“It’s as cold as ICE out here, but you know what warms me up? The solidarity I see on this street,” said Illinois State Senator Robert Peters, as he spoke to the hundreds who gathered outside the AT&T store on Halsted Street in downtown Chicago on November 16th.
Peters, a longtime member of The People’s Lobby (TPL), was one of the more than a thousand people, including members of TPL, ONE People’s Campaign and allies from across the country who showed up at rallies at 18 AT&T locations across central Illinois to say NO to ICE, and no to any company who seeks to profit from the denial of our civil rights.
People’s Action is leading a coalition of community, faith and labor leaders who call on consumers not to spend a penny on AT&T products this holiday season, until they drop their contracts with ICE and other related federal agencies.
“We are here today, using our constitutional rights, to talk about how AT&T is selling out our communities to ICE/DHS for more cash in their pockets,” said Lina Avalos from TPL at the rally. “We are all here to tell AT&T to drop ICE now!”
The outpouring of solidarity we witness in Chicago is a sign of hope for us all. Block by block, neighborhood by neighborhood, communities and community groups have come together to say NO to ICE and keep each other safe. They have successfully turned back the Trump administration’s attempts to turn Chicago into a war zone, and are building a new muscle of solidarity whose strength we can see and feel.
This is not the only good news we have to celebrate. On November 4, people’s champions were elected up and down the ballot in states from Maine to California, including Zohran Mamdani as the next Mayor of New York City.
Just as important were the reelection of a progressive Supreme Court in Pennsylvania, and ballot measure victories to defend voting rights in Maine and renters’ right to repair in Duluth, Minnesota.
In each of these victories, you and your organizations overcame the odds, with grit and dedication, at the doors and over many long hours. Thank you. The ultra-wealthy spent unprecedented amounts to gain control over our democratic institutions, and they failed because of you. For now, at least, our votes still count, and prove that the power of the people is alive and well.
Neighbors are showing up for neighbors as never before. “So many people are getting off the sidelines, and into the arena,” says Hannah Gelder, who has been helping organize rapid response efforts in Chicago, with hundreds of new volunteers showing up to every neighborhood event and new alliances being forged with community allies. “It’s incredible how many people have a good heart.”
We are building a new muscle of solidarity, and we will need this for a long time to come, because our opponents have shown that our suffering does not deter them. It is what they want: to intimidate us.
That’s why we must show we are unafraid. We will show up, and raise our voices to stop what we all know is wrong, and impose costs in a peaceful and nonviolent way on those who profit from an authoritarian regime.
So we will organize, with new allies and the best tools and techniques, to defend our neighbors, build power, and maximize the effectiveness of our efforts. We will make new friends, and show that there is always room on our side for people who are willing to stand up for what is right.
As Sulma Arias reminds us, now is the time to “erode support for the pillars that prop up an authoritarian regime, then make room on our side to welcome everyone who chooses to no longer support it.”
The time is now. Our time is now, and we are ready.
in solidarity,
Amanda Weaver
Lead Story
Building People Power With Better Data
The Maine People’s Alliance (MPA) has partnered with People’s Action’s data team to reimagine their approach to gathering data and build a robust back end that can turn information into pathways to power. Read more
Organizing Stories
Duluth Tenants Win Right to Repair
By a two-to-one margin, voters in Duluth, Minnesota have approved a first-of-its-kind law in the state that will allow tenants to deduct the cost of simple repairs from their monthly rent, rather than wait for months – or even years – for landlords to follow through. Read more
CANY, CVH Power and VOCAL Action Fund Urge REBNY and New Mayor to Do Right by Tenants
Tenants from Citizen Action of New York, VOCAL Action Fund and Community Voices Heard Power rallied outside the offices of the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) to demand the influential industry group get out of the way of affordable housing solutions for the city’s millions of tenants. Read more
WVCAG Organizes Against West Virginia Data Centers
West Virginia Citizen Action Group (WVCAG) is helping residents of Mingo County organize to rise up and say “No!” to a proposal by TransGas Development Systems to build massive data centers on mountaintop locations in the southern part of the state. Read more
Issues
Chicagoans Rally To Stop ICE, Protect Immigrant Neighbors
ONE Northside and on-the-ground community groups in Chicago are organizing block by block, neighborhood by neighborhood, to keep each other safe and to turn back the militarized takeover of the city’s streets by ICE, Border Patrol and related federal agencies. Read more
OneAmerica Wins Executive Order to Protect Immigrants
OneAmerica, the People Action Institute member organization founded by U.S. Representative Pramila Jayapal in Washington State to defend immigrant rights after 9/11, is celebrating a new executive order to protect data from illegal collection by DHS, ICE and other federal agencies. Read More
NWBCCC Secures Historic Community Benefits Agreement for Kingsbridge Armory Development
It’s official! After more than three decades of planning and negotiations, the Kingsbridge Armory in the Bronx will be redeveloped with a community benefits agreement won by the The Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition (NWBCCC) and allies that incorporates the organization’s vision for the long-abandoned facility to become a hub for family-sustaining jobs, small business support, and community ownership. Read More
Recent Media
READ: “Democracy Begins Where We Live”
Kate Hess Pace from Hoosier Action explains how it’s the people around us who will get us through.
WATCH: Say No to AT&T Until They Stop Contracting with ICE!
More than a thousand members of People’s Action, The People’s Lobby, ONE People’s Campaign and allies from the Organizing Revival Network and May Day Strong rallied at eighteen locations across Central Illinois to demand AT&T drop its contracts with ICE, Border Patrol and related federal agencies.