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.
Friends,
In times like these, our faith does not retreat. It rises.
Unitarian Universalism is not a tradition that turns away from the world’s pain. It is a living faith rooted in covenant and shaped by generations of activists and prophets—people who believed that revelation is ongoing, that every person carries a spark of the divine, and that “giving life the shape of justice” is the work of our hands and hearts. We do not affirm the worth and dignity of every person as a slogan—we live it as a mandate. Our theology insists that love must be embodied in systems, structures, and policies that protect and uplift. In the face of suffering and oppression, our faith responds with courage, not retreat.
We write to you in a week of grief, outrage, and moral clarity.
In Los Angeles and Minneapolis, our neighbors are rising up as ICE raids tear families apart and target immigrant communities with cruelty and impunity. A new travel ban has gone into effect, once again targeting Muslims and immigrants from Black and Brown nations under the guise of national security. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court continues to tilt the scales of justice—expanding privileges for the powerful while narrowing the reach of vital civil protections.
At the same time, bold efforts are emerging to challenge U.S. complicity in global violence. The Block the Bombs Act was introduced by Representatives Delia Ramirez, Sara Jacobs, Pramila Jayapal, and Mark Pocan, alongside 18 other members of Congress. The bill seeks to prohibit the transfer of specific U.S. weapons to Israel that have been used in operations resulting in civilian harm—an effort grounded in both international law and our shared moral responsibility.
This special edition of the Action Center is here to help equip you, provoke reflection, and inspire faithful action in the face of escalating injustice, systemic cruelty, and sustained assaults on human dignity. The road ahead may be challenging—but we won’t face it alone. We will move forward together, guided by fierce love and unwavering hope.
Read on for tools, opportunities, and ways to rise in faith and solidarity this week.
In community and courage,
The Side With Love Team
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:
This week, the heart of our justice movements—and the moral rot of an authoritarian regime—are on full display. While communities in Minneapolis, Los Angeles County, and across the country rise to defend themselves against state violence, the U.S. Senate prepares to trade away people’s housing, healthcare, and food access to fund more attacks on our neighbors.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court issued an unanimous ruling in favor of a woman claiming discrimination for being heterosexual—a decision that, on the heels of escalating attacks on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion efforts, signals a dangerous shift. When the U.S. grants refugee status to Afrikaners—the descendants of white colonizers in South Africa—while criminalizing asylum seekers at the border, and resegregates our schools through privatized voucher programs, we must ask: Who is this country being reordered to serve? Who is granted protection, and who is denied humanity?
These are not isolated events. They are coordinated efforts to divide and conquer—to tell us who matters and who does not. But as we know from history, these strategies serve only the powerful few, while the many suffer.
Solidarity is the moral and strategic demand of our time.
Like democracy, solidarity is not a sentiment—it is a practice. A practice rooted in collective power, sacred dignity, and shared responsibility. We are not simply resisting a political agenda—we are building a durable, faithful movement for democracy that outlasts any one crisis, regime, or candidate.
So let’s keep showing up—for our communities, our values, and our shared future.
Act:
Join the “No Kings” Day of Action – June 14
Authoritarianism thrives when people are afraid, divided, and demobilized. That’s why we’re joining partners nationwide in the No Kings Day of Action to reject authoritarian politics and reclaim democracy as a practice of the people. We believe in a democracy where all belong, all vote, and all thrive.
Learn:
Listen to “Grief Is the Healing: Malkia Devich-Cyril on Organizing Through Loss”
Sorrow and trauma and demobilize and keep us from building the solidarity we need in these times. Learn about tools and frameworks for understanding grief and processing grief that help us move through change together.
Join:
Attend a Know Your Rights and how to be safe at the Protest
As more people engage in protests and direct actions, it is critical to know our rights. Check out this ACLU training on June 10 at 7pm ET. Join the training from ACLU or review the Community Safety Toolkit from so.informed.
