In this issue:
- Time to get ready for May Day
- Insurrection Act: we are ready
- How our Attorney General can stop ICE kidnappings
- Tell Mayor Lurie: no more children living on the streets!
- Tell our MOCs: Reject Autism Lies and a National Registry
- Help the Roxie Theater buy its building
- Thank you for coming to 4.19 events
- Want to help us do this work?
- Upcoming events
Get ready for May Day (Thursday, May 1st)
Indivisible SF will have a contingent at the May 1st Rally and March. This PEACEFUL rally and march at Civic Center Plaza will feature an approximately 1-hr long program featuring speakers from unions and community organizers, then a march on Market Street.
The event starts at 4 PM and ends at 7 PM. Our contingent will be meeting at 3:30 PM on the south (Grove) side of Civic Center Plaza in front of Bill Graham Auditorium. May Day falls on a work day this year, and we are sticking to that to increase our visibility and stay true to the original intent of the holiday.
We will keep you updated with more details as the event gets closer.
Want to attend? Sign up for our contingent on our Google form.
Want to spread the word? Download, print, and post our flyers wherever you can!
Download the 4-up mini flyers here.
Download the 6-up mini flyers here.
Read about SF Public Works’s rules for posting signs on public surfaces in San Francisco.
Want to know everything that’s going on for May Day? Check out our landing page for all things May Day.
What even is May Day?
From time immemorial, people living through cold winters celebrated the coming of spring and the new planting-season, often with festivals on the 1st day of May. Similarly, the cessation of snow and frigid rain triggered the renewal of strikes, street protests, and struggles for justice and human rights.
On May 1st, 1886, Chicago labor unions went on strike for an 8-hour work day with 80,000 people marching up Michigan Avenue in the first mass May Day March. They chanted: "8 hours for work, 8 hours for sleep, 8 hours for what we will."
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Art by Ricardo Levins Morales.
Their strike was violently suppressed by the cops, a provocateur threw a bomb at a rally in Haymarket Square, and over the course of several days both strikers and police were killed and wounded. Many strikers were arrested on flimsy evidence and some were executed.
American unions then set May 1st, 1890 as a national day of action for the 8-hour day. Socialists in Europe did the same, declaring May Day to be International Workers Day. Since then, throughout the world May 1st has continued to be a day for social and economic justice movements of all kinds and issues.
In 1894, President Cleveland invoked the Insurrection Act and ordered the U.S. Army to violently suppress the Pullman Strike by railroad workers. This caused great public outrage. To appease public anger, Congress then declared the first Monday in September to be "Labor Day," a new national worker-related holiday, but one shorn from May Day's radical social-justice roots.
Read more about May Day in our blog post.
Trump May Invoke the 1807 Insurrection Act
History may be about to repeat itself. On his first day in office last January, wannabe king Trump declared a national emergency on our southern border granting him broad powers to repel a non-existent "invasion." (In fact, the number of illegal border crossings is at an historic low.) Trump's declaration also gave the departments of Defense and Homeland Security 90 days to produce a report recommending that he invoke the Insurrection Act of 1807. We are ready for this possibility, and we won't panic.
Read more on our blog.
Safeguarding Civil Liberties: What Democratic Attorneys General Must Do to Stop ICE Overreach
From Indivisible National: In the past two months, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has escalated a disturbing pattern of allegedly targeting and forcibly disappearing international students, professors, lawful permanent residents, and others on valid visas, in many cases, without following due process—seemingly not for any criminal activity, but for their political speech and participation. These are not isolated incidents; they are deliberate warning shots aimed at those who dare to express a political opinion that Donald Trump disagrees with.
You may have heard of the kidnappings by immigration authorities of Mahmoud Khalil, Rümeysa Öztürk, and other dissidents—these cases and others constitute nothing less than a full-blown campaign to criminalize dissent.
However, State Attorneys General (AGs) have both the authority and the responsibility to defend residents against federal overreach, with a broad array of tools at their disposal.
This is where you come in. AGs have real tools and legal standing—what they need is the political courage to act. Let’s make sure they do.
Contact your Attorney General and tell them: speak out, file lawsuits, and intervene on behalf of any person kidnapped by ICE.
And read more on our blog.
Protect our vulnerable communities: Reject Autism Lies and National Registry
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., as Secretary of Health and Human Services, has initiated a large-scale autism research effort that includes creating a national registry of autistic people and aggregating extensive medical records.
Autism is a difference in brain patterns and behavior, not a disease, and contrary to what cranks like RFK Jr. claim, vaccines do not cause it. Many researchers argue that the rise in autism diagnoses is primarily due to better screening and broader diagnostic criteria.
