Indivisible Northampton – Swing Left Western Massachusetts (IN-SLWM) is a chapter of the national progressive grassroots movement Indivisible and the political action group Swing Left. We primarily serve residents of Massachusetts’ Second Congressional District (MA CD-2) and nearby residents of MA CD-1. Since much of what we do is online, we also connect with activists from across the country.
Our mission is to promote a strong and inclusive American democracy by educating and mobilizing constituents of MA CD-2 and beyond. We work to elect and hold accountable bold progressive leaders who will protect our country from the dangerous agenda of the right-wing MAGA extremists. We aim to strengthen our democratic institutions, advance social justice, protect the environment, and more. As a proud chapter of Indivisible and Swing Left, we collaborate with local, regional and national groups to build an informed, sustainable activist community.
Indivisible Northampton formed in 2016 in response to the authoritarian, racist, and corporatist agenda of Trump and his right-wing enablers. The group hosted candidate forums, policy discussions and debates, and created multiple action-oriented teams focusing on issues such as healthcare, democracy, and fair elections.
In 2017, when national Swing Left recruited volunteers to host house parties and organize local chapters, Swing Left Pioneer Valley was formed. In 2018, the group raised money for congressional races, and canvassed and phone-banked to help Democrats win the U.S. House of Representatives. In 2021, they changed the name to Swing Left Western Massachusetts and later merged with Indivisible Northampton to form a single group – Indivisible Northampton-Swing Left Western Mass (IN-SLWM).
Since the beginning, we have had teams, working independently and in collaboration with other groups, with phone banking, letter and postcard writing, letters to newspapers, canvassing and texting.
Following Trump’s second election in November 2024, IN-SLWM hosted a We’re Worth Fighting For Zoom meeting, attended by around 200 local folks. An in-person meeting was held in December, attended by 80 people, and new teams were formed to focus on various issues, as listed on the teams page of our website.
Traditionally, IN-SLWM has hosted online public meetings on the first and third Monday of each month, in which we host elected officials, leaders of organizations, and other speakers who discuss progressive issues and legislation. That schedule has been disrupted by the flurry of activity occasioned by the current situation, but we hope to resume that meeting schedule and to hold in-person meetings as well.
Our 9-person steering committee (SC) maintains our organizational structure and infrastructure, coordinates our overall work and provides direction to the group. Beth and Marta Lev are the founding members of our group, and Larry Pareles, Pat Bukowski, Joel Rosen and Seth Wilpan joined soon after the group was started. Michael Dover joined the steering committee when we merged with his Swing Left group. Arlene Kirsch joined the SC in December of 2024 and Rebecca Leopold joined at the beginning of 2025.
Since November of 2024, our mailing list has grown from a little over 2,000 to over 3,000 contacts. We welcome all Western Massachusetts people who care about our democracy and progressive issues to join us: subscribe to our email list, join a team, join us at an event!