10.21.25 Action Center Update

Side With Love

Welcome to the Action Center Weekly Update. Each week, we’ll share:

  • A brief analysis of critical issues in this political moment

  • Immediate actions you can take

  • Resources to deepen knowledge and strengthen our collective work to side with love

Nothing is inevitable. Justice movements are built by ordinary people who come together to defeat oppression and nurture a loving world. You are not alone. We have power. Together, we can create a just and thriving future.

Movements are strongest when we act together. Organize with your teams and networks, and take these actions in community. For practical tools, see our Organizing School and Skill Up resources.

Democracy

Core Principle: Democracy is not a destination but a practice rooted in interdependence and the worth and dignity of all. While authoritarianism consolidates power, we are the majority—and we must organize to build a truly multiracial democracy.

The Update: On Sunday, 7 million Americans marched in the No Kings demonstration—the largest national action in U.S. history. Together, we mobilized to declare our collective rejection of authoritarian rule. But in the months ahead, we must move from demonstration to commitment and strategic noncompliance.

Alice Walker reminds us, “The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.” The truth is, the people hold all the power—when we organize, take risks together, and refuse to let this regime profit from our participation. Our task now is to build a democracy where we all thrive—block by block, state by state—until we have a government truly of the people, by the people, and for the people.

The North Carolina Legislature is advancing a new congressional map under Senate Bill 249 aimed at flipping the 1st Congressional District from Democratic to Republican. The Supreme Court is hearing Louisiana v. Callais, a case challenging the application of Section 2 of the VRA (which prohibits voting practices that dilute minority voting power even absent intentional discrimination). From gerrymandering to the SAVE Act, voting rights are under attack and will need to strengthen our organizing to face these challenges.

Take Action:

Resources:

  • Join:

    • The Gathering on November 10, 8:00 PM - 9:15 PM ET, 7pm CT, 6pm MT, 5pm PT for a special update from UU the Vote. Meet the leaders who will be supporting UU the Vote 2026 which is being reimagined and expanded to meet this moment.

  • Watch/Listen:

Gender & LGBTQ Justice

Core Principle: Every body is sacred. We affirm that trans people are divine, abortion is a blessing, and no one is disposable. Attacks on identity are designed to divide us—solidarity is our moral and strategic mandate.

The Update: Across the country, attacks on bodily autonomy and identity are escalating in tandem — a coordinated attempt to control and divide. From the federal rollback of the “X” gender marker on U.S. passports to new pushes to criminalize abortion medication, the message from those in power is clear: they seek to define who counts as human, whose lives are legitimate, and whose freedom can be negotiated away. The loss of Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, a towering voice for trans liberation, arrives as both heartbreak and reminder — our movements have always faced impossible odds and still found ways to love, organize, and win.

Yet amid these assaults, resistance is blooming. Communities are connecting across causes, naming that the fight for abortion access and trans dignity is one shared struggle for bodily freedom. From clinics expanding care despite threats, to nonbinary travelers refusing erasure, to organizers texting strangers about hope and action — this is how we reclaim power. The cards may be stacked against us, but history is clear: when we act together, when we refuse to let fear divide us, we build the future we deserve. Every body is sacred. We affirm that trans people are divine, abortion is a blessing, and no one is disposable. Solidarity is not only our moral calling — it’s how we will all collectively get free.

Take Action:

  • Push back on passport “X” erasure. The new CBP rule requiring airlines to ignore the “X” gender marker on U.S. passports (forcing “M” or “F” entries) undermines nonbinary identity and invites confusion and discrimination.

    • Write to your Congressperson and urge them to demand CBP clarify and reverse this rule.

    • Support organizations planning legal challenge or litigation against this rule.

Resources:

  • Read:

    • “Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, an activist and defining figure in LGBTQ+ liberation movements, has died, according to the House of GG. Griffin-Gracy was 78.” Read more in a tribute article by Them.

  • Learn:

    • 2025 anti-trans bills tracker

      In 2025, anti-trans bills continue to be introduced across the country. Translegislation.com tracks legislation that seeks to block trans people from receiving basic healthcare, education, legal recognition, and the right to publicly exist.

      1,000 bills, 49 states, 122 passed, 497 active, 381 failed

  • Join:

  • Watch/Listen:

    • This week from The Sanctity of Abortion Podcast - “Phill dives into the most religiously fraught political battlefield of our time: Abortion. To better understand the fight for abortion access nationwide, he first talks to Monica Simpson, the executive director at Sister Song, a reproductive justice organization led by women of color. Monica breaks down the ways reproductive care becomes politicized, and what’s at stake for bodily autonomy should Trump win re-election. Then, Phill talks to Reverend Amanda Hambrick Ashcraft—a pro-choice minister who explains the history of religion and abortion, and how the pro-life movement was created as a convenient political tool for white men seeking power.”

Decriminalization & Immigration

Core Principle: Criminalization and dehumanization deny the dignity of our communities. Safety cannot come at the expense of others. As people of faith, we proclaim a future of care, abundance, and mutuality—not domination.

The Update: Last week, Alameda County CA became the first county in the country to divest from unethical weapons manufacturers and fossil fuels. Regular people in Chicago continue to block ICE abductions, even as the Trump administration continues to chip away at our right to protest. We do, indeed, have power as people to impact the weaponized systems harming our communities and people around the globe. Victory is far from certain, but we know that what we do matters. Let us continue organizing our blocks, our town councils, and our cities to cast a vision of safety through community and work to make that real.

Take Action:

  • We know that true safety comes from community. So on Veterans Day, we invite you to join May Day Strong to host a November 8th Town Hall, demanding members of Congress stop the cuts to vital services.

