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Dear Indivisibles,

Six years ago, Ezra tweeted out a Google doc, “Indivisible: a Practical
Guide to Resisting the Trump Agenda,” that we had written together. The
details of that night -- the guide going viral, the Google doc crashing,
the flood of emails from people beginning to organize around the country
who would soon be taking the name of Indivisible and the strategy of the
guide and making it their own -- are forever etched in my mind.

It had been about six weeks since Trump’s shocking election, and we had
been grieving, raging, and scheming ever since. We were deeply afraid of
what would happen when Trump and the incoming congressional Republican
majorities took office. We were concerned that no one in Washington was
prepared to really, truly resist. In short, we were really, really scared.

But we had an idea. We could take tried-and-true strategies that we’d seen
in our own careers as congressional staffers, and turn them into a how-to
guide for the wave of new organizers around the country who were just
getting started.

In the days to come, I’d hear from so many people that the Indivisible
Guide had given them hope. At the time, I found it surprising. I thought
we’d written something angry and cynical -- that was how I was feeling,
after all! We were pissed-off staffers taking the knowledge we’d acquired
on the inside and throwing it out to the world. We figured after the guide
was published, we’d never work on the Hill again, and we didn’t care --
because what was the point of being part of a system that hummed merrily
along as Trump attacked our neighbors and our democracy? We were doing it
just in case someone, somewhere, could use our insider knowledge, because
we knew that resistance would be bottom-up, or it wouldn’t happen at all.

In other words, we didn’t set out to tell anyone to have hope. We set out
to tell people they had power. It would take us some time to fully
understand the connection between those two things.

And in the days to come, we would find hope ourselves. We would find it in
our email inbox, where stories had begun to pour in from around the
country. In writing the guide, we had catapulted ourselves into a nascent
movement. In living rooms and church basements and libraries around the
country, people had already begun organizing. And as the guide spread, we
began to connect with them, to hear their stories, to become part of their
own journeys.

I could talk about the movement in numbers: more than 2,700 groups in
nearly every congressional district, over 150,000 events around the
country over the last six years, almost eighty MILLION doorknocks,
postcards, calls, and texts to voters, the list goes on. But numbers don’t
truly capture the power, beauty, and joy of the Indivisible movement. 

Because Indivisible is fundamentally a movement of stories -- the stories
of leaders, organizers, and activists around the country who stood up in
that moment, and in the six years since, to fight back. And in the days to
come, there were stories I’d hear over and over and over again.

The mom or dad who had felt something snap in them the morning after the
election, when they had to explain to their kids why the bully had won and
would become president. Who'd never been active before, but knew they had
to do something now.

The woman who’d retired a few years ago, but was now taking a lifetime of
skills and experience -- as a teacher, as a salesperson, as a business
owner, as a data analyst, as a PTA leader -- and pouring it into building
local community power.

The woman who’d never believed she was important enough to talk to her
member of Congress or to get involved in politics, but who now realized
she had had the power all along. Who, more often than not, would soon be
running for office herself. 

From those seeds would sprout an incredible garden: upset political
victories across the country; the defeat of Trumpcare; women running for
office -- everywhere, at every level -- in historic numbers; a Blue Wave
in 2018; the impeachment of Trump; another Blue Wave in 2020.

Each of these victories could be an email -- or a book -- of its own. I
can’t do justice to it all here. But I want to share a few snapshots of
memories and actions that will forever stay with me:

