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Ready To Resist, National Strategy & Training Call, 2/12/17


  • Key takeaways from each speaker

  • Victoria Kaplan, MoveOn.org: Intro

  • Messages for Members of Congress at upcoming Town Halls

  • Do not repeal Affordable Care Act (ACA).

  • Stand up to Trump.

  • Cristina Jimenez, United We Dream: Fighting out-of-control deportation

  • Join a local action network or create your own; go to www.togetherforimmigrants.com to find out about protest events planned in your area, or create your own. Demand that local elected officials ensure that immigrants in our localities are safe, protected from deportation, and that police are not deputized to be immigration agents.

  • Join HERETOSTAY Network to be an ally willing to show up for immigrants who are facing detention and deportation at the courts, in their homes when ICE shows up, or a detention center.

  • Text HERETOSTAY to the following number for updates: 877877.

  • Ensure that MoCs know we oppose the executive order; call on them at Town Halls, etc. to oppose raids and demand ICE ends their out of control and rampant raids & tactics.

  • Georgia Hollister Isman, Rhode Island Working Families Party, and Victoria Kaplan: Town Hall Prep and Implementation Tips

  • Review the Action Toolkit at www.resisthere.org .

  • Prepare a single page with pointed questions that require a Yes/No answer from your MoC (e.g. will you vote for/against a specific nominee).

  • Capture video of what did/did not happen and share with the press.

  • Trust your instincts; if you post an event, people will come!

  • Remember to implement MoveOn/Indivisible Principles

  • Tell our stories through non-violence and legal action.

  • De-escalate: if others try to threaten us, we maintain calm focus.

  • Text RESIST to the following number for updates: 738674 .

  • Hugh Espey, Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement: Bird-Dogging Elected Officials

  • Bird-dogging involves attending political events (like Town Halls), asking legislators and candidates specific questions on issues you care about and pinning them, to get specific answers

  • Goals of bird-dogging

  • Force candidates and elected officials to respond to our issues

  • Get our issues covered by the media/press

  • Elevate profile of our organization so more people know about us

  • Inspire others to join & get involved in our work; build our power

  • Create “Corporations are People” moments (ref. Mitt Romney)

  • Bird-dogging tips

  • Bring people; more is better (captures attention, inspires others)

  • Prepare strategy, questions in advance; who will ask what, when

  • Arrive early; don’t sit all together; have some folks in front

  • Ask your question(s) early and often; create tension, be visible

  • Take video and push it out on social media; pressures officials to act

  • Take notes: what happened, what was said

  • Seek out the press; make your story public

  • No softball questions; make them tough, specific

  • Don’t get trapped in the “let’s be nice and polite” mindset

  • Don’t ever give up

  • Jennifer Epps-Addison, Center for Popular Democracy: Holding Congress, Corporations and Cities Accountable

  • Congress

  • Call (866) 957-2612 on Valentine’s Day, 2/14. You will be connected to your Member of Congress. Ask your MoC to stand up against out of control deportation.

  • Corporations: Hold Disney Accountable on 2/14

  • Find a Disney store near you and host an event: https://www.disneystore.com/disney-store-locator/mn/1001278/

  • Tell us about your event here: http://a.cpdaction.org/page/s/disney-let-him-go

  • Use this toolkit to run your event, blast Disney on social media, and more: https://docs.google.com/document/d/18ETv7vnBoFb-pn9r8Mqs0ugMKWIjn4hOW-khoxl_aJ8/edit

  • Cities

  • #MayorsStand4All Action on ACA: 2/22/17

  • For in-person birddog training, text BIRDDOG to 83224

  • Mayor Walsh, Mayor de Blasio, and the U.S Conference of Mayors are leading a national mayors’ healthcare day of action on 2/22

  • Ask your Mayor to participate: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScIYOIuAKxKdbCA8--Zz7Mu1zQLp5x_Yg-Vz2mwkneRz2_ThA/viewform

  • Get your Mayor to sign on: http://usmayors.org/protecthealthcare/

  • Participate in an action near you: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdHcLg5xri81WZtazYx4t1ZjA4jsiqnx63lVBk2fGBuO7EtgQ/viewform?c=0&w=1

  • Suggested Actions

  • Meet/call Members of Congress

  • Place an Op Ed (penned alone or with another leader)

  • Hold an in person event, press conference, or Town Hall with constituents and stakeholders

  • Demand that federal elected officials support the ACA

  • Mayor Betsy Hodges, Minneapolis, MN

  • Member of www.localprogress.org (from the home page: “Local Progress is a network of hundreds of local elected officials from around the country committed to a strong economy, equal justice, livable cities, and effective government.”)

  • Important to assert that we stand by/for/with the people of our cities.

  • Helpful to have a separation ordinance (articulates relationship between communities and police); no questions about citizenship status

  • Issues to be attentive to locally

  • Pre-emption (state government trying to take over municipal control in select areas, e.g. LGBTQ rights)

  • Voter suppression (important to invest in voter outreach, etc.)

  • Law enforcement interaction with protesters

  • “Creative city making” (artist outreach for feedback on city services; artists to be protected as important voices of dissent)

  • Approach to organizing: opposing Trump’s policies, not his supporters


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