"Authoritarians love fear, surrender, people who’ve decided they’re already defeated, who are already afraid to resist. Do not give them what they want."
Worth Fighting For
Everyone grieves differently. Many of us are still processing last week's election - ricocheting between anger, disgust, tactical second-guessing, and depression. Others are already dusting themselves off and starting to make plans to resist the agenda Trump has promised and protect the most vulnerable among us.
Last Thursday night more than 150,000 people across the country gathered on a massive Zoom headlined We Are Worth Fighting For sponsored by Indivisible, MoveOn, Public Citizen, Working Families Party, and a host of other groups. The fundamental outcome of that gathering was a call for individual groups to begin convening neighborhood meetings to "share reactions to the election and begin visualizing a path forward." If that invitation speaks to you, consider these upcoming meetings by several of our partners:
Tuesday, November 12 - Our friends at Mandarin Indivisible are inviting all "members, friends, and allies" to a get-together at Mandarin Library. 5:30 pm. Click here to RSVP.
Wednesday, November 13 - Our allies at NE Florida NOW are gathering at Cuba Libra (2578 Atlantic) from 6-8 PM "to celebrate each other and look to build our community coalition to fight for our rights and support our allies." RSVP here.
Wednesday, 11/13 - From 8:30-9:30 PM, National Indivisible is sponsoring their own Zoom gathering: Indivisible’s Strategy for Fighting Trump 2.0. RSVP here.
Vote Cure for US House & Senate
Although overall Republican control of the Senate is now certain, Senator Bob Casey of Pennsylvania has not yet conceded and votes are still being counted in that very close Senate race. Meanwhile, control of the House of Representatives could still go either way as many House races from Alaska to Maine are still being counted and potentially re-counted. Click here to join the efforts to reach voters whose ballots need work to be counted and could still tip the balance in the House. State-specific vote curing information is provided on each call. This time-sensitive work ends this week.
Honoring BAM's Founder Althea Lachicotte
For those who may never have met her, Althea Lachicotte was the inspiring originator of Beaches Activists Movement. Having convened a dinner with close friends on Election Day
2016 to celebrate the nation's first woman president, Althea responded to the shock of that election by immediately insisting, "Y'all, we've got to do something." Before the end of that year the small group she initially rallied had outgrown her house. So Althea wrote a check to the city of Atlantic Beach, reserving a monthly date at Adele Grage for "neighborhood political meetings," and BAM was born. In the years since that first discouraged gathering, BAM has grown from about 25-30 people to more than 550.
So it's both sad and strangely fitting that Althea died last week on November 6 at the age of 88, mercifully spared the shock of a second Trump administration. Sorry as we are to lose her we are grateful for Althea's boundless energy, determination, and fighting spirit - and for her determined belief in the power of individuals banding together to create a better world. Click here to read her full obituary and learn more about her lifetime of service to others. Plans are still being made for a Celebration of Life to be held in her hometown of Camden, S.C. in the spring of 2025. But if you have memorial tributes to offer, please email us and we'll share those on the BAM website.
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