Compliance carries with it a sense of futility for the individual and is associated with the idea that nothing matters and that life is not worth living.

D.W. Winnicott in Playing and Reality

So let’s continue to, in the words of John Lewis, make beautiful trouble! 

Go out, get some friends and make life matter, you trouble maker, you!

The Gray Brigade: Leading with Experience and Determination

It’s no surprise that the demographic of Indivisible and much of the resistance is dominated by what we call the Gray Brigade. We are on the forefront of this movement because we’ve learned a thing or two about facing fear, developing courage, and maintaining hope over our many years. Time and again we remained hopeful when there were few objective reasons to be so, and we witnessed the remarkable accomplishments of the movements we were part of—the Freedom Riders, the Environmental and Peace movements, Women’s and Gay Liberation among many others.

Laura teasingly describes Marjorie as fearless, but the truth is that none of us are truly fearless. What we are is determined—determined to build on the accomplishments of those transformative movements. All of us have mothers who didn’t have access to abortions or even birth control, grandmothers who couldn’t vote. We are not going to give up on the promises of those movements that we were part of and that we witnessed firsthand.

Our gray hair represents not just age, but wisdom earned through decades of struggle and progress. We know that change is possible because we’ve seen it happen. We know that hope can be sustained even in the darkest times because we’ve lived through them. And we know that the work continues because the promise of equality and justice for all has not yet been fully realized.

• Mondays, September 22-November, Ongoing strategizing meetings of working groups and Postcards for fall elections 6:45pm–8:45pm United Parish Church, Brookline.   Packets of 20 postcards and stamps are $12.  We take cash, checks and Venmo but NOT credit cards.
• Wednesday, September 24 Brookline for Immigrant Justice, 6:00–8:00pm United Parish Church.   AG Andrea Campbell will keynote a panel of immigrant rights advocates at a fundraiser for  La Collaborativa, La Fuerza, LUCE and Lawyers for Civil Rights  Illegal until proven citizen: this is where we are now in America.  Come to this forum to learn how we might protect our immigrant neighbors.  Tickets available here. 
• Monday, September 29 Follow up meetings for working groups: Disrupt ICE Protect Caregivers, Signs of Solidarity and Visibility Brigade.  6:45pm–8:45pm United Parish Church.  If you missed the strategy session on Monday, you can still jump in and be a part of developing effective actions we can all take.
• Monday, October 27, Speaking Truth in the Face of Mis- and Disinformation 6:45pm–8:45pm United Parish Church, Brookline  What exactly are we confronting and what can YOU do?

Protesting alone won’t change Trump but it does help build our movement.  It strengthens that small voice in bystanders who are not yet speaking out.  Marching with others or seeing clips of protests around the country reminds us that we are far from alone.  There are millions of us willing to stand up for what we believe.

PLUS, sometimes protests and boycotts have a direct impact.  Tesla Takedowns took Musk down a peg or two, the CEO of Target was let go because of a decrease in profits and Bearing Witness at ICE has resulted in reduced transfers on Wednesdays. 

• Boycott Home Depot, Immigrant advocates are calling for a full boycott of Home Depot.  The corporation is allowing ICE raids at their stores AND are huge Trump supporters. Please shop elsewhere–preferably at a mom and pop hardware store–if you possibly can. 
• Bearing Witness at ICE, Every Wednesday and Thursday 11:00am–1:00pm 100 District Ave. Burlington, MA and every Saturday, 11am–1pm Burlington Mall Road and District Ave
• Brookline Rally for Democracy, Every Saturday 2:00pm–3:00pm Coolidge Corner, Brookline
• Sun Day, Sunday September 21 11:00am–1:00pm, Kings Chapel, Boston a celebration of renewable energy and a parade with music and song
• Honk Festival, October 9-12,  is it a parade? is it a protest?  It will definitely be fun!

Please note: A core principle behind all our events is a commitment to nonviolent action. We expect all participants to seek to de-escalate any potential confrontation with those who disagree with our values. Weapons of any kind, including those legally permitted, should not be brought to events.

• Anand Giriharadas writes, “Democracy is, in the beginning and in the end, a belief that we can live together despite difference and choose the future together. It is a beautifully reckless idea, because it is hard enough for a family to decide what to have for dinner. But it works; in fact, it works better than all the other systems. It is built on the idea that the way to change the world around you is to try to change others’ minds. This would have surprised some of our ancestors, who found it easier to draw a sword. What is at stake now is whether we can defend the idea, and the lived belief, that you change things by changing people. We must tell this to people. More importantly, we must show it.” Read more.
• 3 actions you can take to stop Trump fanning the flames of violence. 
• Consider inviting your friends to a postcarding party in support of California’s redistricting.  Cartoons for Democracy has some great cards and you can get scripts and addresses through Activate America.
• Sign up for the Indivisible Mass Action Coordinated Action Dispatch.  This newsletter comes out every Wednesday and the recommended actions are thoroughly vetted for impact.  One action near and dear to us is Fixing the Massachusetts State Legislature. 
• There are calls to make this week:
  • The Center for Disease Control is in chaos as RFK Jr. continues his assault on public health.  Read about it here and then call your Representative to ask them to join a bipartisan effort to fire him.  
  • Repesentative Auchincloss voted to support Trump’s takeover of DC.  
  • Why isn’t Governor Healey speaking out like Governors Pritzker, Newsom and Moore?  You can ask– 617-725-4005

• According to Politico , the Trump administration plans an immigration enforcement surge in Boston. Those of us with US citizenship who feel safe in this country can allay the fears of immigrants by making sure undocumented people have food, can pay rent, have safe transportation, and get good, timely information. La Collaborativa, the Immigrant Family Services Institute, BIJAN, MIRA and the Brazilian Worker Center are all excellent places to contribute time and money.
• Sister District learned from the GOP that supporting state legislative candidates pays off. Small investments yield huge returns  In 2025, they are focusing on Virginia where a solid Democratic win will energize the country.
• Run for Something is smoothing the way for young progressives outside traditional power structures to run and win elections.  From school boards to congress, they have an impressive track record supporting tens of thousands of potential candidates and notching up wins across the country in red, purple and blue districts.
• The Borowitz Report recommends that you if you choose to give money to a candidate, give to one with a rating of lean to winning or toss up according to the Cook Political Report (or you can let Force Multiplier to do that research).

Together for Democracy,

Marjorie, Laura, Barbara, Suzette

volunteer co-leaders

Activist Evenings, An Indivisible Group

We don’t do this for the money but we need money to do what we do. Rent and supplies.cost $800 each month.  Please consider supporting Activist Evening — any amount helps!