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.
Top Lines for this week:
Climate: The last decade was the hottest on record and 2024 was the hottest of the hot with temperatures that threaten public health. Even so, the Trump administration eliminated all staff at the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), a program that helps over 6 million very poor families heat and cool their homes, raising alarms about the elderly and others who will be at great risk without this life-saving program.
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:
Victory for Democracy in Wisconsin
On April 1, voters rejected Elon Musk’s attempt to flip a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court that determines its balance of power. Musk spent at least $22 million on the race, including direct bribes, but the progressive candidate won decisively in a state that voted for Trump in 2024. The outcome means voters will enjoy fair districts for U.S. House seat races in the near future, thwarting GOP plans for extreme gerrymanders to gain seats.
While the victory is welcome, smarter and less repulsive billionaires constantly determine election and policy outcomes and will continue to do so until citizens force the reversal of SCOTUS precedents that equate money with speech.
Defeat for Freedom at SCOTUS
On April 7, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down (5-4) restraining orders that blocked the Trump regime from deporting people under the Alien Enemies Act. The ruling gives Trump the power to determine what countries, groups, or persons are legally an enemy of the U.S. based purely on his personal preferences. The attack on freedom illustrates the need for massive public pressure on the five enabling Justices: Roberts, Kavanaugh, Thomas, Gorsuch, and Alito.
Read:
“Personal Responsibility Under Dictatorship,” a lecture that Arendt delivered in 1964 Hannah Arendt, a Jewish refugee from Nazi Germany.
Learn:
Learn about the work to End Political Violence in the United States.
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:
“The Pink Haven Coalition is dedicated to protecting trans and non-binary individuals, especially in a time when their rights are under threat in the U.S. The organization is gathering support from diverse communities to ensure the safety and security of trans organizers. In Colorado, recent legislative actions highlight progress and challenges in transgender rights, including the passing of bills that codify gender-affirming care and prevent insurance discrimination against trans individuals. These developments align with broader efforts to advocate for trans equality and healthcare access. The Mayo Clinic offers valuable insights into the experiences of sex and gender, while advocates nationwide are urged to join actions supporting transgender rights. Additionally, the podcast series "Transgender Health Equity" delves into the challenges faced by trans patients and medical professionals, emphasizing the importance of health equity in today's political climate.”
Act:
Consider a donation to Pink Haven Coalition
“At a time when many places in the United States are seeking to eradicate trans and non-binary people from public life, we are committed to mobilizing justice-lovers who will declare “Not on my watch!” We have the will, the compassion, the experience, the pluck, and the resources to keep our trans communities and gender expansive beloveds safe. Centering the security of the trans organizers leading this work, we are gathering supporters from a wide array of communities and organizations.
Read:
Colorado House passes transgender, abortion bills as lawmakers prepare for budget week -
“The bill passed on a vote of 40-21, with one Democrat, Rep. Bob Marshall, D-Highlands Ranch, voting against the bill with Republicans. SB 183 was not amended in its trip through the House and now goes to the governor for signing. The House then moved on to House Bill 1309, which codifies "gender-affirming care" in statute and prohibits health insurance providers from denying or limiting such care, as prescribed by a physical or behavioural healthcare provider. ‘Gender-affirming care/ includes social, psychological or medical interventions for transgender children and adults, such as hormone therapy and surgical procedures. HB 1309 passed on a 40-20 party-line vote with five excused. It now heads to the Senate.”
Learn:
Transgender Facts from the Mayo Clinic Explore the concepts of sex and gender and the different ways people may experience them.
Join:
Take Action, join Advocates for Trans Equality in current national and state-based actions. You can make an impact no matter where in the U.S. you live.
Watch/Listen:
Transgender Health Equity - “In the third episode of our advocacy mini series with Dr. Anna Yap, we explore the evolving challenges faced by transgender patients and medical professionals in today’s political climate. We’re joined by Charlie Adams, a fourth-year medical student and dedicated advocate, who shares his powerful journey fighting for transgender rights and health equity.”
