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:
A thriving democracy depends on a free press, trusted information, and our collective ability to tell the truth about what is happening in our communities. Yet today, truth itself is under siege. This authoritarian regime has deployed troops to Washington, D.C., citing a so-called “crime emergency” despite crime rates being at historic lows. This echoes decades of racist propaganda about urban crime, long used as a pretext for mass incarceration and government overreach.
Meanwhile, disinformation runs rampant on social media. Extremist narratives are amplified while accurate reporting is drowned out. Public media like NPR and PBS are being defunded, and many major news outlets are controlled by billionaires. Abroad, the U.S. remains complicit in a genocide marked by public lies and the targeted killing of journalists.
Our justice movements are not just contesting for power to build the world where we all thrive, they are in a battle for truth, our shared anchor from which we construct that new world. We must continue to be vocal about what’s really happening: the ICE raids, the job losses, the resilience of communities caring for one another. We must also weave networks of care: watching children, delivering groceries, showing up for each other. We share our hopes and dreams, and we express our collective power to define our own stories. Defending the truth is not a side issue—it is the beating heart of democracy.
Read:
Public Assemblies Strengthen Community Resistance to Rising Authoritarianism
Public actions narrate our movements. They create opportunities to share messages and stories in public, in news media, and with one another. Learn about how public assemblies are critical to resisting authoritarianism.
Watch:
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:
The political and social landscape in the U.S. reflects mounting challenges for healthcare, reproductive rights, and trans communities. The passage of the “One Big Beautiful Bill” in Congress represents a major reduction in healthcare access, with historic cuts to Medicaid and defunding Planned Parenthood, while simultaneously granting tax breaks to the wealthiest. Advocates are urging citizens to hold their elected officials accountable through grassroots advocacy campaigns. At the same time, initiatives like the Black Trans Fund highlight efforts to support and uplift marginalized communities, particularly Black transgender leaders, emphasizing resilience and joy in the face of systemic oppression.
Trans rights face heightened threats at the state and judicial levels. Texas’ Senate Bill 8 restricts access to restrooms and changing facilities based on sex assigned at birth, imposing steep fines and encouraging civilian enforcement, while recent court rulings allow states to ban gender-affirming care for minors. In response, activists are promoting community care and abolitionist practices to ensure safety and support outside of punitive systems. Trainings like Faithful Futures for abortion support and storytelling platforms such as In The Den with Mama Dragons and While I Breathe are helping to inform, empower, and humanize affected communities, demonstrating a growing focus on intersectional organizing and resilience amidst escalating legal and political challenges.
Take Action:
Take Action on the One Big Beautiful Bill Vote with URGE: Although the “One Big Beautiful Bill” has passed in Congress, that does not mean we are powerless in its wake. During this August recess, contact your members of Congress and let them know we are watching. If your electeds voted to support this bill that guts our healthcare access by creating “the largest cuts to Medicaid in history and in effect ‘defunds’ Planned Parenthood,” hold them accountable. If your members of Congress voted against this bill that would “issue large tax breaks to the wealthiest people” by reducing your access to healthcare, tell them thanks. Use this messaging tool from URGE (Unite for Reproductive and Gender Equity) to send your comments today.
Donate to The Black Trans Fund (BTF) - launched in 2020 and incubated by Groundswell Fund, is the first national U.S. fund devoted to uplifting and resourcing Black transgender social justice leaders—emphasizing a narrative of joy and resilience rather than despair.
Resources:
Read:
Texas Advances "Cruel" Trans Bathroom Bill With Fines Up to $125,000 On August 28, 2025, the Texas House passed Senate Bill 8—also known as the "Texas Women’s Privacy Act"—restricting access to restrooms and changing facilities based on sex assigned at birth. The bill imposes steep fines on government facilities (up to $125,000) and encourages civilians to report violations. Advocates warn of its discriminatory and unconstitutional nature.
Learn:
12 Things to Do Instead of Calling the Cops (Guide from the May Day Collective and Washtenaw Solidarity & Defense) As our bodies and identities continue to face further criminalization and erasure, it is critical for us to lean into practices of community care that embrace an abolitionist ethic. This guide offers simple, concrete alternatives to calling the police in moments of crisis, disruption, or uncertainty so that everyone involved is cared for and safe.
