Afton Indivisible Updates
Member newsletter 2025-07-08
Greetings!
We are still here. Last week was challenging but we remain steadfast.
"Activism works. So what I’m telling you to do now, is to act. Because no one is too small to make a difference."
— Greta Thunberg
Afton Indivisible Member Survey
Remember to fill out your survey!
NOTE: We recently added an anonymous option.
We create change through the power that comes from working together. Our mission is to defend democracy, promote progressive ideals, and strengthen our community. Our vision is to be an inclusive community group that offers ways to engage civically and socially.
Help us define what that looks like for Afton Indivisible!
Action Items or Events
A letter writing party will be held TONIGHT.
- When:
- July 8, 6-8pm
- Where:
- 3466 Saint Croix Trail S.
Afton, MN
Purpose:
To draft a group letter to the Washington County Sheriff asking about any intentions to collaborate with ICE to implement federal immigration laws.
Across the US, ICE is pressuring local law enforcement agencies to sign 287(g) agreements – unfunded mandates that deputize them to support ICE operations and divert local resources away from protecting communities. 6 MN counties have *already* signed such agreements — Mille Lacs less than a month ago.
If individuals want to draft their own letters but want guidance they are welcome to come as well.
August 2025 Meeting
- When:
- August 7, 6:00pm (meeting starts at 6:30)
- Where:
- Memorial Lutheran Church
15730 Afton Blvd S
Afton, MN
Our meetings are casual and give us a chance both to connect with neighbors and to take action on local or national issues.
Postcards & Zines! Indivisible
Join us for some fun
We don't want to confuse anyone, but there are two meeting locations for at least two meet-ups a month — on select Wednesdays from 4 to 5:30pm. When you sign up, you will receive confirmation of location. We hope to host Postcards & Zines three Wednesdays a month, twice in Stillwater and once in Bayport, but this frequency will vary, if conflicts develop. The third Wednesday of the month is a regularly scheduled St. Croix Valley Indivisible (SCVI) meeting.
Why keep coming back?
This is not just writing postcards — this is building community. We can support each other through these challenging times.
Please tell your friends. We want to reach out to our Washington County neighbors. There is a lot of work to do and we are open to ideas of what we can accomplish together.
Here are the links below to the Postcards & Zines Mobilize sign-ups:
Indivisible —
Minnesota and Wisconsin Link Hands Across the St. Croix River
Good Trouble Lives On
- When:
- Saturday, July 19, 10:00–11:00am
- Where:
- I-94 bridge between Minnesota and Wisconsin
Join St. Croix Valley Indivisible (SCVI) in honoring the legacy of Congressman John Lewis, who died five years ago this month. Lewis, a civil rights leader, exemplified the best of the United States and had faith in the power of “ordinary people” to “redeem the soul of America” through “good trouble.” He once called us humans “the most dynamic link to the divine.” Join SCVI in making a dynamic link and joyfully shouting, “Good trouble lives on!” We aim to bring together enough people to span the bridge across the St. Croix River, which creates a natural divide between Minnesota and Wisconsin. All are welcome! Let’s join hands! United, we’ll span, Indivisible!
What is “Good Trouble Lives On” about?
“Good Trouble Lives On” is a national response to the Trump administration’s attacks on our civil and human rights. Together, we’ll show that, in America, the power resides in the people.
Bridge Access and Parking
The pedestrian walkway runs next to the traffic lane heading east, on the south side of the bridge. Pedestrians can access it from Minnesota and Wisconsin. However, the access ramp to the walkway is shorter on the Minnesota side.
Tesla Takedown
Overpass actions
- When:
- Every Saturday, 11:00am–12:00pm
- Where:
- Stagecoach Trail/County 21 overpass on I-94
Park on the frontage road. Put "Lucy Winton Bell Athletic Fields" into your map app. We’ll protest on the east side of the overpass. Bring BIG signs or just come wave!
News & Training
One Million Rising: One Million Trained, Millions More Empowered
Hosted by No Kings
Indivisible National is strongly encouraging folks to attend.
- When:
- Wednesdays, 7:00–8:00pm CDT
- Where:
- Online
"One Million Rising — a national effort to train one million people to help lead in this moment and gain the skills to lead others. This is how we build people power that can't be ignored. You're invited to join us—and lead."
What's the Plan?
Indivisible weekly conversation
The tone of last Thursday's weekly conversation was markedly different. We are in a critical time for our democracy. Ezra & Leah from Indivisible national were quite articulate about that. We recommend folks watch the recording of their community call and join their upcoming "One Million Rising" training (see above).