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:
We are so grateful to Andrea Ritchie and crew at Interrupting Criminalization for their monthly newsletter, and today’s update is directly from there: “The past month (which has felt like a decade) has been marked by a rapid acceleration and escalation in criminalization as the federal administration cements itself into an authoritarian regime, abducting and disappearing mounting numbers of migrants, students, protesters, and Muslims, and escalating attacksagainst trans, queer, and disabled people, educational institutions, law firms who have litigated against the President, and lawyers representing organizers and immigrants — all amidst the wholesale dismantling of federal administrative agencies and programs. So much has happened on so many fronts it is impossible to track all trends and incidents in a single newsletter.”
Public outrage and mobilization free mother and children abducted by ICE
On March 27. ICE personnel imprisoned a mother and her three children in Sackets Harbor, NY, which is also home to Trump’s “border czar,” Tom Homan. The family allegedly lacked documentation, but had declared themselves to immigration judges, were attending court on assigned dates and followed legal processes.
On April 5, nearly 1,000 people (in a town with 1400 year-round residents) rallied to demand their release, which occurred less than two days later, as The Guardian reports.
Act:
Did you go to college? If so, use your alumnae power to call and write to the President and Board of your college or university and demand that they make public statements of support for international students, including those engaged in protests, and refuse to comply with federal demands to disclose the names and nationalities of student protesters. The Tufts University administration issued such a statement in support of abducted student Rümeysa Ozturk. Your college can too!
Read:
Seven facts about mass incarceration that sound like April Fools’ Day hoaxes, but aren’t. Fines for suicide attempts, prisons built near toxic wastelands, the overwhelming number of people in the system…it's hard to believe, but it's true.
Learn:
Check out the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s pocket guide to protecting your data crossing the U.S. border and digital privacy at the border report.
Join:
Criminalization at the Core of Authoritarianism, Fascism, and Resistance
Wednesday, April 9, 2025, 6:30 PM 8:00 PM ET
Join Andrea J. Ritchie, Rachel Herzing, Scot Nakagawa, Ejeris Dixon, and Woods Erwin in exploring the central role of criminalization in shaping the current and evolving political terrain, and the essential role of challenging criminalization in strategies for resistance and solidarity across movements to fight fascism and authoritarianism worldwide. (All times in EST.)
100 Days: Care, not Criminalization
Wednesday, April 9, 2025, 8:00 PM 9:30 PM ET
As we face an escalating, carceral state, we must increasingly champion abolitionist principles. This is especiailly important in health care settings. Join us for a teach-in on how to support both patients and clinicians in fighting for a world where providing and accessing healthcare is just that — the simple act of giving and receiving care, unencumbered by carceral, racist, and commercial forces. (All times in EST.)
Watch/Listen:
Learn how effective messaging about “Safety, accountability, and justice” can effectively oppose “tough on crime” narratives in the recent Block and Build podcast episode about the recent Wisconsin Supreme Court Election.
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:
2024 was the hottest year since record keeping began, and the last ten years are the hottest on record. The average person experienced 41 additional days of dangerous heat fuelled by human-made climate change in 2024. Even so, the Trump administration has fired every single person who worked on the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), a program that helps over 6 million very poor families heat and cool their homes. Less than half of the states have a “hot weather rule” which prohibits utility companies from shutting off electricity in times of extreme heat. Without any LIHEAP staff, fears about whether or not the LIHEAP funding will make it to the states are rising. “My fear is that quietly in their homes, grandmothers will die this summer,” said Katrina Metzler, executive director of the National Energy & Utility Affordability Coalition.
Act:
Join the Environmental Defence Funds Anti-Misinformation Brigade
Learn:
Check out this guide on how to identify and fight the spread of climate misinformation.
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:
Dr. Katharine Hayhoe discusses how to start climate conversations in your workplace in the latest episode of Degrees: Real Talk About Planet Saving Careers