Indivisibles,

After last week’s Supreme Court ruling gutting the Voting Rights Act, I’m looking for inspiration and hope, so I’m reading John Lewis’s words. The hero of Selma, the champion of the Voting Rights Act, and the Conscience of the Congress wrote to all of us in his posthumously published op-ed nearly six years ago.

He urged us to learn from our history. “You must also study and learn the lessons of history because humanity has been involved in this soul-wrenching, existential struggle for a very long time.”

Remember this history.

In 1965, a 25-year-old John Lewis faced off against the authoritarians in Selma. Together with generations of civil rights organizers, they won us a real representative democracy. The showdown in Selma was 190 years after the Declaration of Independence proclaimed “all men are created equal;” 95 years after the 15th Amendment said “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged;” 75 years after southern segregationists filibustered to death the first federal legislation to protect voting rights in the South; 17 years after anti-voting rights Dixiecrats walked out of the Democratic National Convention; and 10 years after the start of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. It was a long road from rejecting King George to the march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge.

The road didn’t end there, and it didn’t end last week with the VRA's anti-gerrymandering protections rendered “all but a dead letter,” in the words of Justice Kagan.

In the aftermath of this democratic wreckage, I’d encourage you, again, to read John Lewis.

John Lewis advised us. “Democracy is not a state. It is an act, and each generation must do its part to help build what we called the Beloved Community, a nation and world society at peace with itself.”

He encouraged us. “Ordinary people with extraordinary vision can redeem the soul of America by getting in what I call good trouble, necessary trouble.”

He challenged us. “I urge you to answer the highest calling of your heart and stand up for what you truly believe. In my life I have done all I can to demonstrate that the way of peace, the way of love and nonviolence is the more excellent way. Now it is your turn to let freedom ring.”

By coincidence, I was out in Atlanta days after the court's ruling. Local Indivisible groups had endorsed Dr. Jasmine Clark for the GA-13 primary, and I was down to canvass for her and meet with the Indivisible groups. In the communities that John Lewis organized for decades, I met with Indivisibles who were planning for voter registration, GOTV, and creative protest ideas. Undeterred, they are taking their turn to let freedom ring.

I don’t know what the future holds for our democracy, but I do know we follow in the footsteps of patriotic Americans who also did not know what the future held, and yet they organized anyway. It’s our turn now.

In solidarity,
Ezra Levin
Co-Executive Director, Indivisible

Your weekly to-dos

1. Tell your Republican Members of Congress you don’t want more of your taxpayer dollars going to ICE and Border Patrol: Use our tools to call your Republican senator(s) and Republican representative. The GOP is working on a reconciliation bill that could give ICE and Border Patrol up to $140 BILLION more to fund concentration camps and militarized deployments to US cities. It’s vital they hear from constituents now. Calls are most important, but after hours, you can use our email tool, too.
2. Tell your Democratic Members of Congress to fiercely oppose the new GOP effort to shovel billions more dollars to ICE and Border Patrol. The GOP is using the budget reconciliation process to attempt to force Congress to shower even more taxpayer funding on these unaccountable agencies. We need every Democrat loudly united against this legislation.
3. Tell your Members of Congress to end the illegal war on Iran. The Trump regime breezed through the 60-day deadline for getting congressional authorization for the attack on Iran, compounding the illegality of this disastrous war. Trump is brazenly defying congressional authority, and it’s time for Congress to take their power back, uphold their constitutional duty, and use the War Powers Resolution to end this war.
4. Help us measure the impact of May Day by filling out a quick survey about your participation. It’s easier to count crowd sizes, but the overall impact of a nationwide day of economic disruption is a bit more difficult to gauge. Please fill out the survey so we can get a better sense of how the movement participated, and continue growing our capacity to wield our economic power for future activations.
5. Speaking of May Day, if you’re new to Indivisible after Friday’s mass mobilization and want to continue organizing with your community, find a local Indivisible group near you. There are thousands of local groups across the US fighting against authoritarianism and building local power day in and day out.
  

P.S. No Kings Day, the Communities Not Cages day of action, and May Day were all hugely successful (thanks to you!) -- but what does Indivisible do, when not preparing for nationwide mass action? So much! We run national campaigns against ICE and voter suppression; support local Indivisibles organizing around local issues; produce resources for activists and organizers -- and so much more. If you can, please chip in to help fuel our ongoing fight against authoritarianism.

ICE/Border Patrol Funding Update

Republicans caved last week. After months of keeping the Department of Homeland Security shut down, they finally agreed to pass a bipartisan bill that funds every DHS agency except ICE and Border Patrol. For months, Republicans refused to work with Democrats, hoping they would eventually cave as the shutdown became the longest in US history. But Dems didn’t. 

Thanks to grassroots pressure, Democrats held the line and refused to give ICE and Border Patrol another penny. This is a significant win -- but the fight isn’t over just yet. 

Republicans are now trying to shovel $140 billion to ICE and Border Patrol through reconciliation -- a legislative process that bypasses the filibuster, and thus would allow them to do this without any Democratic votes.

While Americans struggle to afford healthcare, food, and gas, Republicans want to pad the slush funds of these violent, unaccountable agencies. But we’re not accepting this as a done deal. We’re going to organize even harder to toxify and block this bill. 

Whether you live in a red or blue district, we have actions you can take to fight back. Check out our resource page to learn more about this fight and how you can get involved »

 IndivisiWIN of the Week

On Friday, Indivisibles joined May Day Strong, labor groups, and allies for a day of nationwide economic disruption at thousands of rallies, protests, and marches -- our movement’s largest mass mobilization since No Kings.

Educators, students, and families marched in Raleigh to protest funding cuts and demand that North Carolina prioritize students and invest in education. Nurses at University Medical Center in New Orleans launched a five day strike. Chicago Public Schools made May 1 a “day of civic action” and provided buses and bag lunches for students to attend a May Day rally. And in communities all across the country, workers, students, and consumers embraced the call of No Work, No School, No Shopping.

Resisting authoritarianism and fighting corruption is a long-haul fight, and rejecting business as usual makes a real impact -- whether you do so by withholding your labor, walking out of school, or not spending any money. We all have a part to play in building the foundation for continued nonviolent resistance and economic disruption.

 Upcoming events for you

These nationwide events, calls, and training sessions are coming up soon. For even more Indivisible happenings, check our national calendar and get in touch with Indivisible groups near you!

Happening this Week  Thursday: “What’s the Plan?” with Leah + Ezra (3pm ET/noon PT) Our weekly interactive Q&A with our co-founders and executive directors Leah Greenberg and Ezra Levin. Follow us on Bluesky, Mastodon, and Threads to keep up on the latest information, and text “INDIVISIBLE” to 59798 to opt-in to our text messaging program, where we send rapid response actions a few times a month.