamites for Democracy - 7/3/25

Democracy Out Loud #440: Rapid response

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) said after the Senate (50-50 + VP) vote on Trump’s budget bill yesterday: “This place feels to me, today, like a crime scene. Get some of that yellow tape and put it around this chamber. This piece of legislation is corrupt. This piece of legislation is crooked. This piece of legislation is a rotten racket. This bill cooked up in back rooms, dropped at midnight, cloaked in fake numbers with huge handouts to big Republican donors. It loots our country for some of the least deserving people you could imagine. When I first got here, this chamber filled me with awe and wonderment. Today, I feel disgust.”

Now this same bill is in the House. We all have to call US Representatives today, tomorrow, and Friday. This bill is designed to create a dystopian country with vastly more hungry, homeless, sick, imprisoned, and dying people, all for the benefit of the filthy rich. Also, Trump’s concentration camps and plans have given us a focus which is as important as cuts to Medicare and SNAP… Read more

Democracy Out Loud - 7/2/25

When the going gets tough, the tough make calls and protest

I am not losing hope about the big bad bill. I read Indivisible‘s email today, and they brought us back to eight years ago when TACO was trying to kill Obamacare. It was a very similar situation that required a lot of people pressure. You may want to throw your hands up as you feel defeated. Please know this battle is not over. Those of you in North Carolina, we did an awesome job convincing Tillis to vote no. The Bill now needs to go back to the House, and it’s not going to be easy to reconcile as that debt is going up by 3 trillion dollars, and that upsets many in the House. And remember every representative is up for reelection in 2026. It’s a different story than in the Senate where some people like Sen. Budd might think that we will forget in 2028 what he has done. We will not forget Senator Budd. We will make sure you lose your seat… Read more

Engaged Durhamites for Democracy - 7/2/25

We "reel"y need to up our game to reach young voters

Today I want to talk about the way that we are getting the word out. The biggest difference between the June 14 march (approximately 6,000 in Durham) and the April 5 march (approximately 3,500 in Durham) I think was how many young people came out. And so much of that I think is due to how we are spreading the word. I asked young people as I was going around, trying to get people to sign up for the triangle bridges to freedom event, I asked them how they heard about the event. So many of them said literally “it’s everywhere.”

They don’t mean flyers. By that, they mean social media. There are some folks in our group who are just outstanding at getting the word out. Hats off to Laura, who regularly post on Reddit. Hats off to Karen who creates reels for TikTok. Anna is a pro at making reels and posting them on Instagram!! Maddie also has been active. This is how people get their news and find out what’s happening. Getting young people to sign up for sub stack creates a puzzle look on their face as they’ve never heard of the app… Read more

Engaged Durhamites for Democracy - 7/1/25