Grieving while fighting, fighting while grieving.
Our actions make a difference.
These weeks seem endless and too awful to bear. Last week was utterly depressing and devastating: the loss of the Voting Rights Act with the resulting immediate rush to eliminate majority Black districts, Virginia’s new maps being overturned by a GOP Supreme Court. The gleeful racism of Southern MAGA white politicians has been horrifying; they have all been waiting, plans in hand, hoods on heads, to disenfranchise Black people, the original sin of this country redux. There are articles floating around about how Trump could overturn the November elections.
None of this changes what we do.
We are in the midst of a ferocious war on our democracy, on Black and Latino people and women and immigrants and science and decency and so much more. Some weeks we seem to be losing battle after battle. Legacy media reports the midterms as already lost given the relentless gerrymandering.
Most media, however, is not reporting what actions we are taking. As Heather Cox Richardson said in a recent talk, “…the bigger story is not the MAGA people trying to control the country. I do think the bigger story is the American people reclaiming democracy. It’s so hard to see when you’re in it because you’re overwhelmed.”
Jess Craven writes: Decision Desk HQ agrees on Dems’ chances of taking the House:
Republicans have improved their baseline seat expectations in the 2026 House race thanks to recent redistricting developments. This has somewhat improved their chances of retaining control of the House.
However, House Democrats remain favored (italics mine) due to a very positive national environment that makes it likely that 2026 will see a notable shift to the left from the 2024 presidential race.
The rise of authoritarianism is textbook. We know how it goes. The real story is how people decide to respond. The real story is us, what we do with this moment.
If you answered YES, check out our June 7 event below!
Thoughts About Trauma, Grieving and Fighting.
Some of you may be aware that as a psychiatrist, I write another Substack about experiencing trauma while defending democracy.
We often consider responses to trauma as fight/flight or freeze. I’ve been thinking lately about the aspect of trauma which is about the enormity of loss caused by traumatic events and the ensuing grief. What could have been, that alternate path with a different outcome; where the traumatic event did not occur, can only be imagined. The loss of a sense of safety, those losses of past, present and a threatened future can cause saturating grief, a fog that clouds and obscures the joy in our lives. We want to curl up and ignore the world. We know with the certainty of experience that terrible things can happen anytime; with this administration, they just keep coming.
As we witness the destruction and devastation of people’s lives and of our democracy, how do we continue to act, to not withdraw into hopeless defeat, to not freeze and stay disconnected from ourselves and others? Because that’s what the autocrats want. They want us to feel overwhelmed, to obey in advance and stop fighting.
I’d suggest that grieving is essential. When you feel sadness, you can also experience your anger and your agency. You can act. Take the time to acknowledge and feel the loss rather than withdrawing or being numb.
Soldiers in battle don’t have time to grieve while bullets are flying and bombs are dropping. Thankfully, we are not in that situation.
We can grieve and fight at the same time. Take your time to grieve, to rage, then choose an action. It helps, really it does.
Actions
1.NOW!!! EASY ACTION to safeguard our elections: Leave a comment in public support of Durham’s proposed 2026 November Early Voting Plan by Tuesday May 12 at midnight (11:59).
In recent months, Republican-led Boards of Election have removed early voting for students at Western Carolina University and NC A&T University.
In Durham, we have long had strong early voting presence at our local universities, and we all appreciate the Sunday hours in our plan. Knowing how easy it is to lose these critical parts of our plan, your help is needed.
Here’s the plan as written now.
Please enter comments here
If you can, also attend Durham’s approval meeting (in person, via zoom, or by phone) on Thursday, May 14, 5:30 p.m. at the Durham Board of Elections, 3825 S. Roxboro Street.
Here’s a suggested comment — please personalize!
As a Durham voter, I ask the Board of Elections to unanimously approve Durham County’s proposed Midterm General Election Early Voting Plan for November 2026. We should keep Durham’s excellence in voting availability, enough hours (including evening hours), uniform schedules across sites, Saturday voting, Sunday voting, and ten polling places (including two university campus sites, which will serve this County’s large voting population of students, faculty, staff, hospital workers, and neighbors). Anything less will be seen as voter suppression, bowing to political pressure.
2. FLIPNC Lit Drop: on your schedule
ANYTIME!!! Sign up to drop literature for Justice Earls and judicial races on your own time. Get your steps in and save democracy! A friend and I did this a few weeks ago and had a great time. We also chatted with some folks out walking their dogs and covered a lot of ground leaving info at doors.
more info here
3. Sign up to write postcards to NC Voters with Reclaim Our Vote.
Reclaim Our Vote is a grassroots, primarily volunteer-run campaign that focuses on increasing BIPOC voter turnout through post-carding, texting, and phone banking.
I have not included postcard campaigns in the past, as not all postcard campaigns have equal efficacy. However, The Center for Common Ground’s Reclaim Our Vote campaigns have proven results.
Reclaim Our Vote plans to launch the postcard campaign for NC in early June, writing to 400,000 Black voters and holding the postcards to mail in the fall.
If you want to review the general information about Reclaim Our Vote’s postcard campaigns (including how to order postcards), visit centerforcommonground.org/postcards. Every postcard we write and mail is another voter who has the information they need to vote. Every postcard counts because every vote counts!
If you want to get started, you can also email our wonderful local Durham organizer (and precinct 6 resident), Helen. helen@centerforcommonground.org
4. PHONE BANK OR CANVASS WITH TEAM UP NC INFO HERE
5.WORK THE POLLS with the NC State Board of Elections.
