Sunshine Segment
In a time where political news is usually never good, it is important to share the wins when we find them. Coming out of Illinois, Kat Abughazaleh is from the 9th District. There the congressional seats have been held by the same two people since 1995. Future representative Abughazaleh is very similar to AOC in her relatability to her constituents. She has a rental lease and a chronic illness like 40% of Americans. She has epilepsy and is throwing herself into her campaign fully. After Elon defamed her and fired her from her job. She like many other is having to use “GoodRX like my life depends on it - because it kind of does."(MSN)
She wants to get her funding her community. The direct donations can come from local businesses, and mutual aid groups. Her initiative is to get voters by holding local rallies. The idea is that if she gets income/supplies from donations and barter and trade. On her own she will make the connections to her constituents. The great news is that: She is documenting everything! She wants to encourage people to become candidates.
This is amazing news for Illinois but what does that mean for other activism groups? This is one of the best signs for change! We as a collective community, being the 99%, are flowing within democracy to see change happen. According to Run For Something, “27,000 have signed up with the organization”, which is over 3 times the amount back in 2017 and 2018 (MSN). Run for Something is a campaign to get people to run for their local elected positions and offices. They support using funding and mentorship programs for young candidates. This non-profit helped our own J.B Smiley of Tennessee, get his seat in the Memphis city council. For too long people have been kept away from change making, because they couldn’t afford to campaign. We saw in this last election how people of every background, were deciding to take a stand in their local elections. As a community we are working to be more informed and rallying behind each other. This rallying is where activism groups mix in.
Everyone is going to feel pulled to different fronts of the fight, but the main thing two things are: community and call to action. Your community can be in person or online. Your call to action (strike days) can be different depending on the group. General Strike USA offers both with community building for the strike, while also having the strike day planned. The hope is to get 11 million people behind the same movement to evoke change. The change part kicks in on the strike day, when all those behind the rally, take the day off. Eleven million people are hard to convince, but it is easier when you give them places to grow. This is where local groups can help you find your place, for this reader I found United Volunteers of Tennessee (UVOTN).
You may feel encouraged to be on the front lines of a rally/protest. You may also feel called to be behind the scenes. This is where a lot of people get fuzzy on how to help, because it requires a lot of information sharing. This is where checking out a group's discord or messaging on social media is best. Every group has different needs and goals. The hardest part about beginning your marketing journey is to know where to start. This is why coordination is can kill the spark, because change won’t be immediate but it will be worth it. This may seem obvious, but immediate satisfaction has ruined it for us all.
Change will take time and effort from all of us. This is why National strikes like the one from General Strike USA, are so important. These strike efforts would allow us to pull back together, as the 99% of the ant colony.