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:
This week we lost a giant. Rev. Jesse Jackson, a tireless champion for justice and human rights, showed generations what it means to organize with faith, courage, and vision. His historic 1988 Democratic National Convention speech reflected the power of spiritual conviction to move our nation toward inclusion, justice, and a people-centered democracy. As tributes pour in, we are reminded not only of his legacy but of the countless lives he touched directly — a testament to the transformative power of accompaniment, relationship, and courageous leadership.
Honoring Rev. Jackson’s life calls us beyond remembrance into action. This moment asks us to embody the same commitment to showing up for one another, strengthening our communities, and defending democracy with love and determination.
Across the country, we are witnessing escalating threats to democratic participation and the safety of our neighbors. Federal actions have included the seizure of voter data from Fulton County and efforts to pressure Minnesota for sensitive voter data. These actions raise serious concerns about voter privacy, access, and intimidation that compromise the integrity of our democratic systems. There are practical ways we can respond together. We can accompany those most impacted, protect one another from intimidation, and strengthen the collective power that makes democracy work,
Join: Become a poll worker and defend the front lines of our elections
Learn: Build critical organizing skills. Have your team review one of the UU the Vote Skill Up training.
Act: Get a group together to take action to stop the SAVE Act.
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.
Take Action:
Take Action: Submit a Public Comment for Trans Rights - adapted from an article by Sam Ames, Transgender Civil Rights Attorney
Even a few minutes can make a difference:
2 minutes: Sign onto the ACLU petition to be submitted to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. It may be the smallest step on this list, but it still matters.
10 minutes: Submit a comment explaining how the two proposed rules that cut funding for gender-affirming care — and penalize hospitals that provide it — would harm you or someone you love.
15 minutes: Submit a comment on the third rule, which would exclude trans people from disability discrimination protections and weaken civil rights protections more broadly.
Your voice helps slow harmful policies and builds the public record for future legal challenges.
Resources:
“Make Them Look You in the Eye” - An incredible piece by Civil Rights Attorney, Sam Ames
Federal rulemaking may not sound glamorous, but it’s one of the most urgent fronts in LGBTQI+ civil rights today. Three proposed federal rules that could restrict gender-affirming care nationwide are currently in their public comment period, with deadlines on February 17 and 20. These proposals aim to pressure healthcare providers and institutions by cutting funding, limiting protections, and redefining standards of care for trans people.
The piece explains how federal rulemaking works and why public comments matter. Proposed regulations aren’t law yet — and agencies are legally required to read and respond to public comments before finalizing them. That means comments can slow harmful policies and build the legal record that courts rely on when challenges are filed. Even short, personal comments can make a real impact.
Drawing on firsthand experience inside federal agencies and legal institutions, the author emphasizes the power of presence: being “in the room” matters, even when outcomes aren’t guaranteed. Public comments are one way to ensure decision-makers must confront the real human impact of their actions.
Bottom line: If you have a few minutes, submit a comment. Personal stories are especially valuable. Participating in the public comment process helps delay harmful policies, strengthens future legal challenges, and ensures that those most affected are not erased from the record. Even one voice makes a difference.
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:
Detention Watch Network writes, “Trump continues to push an aggressive expansion of ICE and immigrant detention, including proposals to use warehouses. Yet across the country, people are organizing to stop detention expansion and to protect themselves, their immigrant family members, neighbors, and friends who are at risk.” We are hearing from UUs from Oregon to Florida organizing to stop detentions, care for our neighbors, and build safe communities by investing in true safety provided by housing, health, and education for all. As people of faith, we will continue to bear witness to extrajudicial killing (may Julian Bailey rest in peace) and kidnapping as we work towards beloved community.
Take Action:
Keep calling Congress and demand they redress and contest our increasingly inhumane, brutal, and expanding Immigration Detention System
Organize to stop a detention center near you: Check Project Saltbox’s Ice Tracker, and then join Detention Watch Network’s MELT ICE Series: Detention and Resistance under Trump on Thursday, February 19th at 1pm-2:30pm PT/ 3pm-4:30pm CT/4pm-5:30pm ET. This webinar will examine the rapid expansion of immigrant detention and escalating violence under Trump’s second presidency, including record deaths in ICE custody and deadly enforcement actions in our communities. We will highlight how people are resisting through DWN’s Communities Not Cages campaign and organizers from Kansas, California, and Florida will share about their local work.
Resources:
Read:
Steadfast resistance under occupation from Minneapolis to Palestine
Surveillance firm Flock has been in the news for their deal with Amazon’s Ring to “find dogs” and superbowl ad. Flock Can Share Driver-Surveillance Data Even When Police Departments Opt Out, And Other Flock Developments - join the fight to stop Flock
Julian Bailey killed by federal U.S. Marshalls in DC. On February 11, a man was shot and killed by U.S. Marshals in Northeast D.C. What we refuse to accept is a system where the response is death instead of due process.
