By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
New 34th District Democrats chair David Ginsberg opened his first full meeting – before a standing-room-only-and-spillover-room crowd at The Hall of Fauntleroy – saying, “This gives me hope.”
Ginsberg explained that he ran for chair because, after the presidential election, he wondered what he could do, what he should do. He decided “to stand up and fight. … If we stand together, I have no doubt we will win.” The first thing he and his new executive committee did was organize tonight’s meeting, titled “How To Resist Trump And Protect What We Hold Dear.” (Not only did it bring in new attendees – with the crowd estimated at ~500 – it brought in 85 new members.)
The Pledge of Allegiance, said after the vow, grew in volume on the closing words “… indivisible, with liberty and justice for all,” and was followed by applause.
Centerpiece of the meeting, a five-woman panel representing advocacy groups both new and not-so-new (see their bios here):
Each was asked to speak for five minutes on the “resistance” topic, and then there was Q/A, followed by closing suggestions for what people can do to effectively take action.
First, Binah Palmer from the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington – introducing herself as a West Seattle native – explained the organization’s mission of protecting Constitutional rights. “The fights we’ve been facing in the past 20 days … are the reason the ACLU exists.” She recapped what the ACLU had done – dating back even before now-President Trump became the Republican nominee, analyzing his stands from a Constitutional perspective, and published “The Trump Memos.” The ACLU published an ad, after the election, saying “We’ll see you in court.”
“We currently have in various courts around the country” a variety of cases pending, including challenges to the immigration orders that have become known as “the Muslim ban,” Palmer said. “It’s obvious it’s been unevenly applied and interpreted around the country.”
Next, Judy Lightfoot from Indivisible Seattle:
She spoke of the founding of the “indivisible movement,” dating back to the end of November. She mentioned the “Indivisible Guide” laying out “principles for activism that lets ordinary people participate in something organized and focus” – even simple actions such as contacting members of Congress. She says the playbook took a page from what the Tea Party had done during the previous administration. They set up a website with information on members of Congress, “call scripts” for contacting them, and more.
She said the group removed “progressive” from its original name to be more inclusive. And it is focused locally – on “local members of Congress and current legislative priorities. … The guide advises not wasting energy on members of Congress in other states,” since they’ll be focused on their own constituents. It also recommends “collective action,” including postcards and letters, “showing up at Town Halls and coffees” where members of Congress are appearing, and “asks” – “Always start by praising your member of Congress for something,” continue to an anecdote of why something is personally important to you, and then the “ask.”
Third to speak, Monisha Harrell, board chair of Equal Rights Washington, a statewide LGBTQ advocacy organization.
“We are policy wonks just like you,” noted Harrell (at left in photo above, with Palmer). “It’s not the sexiest work, but we enjoy it a great deal.” She thanked the 34th DDs for their partnership. “This has been a couple weeks that felt like a couple years … we wake up every morning to see who is being served up this particular day,” because, she said, everyone will have their turn at that during this administration.
“What we’re probably most known for is leading the right for marriage equality.” The group has fought for other protections – “only 11 years since we’ve had non-discrimination protections for LGBTQ in Washington State,” so they are determined to “fight the rollback” that’s feared from the new administration. She mentioned the city’s ban on “conversion therapy” and the fight in the Legislature to get a ban passed at the statewide level too. “This has been the first year where we’ve reached out to Republicans and they have reached back … We are in an extraordinary time where I hope that as Washingtonians, common sense will prevail … that even on the other side of the aisle they will see that what is going on in this country is not normal.” The organization also works on LGBTQ youth empowerment and Safe Schools, justice for trans people, racial equity – “we cannot do this work if it is not inclusive and 30 percent of the LGBTQ community are people of color” – and gender equity, since “53 percent of the LGBTQ community are women.”
Fourth speaker: Amirah Mirziteh of the Greater Seattle Neighborhood Action Coalition. She explained the group’s roots; it was formed just after the election, with more than 1,000 people showing up for a regional organizing meeting, “to talk about what happened and figure out what we could do … We take power into our own hands, and we felt that … something about the political system had failed, failed to make us safe … so we decided” to figure out how to keep themselves safe.
Its principles – democratized autonomous communities of resistance … neighborhoods, allies, friends and families coming together to resist … independence to work on their neighborhoods’ specific issues and accountability to help others. Here in West Seattle, for example, the NAC is working on visiting a local mosque. After learning of a “counterprotest at Planned Parenthood” to pressure politicians to keep funding it, the NAC started talking about a fundraiser for PP. They’re also working on rapid response, carpool systems if people need to get to appointments and social services, initiatives such as restroom equality, and other things “to make a presence.” They’re recruiting for more assistance right now; the District 1 (as in City Council District boundaries, West Seattle and South Park) NAC meets regularly.
