Welcome to the Action Center Weekly Update. Each week, we will provide a brief analysis of critical issues in this political moment, share immediate actions you can take, and provide helpful resources to deepen knowledge and practice of our collective work to side with love.
Nothing is inevitable. All justice movements are powered by ordinary people who come together to defeat oppression and build a loving world. You are not alone. We have power. Together we can practice and win a just and loving world where all of us thrive.
Remember we build strong movements when we take action together. Organize teams and networks that can take these actions together. For support on practical organizing skills and support check out our Organizing School and Skill Up resources.
Democracy
We are witnessing the consolidation of power in the hands of the few instead of the many. Democracy is a process and practice grounded in our values of interdependence that affirms the inherent worth and dignity of all. We are the majority, but we must organize our communities to build the power to defeat authoritarianism and build a truly multiracial democracy.
The Update:
People continue to organize and find creative and impactful ways to resist the unjust actions of this regime and build community. Threats to privatize the United States Postal Service by Trump and Musk-led DOGE, resulted in the resignation of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and protests from USPS works across the country. Tesla Takedown actions continue to grow into a joyful global movement of ordinary people that is putting Tesla stock into a tailspin. As an oligarchy cements power, people are finding their economic power through boycotting industries that have caved on their commitment to DEI. Across issues people are rising to action in their context.
Side With Love is excited to announce that we have signed on to the “Hands Off” national days of action to show that the people—the majority—are taking action to stop the corruption and power grab.
Act:
Join your local Hands Off! mobilization on April 5
Read:
"Resistance is alive and well in the United States" “Protests of Trump may not look like the mass marches of 2017, but research shows they are far more numerous and frequent — while also shifting to more powerful forms of resistance.”
Stories of Resistance in realtime: https://choosedemocracy.us/resist-list/
Join:
Join the Rise for Freedom Training Series
Gender & LGBTQ Justice
Every body is sacred. Side With Love unapologetically affirms that trans people are divine, that abortion is a blessing, and that no one is disposable. Attacks on identity is a part of a divide and conquer tactic that relies on the belief that one group's safety comes at the expense of another group's safety. Solidarity is the moral and strategic mandate of our time, and we must rise to challenge these attacks and build communities of care and safety for all.
The Update:
Transgender Day of Visibility (TDOV), observed annually on March 31st, celebrates the accomplishments and contributions of transgender and gender-expansive people while raising awareness about the discrimination and violence they still face.
Founded in 2009 by activist Rachel Crandall, TDOV aims to counter the negative narratives surrounding trans people, often fuelled by media misrepresentation, and offer a day of empowerment. While the day celebrates trans lives, it also highlights ongoing challenges, including the rising tide of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation and violence, particularly against Black trans women. TDOV serves as a reminder of the work still needed to ensure equality and safety for the transgender community while celebrating trans visibility and joy.
Act:
Transgender Day of Visibility is March 31st, 2025. Read more here about how to join in on actions and learn more about how GLAAD is dismantling misinformation about people who are intesex, transgender, and non-binary.
“International TDOV was created in 2010 by trans advocate Rachel Crandall. Crandall, the head of Transgender Michigan, created TDOV in response to the overwhelming majority of media stories about transgender people being focused on violence. She hoped to create a day where people could celebrate the lives of transgender people, while simultaneously acknowledging that due to discrimination, not every trans person can or wants to be visible.”
Read:
Building Beloved Community Beyond the Binary UU World article by Rev. Jami A. Yandle, which focuses on an annual conference hosted by First Unitarian Universalist Society of Syracuse:
“In 2024, the keynote address was given by Latinx drag king Buck Wylde, from Dallas, Texas, who was voted Best Drag King by Dallas Voice and Dallas Entertainment Awards two years in a row. Wylde has traditionally performed in secular environments and teaches a course about drag in local universities in Texas. His Beyond the Binary keynote address and subsequent workshop marked his first time speaking and teaching in a spiritual community.”