Learn:
As some call for body cameras for ICE agents, it’s a good time to revisit Critical Resistance’s chart to analyze reforms that expand policing vs reforms that reduce the role of policing and its violence in our lives. (Spoiler alert: body cameras expand policing and statistically do not improve accountability)
Join:
UU Solidarity Session, Friday Feb 20th, 11am PT, 12pm MT, 1pm CT, 2pm E. Twice a month sessions for folks working for immigrant justice to connect with one another and learn about the most recent changes in immigration laws and policies that impact the types of immigration relief available and who is eligible for that relief. This Friday is a deeper dive into the administrative updates and the impact the changes they will have on folks seeking immigration relief. Led by the UU Solidarity Initiative
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:
Last week, Trump’s EPA proudly announced the repeal of the Endangerment Finding, the legal foundation for the government to regulate the pollution that causes climate change. In Friday’s announcement, EPA’s Lee Zeldin claimed that the endangerment finding “regulated and targeted the American dream.” Climate change and the pollution that causes it pose significant threats to public health and welfare both now and for future generations. It’s clear just whose “American dream” the Trump administration wants to protect - billionaire polluters and their bank accounts are more important than your health and the wellbeing of future generations.
Climate change is causing more and more extreme weather and climate disasters that are increasingly more expensive. We’ve experienced almost three times the number of billion dollar disasters in the last five years; home insurance rates rose 40% faster than inflation from 2017-2022 - rising to unaffordable levels for many Americans. A higher concentration of GHG emissions will result in “more cases of asthma and heart disease linked to poor air quality, higher food prices from climate-stressed crops, and economic losses.” The Trump Administration’s attacks on climate change and regulations that keep us all safe will only accelerate climate disruption.
The scientific and legal evidence supporting the endangerment finding is well-established, underpinning various regulations aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions from different sectors, including vehicles, power plants, and other industries. The repeal will result in years of lawsuits, a patchwork of state-based regulations, and sustained backlash. But Trump assures us without the Endangerment Finding “you can get a better car.” Securing a just and flourishing future for all vs a better car for some of us should be an easy decision to make.
While our government is doing its best to accelerate climate disruption and endanger public health, we will keep showing up for our communities, for each other, for the future. The UUA has so many resources to support you and your congregation to take balanced climate actions that deepen over time. We meet monthly to explore the ways we can create climate justice in our communities. This month, we are focusing on the future: our kids. In addition to the worship resources and transformative dialogs, the UU Climate Justice Revival materials include spiritually grounded curricula for Pre-Kindergarten to Young Adult. Join our community meeting on Wednesday, February 18 to learn how you can use these materials and more to support the young people in your congregation.
The commitments we make today impact the actions we take tomorrow. The actions we take tomorrow can shape the future for the better. What commitment will you make today?
Take Action: (2–3 partner actions)
Download the new Green Sanctuary 2030: Mobilizing for Climate Justice materials today.
Explore the database of UU climate actions - the link is in the materials!
Resources:
February 18, 2026 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM ET - online
Creating Climate Justice is not just for adults! Our Green Sanctuary activities can engage with our children and youth programs, and those programs can also shape our Green Sanctuary work. Come learn from Julie Rigano, Director of Family Ministry at the UU Church at Washington Crossing in New Jersey, who will share her experiences on how the GS work with children and youth, especially the Climate Justice Revival materials, has enhanced programming for all. Let’s Reimagine Together not only our future but how we get there together. Come together for shared learning and mutual supports with other UUs transforming our congregations through climate justice. Green Sanctuary 2030 community meetings usually take place on the third Wednesday of the month at 4PT - 5MT - 6CT - 7ET for 90 minutes.
Building Team Capacity with a Friends of Green Sanctuary Group - GS Community Meeting
March 18, 2026 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM ET - online
Engaging more of our congregations in our Green Sanctuary 2030 work is a challenge for everyone, but creative solutions abound! Learn how the Bradford Community Church in Wausau, WI is organizing a "Friends of Green Sanctuary Group" to do just that! BONUS! Get some ideas on how Nourish your Team by Mapping Your Universe with Side With Love Leadership Development Specialist, Cathy Rion Starr.
Green Sanctuary 2030 Office Hours
April 1, 2026 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM CT - online
Did you know that the completely revitalized Green Sanctuary 2030: Mobilizing for Climate Justice has just one requirement for annual Recognition? Monthly Office Hours are here to anyone with questions on how Green Sanctuary 2030 can support UUs to transform our congregations through climate justice. Review the short Orientation Video then come to the office hours to get all your questions answered.
Together, we practice the world we long for. Together, we win.