  • Trump’s National Security Presidential Memorandum-7 (NSPM-7) builds a legal framework to turn political opposition into a crime. NSPM-7 directs the Attorney General and the Secretaries of State, Treasury, and Homeland Security to “counter domestic terrorism and political violence.” Send a message to your members of Congress urging immediate hearings to review the implementation, effects, and legality of Trump’s “NSPM-7” memo; as well as oversight to prevent funding of surveillance of lawful political activity.

Resources:

  • Read:

    • Mijente shares good news out of Chicago: In spite of increased ICE violence and militarization, la gente are fighting back, and it’s working!

    • One week into the Palestine/Israel ceasefire deal, and Israel has already violated it multiple times: shooting and bombing Palestinians, blocking half of the aid trucks from entering Gaza, and refusing to open the Rafah crossing by the agreed date. Trump has failed to hold Israel accountable for immediately violating the ceasefire deal with multiple attacks and aid restrictions, refusing to use his massive leverage to place an arms embargo on Israel. Read more analysis from the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USCPR).

  • Learn:

    • Surveillance Self-Defense: Tips, tools, and How-Tos for safer online communications, a Project of the Electronic Frontier Foundation

  • Join:

    • Interfaith Nonviolent Civil Resistance 101 Training Wednesday, Oct 22, 8pm ET / 5pm PT. Join the Center on Faith and Justice, Sojourners, Interfaith Alliance, and the Horizons Project for an Interfaith Nonviolent Civil Resistance 101 training, designed as a foundational session for faith leaders seeking to confront authoritarianism and defend democracy through the power of nonviolence. Co-sponsored by UUs for Social Justice

    • “Organizing a Local Arms Embargo,” Wed. Oct. 22 at 7PM ET / 4PM PT with US Campaign for Palestinian Rights. You can also sign up for weekly Power Hours with Rising Majority and partners.

Climate Justice

Core Principle: A just and loving world is also a flourishing one. A fossil-free future is possible, where clean energy is a human right and all beings thrive. To get there, we must create new systems, norms, and practices.

The Update: Electricity rates have been steadily increasing for the past five years - more than 30 percent on average since 2020, more than twice as fast as the cost of living, and almost double the rate of inflation. While the increased cost of electricity is an inconvenience for some, for far too many it is a question of, “what do I go without - food, medicine, transportation to work - in order to pay my electric bill?”

That’s not stopping utilities from asking for rate increases. Utilities have requested $29 Billion in rate hikes for 2025 even though 73% of Americans are concerned and 80% feel powerless over about rising utility bills. Complicating matters is that 90% - 90%! - of Americans can’t name the state or local regulatory body that determines utility rates; far too many of us don’t know how to fight back against these rate hikes that harm our communities.

Public Utility Commissions (PUCs) regulate utility prices, resource planning and acquisition, reliability, and quality of service regulation. PUCs wield significant power; their decisions impact air quality, public health, climate resilience, and financial security for our families. Advocating for fair utility regulations can be intimidating to outsiders, which benefits those who are more concerned with profit than people.

We have the power to protect our communities from these unfair rate increases, and many UUs are doing just that. Check out the The People’s Playbook to Ending Debt & Shutoffs, learn how to Engage with Public Utilities and Public Service Commissions, and tune in to the ways UUs are fighting back.

Take Action:

  • Submit a Public Comment against the proposed repeal of the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Requirements. The Environmental Protection Association wants to make it easier for large, industrial polluters to pollute. Since 2009, the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program required industrial polluters to report their annual emissions. This effort aligns with the EPA’s recent move to eliminate the Endangerment Finding which affirms that greenhouse gas emissions harm public health. The Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program is critical to measuring the pollution that drives climate change and disruption; repealing it would hamper climate progress and endanger public health. Read more on Side With Love’s Holding the EPA Accountable page.

    You can send comments, identified by Docket Id. No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2025-0186, by any of the following methods:

    • Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov/docket/EPA-HQ-OAR-2025-0186/document. Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.

    • Mail: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA Docket Center, Office of Air and Radiation Docket, Mail Code 28221T, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20460.

    • While it’s best to submit a personal public comment via the instructions above, you can also submit a pre-written comment at the Climate Reality Project.

Resources:

  • Learn:

  • Join:

    • Carbon Neutral by 2050 - Green Sanctuary 2030 Community Meeting

      November 19, 2025 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM ET

      The Boise UU Fellowship has committed to become Carbon Neutral by 2050 as part of their Green Sanctuary 2030 commitments. Engaging the entire congregation in a 2023 special appeal “Imagining A Carbon Neutral World,” BUUF launched their carbon neutral campaign which will focus on reducing the BUUF carbon footprint and supporting members to reduce their individual emissions while also building strong relations with community groups doing mitigation work. Come together for shared learning and mutual supports with other UUs transforming our congregations through climate justice. Green Sanctuary 2030 community meetings take place on the third Wednesday of the month at 4PT - 5MT - 6CT - 7ET for 90 minutes.

  • Watch/Listen:

    • Claiming Our Power to Fight for a Clean Energy Future in Georgia

      Public Utility Commissions (PUCs) regulate utility prices, resource planning and acquisition, reliability and quality of service regulation. Advocating at Public Utility Commissions is an incredibly impactful way to shape our energy future but can seem confusing and overwhelming. By design, the process is intimidating and benefits those who are more concerned with profit than people. PUCs wield significant power and their decisions affect clean energy and air quality, impacting both greenhouse gas mitigation and climate resilience. However, as people of faith and conscience, we are called to respond! The UU Georgia Legislative Action Network is making good trouble for climate justice as they remind the Georgia Utility Commissioners and Elected Officials that people have the power to choose a just and moral path for our energy future. Learn techniques and tactics for how you can make this good trouble in your state!

Together, we practice the world we long for. Together, we win.

10.14.25 Action Center Update