In the midst of the fear, chaos, and grief of these first two weeks of the Trump administration, it is clear that fighting racism and white supremacy is central to how we get out of this.
Demonizing and dehumanizing the “other” – be it Black people, immigrants, or trans kids– continues to be at the core of their strategy to gain more wealth and power. Yesterday, Trump blamed the tragic American Airlines crash on “DEI,” while just days before his massive purge of federal workers affected air traffic controller hires and the head of the FAA.
The swift move to cut public benefits also has its roots in racism. For decades, the tropes of the “welfare queen” or the “makers versus the takers” have been deployed to build white support for slashing funding for services that actually benefit all of us.
Meanwhile, the wealthiest man in the world – an unelected and unqualified advisor to the president – giving a Nazi salute at the inauguration makes it plain: unchecked corporate greed combined with white nationalism has captured our government.
The sheer volume of executive orders in these early days are a “shock and awe” strategy, intended to confuse, demoralize, and wear us down. At SURJ, we know that these strategies are particularly aimed at white people.
It’s our responsibility to organize our people into action. We must show up shoulder to shoulder with communities of color and fight like hell against the billionaires who are working overtime to ensure we don’t link up together.
I’m proud that SURJ members are doing just that.
2,000 people across the country have participated in our 10 week “Gear Up” organizing training program. Over 200 SURJ leaders have hosted local training circles in their communities, and tomorrow they’re organizing a coordinated day of action in locations across the country to put pressure on local community leaders to resist Trump’s agenda.
Last week, we held our first rural defense call with other rural organizing groups like RuralOrganizing.org, West Virginia Can’t Wait, and Make the Road NV. Over 400 rural people from across the country came together for this conversation where we shared strategies for rural immigration defense, queer small town organizing, and running progressive rural candidates.
Trump and his administration have demonstrated that they are willing to sacrifice many lives to get richer. In these difficult days ahead, our collective task is to face the gravity of what we’re up against, but not fall into despair or inaction.
We can only do this in community. We’re glad you’re a part of ours.