Worse, a national registry falls in line with the authoritarian playbook of using institutionalization to punish differences and try to force people to conform. There’s no “due process” for refuting a medical diagnosis. We must spread the word and stand against this.
Contact your Members of Congress and tell them: vocally oppose RFK Jr’s registry of autistic people.
No More Children Living on the Street: Tell SF City Hall to End the 90-Day Limit on Family Shelter Policy!
On April 1st, Mayor Lurie attended the Streets to Stability: Launch Event and Panel Discussion at Taube Atrium Theatre where he publicly committed to support the Streets to Stability Plan. Step 2 in the plan states, “Keep people housed.”
On April 17th, the SF BoS Government Audit and Oversight Committee met to discuss item 250237, a resolution sponsored by Supervisors Fielder (D9), Chen (D11), Melgar (D7), and Walton (D10), urging the Mayor to rescind or drastically reform the family shelter length of stay policy to avoid placing undue stress on families, and increase shelter and housing options to address family homelessness.
During public comment, many families described the trauma of repeatedly having to prove their efforts every 30 days to avoid being forced back onto the streets. They highlighted that finding stable housing and employment within 90 days in San Francisco is unrealistic, the extension process is confusing, and they face a lack of empathy from case workers and extension denial notices. Advocates and experts gave testimonies on the negative impact on families’ physical and mental health.
Ultimately, Supervisors Sherrill (D2) and Sauter (D3) blocked Fielder’s resolution from advancing to the full Board of Supervisors, effectively stalling it unless Fielder can gather enough support to bypass the committee. While the resolution would not have been binding, it would have forced a public stance from the board and potentially pressured the mayor and HSH to reconsider the policy.
A video of the proceedings and testimonies can be viewed online.
Call Mayor Lurie and your Supervisor and tell them: end the 90-day eviction policy!
Help the Roxie Theater buy their building!
We’ve happily worked with the Roxie Theater in the Mission on a couple of fronts this year. Last month, the Roxie hosted the showings of “Democracy Noir” that raised money for us. We also rent our current meeting space, 518 Valencia, from them.
Even beyond our own benefit, the Roxie has been a cultural institution in the Mission for roughly a hundred years, having opened under its current name in 1934, and with antecedents going back a bit farther.
Now the Roxie is working to raise $7 million to buy the building it occupies and make various improvements and investments in future operations. As of yesterday, the campaign has about $1.5 million left to go.
You can help either by making a one-time gift or becoming a monthly donor to the Roxie. Learn more at Forever Roxie.
Thank you for coming together to the April 19 event, and the Impeach & Remove Human Banner!
We saw record turnout at 4.19 events across the country, including here in San Francisco. We also saw over 1,000 people at the Impeach & Remove Human Banner, which was featured on Rachel Maddow’s show the other day!
You can find photos of the event in Pro Bono Photo’s albums here.
Want to help us do this work?
We will plug you in where your skills can do the most good to resist this administration.
If you would like to join and do important work with us, we welcome you! Currently we are in need of volunteers to help with the following:
- Publishing our newsletter with MailChimp, and helping update our website on Newsletter Night (Tuesdays at 5PM).
- Making short-form videos to help educate people on our topics in an accessible way.
- Tracking federal, state, and local legislation and working with our state and local legislatures and Mayor Lurie.
- Organizing our protests and other in-person actions, and scheduling our in-person meetings.
No experience is needed; we will train you and provide everything you need. If you would like to help us, please contact us at [email protected].
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People over Profit at the Tesla Dealership: Saturday, April 26, and (almost) every Saturday at 12 PM. Join this weekly, peaceful protest at the SF Tesla Dealership at 999 Van Ness to speak out against Musk’s takeover of the federal government. Details on Mobilize.
Stop the Attack on Federal Workers at the Tesla Dealership: Monday, April 28, and every Monday at 12 PM. This weekly protest at the SF Tesla Dealership at 999 Van Ness is organized by Federal Workers United to stand with federal workers. Details on Mobilize.
Phone Bank with Common Cause to stop the SAVE Act: Tuesday, April 29, 3-5 PM. Join Common Cause for an important phone bank as we mobilize voters to take action against the dangerous SAVE Act and advocate for the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. RSVP via Mobilize.
May Day National Day Of Action at Civic Center: Thursday, May 1, 4-7 PM. We are joining dozens of unions and groups at Civic Center Plaza to uplift workers in our united struggle against fascism, billionaires and corporate control. Check out our landing page here.
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If you’ve seen our newsletter posts on social media, you might have noticed that we include a photo or graphic with each issue.
Today’s graphics are calls to action to stand against ICE kidnappings and RFK’s hateful registry of autistic people, end the 90-day eviction policy in SF, and flyers for our upcoming events.
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Keep Fighting,
The Indivisible SF Team
If you'd like to support our all-volunteer team:
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