NOTE:  We are not meeting October 13.

We are making signs for No Kings on Thursday October 16.

Our next Monday Activist Evening will be October 20.

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.

• Monday October 20, 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.
• Monday, October 20 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 planning meeting last week, you can still jump in and be a part of developing effective actions we can all take.
• Friday–Sunday, October 9–12, Honk Festival, is it a parade? is it a protest?  It will definitely be fun! AND for even more fun if you are a participant in a funeral for fascism at the parade.  Learn more and sign up here. 
• Monday, October 27, Speaking Truth in the Face of Mis- and Disinformation A Collaboration with Indivisible Santa Barbara  6:45pm–8:45pm United Parish Church, Brookline  What exactly are we confronting and what can YOU do?  Learn about several groups that you can join to make a difference and get 1:1 training to stand up for truth online.
• Monday, November 3, Readiness, Resilience, and Resistance:  A Workshop for What Lies Ahead  6:45pm–8:45pm United Parish Church, Brookline

Important actions you can take this week.

1. Let’s win the fall BIG.  Voting has begun and retaking the House could be decided by Prop 50 in California.  Drive turnout with phone calls to friendly voters. 
2. Are you an alum at any of the following institutions: University of Arizona, Brown University, Dartmouth College, MIT, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Southern California, the University of Texas, Vanderbilt University or the University of Virginia? If so, please help fight back against Trump’s latest attack on academic freedom. Read more in Chop Wood, Carry Water about making phone calls, writing letters and withholding donations to fight the Trump admin proposed Compact pressuring higher education into compliance.
3. There is increasing need for volunteers to do food distribution for the immigrant community.  If you’re interested in helping, respond to this email and we’ll get back to you with details. 
4. Help ground ICE at Hanscom!  There is a MassPort public meeting on Thursday, October 16th at 9 am.  The Activist Evenings working group has been collaborating with other organizations to recruit people to attend the meeting and make public comment, but it’s also possible to comment via email at this address: WrittenPublicComments@MassPort.com.  We are asking that MassPort stop detention flights out of Hanscom Air Field.  At the very least, they should 1) prohibit ICE agents from wearing masks at the airfield, 2) conduct their work in an area visible to the public, and 3) ensure that no MassPort employees are assisting ICE efforts.

Protesting alone won’t change Trump but it does help build our movement.   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.  According to Robert Reich:

“Immediately after Kimmel’s suspension, Disney viewers and customers began to cancel their subscriptions to Disney+ and Hulu and threaten a broader consumer boycott.According to Strength in Numbers, the Disney boycott quickly became four times as large as any boycott over the last five years.  Disney’s stock dipped about 3.5 percent and continued to trade lower in subsequent days — a loss in market value amounting to some $4 billion.” (read more).

 and on Tuesday,Jimmy Kimmel was back.

• Bearing Witness at ICE,  Every Wednesday and Thursday 11:00am–1:00pm 1000 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
• 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. 
• Boycott Target  Since Rev. Bryant launched this boycott after Target stepped back from their commitment to DEI, the retail chain has lost over $12 billion in sales and removed its CEO amid declining shopper confidence and a spiraling share price.  

• 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.
• 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).

Join other activists in real life. Make new friends and leave feeling hopeful.

 Mondays at Activist Evenings in Brookline.

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!