Then the 34th DDs heard from Aneelah Afzali, executive director of MAPS-AMEN (Muslim Association of Puget Sound/American Muslim Empowerment Network). You’ll recall that Afzali, a West Seattle resident, spoke at the Womxn’s March on Seattle – we featured her here in a preview.
The group just formed in December, said Afzali (above, with 34th DDs’ Michael Taylor-Judd) “because unfortunately American Muslims and other minority communities” are currently in the crosshairs. She says she has four areas of focus – coalition building – “as bad as things are right now, take a look around you … this is beautiful, this is absolutely phenomenal.” The coalition-building is to mobilize action, “to take the next step.” The march, for example, “was great … but that cannot be it,” it’s only the beginning. “Taking action, taking it to the next step, so we turn a moment into a movement,” is the “real work,” Afzali said.
Second, educating people about Islam and Muslims – “it’s very easy to dehumanize a minority that you do not know … particularly when (they) speak a different language.” She says they’re seeing the nation’s highest level of hate crimes against Muslims in 2015, even before the election year, because of groups she said have spent $200 million to encourage that hate. “That’s why education about Islam and Muslims is so important right now. Get to know Muslims. Visit a mosque. Learn about the Islamophobia Network.” Islamophobes are “in the administration right now,” she said, calling out just-confirmed Attorney General Sessions and presidential adviser Steve Bannon, drawing hisses from the crowd. Third is leveraging media; fourth, building the next generation of leaders. “Also working with a lot of different communities and groups … having people prepare at the drop of a dime to show up when it’s needed,” because, it’s expected that will be needed. “As bad as things are … it is an exhilarating time to be alive, we are history in the making, this is beautiful to see” – referring to the turnout – “so let’s (take action).”
After each panelist gave her introductory statement, 34th Dems’ vice chair Michael Taylor-Judd moderated a Q/A session.
First question for ACLU’s Palmer – what can people do besides give money? “Donating does help, but showing up actually is a huge effort too,” and she urged getting involved with groups taking action. Second Q asked about tactics to fight totalitarianism. “Freedom of the press is the biggest thing; standing up for freedom of speech … defending the 1st Amendment, which is something the ACLU has long been part of … showing up, and showing you’re willing to fight.”
Then, for Mirziteh: “What preparations are the NACs making to support marginalized communities?” Each NAC is doing something different, she reiterated, but here in this area, they are talking about pooling resources so people have food, medication, clothes “before those rights and those materials get taken away from us or become not as easily accessible.” She says the organization’s grass-roots nature is a major strength – “so there is no limit to what we can do.” They also have committees set up for action such as communications, IT, education about fascism and resistance. “Come to one of our meetings so you can see and contribute,” she urged. What else is the group doing? Mirziteh said they’re backing a progressive income tax for the Seattle, and talked to City Councilmember Lisa Herbold about that. If the City Council doesn’t take action, they might pursue an initiative – that’s to raise money to cover possible federal funding cuts.
For Indivisible Seattle’s Lightfoot, “How do we help you spread the Indivisible Guide?” Nationally, she said, there are more than 4,000 groups, formed just in the past month and a half. Within 100 miles radius of here, there are 150 groups. “People are talking to each other, talking to their neighbors …” Tell people about “Indivisible,” she said, and it will come up on Web searches. She recounted Sen. Patty Murray saying the number of calls from concerned citizens are overwhelming, and that veteran staffers have “never seen anything like it … These are just ordinary people like you and me.” And, “we need more people … if you can put in an hour a week, it makes a huge difference.”
Lightfoot was also asked for specific advice about what to do considering that this area’s politicians – state Attorney General Bob Ferguson was mentioned, drawing loud applause – are friendly to the cause. “Call them up and tell them what they are doing right,” she repeated, three times.
