Friend,

Right now, a powerful coalition of organizers in Minnesota are gearing up for an economic blackout across the state: a one-day call for no work, no school, no shopping. If you're in If you're in Minnesota, please join the effort: ICEOutofMN.org.

For the rest of us not in Minnesota, Stand With Minnesota has compiled a vetted list of organizations and mutual aid efforts for us to support. Locals are also urging us to pressure big corporations, like Target who is headquartered in the state but continues to sit on the sidelines. You can download the complete toolkit. Each day they are focusing energy on a different corporate actor (but don't worry, they're being very strategic and though each day is focused — they are keeping the pressure on all of them!).

Tuesday: Home Depot
Wednesday: Enterprise
Thursday: Hilton
Friday: Delta

Some are calling Friday the first statewide economic blackout in the country. We can't verify that — but we can assure you it will be historic.

Many solidarity action are planned. SEIU recently its announced they're holding Friday actions in solidarity across the country. Free NYC and other youth led orgs are calling for citywide student walkouts at NYC colleges & high schools.

There's a lot of activity as we are hitting some inflection moments: threats of Insurrection Act, out-of-control ICE activity more akin of a military invasion, and an appropriations bill that could either expand or reduce ICE, Border Patrol and DHS (if your Congressperson needs to be pressured on this, please do!).

A few resources and ways we've been trying to help:

Daniel co-lead a workshop on January 23 readiness for folks in Minnesota (and a team from Freedom Trainers has been leading that all day with interested participants);
And today published an about how the January 23rd is part of an even bigger effort: What is it going to take to get to mass strikes?
Daniel developed trainings for the Women's March effort on January 20th Walkout;
We published an "hot take" on the Insurrection Act on Monday;
We continue to try to write "first drafts of history" reflecting on how pressure campaigns are working: Umme Hoque and Daniel Hunter wrote Here’s How We Pressured an Airline to End Its Contract With ICE for Truthout. Rachel Maddow did a segment quoting from that article and interviewing Umme.
Also, Jeff Ordower and Daniel Hunter wrote 'How #TeslaTakedown Combined Centralization and Decentralization to Fight Authoritarianism' for The Forge;
Daniel Hunter joined Rebecca Solnit, Bill McKibben, Kafia Ahmed and Mike Johnson for a Third Act webinar Fighting Authoritarianism In Our Third Act;
Daniel Hunter was featured on The Context podcast for the episode Seven Ways Anyone Can Fight Authoritarianism.

We are strained. Our bonds are frayed. And yet the authoritarian push has cracked open new possibilities. People have not given in — we are building democratic muscle through intervention, disruption, care for one another, and love. These capacities were always necessary. Today, they are indispensable.

Warmly,

Choose Democracy

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