ORGANIZING NOTES

July 22, 2025

Building The Resistance

During the last No Kings! march in Boston, we spoke with some visiting German tourists.  They were supportive of the march but worried about the advance of fascism in America.  Their chief concern was the low level of organization of the opposition.  The lesson they took from Germany’s history of Nazi rule was that organization, coupled with union participation, is key.

Here are examples of local organizations that you can join or emulate.

In Waltham, Fuerza is a volunteer group that responds to ICE seizures.  Fuerza established multiple neighborhood based rapid response teams that can provide victims with information about their rights, document any arrests, and support family members.  Mother Jones carried a story about Fuerza’s actions.

LUCE, the Immigrant Justice Network of Massachusetts has a hotline for people who see or learn of an ICE action.  You can call 617-370-5023.  It’s a good idea to have this number on your phone.  Do it now!  The hotline operates from 5 AM to 9 PM seven days of the week.

One more practical resource to have in your browser bookmark list is the American Civil Liberties Union page that provides the rights you have as an immigrant, a student, a demonstrator, while on social media, under questioning by a government agent, and lots more.   It’s an invaluable resource because so much information is available with a single click.

Indivisible is one of the organizations that offers training in non-violent resistance.   Through their local website, you can learn about ongoing and upcoming training sessions.  Indivisible’s goal is to contribute to the force of 11,000,000 resistors that it is likely to take to hold back MAGA’s attacks.   Why 11,000,000?   Erica Chenoweth, a political scientist at Harvard University, has conducted research on popular movements against authoritarianism that arose during the last two centuries.   Her studies cover over 350 movements in Germany, the Philippines, Poland, and lots more.  She concludes that a movement needs to involve at least 3.5% of the population to resist successfully.  There are no guarantees.   Slightly less than half the resistance movements were successful.   It is time we got organized.

Lots of Good Trouble across

 Massachusetts and in Boston

Estimated crowds of 20-30,000 people marched, July 17th,  from Copley Place to the Liberty Mall in front of the State House on the Boston Commons to celebrate civil rights hero, John Lewis, and his inspiring exhortation to get in “Good Trouble”. Accompanied by a Honk Band and joining in song with Choral leaders, demonstrators stomped their feet and raised their signs high, declaring their intentions not to despair but to act. Indivisible Boston distributed fliers with information about how to join groups advocating for Corporate Fair Share, Medicare for All, Immigrant Protection, and Prevention of a new state Women’s Prison.

Friday July 25

 Overpass Standout

Stand up for democracy with your neighbors across the region! Join the movement to resist Project 2025 and the Trump agenda. Bring your banners, flags, and signs! A coalition of pro-democracy groups across New England is organizing Overpasses for Democracy.

Go to our map, select your site, click on it and register on Mobilize to get updates and more information.

ICE Scream: Catharsis for a Community that Deserves Better!

It’s Time to Implement Single Payer /

Medicare for All Healthcare in Massachusetts

Petition the State Joint Committee on Health Care Financing, (JCHCF), to approve the Medicare for All legislation out of committee so that Ways and Means can discuss and vote on it.

Given the crisis of healthcare costs, health services dysfunction and Federal Medicaid cuts, the only reasonable approach to healthcare delivery in Massachusetts is a state based, single payer trust fund with global budgeting.

Sign a letter to both your legislators asking them to call upon the JCHCF to approve the Medicare for All bill out of committee. Lastly, if you can, call your legislators and deliver the same message to drive our point home. Research shows that both modes of communication are greater than either one alone.

Across the country, authoritarian forces are getting bolder and more dangerous. Trump and his allies are not hiding their agenda: mass deportations, rollbacks of civil rights, weaponized courts, and full-scale attacks on our democracy. We don’t have to wait until it’s too late. We can stop this. But it’ll take all of us—not just on single days of mass action, but through sustained organizing in our communities. LEarn the basics of community organizing and campaign design. This is how we build people power that can’t be ignored. You’re invited to join us—and lead. 

• Session 1: The Moment & Your Mission – July 16
• Session 2: How to Make it Happen – July 30 
• Session 3: What Now? – August 13 

Boston Opens New Park Named After Murdered Black Transgender Woman

A new park has opened in Boston named after Rita Hester, a transgender woman who was murdered near the same area in 1998.

The Rita Hester Green opened on June 30 to mark the end of Pride Month, according to an announcement from landscape architect firm CopleyWolff, which calls it a “joyful, inclusive space made for connection and year-round fun, featuring a dog park, flexible event lawn, quiet corners, and playful natural buffers.” Read full article HERE

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