For MAPS-AMEN’s Afzali, “We heard that accomplices are more valuable than allies,” so what does that mean? She said that some in the room probably have Islamophobic views without really realizing it, so “creating a personal connection goes a long way … In terms of action, speak out any time you can publicly and vocally about the lives and contributions of the American Muslims you know and get to meet … The root of the problem of a lot of what we’re seeing right now is Islamophobia.” Other things are just the symptoms, even the travel ban. So humanizing Muslims for “your fellow Americans” is vital. “They may never listen to somebody who looks like me, but they might listen to you.” And “use mainstream media – this is a media war” in some ways, she said, urging people to send “letters to the editor.” Asked another question about how to reach out and make connections: “One of the best ways is to visit a mosque,” said Afzali. “Right now, the Muslim community is about 1 percent of the population, so we are being inundated … but there are only so many of us and it’s hard to reach out and respond to everybody.” So instead of an individual reaching out, “get a group together,” she suggested. And, look for bigger mosques – she’s associated with one on the Eastside.
Equal Rights Washington’s Harrell was asked about the biggest threats to the “hard-won rights here in Washington.” She said that non-discrimination protections are not federal, so even in this state, they can be fragile. “What has been happening in Washington state right now, and you’ll see it on a ballot initiative – we’re going to court this Friday – to try to repeal sections of our LGBTQ non-discrimination law. We still have strong opponents and if you don’t fight to protect these rights, they will be chipped away.” Part of the proposal involves an attack on transgender and non-gender-conforming students’ school-restroom rights. “We will be the first state to have this type of initiative on the ballot in the country.”
Looking back on ACT UP re: the AIDS epidemic, the next question was posed, what tactics will be successful? Harrell said that “there is no one way (for everyone)” to fight back. “Find the thing that works for you and do that.” Might be protesting, might be going to court, might be talking personally to legislators … “the beauty of ACT-UP is that every single one of those methods is used,” and they all will be needed going forward. “This is going to be a marathon … what they are trying to do is wear us out.” She recalled some resignation after Betsy DeVos‘s confirmation as secretary of education. “Take your break,” but “do not allow this to be the new normal,” or else the peril is greater still.
ACLU’s Palmer jumped in, “there’s no limit to the size of the resistance we can build …” Whatever you can do, however big or small, “it’s still part of the resistance … there’s a part in it for everyone. … Find that thing that works for you and do that.”
“Rapid response groups” had been mentioned; elaboration was sought. Mirziteh explained that they’re “a way to reach out to hundreds of people at the same time” if something is needed urgently “and they can come out and take that action and support in whatever way is being called for.” They’ve been using e-mail lists to seek it, as well as social media, Signal and Slack channels for more-secure communication. The recent airport action was a prime example: “We were able to turn out a lot of people to that.”
Afzali said rapid response is vital in case of hate crimes, such as an attack on a mosque. She explained that the White House changed a particular group’s focus to be on only Islam-related extremism, which means less scrutiny for white-nationalist and other extremist groups, “so we as a people need to be prepared to stand with each other, to show up when there’s an attack, when there’s a raid potentially against certain minority communities … do what we need to do to be sure people are protected.”
Harrell said she had one request: “Some of you may have seen there is an executive order pending … that will allow discrimination against LGBTQ people in places of service and buying goods … based on somebody’s deeply held religious belief. This doesn’t just hurt LGBTQ people – you can say, I don’t believe in children being born out of wedlock, I don’t believe in interracial marriage … this is going to be a very dangerous executive order,” so her group plans a rapid response whenever this is signed.
Palmer said the ACLU “already has a lawsuit prepared” for that expected executive order. “Discrimination in the guise of religious freedom is still discrimination and will not stand … We will win some things and we will lose some things, but when we lose, the conversations and fights become part of the public consciousness, and we can build on those.” The federal level “isn’t necessarily the only last resort,” she noted. There are local-level fights “that we still need to keep on top of,” she reminded everyone.
Next, how are the organizations reaching out to support the Muslim population and others in White Center, which is part of the 34th District Democrats’ jurisdiction?
Afzali said it’s part of her newly formed group’s vision, “to focus on the greater Seattle area” including North Highline, especially to create and go out with educational programming. MAPS-AMEN also expects to help organize marginalized communities. They also will be looking for funding to help their reach go further.
Mirziteh said the Neighborhood Action Coalition “centers those voices in our work” and follows the lead of marginalized communities – she’s queer and Arab/Latina, she explained, “so we’re working to raise voices like mine. … Like Aneelah said, we don’t have funding, we’re self-sustaining, everything paid for by donations … we’re doing as much as we can to spread the word.”
Harrell said that ERW is more of a “policy organization” but worked to speak out directly against Islamophobia. “A lot of people asked us why .. and we make it very clear: Because there are queer Muslims, because we are working together .. and can accomplish more … everybody will have a seat at the table.” She said they leave nothing unsaid just because it’s “not queer enough.”