Learn:
Check out the TDOV toolkit for 2025 from Equality North Carolina, great information for anyone in any state!
Join:
Defend Trans Lives: A Webinar for People of Faith
Tuesday March 25, 3:30-5pm Eastern / 12:30-2pm Pacific
Calling pro-LGBTQ Christians and other people of faith! We are living in a terrifying time for trans people and our families, as a virulent anti-trans political movement led by Christian Nationalists is sweeping the United States and threatening trans lives.
Presented in partnership with Enfleshed, Soulforce, and Queer Theology, this trans-led webinar, offered twice, will equip Christians and other people of faith—leaders and lay—to understand what’s going on, become more familiar with the experiences and realities of trans people, and learn how you can advocate for trans rights and ensure that your church is a welcoming and safe space for trans people and our families in this moment. REGISTER HERE
Join the UPLIFT Trans Day of Visibility Service hosted by the UUA on Friday, March 28 at 1pm PT / 4pm ET! There will be time and space to celebrate who we are and show our support and love for each other as trans/nonbinary+ UUs and friends.
“This is an all-ages event, and chaplain support will be available. We will have CART captions with a transcript and ASL interpretation. Visual descriptions will be integrated into our time together. This is an anti-racist and anti-oppressive space, and we strive to ensure all are included.”
Watch/Listen:
Navigating LGBTQ+ Rights Atkins Stohr and Jasmine Beach-Ferrara discuss the
“Kimberly Atkins Stohr and Jasmine Beach-Ferrara discuss the pressing issues facing LGBTQ+ individuals in the South, particularly focusing on the challenges faced by trans youth. They explore the mission of the Campaign for Southern Equality, the intersectionality of race, poverty, and LGBTQ+ rights, and the importance of community support and advocacy. The conversation emphasizes the need for love, understanding, and action in the face of hostile legislation and societal challenges, while also highlighting the progress made in LGBTQ+ rights and the ongoing fight for equality.”
Decriminalization & Immigration
Criminalization and dehumanization are a political and spiritual project. We must dismantle the false idea that safety for some must come at the expense of safety for others. As people of faith, we cannot affirm the worth and dignity of all while privileging the well-being of a chosen few. We proclaim a future where care and safety are abundant because our relationships are cultivated through mutuality, not domination.
Migrant detention and deportation. The school to prison network and mass incarceration. Unceasing police violence toward Black, Indigenous, and people of color communities. Bills making protest and resistance movements illegal. Laws criminalizing poverty, gender identity and expression, sex work, abortion, accessing and providing health care. All of these forms of criminalization are used by the state to disrupt, disempower, and dehumanize our communities.
The Update:
Last week, Colorado immigrant leader Jeanette Vizguerra was forcibly taken by ICE. As Foothills Unitarian’s Rev. Sean Neil-Barron wrote, Jeaneette “is just one of a string of activists, green card holders, and others who have been unlawfully detained in the past week in a deeply disturbing pattern of targeting political dissent:
Lequaa Kordia, another activist, has been held without justification.
Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University graduate and Palestinian solidarity activist, was abducted by ICE and sent to a corporate prison in Louisiana, without any criminal charges, simply for his advocacy.
Fabian Schmidt, a New Hampshire resident and electrical engineer, was violently interrogated at Logan Airport, stripped, placed in a freezing shower, and pressured to give up his green card. He was denied food, water, and his anxiety medication before being transferred to an ICE detention facility.
Dr. Rasha Alawieh, a Brown University physician, was denied U.S. entry at Logan Airport. Despite a valid visa and a judge’s order to stay, CBP revoked her visa and deported her to Lebanon, leaving Brown short-staffed for kidney transplants.
When they snatch our neighbors from their homes for speaking truth, they violate not just law but the sacred covenant that binds all humanity together.”
Act:
Sign the petition to Demand Jeanette’s release: Petition Link.
Donate to Support Jeanette’s family: Fundraiser Link.