Elections officials in North Carolina counties are looking for election workers for upcoming elections. You can protect democracy, learn how elections work, and get paid in the process! MORE INFO HERE
What Do Election Workers Do?
Staff polling places during early voting and on Election Day.
Set up and close down the voting enclosure.
Check in voters and issue ballots.
Assist voters upon request.
6. Be a Vote Protector with Democracy NC.
Vote Protectors observe a polling place, provide assistance to voters, and document problems. Fill out an interest form to receive information and training about volunteering this fall.
Train to be a nonpartisan Voter Hotline volunteer this fall with Democracy NC. If you have a JD, are currently enrolled in law school, or work as a paralegal, you can sign up and receive training before the fall election on how to assist voters.
Donate to Durham Democrats We need your financial support to:
Get… Durham voters who tend to vote in presidential elections but not midterms
To… Show up and vote for Democrats up-and-down the ballot in November and elect Roy Cooper and Anita Earls!
By… Tying these critical races to issues that impact their everyday life, and driving name recognition of our judicial candidates among ALL voters in Durham.
Events
Sunday May 17 2-4 pm Door Knocking with Field Team Justice and Durham Democrats
Sign up here (you don’t have to live in North Durham to attend!)
All are welcome, whether you’re a first-time canvasser or a seasoned pro. Training will be available for anyone who needs it, and you’ll be able to pair up with a partner if desired. We’ll meet up at 2PM to enjoy some snacks, hear the day’s game plan, and provide training to anyone who needs it. Afterwards, we’ll head out in our neighborhoods to knock on doors and help get out the vote for November’s election.
Sunday May 17 12-6 Lemonade in the Park
more info and sign up here to greet neighbors, register voters and share lemonade with Precinct 5.
Wednesday May 20 6:30-8:30 Durham County Unite For Justice: Live Across NC with Special Guest Anita Earls sign up HERE
Join us at El Quetzal Guatemalan Mexican Grill (4810 Hope Valley Rd Ste 101) for a lively evening focusing on the importance of the judicial races in the upcoming November elections. There will be a Zoom event (on a big screen) where we will hear from dynamic, Anderson Clayton, and from all of the judicial nominees. If you care about moving our General Assembly back to fair maps, this evening is for YOU.
If you haven’t heard Justice Anita Earls speak, this is your chance! She will be joining us in Durham so come in-person if you can.
Wednesday, May 27 6:30 – 7:30pm Virtual Fundraiser for Team Up NC and Rural County Democratic Parties
More info and sign up here
Support the Swing County Democratic Party Investment Fund and the work of Team Up NC! Hear from bestselling author and political commentator Heather Cox Richardson. All In for NC is partnering with Team Up NC and critical County Parties to fuel the important work of electing more NC Democrats this cycle and building long-term Democratic power.
Sunday June 7 2-5 It’s Time: New Skills Into Action
A kid friendy event at Lakewood Social! Snacks! Skills! Community! Enter to win a Durham Dems T-shirt!
more info and register HERE
November will be here in a flash. Let’s get out the vote starting now! We’ll show you how. Join us! Enter to win a free Durham Dems T-shirt and have some snacks.
Let’s talk to neighbors and friends through Field Team Justice*, a project of the NCDP to GOTV for NC Supreme Court Justice Anita Earls and appeals court judges.
After a brief introduction, visit one or more “skills stations.” If you’re confident in your skills, head out immediately! Otherwise, learn, practice and/or refresh how to:
check voter registration online and register voters
use MiniVan (an app)
engage and educate voters about the importance of judicial races
Then head out to knock doors for an hour or head home to do it on your own time. We’ll have phone backup for questions and concerns that afternoon, if you want to practice right then!
*Field Team Justice offers “anytime” canvassing; knocking doors in the neighborhood of your choice on your own schedule using MiniVan. This is essential, as many voters don’t vote midterms and/or the whole ballot, including judicial races. Justice Earls re-election is the most important race on the ballot this year and our conversations will make a difference.
Early contact, increasing candidate name recognition and sharing the importance of voting is essential. Durham is the bluest county in NC; we can carry the state if we turn out our voters!
Voters who talk with a canvasser are up to 10 times more likely to vote!
Calls
Please use 5calls.org and pick your topic or:
Ted Budd: D.C. 202-224-3154
Thom Tillis: D.C. (202) 224-6342
If you are shy about talking, call after hours and leave a message.
Pregnant Women in Detention Facilities (Mother Jones articel here):
This is (name) from (address). Please join your fellow Senators in calling for ICE and DHS to release pregnant and nursing women from prison camps. They are held in places without access to medical care, without adequate prenatal nutrition and some are shackled during labor. If the Senator cares about women and children, this must end. Thank you.
DILLEY Concentration camp.
This is (name) from (address). I would like the Senator to call for the immediate release of all children and their families from the Dilley Detention Center in Texas. It is not a safe place for any children, and the American Academy of Pediatrics has said there should be no children, at all, in prison camps.
If the Senator cares about children and their families, he should speak out immediately. Also, I want the DOJ to release the remaining Epstein files to hold those who hurt children accountable.
Ballroom (thanks to Jess Craven)
This is (name) from (address) I strongly oppose Republicans’ so-called “Ballroom Bill,” which gives more money to ICE, CBP, and Trump’s hated ballroom while adding 71B to the deficit. I will work to vote out every lawmaker who supports it. Americans are dying for lack of healthcare, we can’t afford groceries, we can’t pay our utility bills. That money should go to helping us. Thank you.
Finally…Bring your ferocity.
