Action Planning for canvassing, lobbying, civil disobedience, social media, and more. Plans for Standing with Standing Rock & Standing with our immigrant neighbors, Roundhouse Advocacy Training & more.

Today’s blog is all about action.

Click here to find out how our Senator Martin Heinrich is one of only four US Senators to press Obama to stop the pipeline and police violence, and to find out how you can pressure our DC representatives to follow Sen. Heinrich’s lead.

Click here to find out how Somos Un Pueblo Unido is protecting our immigrant neighbors and what you can do to support that effort. They have a dollar-for-dollar match grant!

Go to the improved Upcoming Events on the home page to get information on an Effective Citizen Legislative Activism Training on December 10, 10am-12pm at the Roundhouse, sponsored by the League of Women Voters.

Action Team Planning Sessions, December 11

We packed the house on Nov 20th, and now we need a big turnout of folks who want to get active. The Center for Progress & Justice or the Convention Center were not available, so we are staging three consecutive action planning sessions in Santa Fe, Sunday, Dec. 11, beginning at 2:30 at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 107 Barcelona Rd., at the corner of Galisteo St. Come share your ideas! Please RSVP, as space is limited. You do NOT have to attend all three sessions, but you must RSVP for the sessions you plan to attend. More info below. Click here to RSVP.

2:30pm-3:30pm  – First Session, Choose ONE Breakout:

• Roundhouse Advocacy Action Team.  Hands-on discussion of possible policy areas we might cover. Who can coordinate the team? Who can commit to coming to the Roundhouse on specific days? How do we communicate to vounteers across the state? Facilitator: Susan Popovich
• Research on Legislation and Policy Action Team. How can we use research to inform canvassing, advocacy, and education of our community?  Facilitator: Paul Gibson

3:45pm-4:45pm – Second Session, Choose ONE Breakout:

• Media-Social Media.  How do we use it?  Who does what? Who coordinates? Bring your ideas for Social Media –Facebook, Email, Twitter, etc., and Mainstream Media — Op-Eds, Guest Editorials, Feature stories, Events Calendars, Radio spots, etc. Facilitator: Roxanne Barber
• “Let’s Talk” Canvassing.  We’ll discuss the “Let’s Talk” approach to canvassing, get your input to refine it, and discuss who does what. Let’s Talk is not targeting GOP, Greens, Dems or any party. It targets people, block by block. It begins with door-to-door listening to our neighbors’ concerns: What works about government and what doesn’t? What keeps them up at night? Then 2nd and 3rd visits are focused on their issues. Facilitator: Paul Gibson

5pm-6:00pm – Third Session, Choose ONE Breakout:

• Civil Disobedience. What kinds of civil disobedience should we initiate? Who can coordinate?  How do we integrate art, music, and other forms of expression? Chad Jones (SWOP), Susan Popovich, Lynn Rosen, and Bruce Berlin will co-facilitate. We will provide skilled training in civil disobedience at a meeting in January and/or at our Conference in March.
• Outreach Strategies to Diversify Our Base.  We will have an open discussion of strategies for diversifying our base in relation to age and ethnicity. We will also discuss strategies for engaging other parts of the state and helping them develop local Retake Our Democracy Activity Hubs.

I want to close by saying that I am truly inspired by the outpouring of energy and commitment to action. Just last night 15 volunteers met with Roxanne Barber to begin planning the Conference in March. (The January Conference is postponed to March due to venue challenges.) Also yesterday, Chad Jones (SWOP) met with Santa Fe Community College to finalize the plan for our Activism Training Series to begin in January, and Lynn Rosen developed a complete list of facilities, their costs, capacity and availability. The day before, we met with two social media pros from Outside Magazine to provide input into how to maximize our use of this tool. We are now negotiating use of the Convention Center on an ongoing basis. This morning I added an improved events calendar to the home page, however, unfortunately links in calendar events must be copied and pasted to your browser. That is a lot for three days. Onward. Much more to do. We need you.

In solidarity,

Paul Gibson

Coordinator, Retake Our Democracy

Categories: Actions, Activist Organizations, Activists Websites, Civil Disobedience, Immigrant Rights, Indigenous Rights, Standing Rock

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