Join:
Faithful Futures Training: Supporting Abortion Seekers with Information & Compassion (Tuesday, September 9 at 4pm PT / 7pm ET) Join the Renewed Clergy Consultation Service for this training with West Virginia Free as part of the Faithful Futures Training series this fall. Participants will understand resources available to abortion seekers, from self-managed abortion with pills, to funding, and spiritual support. While this workshop is particularly useful for those living in states with abortion bans, it’s relevant for all, as more people are self-managing at home safely with medication abortion.
Watch/Listen:
In The Den with Mama Dragons: Unpacking US v Skrmetti (podcast): On this July 20 episode of In the Den, co-host Sara joins political strategist Sam Ames to unpack what the Court’s June 2025 decision allowing states to enforce bans on gender-affirming care for minors–and other recent rulings–mean for our families, our communities, and our collective future.
Episode 13: “Meet Your Trans Neighbors” (While I Breathe podcast) features South Carolina trans community members Eboni Sims, Sterling Misanin, and Gwenn McClune, moderated by Jace Woodrum, the first trans executive director of an ACLU affiliate. The episode humanizes trans lives, fosters understanding, and connects individual stories to broader advocacy for equality.
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:
We are in a period of drastically increased criminalization of our communities - from the armed military occupation of DC to the proposed “Crime” bill in congress, to another tragic school shooting to the renewed detention of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, and the escalating genocide in Gaza.
The Horizons project writes: a new report released by Civicus placed the US on its civil society watchlist following sustained attacks on civic freedoms. “Civicus pointed to three major issues including the deployment of military to quell protests, growing restrictions placed on journalists and civil society, as well as the aggressive targeting of anti-war advocates surrounding Palestine.” With the recent deployment of the national guard and military in Washington DC, and plans to extend to other cities soon, you can read more about the lessons from the organizers at Free DC - “no single event or protest will fix this. What works is disciplined, connected organizing.” And, find helpful analysis from Protect Democracy about why these intimidation tactics are being used by the administration, coupled with advice on how to stop the deployments of the national guard in US cities.
FreeDC continues to organize with regular onboarding, mutual support, and a march this coming Saturday Sept 6th with the demands that could and should be shared across most cities:
ICE out of our communities
An end to Trump's control over MPD
Immediate withdrawal of all National Guard members
The right to protect our communities in the future, permanently
Take Action:
Sign the pledge to boycott Amazon and Whole Foods. Free DC is calling for a boycott of Amazon and all of its affiliated consumer brands. We won't shop at companies that profit off detention — including Amazon and its brands Whole Foods, Zappos, Audible, Ring and more.
Resources:
Read:
Learn:
How to raise money for families impacted by ICE and other mutual aid with this great report by Community Justice Exchange: Fundraising for Direct Aid is NOT Illegal. But there is paperwork. It isn’t illegal to fundraise for our collective needs, but there are learnings we wanted to share about raising direct aid money through payment platforms like venmo, cashapp, & paypal.
Join:
Hope in a Time of Peril - Wednesday, September 10 at 3pm PT/6pm ET: Across the nation and within our cities, immigrant families and allies are overcoming aggressive immigration raids, fear and uncertainty, and the real impacts of family separation with care and compassion. Join the Interfaith Immigration Coalition for a webinar to learn about the latest federal updates, to understand how immigrant families are navigating the first six months into the Trump Administration and how people of faith are mobilizing boldly, to stand for welcome in a sea of change. There will be a Spanish interpreter.
