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:
May Day Strong! At more than 1,000 events from Alaska to Florida, from the streets of Philly to the streets of LA, hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets across the country to demand a country that works for our families, not billionaires’ fortunes. Check out more highlights on social media with the hashtags #MayDayStrong #MayDay2025 or maydaystrong.org.
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:
Across the country, people are finding both political and spiritual homes—places to process grief, gain clarity, and engage in organizing with renewed resolve. As formal democratic norms are being dismantled in real time, communities are rising to build the democracy we need. Unions, mutual aid groups, and grassroots coalitions are showing us what democracy truly looks like: collective care, shared power, and deep solidarity.
We witnessed this at May Day actions across the country, where workers, immigrants, students, and faith communities came together to demand an end to deportations, advocate for worker rights, and reclaim power in the public square.
In alignment with these efforts, the UUA has joined Siembra NC’s 4th Amendment Workplaces campaign, organizing local employers to stand up for immigrant communities and protect their constitutional rights. Resistance becomes transformative when we proactively create spaces of care and belonging—laying the foundations of a living democracy, block by block
Act:
Read:
Watch:
Brennan Center’s Presidential Power in the First 100 Days: Experts discuss the administration’s policies and tactics and their impact on Americans
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:
This week, you can support transgender people through several meaningful actions. Consider donating to the Southern Poverty Law Center, which is actively fighting unconstitutional laws and promoting human rights. Stay informed by reading about legislative developments, such as a Colorado trans rights bill that recently had its most controversial provision removed but still faces debate. Learn more about the broader context by reviewing the ACLU’s tracking of 575 anti-LGBTQ bills across the U.S. Become a better ally by exploring educational resources like the “Guide to Being an Ally to Transgender and Nonbinary Young People.” Finally, deepen your understanding by watching Growing Up Trans, a FRONTLINE documentary that highlights the experiences of transgender youth and their families.
Act:
“Right now, far-right extremists are emboldened and energized. Our work is urgent—we’re fighting back by challenging unconstitutional laws, partnering with state and community organizations to amplify our impact and working to ensure that all Americans receive equal protection under the law.
With your support, we’re fighting to dismantle white supremacy, strengthen intersectional movements, and advance the human rights of all people.”
Read:
“The state Senate could soon vote on a Democratic bill to increase protections for transgender Coloradans, however the measure faces concerns from both members of the LGTBQ community and the governor.
After an emotional, 10-hour hearing in the Senate Judiciary committee earlier this week, the panel agreed to strike the bill’s most controversial provision.”
Learn:
The ACLU is tracking 575 Anti-LGBTQ bills in the U.S.
Join:
“The first step to becoming an ally to transgender and nonbinary people is to learn more; thank you for taking that step with us!
It can be tough for transgender and nonbinary people to bear the burden of educating others about their lived experiences. Our Guide to Being an Ally to Transgender and Nonbinary Young People is an introductory educational resource that covers a wide range of topics and best practices on how to support transgender and nonbinary people.”
Watch/Listen:
“Inside the struggles and choices facing transgender kids and their families, in an era where they have more medical options than ever before.”
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:
Despite the efforts of thousands of organizers and activists in Atlanta and beyond, Cop City opened amidst a banner drop by protesters vowing to keep fighting it. In 2023, our UU General Assembly passed an Action of Immediate Witness (AIW) to Stop Cop City due to the extreme costs, environmental destruction, and violence of the Atlanta Police Department. The Cop City Struggle highlights how racism, economics, climate, democracy, and militarism are all connected—and our movements can be too.
Read:
Written by Interrupting Criminalization co-founder Andrea J. Ritchie, this is a tool to help you figure out and consider what strategic approach(es) you’re best positioned to move forward in this moment—blocking, blunting, breaking, bridging or building—and where you might have power, influence, and opportunities to act to move that strategy forward.
Learn:
Not Just Cop City video series connecting the intersectional issues
Join:
Trump and his billionaire profiteers are trying to create a race to the bottom—on wages, on benefits, on dignity itself. We are demanding a country that puts our families over their fortunes—public schools over private profits, healthcare over hedge funds, prosperity over free market politics. Join us as we debrief our national day of action and talk next steps.
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:
A coalition of African civil society organizations recently petitioned Africa’s court on Human and Peoples’ Rights for an Advisory Opinion on climate justice. What this means is that civil rights and environmental lawyers across multiple nation-states in the African continent are pushing the highest court in Africa to define climate justice. Legal experts consider this “a watershed moment in the advancement of environmental justice on the continent.” This is an initiative that begins to ask what demands for climate justice look like not just within the political boundaries of the continent but also amidst global impacts brought on by emissions generated outside of the continent. “Africa, which contributes only a small fraction of global greenhouse gas emissions, is facing overwhelming challenges due to the climate crisis. The alarming rise in the frequency and severity of droughts and flooding, along with escalating temperatures, poses grave threats to both natural ecosystems and the livelihoods of countless individuals. Recognizing the urgency of this situation, we are launching this petition as a heartfelt plea for justice for the communities enduring these harsh realities.”
Act:
Check your local government’s legal standards for climate adaptation, resilience, and addressing loss and damage.
Apply a critical and intersectional analysis to reading these standards.
If no such standards exist, petition your local council to draft them.
Read: