6/15 Meeting Summary & Events
Plus a No Kings short film!
Hi everyone,
So great to see you all today - we got *almost* rained out at the end but gathered on the side area and stayed mostly dry (except Chris and Bob, our forever heroes, who got the equipment to safety). As always, below will be actions, events, and a summary of the meeting.
Our next meeting is on June 29th, at 3 PM. Subject TBD. You can sign up on Mobilize here for the next meeting and all future events here:
ACTIONS
(This is by no means a complete list - check out Durham Dems Action newsletter, Chop Wood, Carry Water NC, Democracy Out Loud and Engaged Durhamites for Democracy for more). And, of course, the 5calls app always has all the things to call about!
CALL your senators and demand they support access to healthcare by opposing ANY cuts in Medicaid in the budget reconciliation bill, including work requirements.
CALL Governor Stein to ask him to veto SB50, HB318, and SB153. You can reach him at (919) 814-2000; press 5 to leave a message. From Karen Z. of Democracy Out Loud: “Read this summary of NC SB 153 by the ACLU at this link. Fernando Martinez of the Education Justice Alliance has drafted a letter for Governor Stein. He writes, ‘HB 318 seeks to expand local law enforcement’s role in federal immigration enforcement by mandating compliance with ICE detainers, extending detention timelines, and requiring judicial involvement in immigration holds. SB 153 requires state agencies, public servants, and college campuses to cooperate with ICE. If HB 318 and HB 153 become law, the impact will not stop with immigrant communities.’ All of us will be impacted.”.
DONATE to CHIRLA or Siembra NC. With increasing raids and fear in our immigrant communities, we want to support them how we can. We started a fundraiser on social media for CHIRLA last week (see our Instagram) that has raised over $35,000 and counting (mostly from small dollar donations). Together, we can do great things!
EVENTS
This is not a complete list, but these are some high yield events going on over the next few weeks. Also check out Durham Resistance Hub.
Monday, June 16th, 12-2 PM. IN PERSON. The Union of Southern Service Workers (USSW), the NC Poor People's Campaign, Be A Hero and other partners are joining forces to talk directly with neighbors, showing up outside clinics, and marching to our Senators’ doors. Get more information and sign up at this link.
Tuesday, June 17th, 6 PM. IN PERSON. The NC Justice Center and their partners will have vigils at ALL of Senator Tillis’s and Senator Budd’s offices to protest the budget. You can get more information and sign up at these links for Raleigh, Charlotte, Greenville, Hendersonville, Advance, Asheville, or Wilmington.
Tuesday, June 17th, 6:30-8 PM. VIRTUAL. Statewide Advocates Call: Black Women Speak. Hear directly from the fierce voices of black women — representing organizations like The Black Voters Matter Fund, NC NAACP State Conference, National Black Leadership Caucus, The Racial Equity Institute, and Democracy NC — as they break down: the latest attacks from the NC General Assembly, what’s at stake for Black and Brown communities, and how we organize, rise up, and push forward together. Sign up here
Wednesday, June 18th, 11-12:30 PM. IN PERSON Democracy Out Loud has helped to plan a protest at the Federal Building (310 New Bern Avenue) in Raleigh, where Senator Tillis has offices. This is also a budget protest. Bring signs if you can about cuts to Medicaid and food stamps to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy and increased ICE and military spending. You can sign up at this link.
Wednesday, June 18th, 6-9:30 PM. IN PERSON Join NC Democrats and the African American Caucus for a vibrant Juneteenth celebration at the historic headquarters in downtown Raleigh! Enjoy music from DJ Brian Dawson, drinks and appetizers. Featuring remarks from Democratic House Leader Robert Reives and music by the incredible DJ Brian Dawson! Sign up here
Wednesday, June 18th, 7:30-10:00 PM, IN PERSON/VIRTUAL. Drunk Gerrymandering Event (do you remember Drunk History?). In person: Resident Culture in South End Charlotte. Hosted by and raising money for the Can't Win Victory Fund and featuring the hosts of your favorite podcast, Hometown Holler, who will bringing their signature wit. $15 to attend! Kate Barr serving up gerrymandering knowledge (with shots, naturally). Live music to keep the energy flowing. Special guest gerrymandering celebrities (yes, they exist and they're participating…from across the country). Sign up here for in person and virtual attendance.
Saturday, June 21st, 10 AM - 1 PM. IN PERSON. GOP Accountability Canvass in Henderson, NC with NOC/C2C. These early canvasses are super important and high yield. Training is 6/3 as noted above.
Saturday, June 21st, 2-3:30 PM, IN PERSON. 4th Amendment Workplace Canvass information session and meetup with Siembra NC. This is for people who have been (or want to get involved with) canvassing businesses in Durham to become 4th Amendment Workplaces. It'll be an opportunity to meet other canvassers, hear about each other's canvassing experiences and what has/hasn't worked, and just in general have a chance to hang out and talk about the project and how it's been going! Sign up here.
Saturday, June 28th, 9 AM, IN-PERSON - Volunteer with Moms Demand Action for a monthly Keep Durham Beautiful clean-up in memory of their Survivor Lead's son, Syncere. Please wear weather-appropriate clothing. All supplies will be provided at the site. Sign up here.
Sunday, July 6th, 4-6 PM, IN PERSON. Several groups, led by Engaged Durhamites for Democracy, are planning a coordinated bridge brigade that covers all of the bridges in the Triangle. Each bridge will have the same message: "Protect Freedom". Sign up here.
NO KINGS DAY - DURHAM!
An incredible short film of the event by Alec Ritter (great to have you today!). We had 5000-7000+ come out in Durham. Check out our social media for more videos of the event.
Our group tabled and tons of folks signed up and learned more about us.
MEETING SUMMARY
It’s been just about 6 months since our group started, and we wanted to celebrate by doing a little icebreaker activity - civic action edition. Here’s a social media graphic I made about what we did in case anyone wants to do with friends or family.
It was so great to hear from everyone. This group has accomplished so much, and has a lot to be proud of. We have lots to be concerned about, but we are taking action in concrete ways.
After each person shared, we placed pebbles in a vase of water. As more and more of us spoke about ways we’d take action, the water level rose. While each individual pebble didn’t change the level of the water much, together, we saw a difference.
Mentioned today:
Amanda’s Mild Takes - must follow on social media, here’s her Substack.
Ariella Elm’s Substack - if you want to hear about Democrats who ARE fighting back - let’s uplift the ones that are. Linked here.
Follow @nolahaynes on Instagram for foreign policy takes. More about Nola here.
Erica Chenoweth (who coined the 3.5% rule) was on Pod Save America this week. Listen here.
HOUSEKEEPING:
We don’t have an email list - this is it! If you want to join the group, just subscribe to the Substack. You can come to meetings (some meetings, all meetings) or just read along and do the action items and learn.
You can find us on Bluesky, Threads, TikTok and Instagram, where we have an active social media presence. Links to that and a whole lot more on our Linktree, found here: Linktr.ee/Durhamgotv.
Check out prior posts for recommendations on our favorite news sources, tips on calling your representatives, link to a Signal channel for carpools, and more!
Feel free to post events or discuss things in the chat and comments.
Thanks for reading! Subscribe for free to receive updates.
We’re all in this together. And we’re not going anywhere.
Anna
https://youtu.be/n6e6pPBL6Rk