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’s update—the ACLU is calling on supporters to help reach a goal of 25,000 messages sent to Congress to stop the abuse of power and the unfounded arrests of public officials, as the Trump administration continues to wield federal authority against those who dissent—including members of Congress, mayors, and judges. In response to federal overreach, California has pushed back against a Trump-era demand to bar transgender students from participating in sports aligned with their gender identity; the state’s attorney general filed legal action asserting the federal government has no authority to enforce such a mandate. It is crucial to know your rights as a transgender or gender non-conforming (TGNC) immigrant, especially amid increasing reports of targeting and mistreatment. A recent video details how a trans asylum seeker was misled in a Portland court and subsequently detained by ICE—a troubling case that reflects a broader pattern, with another individual detained outside a courtroom under similar circumstances. Now is the time to take action, rise up for civil liberties, and defend the rights of marginalized communities.
Act:
Help the ACLU hit its 25,000 messages sent goal
“Congress and the Capitol building Message Action Stop the Abuse of Power. Stop Unfounded Arrests of Public Officials. The Trump admin is turning the power of the federal government against anyone who doesn't toe the line—whether it's members of Congress, mayors, or judges.”
Read:
California pushes back against federal demand to bar transgender students from sport of choice—article by Alan Riquelmy
“The California attorney general on Monday filed a legal end run against the Trump administration Monday, arguing the federal government has no power to make the Golden State stop transgender students from playing in their preferred sport.”
Learn:
Know Your Rights as a Transgender or Gender Non-Conforming (TGNC) Immigrant
Self-Managed Abortion: Creating & Supporting Access to Safe Bodily Autonomy Care
Last year, SCOTUS rejected a lawsuit filed to reduce access to mifepristone, one of the two primary FDA-approved drugs used in medication abortions. As states across the country continue to reduce access to or even criminalize abortion care, it is an act of faithful care to equip ourselves and our communities with the knowledge of how to create, support, and/or access safe, self-managed abortions. Learn more about how to advocate for and support self-managed, pill-based abortion care from ReproAction here.
Join:
Wednesday, June 11 at 5pm ET / 4pm CT / 3pm MT / 2pm PT
The speed at which information, and misinformation, moves through our communities is so fast that it can be hard to tell the difference between the two in time to act. This reality impacts the availability of true and accessible information regarding birth control, particularly on various social media platforms. Join Advocates for Youth and the Busybodies Club “for a deep dive into the state of birth control misinformation online with health researchers Cambray Smith and Brooke Whitfield. [They] will discuss research on birth control misinformation, including what platforms it’s common on, how to recognize it, and how to counter it.”
Tuesdays at 7pm–8pm ET, starting August 12, 2025
Organized by the Renewed Clergy Consultation Service, the Faithful Futures series is designed to support people of all faiths who are interested in supporting reproductive justice through direct support and access, but are unsure of where to begin. Featuring sessions led by organization on the frontline of supporting reproductive justice as an explicit act of faith, this series will provide participants with essential knowledge and skills for supporting abortion access in your communities. Registration opens later this month—learn more and save the date(s) here.
Watch/Listen:
Watch this video about how court docs reveal how trans asylum seeker was misled in Portland court and detained by ICE.
“The 24-year-old asylum seeker, identified only as O-J-M, is currently held in a Tacoma detention center; attorneys have argued for her transfer back to Oregon; a second asylum seeker has also been detained in a similar tactic, right outside a Portland courtroom.”
Listen to The Fascism Barometer’s latest episode, “We Will Not Be Bystanders: Solidarity, Resistance, & Power” featuring Linda Sarsour (Executive Director of MPower Change).
“I believe in all politics being local. I know we've been disappointed, we've been disenfranchised, by all of the things on the national level. But oftentimes the decisions that are being made about your local community, about your education, funding, about healthcare, access, about things like whether you have good transportation or not, is happening at the local level. So please, as disenfranchised as you feel from national politics, from federal politics, from presidential politics, do not give up on your local politics. There are incredible, marginalized people that are running in your communities to be on your city council, to be your local mayors, to be your commissioners, to hold positions that actually impact your daily life.”
