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Read/Listen ·
Informed understanding is power.
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Join ·
Fascists and authoritarians count on isolation and fear. Refuse it.
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Protest ·
Democracy survives when people show up.
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Call ·
It’s time to join the conversation and have your say.
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Reach out ·
Help combat disinformation.
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Train ·
Nonviolence is active, creative disruption.
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Boycott ·
Consumers make choices that matter.
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Vote ·
Every protected vote is a blow against fascism/authoritarianism.
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Donate ·
Every donation counts.
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Sustain the movement ·
This is a marathon, not a sprint.
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We can’t read everything and we certainly can’t rely on legacy American media to understand what is happening. Thankfully, independent sources and analysts have stepped up (you may already be familiar with several of them).
Yes, there are so many out there! Start by checking out some selections from the categories below to find what particularly engages you.* All are geared toward the lay person.
* For most authors on the hosting site Substack, it’s not necessary to subscribe for access, and there is a free subscription option. Some of their posts may be behind a paywall.
They want us to think we are alone and powerless. In fact, there are way more of us than them. Joining a local, grassroots organization with national affiliation allows you to feel part of a collective whole around the country.
Join the key players fighting back: show up with others
Indivisible: Key leaders in the fight to defend our democracy. The guides on their website are specific and chock-full of useful information and they have chapters all over the country who get tremendous support from national on how to organize.
Indivisible Mass Coalition: The state-level coalition sponsors actions, workshops and updates on statewide events.
50501: 50 Protests—50 States—1 Movement. A national organization working to support coordinated non-violent protest events.
Mass 50501: Coordinates 50501-based efforts in Massachusetts.
Join one of the pro-democracy organizations in your local community. Don’t know who they are? Start by searching here at Indivisible or here at 50501 to find groups in your location.
Watch this seven-minute video on why we protest and how, from Heather Cox Richardson.
Joining protests also allows you to feel part of a bigger movement. Participating in these peaceful protests (marches, rallies, sit-ins, mass petitions, human billboards on overpass bridges, etc.) can be quite uplifting.
Find and join local protests
For protests in Western Mass., check out our events calendar, which includes toward the end a compilation of other local calendars.
Mobilize.us is a platform used by many organizations for posting events. You can filter your search for events by location, date, etc., and sign up for them.
Visibility Brigade provides physical messaging in populated public spaces to connect with and activate voters to demonstrate that resistance is possible. They offer an Operation Activate toolkit.
Backbone Campaign is a nonviolent movement-building organization that develops creative tactics for artful activism.
Newsletters
These pages provide practical action to-do lists, action items and call scripts along with a recap of the day/week’s news:
Jessica Craven, Chop Wood, Carry Water
Joe Katz, Rogan’s List
We (the People) Dissent is a bulletin board which collects information and announcements on upcoming protests, boycotts, call campaigns, and strikes.
IMC Recommends Mass Action Priorities. The Coordinated Action Dispatches (CAD) Team of Indivisible Mass Coalition (IMC) provides weekly kitchen-table actions with detailed guides to follow. Subscribe to the weekly newsletter to get these actions in your inbox each Saturday.
Call your representatives
5calls.org (app or website) makes it easy to call your congresspeople. They have scripts and tips, so even introverts can do it!
Reach out to your:
Phone banking
Many organizations do occasional issues or voting-focused calls for volunteers to join a virtual phone bank. These phone banks generally use all digital apps that facilitate calls to voters with a patch through option to connect voters with their representatives in Congress.
Postcards/letters to voters
Person to person
Volunteer Blue is a collaboration of grassroots organizations dedicated to offering opportunities and training to volunteers interested in registering and electing Democrats up and down the ballot, especially in red districts.
Indivisible, Fight Back With Friends! is a national program designed to help you activate your community.
Mass. 50501, Spreading the Message: people talking to people.
Lawyers for Good Government is a community of 125,000 lawyers, law students, and activists fighting to protect equal rights, ensure equal justice, and create equal opportunities for every person.
Craft effective messaging
Indivisible Truth Brigade offers training to disrupt disinformation.
Indivisible Social Toolkit tracks Trump’s most unpopular policies and biggest failures.
Demcast is an impactful organic digital amplification network to equip and deploy tens of thousands of social media users per month to relay pro-democracy messages across platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter/X—all while battling rampant disinformation.
Women’s March Digital Defenders will teach everything you need to know about online advocacy so that you can fight for progressive values without getting out of your pajamas.
Third Act, How to Write a Good Letter to the Editor
Want to learn more? Train for resistance that meets you where you are on your resistance journey.
The power of the purse speaks volumes. Jeff Bezos may not miss my money but collectively we can make a difference. Local businesses often fill the gap which is a win-win for the community.
The People’s Union USA has a good list with reasons to boycott.
Goods Unite Us provides a search bar to find a brand and see its politics.
Ethical Consumer filters brands with a “moral lens” (some may not align with your politics).
Midterms cannot come soon enough but you may have special, local or state elections before then. Check your voter status, if needed, and offer to help older folks or those who do not have a computer. Offer to drive friends to the polls or find a local organization that needs volunteers to do this.
Vote.org is an excellent resource to check your registration, register to vote, pledge to vote if you are under 18 (and they will send a reminder) and much more.
Voteriders helps make sure the voter ID laws do not prevent any eligible voter from voting. They educate and help voters secure the proper ID.
Voter and elections support
League of Women Voters has chapters all over and offers voter registration events.
Check here for poll worker resources and training by state.
Common Cause focuses on various issues, including voter protection (using well-trained poll monitors).
Financially supporting legal opposition to push back against policies, executive orders and administrative actions which are contrary to the rule of law is an effective use of your dollars at this time.
Democracy Forward (DF) Marc E. Elias (founder and now Board Chair) and his crew have filed many high profile lawsuits (along with ACLU and many more) and they have joined forces with several allies to create Rise Up: Federal Workers Legal Defense Network.
ACLU continues to fight in a new era of politics.
Force Multiplier helps donors maximize their impact by making strategic investments in federal candidates and in groups that defend democracy, take actions to resist authoritarianism, and ensure that people can and do vote.
Public Citizen, founded in 1971, is a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization that champions the public interest in the halls of power: “Democracy is not for sale.”
People need to feel part of a community and need a reason to keep coming back to fight the good fight. The people in power are trying to divide us so that we can’t stand up to them. Dr. King taught us that beloved community is an antidote to cruelty and chaos, so we must grow our movement centered in love and righteous indignation. Do whatever it takes to keep yourself and others motivated and moving forward.
Burnout happens, so prioritize mental health check-ins with your fellow resistors. Offer a space to vent and create an inner circle of mutual support.
Rotate responsibility—give leaders a break or offer to do a shift for someone. There are no “martyrs” in this movement.
Incorporate wellness into events/meetings—for example, subcommittee walk-and-talks, potlucks, a welcoming “culture” so everyone looks forward to meeting, etc. Joy itself is an act of resistance and self-care is essential.
Clearly define roles with a “how-to guide,” making it easy for others to step in and maintain the momentum as people rotate in and out of leadership roles.
Mutual aid