“We had a phenomenal gathering with sixteen people. ALL signed up for at least one action. Two are making the trek from Massachusetts to Pittsburgh to door knock for Summer Lee. A few are going to host their own watch parties!”
— Debby, SURJ leader and watch party host in MA
We’re proud that SURJ is a political home where thousands of white people find community and take action for justice. We know there are thousands more looking for a home base like ours, so as we move through this big year of action, we’re reaching outward and bringing more and more of our people in.
Building off of our 1,000-person strategy launch in early February, after Super Tuesday over 700 SURJ members came together in local gatherings for our “Grow the Movement Livestream” watch parties. Leaders in 130 locations (some pictured above) invited 3+ friends to tune into our livestream, engage in deep discussion about this political moment, and commit to action together.
Parties happened in a local thrift store in the Hudson Valley in New York, public libraries from Santa Cruz to Western Massachusetts, a UU Church in Boulder, and dozens of living rooms from Maryville, Tennessee to Antigua, Guatemala!
All of us know someone who, looking out at the state of the world, feels a deep desire to do something but is unsure where to start. Part of our work this year is to bring our people through the paralysis of uncertainty and into our community of action.
We have two new weekly events focused on bringing in new people:
1. Call other SURJ members at “Turnout Tuesday” weekly phonebankswhere we connect about what’s going on in people’s lives, and then invite them into action with us. Our next Turnout Tuesday call is TONIGHT, March 19, at 6 pm ET. Can you join us?
2. Then, on Wednesdays, we’re hosting “Welcome Wednesdays”—a weekly event for people new to the SURJ community where they’ll get oriented to who we are, engage in political education about this moment, and get oriented to our work this year. Our next Welcome Wednesday call is tomorrow, March 20, at 8 pm ET.
We won’t stop authoritarianism or keep progressives in office this year—or win racial and economic justice in the long term—without more people power on our side. This is the GROW part of our “Build, Block, Grow” strategy this year.
Can you join us tonight—or next Tuesday—to bring in more SURJ community members to this work?
