Hi John,

At the beginning of January my mom attended a political event for the first time in her life. Because I’m a good daughter, I won’t tell you her age, but I’ll tell you mine to give you some context: 32 years old. She went because our neighbor is involved in local organizing and politics, and she invited my mom to join her. My mom texted me her thoughts afterwards—candidates she liked and what they said, familiar faces she recognized as the parents of kids I went to pre-school with.

I share this not because I think you’d be all that interested in the hometown happenings, but because that’s how I think we’re going to win this thing. Small, local acts of defiance and community organizing adding up to one powerful sea of resistance against Trump’s tide of authoritarianism.

Trump spent his first year in office waging an all-out war on gender justice and democracy. This year, we need to fight like hell to protect our democracy, demand accountability from the powerful few aiding this wannabe dictator, and take advantage of every window of opportunity to advance gender justice.

Everyone has a role to play to defeat this sexist fascist regime—and that includes you.

Will you sign our petition committing to take action locally and protect our communities from further erosion of our rights and freedoms?

Don’t worry, taking action locally does not have to be hard. It could look like registering to vote and helping others do the same; attending a city council meeting or school board meeting; joining a local migrant response network to report ICE activity; donating banned books to your local library or food to a local food pantry; volunteering to become a poll worker in your local elections; or joining a local protest to bring awareness to your community that fascist actions must not go unchecked.

As Trump begins the second year of his second term, we’re expanding our democracy work—which means more opportunities for you to take meaningful action nationally. We know that this is the year to put all our cards on the table. We’re not holding back, and you shouldn’t either.

Here are the kinds of actions you can expect to see from us:

• Reminders about the (disastrous) effects of the One Big Beautiful Ugly Bill Act, who voted for it, and opportunities to hold those members of Congress accountable.
   
• Insight into what the people in the Trump administration—including judges and agency leaders—are up to and how we can push back against their horrifying decisions.
   
• Action on high-impact moments that call out sexism and misogyny in Trump’s fascist actions and activates communities around proactive ways to defend our democracy and civil rights.
   
• Highlights from the powerful local work that our State Gender Policy Collective fellows are doing in their states as elected officials and advocacy leaders, including sharing opportunities to get involved in gender justice work through their efforts.

The depravity, cruelty, and swiftness of the second Trump administration is shocking. It’s hard to take in the news right now. Hard to let yourself stop and really think about the enormity of the harm Trump is creating. I’m not going to dismiss or diminish that.  

But I’ll also say this: nothing makes me feel better than actually doing something to fight back. Last week I went to a rally at the Supreme Court because the justices are considering upholding sports bans targeting trans women and girls. I went with a friend from law school, and we screamed to let ALL kids play until we were hoarse (and we yelled an octave higher when NWLC’s own Shiwali Patel spoke!).  

On our walk back to our cars after the rally, I told him: “Yelling with a bunch of other people who feel the same anger and frustration I do really does something for me. It’s cathartic.”

Wherever you live, whether it’s your first-ever foray into organizing or you’re a local politics pro, my goal for you, and this newsletter, this year is simple: I want to make sure you commit to finding ways to fight back locally and join us in the fight nationally.  

Together, we can make life harder for an administration intent on illegally consolidating power—and thinks they will get away with it. We won’t let them. 

In screaming solidarity,

Hannah Finnie
she/her
Writer/Editor
National Women’s Law Center