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:
The MAGA regime is unleashing militarized force—ICE raids, National Guard deployments, and discriminatory bans—as tools of fear and control. On June 9, a new Entry Ban took effect, targeting Black and Brown immigrants from Muslim-majority and African nations, reviving the racist bans of the Trump era. In Los Angeles, ICE agents assaulted and detained SEIU-USWW President David Huerta during raids on immigrant communities; though hospitalized and released, he remains in custody. Thousands have taken to the streets in protest, met by the National Guard in a show of state violence aimed at silencing dissent.
Meanwhile, 11 international activists—including Greta Thunberg and Rima Hassan—were detained by Israeli forces while delivering aid to starving Palestinians aboard the Madleen Freedom Flotilla. Though the activists have been given food, their mission to feed Gazans has been blocked. In defiance, thousands from across North Africa are heading toward Gaza to break the siege and deliver aid. From Los Angeles to Gaza, authoritarian regimes are using militaries to criminalize compassion—but people around the world are rising in bold, border-defying resistance.
Act:
Tell Congress now: Block the Bombs
The Freedom Flotilla was a response to ongoing starvation of millions in Gaza. The activists on board were on a humanitarian trip to bring much needed aid when they were intercepted. The U.S. government can still act, including by blocking any more bombs to Israel.
ICE protests / LA & SF & arrests—Learn what’s happening and find info relevant to where you are from Revolutionary Love, then Look for a Travel Ban or ICE protest near you and call your Congress people.
Join an ICE watch and support the Stop Avelo “Abduction” Airlines campaign: with Defend and Recruit
Read:
Some Notes on the City of Angels and the Nature of Violence—by Rebecca Solnit
I think maybe it's begun, the bigger fiercer backlash against the Trump Administration which is itself a violent backlash against every good thing that's happened over the past several decades—the advance of rights for nature, women, children, indigenous peoples, BIPOC and immigrants/refugees, queer people, trans people, people with disabilities, workers, the right of us all to be free from being poisoned by food, water, air.
Learn:
Join:
Power Jenga: Campaign Strategies to Shake the System
June 10th, 6–8pm
To bring down an entrenched target—like a CEO in their corporate castle, or a mayor surrounded by business lobby supporters—we've got to pull down the pillars of support holding them up. As we cross the 100-day mark of the new administration, and take stock of the thousands of protests and marches, we think it’s time to evolve our strategies particularly against corporate and institutional targets (like universities) to focus on creating a crisis for key decision-makers.
Peer strategizing space: escalation strategies
Wednesday, June 11th, 8pm ET
Defend & Recruit’s peer strategizing space—if you would like to strategize around escalation strategies on Avelo "Abduction Air" with others doing the same, join us!
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:
Energy policy analysts are warning that current Republican legislation pushed through Congress “will raise energy prices for the average American household by hundreds of dollars.” This legislation, nicknamed by Trump as “the One Big, Beautiful Bill” will rescind the majority of alternative post-fossil fuel energy provisions contained in the Inflation Reduction Act, which a Democrat-controlled Congress passed in 2022 under the Biden Administration. This legislative measure is also in line with the mass of executive orders from the Trump Administration, both of which have been accumulating aggressive actions against many vulnerable, marginalized, and working-class Americans (read here and here). The consequence for the future is that the infrastructure won’t be there to respond to climate change crises when people will really need them. Fewer new sources of energy will be available to a country that continues to be in high demand for it and is already a big consumer of energy. In addition, the operating costs for oil, gas, and other fossil fuels will remain high and likely increase with increased demand. “Clean electricity has zero generation cost,” said Robbie Orvis, a senior director for modeling and analysis at Energy Innovation, a nonpartisan think tank. “One of the dynamics is that less clean electricity gets built, and that makes power generation more expensive, because we’re relying more frequently on fossil fuels with higher generation costs.” These rising costs will happen on top of the already trending increase in US electricity bills since 2020. Orvis went on to say, “The ironic thing is that what’s in the bill, the net results of it will be completely contradictory to what the [Trump] administration’s stated policy priorities are and will cede a lot of the AI development and the manufacturing to China specifically.”
Act:
Join the Food & Water Watch campaign against this bill
Read:
How Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill will raise household energy costs
House Republicans narrowly passed Trump’s ‘big, beautiful’ bill. Here’s what’s in it.
Learn:
From political science scholars: Weaknesses of Autocracy Promotion.