Each Thursday: Calls with Indivisible's Co-Founders
You can attend the weekly "What's the plan?" Zoom calls with Indivisible's co-founders Leah and Ezra each Thursday afternoon at 2pm Central Time.
The onslaught of news, the chaos coming out of the White House – it's all meant to overwhelm us. It's a deliberate strategy to sow confusion and make us believe we are powerless to fight back. The antidote: Coming together in community to process what's happening, to sift through what's important and what's just noise, and coalesce around strategies for fighting back. Join Indivisible co-founders Leah Greenberg and Ezra Levin each week, as we carve out an hour to discuss what's happening and – more importantly – what's the plan.
History and Practice of Nonviolent Resistance
Erica Chenoweth
Political scientist Erica Chenoweth unpacks what makes a successful movement against authoritarianism, and how nonviolent resistance can be used to uphold democracy.
Civil Resistance: What Everyone Needs to Know
Erica Chenoweth, a political scientist at Harvard University, explains that civil resistance is a nonviolent strategy where ordinary people coordinate to demand and protect democracy.
Successful movements typically rely on four key factors:
- Mass Participation & Momentum
- Broad-based, active involvement (often referred to with the "3.5% rule") helps build pressure and legitimacy.
- Loyalty Shifts
- Civil resistance works when it causes key supporters of a regime (e.g., military, business elites) to defect or withdraw support.
- Resilience Under Repression
- Movements must stay organized and peaceful, even when facing crackdowns, using tactics like the "backfire effect" to turn repression against the regime.
- Innovation in Tactics
- Successful campaigns go beyond protests, using strikes, boycotts, and other forms of noncooperation to sustain pressure.
Chenoweth emphasizes that nonviolence is inclusive and more likely to succeed because it allows widespread participation.
GOP Budget Bill Will Make ICE "Largest Federal Law Enforcement Agency in the History of the Nation"
Democracy Now
This bill provides a whopping $170 billion to transform immigration enforcement and detention. This includes $45 billion for new detention jails. That's 265% more than the current ICE detention budget and more than the budget of the federal prison system. ICE's enforcement budget would increase by $30 billion, a threefold increase, and there's some $46 billion for border walls and more.
American Immigration Council calls the bill, quote, "the largest investment in detention and deportation in US history; a policy choice that does nothing to address the systemic failures of our immigration system while inflicting harm, sowing chaos, and tearing families apart"...
The administration is targeting immigrants as a "gateway, "opening the door into violating the rights of anyone they choose to. They're banking on citizens not paying attention if "only" immigrants are affected.
But this $170 billion is to fund a private army that answers only to Trump, and it would be the third largest military force on Earth, after the U.S. and Russia. For perspective, the FBI has a budget of $10 billion
Concentration Camp Labor
by Timothy Snyder
Inspirations
The Rev William Barber’s ‘moral movement’ confronts Trump’s America.
from the Guardian
"Barber, the co-chair of the revived Poor People’s campaign, a national movement to challenge inequality in all its forms through moral protest and policy change, has spent years preparing people for moments like this."
Participate
River Falls holds regular "Moral Monday" Street Rallies.
Stay on task: Overwhelm the opposition
from Robert Hubbell
"We must tune out the noise and continue to drive the outpouring of pro-democracy fervor that will eventually overwhelm Trump and his MAGA extremists. The mass movement of concerned citizens is gaining momentum and heft. We must make it unstoppable, irresistible, and inevitable.
"Pro-democracy rallies have been growing slowly and steadily since Inauguration Day. The No Kings Day rallies were the largest single-day protest in our nation’s history. On July 17, 2025, there will be a continuation of the No Kings Day rallies under the banner of Good Trouble Lives On..."
America: A Work in Progress, Powered by the People
Laurie Woodward Garcia and People Power United
"We are builders and dreamers, inventors and caregivers. Like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. reminded us, 'The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice'—but only because people like us rise up and help bend it. From Rosa Parks refusing to give up her seat to Dolores Huerta shouting 'Sí se puede,' our history is shaped by the courage of ordinary people who refused to stay silent.
"We are not defined by our darkest moments, but by what we choose to do in their aftermath. We are not a nation that cowers to bullies or bows to fear. We rise. We speak out. We show up. We march forward."
Thank you for all that you do!
We hope to see you at upcoming events and at the August 7 meeting.