* Let’s start with the very first action! Roanoke Indivisible started
Day One of the 115th Congress by paying a visit to Rep. Bob
Goodlatte's office and demanding he respond to his constituents
-- [ [link removed] ]sparking national coverage of the guide and our burgeoning
network. 
* When Republicans tried to shut us out, Indivisibles never failed to
find new ways to be seen and heard: from [ [link removed] ]protesting on kayaks at
Trump’s golf course, to [ [link removed] ]empty chair town halls, to the one and only
[ [link removed] ]Cardboard Cory.  
* Before Jon Ossoff became a senator, Indivisibles across Georgia and
virtually around the country took action in his [ [link removed] ]2017 special
election for Congress. When the race was called and we came up short,
Ezra and I called group leaders in Georgia that night to thank them
and support them on a tough loss -- but they were ECSTATIC. They
couldn’t believe how close we got in a tough district, and they were
already making plans to flip the seat next time and win. They saw more
clearly than anyone that this work takes persistence, and to turn our
discouragement into determination. One year later, the same district
would elect Rep. Lucy McBath. Three years later, Georgia would deliver
the Senate trifecta.
* New York Indivisibles decided to do the politically unthinkable in
2018 and [ [link removed] ]kick off the beginning of the end for the state’s
Independent Democratic Conference (IDC). These “independent Democrats”
aligned with Republicans in the state Senate to block popular
policies, and Indivisibles and allies across the state worked together
to finally break their grip. State and local fights like this open
doors for a new, more progressive generation of leadership, and serve
as a model for our movement on how to demand more at every level of
government.
* Indivisibles have mobilized for countless days and weeks of action,
but 2021’s [ [link removed] ]Deadline for Democracy will always hold a special place
in my heart. In almost every state as well as DC, we planned nearly
400 events calling on the Senate to pass the For the People Act. The
energy of that week sustained us long after the events ended and
solidified our network’s commitment to staying in the fight to defend
our democracy and voting rights.
* This year was especially meaningful to me because I got to be out
around the country, joining Indivisibles to canvass in key races in
California, Arizona, Oregon, Texas, and more. Personally I don’t think
I’ll ever top the back-to-back opportunities to [ [link removed] ]dress as a pioneer
in Arizona, followed by [ [link removed] ]dressing as a superhero in Oregon.  
* Finally, on our birthday, I need to take a moment to recognize our
movement’s collective love of cake. Whether it was to [ [link removed] ]say goodbye,
[ [link removed] ]say hello, to [ [link removed] ]celebrate another year of resisting, or [ [link removed] ]just
because, cake has featured prominently in our work. 

Through wins and losses, profound grief and true joy, an abundance of
community carried us through -- through four years of Trump, through
COVID, through the insurrection at the Capitol, through senseless acts of
cruelty and violence, through cynicism and despair, through so many highs
and lows. We didn’t win every fight or every race, but we never gave up.
Every fight was important, and every fight expanded the horizon of what
was possible.

We transformed the future of our country, and in many ways we ourselves
were transformed. I know I’m not the same person I was six years ago. No
matter when or how we came into this work, we found a home where we could
learn, grow, and step into our own power. Fighting for a more just future
is the work of a lifetime, and the community we’ve nurtured will be the
source of our strength. 

We count on grassroots donors (like you) to make our work possible, and we
don’t accept money from corporate PACs or special interests. That
independence is critical to our movement, and with all of the work in the
new Congress, we’re going to need to be well-resourced so that we can
stand up to MAGA extremism. [ [link removed] ]If you’re able, please consider
celebrating our birthday by making a donation today to fund all of the
work in the year ahead.

I never could have imagined, sitting in my kitchen six years ago, what was
to follow. It’s equally impossible to know what the year ahead will bring,
but I know there is so much more we can and will accomplish together.
Happy birthday, Indivisibles -- the best is yet to come. 

In solidarity,

Leah Greenberg
Co-Executive Director, Indivisible

PS -- if your preferred unit of measurement is adorableness, check out
these photos of Zeke! He’s grown before our eyes and is excited to meet
his new sibling soon.

[15]Four pictures of Zeke quickly growing older!

PPS -- This is going to be an abrupt tonal shift, but part of celebrating
our movement is caring about your health, so I’m going to take advantage
of this megaphone to make one last request: COVID is surging nationwide,
and we want you to be safe. If you haven’t yet, [ [link removed] ]please schedule your
COVID and flu shots today to keep your loved ones safe for the holidays.

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