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While there’s been a lot of hot takes, opinions, and pundits over the last few months. I’ve taken a step back from the fray to observe what is happening and listen for what is needed. In my older age, I’m learning (the hard way) that not everything warrants a reaction and that - perhaps - it is skillful to slow down and stay alert.

The speed at which things are moving and changing is faster than we can observe. In the last few weeks the political landscape has changed dramatically leaving many of us anxious and disoriented. What comes next, we don't know. There is no handbook for how we navigate unprecedented times. 

Things are not going to slow or settle down. The future will not be less uncertain or chaotic. These are the conditions of our reality - much of it an outgrowth of the unresolved trauma and gross inequality that we have inherited. 

The only questions are Will we rise to the occasion? Do have the capacity to adapt to the conditions as they emerge? Are we willing to be accountable for our part? Can we imagine better futures? 

These are some of the questions shaping our response and strategy over the next few days and months…for the sake of building collective capacity to meet this moment with the “fierce urgency of now” (as Dr King reminds us) AND be accountable to a future of greater political possibility and progress.

After this week’s convention, we’ll be kicking things off with a People’s Response THIS FRIDAY hosted by our friends at Working Families Party (details below).

Kerri (she/her)

Art by @wordsarevibrations

NTK (need to know)

• Ta-Nehisi Coates on how the DNC is preventing Palestinians from speaking for themselves, even as it touts diversity in Chicago, home to one of the highest concentrations of Palestinians in the U.S.

• Biden’s Gaza policy is a liability for Kamala Harris. She must break with Biden now and back an Israel arms embargo if she wants to win key states.

• Considering Project 2025’s explicit intent to reshape the federal government and decimate civil and human rights, this moment calls for an equally bold response that centers human and planetary needs—and uplifts the solutions that make them possible. Enter Progress 2025.

• “Billionaires in both parties should not be able to buy elections, including primary elections”. Bernie Sanders puts overturning Citizens United on the top of our list.

• Bombed hospitals, buried children: we have become numb to Gaza’s destruction. Hala Alyan on dehumanization as a prerequisite of most forms of violence.

Solidarity (pt. 1)

The energy at this week’s DNC is undeniable. But energy doesn’t translate to change unless we engage it. So we are coming together and holding space for strategic being, blocking and building towards a future of political possibility. Here’s where we’ll be this week:

DNC WATCH PARTY: Tune in Thursday at 945EST/645PST to watch Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris address the public and her party.

WFP PEOPLE’S RESPONSE: Join us Friday, August 23rd at 1EST/10PST as we make meaning of the DNC and engage in conversation about what’s next and what’s possible. Featuring the amazing Maurice Mitchell, Ash-Lee Woodward Henderson, adrienne maree brown and other amazing movement leaders.

NOT ANOTHER BOMB: We know that in order to achieve a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, the U.S. must stop arming Israel’s war and occupation against Palestinians. That’s why we are calling for an immediate embargo on US arms to Israel. Join us in calling on presidential candidate Kamala Harris to enact an immediate arms embargo on Israel’s assault and occupation against Palestinians as a material step towards a permanent ceasefire.

SEED THE VOTE: Join WFP, Seed the Vote, and local partners on the ground in each swing state to talk to voters from the first week of September through Nov 5th, election day.

Art by @WorkingFamiliesParty

Solidarity (pt 2)

Shout out to the Uncommitted Movement for showing how democracy works. What began as 30 delegates at the DNC, has now expanded to 270+ delegates demanding a ceasefire and arms embargo. These delegates represent the majority of Americans who want a ceasefire. We also know from polling that with a policy change that conditions weapons to Israel is a winning strategy (especially in swing states).

Empathy, talking points and social media solidarity are good. But what we really need is policy change. We cannot have a cease fire while we supply the fire. Rather, this administration and the next needs to enact an immediate arms embargo on Israel’s assault and occupation against Palestinians as a material step towards a permanent ceasefire.

As people gather in Chicago for the 2024 DNC, we’ve joined a growing collective of voters in urging VP Kamala Harris to break with Biden and put her words into action. You can sign on here.

Art and Resources: @Uncommittedmvmt

Digging Deeper

As we navigate the complicated and often contradicting reality of this political moment, we’re spending a lot of time talking strategy. Strategy is not about what we believe to be true or possible. Strategy is discernment about HOW we move in the direction of truth and possibility. While principles help us dream up and define what collective liberation looks like, strategy is creating the conditions for change to be possible. It is a long game, made up of many small steps by many different people which weave together to reveal a new and different reality. Strategy is the steady relentless rhythm of our intentions and actions towards a better future. Here are some strategic questions that informing how we navigate the way forward.

• What is at stake in this election?

• What structural obstacles are in the way of political possibility?

• What do we need to build power?

• How are we building, blocking and being our way towards change?

• How do we respond in the short term to deliver in the long term?

• What is the strategy that includes ending genocide and colonial violence at home and abroad?

• How do we practice politics every day (and not just during election season)?

• What is our political strategy beyond electoral politics?

• How are we organizing the broader ecosystem to build a united front for collective wellbeing?

• Who are we accountable to?

Art and wisdom by @raeekayassaie

We-ness

Our love language.

Art and words by Leila Madeline

Thanks for subscribing to WELLREAD. For the last six years we’ve been providing folks with the need to know (NTK) news, calls to actions and resources for how to stay engaged and resourced along the way. But now, we’ve added an option to “upgrade to paid” to help sustain our work. While we will never put our content behind a pay wall, we depend on the support of our community to keep us going. 💛

Upgrade to paid