Are you ready to take some action? Let’s do this!
Hello Freedom Writers!
Are you ready to take some action? Let’s do this!
In this post:
Thoughts
Inspirations
Actions
Community
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We want to know what you think!
Thoughts
Top of mind for me this morning are the fires of Los Angeles. Just when they thought the winds were dying down a bit, new fires pop up in unexpected places. Thursday’s NYT front page said, “Sign of a new and less manageable future in Los Angeles.” We’ve been hearing the phrases “out of control” and “0 contained” to describe the situation. These words resonate with me on many levels. They remind me of how I feel about the incoming Trump administration.
January 20th is coming. Tick-tock.
Will our water tanks run out in the first few days? Will we have enough people power to keep the fires from spreading on multiple fronts at once? Have we prepared the communication systems and networks we’ll need to rally our resources? When our firefighters jump in, will they know what to do? Will they know how to protect themselves from injury (or worse) in the process?
>>> How will we get the masses of people we’ll need to work together toward the smae goals?
Am I worried? Heck yes! We don’t want to be the first generation in American history to lose our Democracy!
Am I hopeful? Absolutely!
Inspirations
“We have strength in numbers. We build community to wield power, but we also build community to support each other.” - Ezra Levin 1/9/25
Lat Thursday, I was really inspired by attending the first of Indivisible’s “Bracing for impact with Indivisible’s Co-Founders,” Leah Greenberg and Ezra Levin. Here are a few of my notes from the meeting:
Part of the battle here is to weaken the resolve of MAGA … but the other part is to help Democrats find their spines.
Trump has pulled many members of his cabinet out of the House of Representatives. That’s one of the reasons they have such a tiny majority. There are going to be some important Special Elections in the spring, and Trump could create a powerful backlash between now and then. So, yes, if we’re strong, we could get some of those seats.
Looking for some great sources of news/information? Here’s a list of sources that Leah shared in Thursday’s meeting:
Perry Bacon and Greg Sargent, columnists at The Washington Post
Chris Hayes and Rachel Maddow of MSNBC
Mark Elias and his website Democracy Docket
If you missed that first meeting, don’t worry because Leah and Ezra are planning to hold these every Thursday in January. To register for the rest of them, click HERE. To learn more about Indivisible, check out these links from them:
Ezra’s most recent newsletter: Contagious Courage vs. Capitulation Caucus newsletter
Check out our latest Indivisible guide
Live in a blue state? You’ll want to read our blue state guide
Want to do something for the national day of service? Check out our Help Over Hate toolkit
Looking for a group? Enter your zip code or city here to see what is nearest you. A quick reminder that this map will be updated by the end of the month so please keep checking back or shoot us an email and we’ll be happy to help.
Ready to start organizing your community? Fill out this form and let us know.
Actions
There’s only one thing better than an Elected Official receiving 1,000 emails on the same issue in one week.
… And that is receiving 1,000 emails, 1,000 postcards AND 1,000 calls on the same issue in one week.
Please consider scheduling your action time on your calendar. In each Freedom Writer post (every Tuesday and Saturday at 8am), you’ll get new actions. But you can schedule the time to do them whenever it works for you – alone or with a group of your favorite action buddies. The more groups we have meeting on a regular schedule to do actions, the stronger our response network is, and the more power we have to protect our democracy.
For info on why we recommend Calls and Postcards over emails read this: INFO SHEET - How to Contact Your Elected Officials.
You can buy postcards from lots of places, including the US Post Office. Here are some beautiful postcards designed specifically for this purpose from The Freedom Writer’s partner YellowDoveStore.com.
Buy your postcard stamps from the US Post Office (and ONLY the US Post Office). Don’t buy blackmarket stamps. You can order postcard stamps directly from the US Post Office here.
ACTION # 1 - Contact US Senators and Reps in Opposition of the SAVE Act [ACTION SHEET #1]
ACTION # 2 - ACLU No extra funding for DHS/Mass Deportation [ACTION SHEET #2]
ACTION # 3 - Block the nomination of Kash Patel to the position of FBI Director [ACTION SHEET #3]
IMPORTANT IMMIGRANT PROTECTION ACTION - PLEASE READ:
We are expecting a mass incursion of immigrant raids TO BEGIN AFTER JANUARY 20TH.
We need non-immigrant ambassadors who can go out publicly TO document these operations and refute dis-information about them. If you are interested in doing this important work in or around Boston, please sign up here for the ACLU training: Action Team Media Crew Workshop. If you’d like to do this work in an area outside of Boston, contact EB Freed at ebfreed15@gmail.com.
Community
In each Freedom Writer post (Tuesdays and Saturdays at 8am) we like to share the story of “Why I Got Up Off the Couch and Took Action” from one of our activists with the community. If you’d like to offer YOUR story for us to share in later posts, take the “Why I Got Up Off the Couch and Took Action” questionnaire HERE.
Thanks to Denise from Massachusetts (70 years or older) for sharing her story:
When and why did you decide to start taking action?
“I started in Jan. 2017, after Trump's first election. I was so outraged/ confused/ sad that he had been elected, I knew I had to become a more involved citizen.”
Who, in your life, are you fighting for?
“The underrepresented: LBGTQ plus, immigrants, people of color, the people at the bottom of our economic ladder.”
What keeps you up at night?
“Thinking about all the possible actions that Trump could take.”
Who is your #1 hero? Who inspires you?
“Everyone who is willing to take a stand for what is right.”
Which action(s) that you took in 2024 are you most proud of?
“Going into classrooms to educate high schoolers about the importance of voting, writing postcards to encourage voting.”
Which action(s) do you think should be our top priorities in 2025?
“Safeguarding our democracy.”
>>> Rock on, Denise! Thank you so much for all the work you do. - EB Freed
If you’d like to offer YOUR story for us to share in later posts, take the “Why I Got Up Off the Couch and Took Action” questionnaire HERE.
Thanks for helping us save democracy,
EB Freed and Billy J
Erin and Bill,
This is a great resource and I am looking forward to taking action and sharing this with others.