Take action to Restore Legal Services for Unaccompanied Children
Read:
Rev. Neil-Barron’s blog about Jeanette and why we must speak out
Learn:
Digital Security 101
Join:
UUS for Social Justice presents “Immigration Policy and Budget Reconciliation: What you should know and how it all fits together.” An Expert Briefing with Ben D'Avanzo, National Immigration Law Center
Wednesday, March 26, 8:00pm ET • 7:00pm CT • 6:00pm MT • 5:00pm PT
Transformative Justice Under Authoritarianism webinar , Wednesday, March 26 from 5:00-6:30 ET
Join us for a discussion about abolitionist organizing rooted in transformative justice in the current context of authoritarian Argentina with Yo No Fui, a collective in Argentina that uses art, poetry, and popular education to organize across prison walls with incarcerated queer folks and women in Argentina. Spanish interpretation and live captioning will be available.
Criminalization 101 and 202 for Library and Information Workers by For The People Leftist Library Project (FTP) and Interrupting Criminalization (IC) with Mariame Kaba, Megan Riley, and Bean Yogi.
Recorded Criminalization 101 for Information Workers
Live Criminalization 202 workshop on Thursday, March 27 at 6:30-8 PM ET: Join for a live workshop focused on:
⚡️ resisting and disrupting ICE in library and information work and workplaces;
⚡️ de-escalation in library spaces; and
⚡️ abortion and reproductive health information criminalization.
Climate Justice
A just and loving world is a flourishing world. If we are to realize a world with no fossil fuels, where clean energy is a human right, and all beings thrive, we need new systems, norms, approaches, and ways of being to bring that world into existence.
The Update:
The “good” news is that the Global Warming’s Six Americas survey shows that 72% of the American public are Alarmed, Concerned, or Cautious about climate change and over 50% of the people in most counties are at worried about it. So what gives? Why is the Trump administration tackling every ‘emergency’ except the important one – climate change? “What this administration is doing is endangering all of our lives – ours, our children, our grandchildren,” according to Christine Todd Whitman, who led the EPA under George W Bush. Last year was the hottest year on record and the hottest ten years were in the last decade. 2024 was the fourth worst year for billion-dollar climate disasters making it the 14th consecutive year with 10+ billion dollar disasters with three times the average since 1980. The U.S. just experienced one of the deadliest non-hurricane weather disasters in decades with more than 120 tornadoes across 11 states killing over 40 people. Even so, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) – which provides up to the minute weather forecasting - is tasked with cutting nearly 20% of their workforce and the National Weather Service is suspending critical services.
It is increasingly clear that we need more than one way to fight back. In addition to continuing to call our elected officials to push back against these attacks on our safety, we should all be considering ways to build resilience in our communities and double down on our commitments to collective liberation and community care. Grace Lee Boggs encouraged that “we must have the courage to challenge ourselves to engage in activities that build a new and better world by improving the physical, psychological, political, and spiritual health of ourselves, our families, our communities, our cities, our world, and our planet.” We can start now by simply being kind and practicing ways to centering love in our actions.
Act:
Download the Climate Action Now App
Review the Yale Climate Opinion Maps 2024 which provide public opinion on a variety of climate-related questions. Drill down to your state, congressional district, metro area, or county to get a good idea of how your neighbors feel about the issues. Over a third of the population in every single U.S. county are worried about climate change. For most counties, over 50% of the population is worried. Share the data with your elected officials when you push against these attacks on the American public and advocate for climate protections that safeguard our future.
Read:
Hopescroll through the Resist List for stories of people’s noncooperation against Trump’s coup.
Learn:
How to create a mutual aid network
Join:
What's next after the Revival? Revival Community of Practice
April 9, 2025 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM ET
Green Sanctuary 35th Anniversary Call for Renewal with President Sofía Betancourt
April 16, 2025 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM ET
Watch/Listen:
How to Save a Planet Episode where listeners share the action they’re taking to help tackle climate change. They also offer a guide to help listeners identify action they can take to help fight climate change within their own communities