Special Bonus for Gamers: Buy this bundle of games to raise funds for UNRWA (IUnited Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees):
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:
Wildfires are actively blazing in the Pacific Northwest and Canada, and these climate disasters are colliding with immigration injustice while further aggravating public health. Two people fighting the Bear Gulch fire on the Olympic Peninsula were arrested by federal law enforcement Wednesday, in a confrontation described by firefighters and depicted in photos and video. While the details of the arrest remain unclear, a spokesperson for the Incident Management Team leading the firefighting response confirmed that crew members were “aware of a Border Patrol operation on the fire.” Prior to the two firefighters’ arrests, federal law enforcement agents arrived before the crew began to work on the wildfire. The agents “asked the crews to line up to check their IDs, according to the firefighters” and ordered crew members not to record the event. In one photo of the incident, “a U.S. Customs and Border Protection vehicle is parked nearby.” One firefighter told the Seattle Times, “I asked them if his (family) can say goodbye to him because they’re family, and they’re just ripping them away. And this is what he said: ‘You need to get the (expletive) out of here. I’m gonna make you leave.'”
This incident is an example of why immigration justice is climate justice. “It is unusual for federal border agents to make arrests during the fighting of an active fire, especially in a remote area.” That is, it was unusual before this year.
Meanwhile, as the migrant workers laboring to put out the wildfires are intense persecution, the increase in frequency and severity of wildfires are contributing to the increase in particulate pollution in the air across the United States and Canada which remains “‘the greatest external threat to human life expectancy,’ comparing the impact to smoking.” This statement comes from the latest report from the University of Chicago’s annual Air Quality Life Index, “a situational update on air pollution and how it impacts life expectancy.” Firefighters are frontline responders to climate change. As a result, they receive the immediate impacts of climate disaster. According to NYT investigative reporter Hannah Drier, “Across the country, unmasked firefighters are developing serious illnesses at young ages and dying of cancers that typically afflict much older people.” She wrote further, “Tens of thousands of people who fight wildfires spend weeks working in toxic smoke and ash wearing only a cloth bandanna, or nothing at all.” This is a problem that needs to shift because, as some of the younger firefighters noted in their interviews with Drier, the prolific occurrence of wildfires is leading them “to see themselves as climate workers, because changing weather is making this job more and more extreme.”
This is why climate change is a public health crisis. Right now, no federal agency, including the US Forest Service, has a protocol to ensure that firefighters have adequate facial protection during wildfire responses. So far, it has been up to local fire departments and private contractors to supply their crews with facial protection.
Take Action:
Use the National Interagency Fire Center Wildland Fire Maps to view real-time and historical wildfires in the U.S.
Identify existing health inequities in your community, using the Disaster Preparedness Toolkit.
Submit a public comment urging the EPA to uphold the Endangerment Finding. The Environmental Protection Agency aims to repeal its own 2019 Endangerment Finding which forms the foundation for the EPA to regulate polluting greenhouse gas emissions and meaningfully respond to the climate crisis. The EPA is accepting public comments through September 22. Review the Federal Register guidance for public comments. You can read Pres. Sofía’s call to action to ground your comments in UU values and use the Climate Action Toolkit to prepare your comments. Submit commits online on the Federal Register website and Regulations.gov.
Resources:
Read:
Federal agents arrest firefighters working on WA wildfire
Climate-driven wildfires are reversing clean air progress, new report says
Wildfire fighters, unmasked in toxic smoke, are getting sick and dying
Climate Preparedness Toolkit for UUs
Learn:
Get updates on the latest development with EPA’s ‘endangerment finding’ and what you can do at https://sidewithlove.org/endangerment-finding.
Join:
Green Sanctuary 2030 Orientation
September 3, 2025 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM ET Online
Get to know the new Green Sanctuary 2030: Mobilizing for Climate Justice! Green Sanctuary orientations provide an overview of the process and allow for plenty of time to get all of your questions answered. Come learn how to transform your congregation through climate justice.
UUA Strategies to Advance Climate Justice - Green Sanctuary 2030 Community Meeting
September 17, 2025 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM ET Online
President Sofía’s UU Climate Justice Working Group was established to identify where our faith calls us to lead, beyond narrowly defined “net zero” goals towards equitable decarbonization, community resilience, and a just transition from fossil fuels to a clean energy future. Join Mathew Jensen, UUA Senior Investment Officer, and Rachel Myslivy, UUA Climate Justice Strategist, to learn about the Working Group’s Draft Commitments for Culture and Resources. 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.
Together, we practice the world we long for. Together, we win.