Taylor-Judd read a question from someone whose 6- and 9-year-old daughters are “very worried about Donald Trump” and want ideas of what kids can do.
Lightfoot said that while Indivisible groups focus on local members of Congress, they also work to contact people in other areas to say, “here’s something you can do. … So (that’s) something kids can say, ‘who do we know who lives elsewhere?'”
Harrell added that kids “have some of the biggest and best voices around” and mentioned that their recent Lobby Day included four families bringing kids to Lobby Day who spoke to legislators, and she believes that helped sway some legislative voices in favor of their anti-conversion-therapy bill. Politicians “are still human beings under there somewhere … when they see that worry and realize they are being talked to authentically by these young people, it makes all the difference in the world.” So young people are encouraged to reach out and talk to elected officials.
Afzali said politicians’ “hearts and minds have been changed” by hearing from Muslim youth. Writing thank-you cards can be big, too, and her mosque is having an event this Friday with card-writing for officials including Attorney General Ferguson. Youth can reach out to the media, too, she suggested. And families can take kids to events, get them introduced “to people who don’t look like them,” etc. Open-minded young people “inspire me and fill me with hope,” she said.
Is the Indivisible PDF available in other languages? Taylor-Judd asked Lightfoot. She said she believes so and advised people to check online; we found it en Español here.
The next round asked each woman to take a moment to share “one thing” that people could do to make a difference.
Indivisible Seattle’s Lightfoot: “To do what Adam Gopnik suggested in The New Yorker – distinguish between the merely sickening and truly terrifying and decide on one truly terrifying thing that you want to do something about, and then call your senator, call your representative … Just one thing.” Their website is indivisiblesea.blogspot.com.
Palmer: “In the next week or month, write a letter to the editor, to an elected official, call an elected official, start practice your voice … If you’ve never called before … (never written before) … practice and practice and practice. You have a voice. Just start sharpening it, honing it.”
Harrell: “This is going to be my ‘ask’ … I bet all you people know people in areas that don’t have as wonderful representatives (as the 34th) … We need people to run for office. We need people to run for water commissioner, and school board … Our attacks right now, they’re doing it to our children because they know that if they can beat this fight out of us early, that we won’t be able to resist when we’re older … find people in areas who need the support … we need those voices … the Tea Party (did this and) that’s why they’re in this position .. and we need to do this now.”
Mirziteh: “I felt like I was the target of everything this administration hates and wants to get rid of … what has really helped me overcome that feeling is … feeling a sense of community, feeling protected … the Neighborhood Action Council was the first time I had left my house since the election …” She said she was energized to know people cared. “Before that, I did a lot of reading, too …” to see “how did we get to this place?’ …” So she urged reading and building community with neighbors and friends, “have a potluck.”
Afzali: “My one specific ask for everybody would be to write a letter to the editor or an op-ed about the lives and contributions of American Muslims that you know.” Find the Muslim Association of Puget Sound online, and look for its “action sheet,” she said. “This is our opportunity – we have to look at it as an opportunity to bring us all together, just like tonight is.”
After the panel wrapped up around 8:30 pm and the room thinned – attendees from Vashon Island had to go catch a ferry – the group moved on to business including introducing and approving new leaders for the Data/Technology and PCO committees. New PCOs were appointed, too – 16 of them:
The group also considered resolutions supporting sustainability-related legislation – HB-1372 and HB-1048.
ANNOUNCEMENTS: A bus full of 34th District youth will be sent to Olympia for Lobby Day, and they’re collecting money to help pay for the trip so the youth can “meet with their legislators and make sure their voices are heard.” … County Executive Dow Constantine‘s campaign kickoff is set for February 23rd in Fauntleroy. … Those announcements were made at the start of the meeting; toward the end was the “Good of the Order” segment, which included Chris Porter‘s mention of the effectiveness of financial direct action … Signups are being taken for Lobby Day … Past chair Marcee Stone-Vekich urged support for local unions that are fighting “right-to-work” legislation … New chair Ginsberg mentioned that he founded Indivisible West Seattle and you can find it on social media (including Twitter) … An Indivisible White Center chapter is under consideration, the next speaker said … Les Treall said that he wanted to add to an earlier speaker saying “do something you’re comfortable with” – he urges everyone to get beyond their comfort zone.
The 34th District Democrats usually meet second Wednesdays, 7 pm (after 6:30 pm socializing), at The Hall at Fauntleroy … Get updates between meetings at 34dems.org.
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