Welcome to Organizer’s Corner — a (free) newsletter from your friends at Get Pod Local! Because we can help you stay inform — but then what?
Enter in your weekly Call To Actions (CTA!) from our Resident Precinct Chair, Joey Cade!
I thought it was hard to write last week.
And then we survived this week.
Citizen ChongLy “Scott” Thao was kidnapped on camera in his boxers.
In north Texas, Wael Tarabishi passed away after losing his caretaker to ICE.
5 and 2 year old children were taken - and those are just two that got press coverage...
Read: Families protest 5-year-old boy held at Texas facility separated from detained father
Detained immigrant families are being tortured here in Texas.
And, another good person was murdered — and we were forced to watch it from multiple camera angles while our government lied about it again.
And this is just what went wrong with ICE this week.
Read Jalon’s weekly newsletter to catch up on all the madness.1 👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻
Every week, I remind us that the exhaustion, fear, and overwhelm we feel are not accidental. They are the point.
Authoritarianism doesn’t just rely on force — it relies on psychological collapse.
They want us frozen and stressed.
They want us either fighting nonstop until we burn out — or giving up entirely.
So if you feel depleted right now, please hear this clearly: you are not failing.
You are responding normally to something profoundly traumatizing.
This is what authoritarianism feels like — it’s everywhere and constant. Outrage replaces outrage. It all becomes a dark blur.
What I hope is that alongside the fear, you also feel shaken awake.
Non-white communities have always known the brutality baked into this country.
If there is any opening here, it is that more of us are now seeing it clearly — and feel mad enough to be moved to action. 2
Let’s turn courage witnessed into courage in ACTION. Be inspired by Renee Good and Alex Pretti to Be a Helper.
None of us can do everything.
But each of us must do something.
That’s how authoritarianism is defeated…
…not by lone heroes, but by millions of people choosing sustained, collective action. And it works best when we make it a normal part of our lives, alongside people we can build community with. Because more care and trust is also needed.
So, decide your level of time, energy, and risk — and jump in sustainably. We are not sprinting. We are building infrastructure to fight back. Choose to take action in ways you can do consistently.
Immediate ICE related actions:
Call Congress and demand NO ICE funding.
The US Senate is voting as early as tomorrow, Mon, Jan 26, so take a few minutes to call your Senators NOW.
5 Calls makes it easy with the script: https://5calls.org/issue/dhs-budget-ice-defund/
It really is super easy. 👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻
Attend Indivisible’s nationwide “Eyes on ICE” call tomorrow, Mon, 1/26 at 7pm central: www.mobilize.us/nokings/event/891782
Want to get involved with the grassroots work of protecting neighbors, like you see in Minneapolis? In north Texas, fill out this form to join Community Self Defense DFW:
You will then be added to an email list and receive notices of upcoming trainings and events; once you attend you may be added to their private messaging apps. They have to be careful to add only those who participate to keep everyone safe.
Those who want to wear a whistle and be on the lookout are encouraged to join. We must build a web of protection across our region NOW. Before ICE gets worse here, which is happening as we speak….
Support the movement from home.
All these orgs need admin help, grant writing, meal trains, maintain databases, etc - offer what you can do
Be conscious with your attention and money
Unfollow influencers staying silent3
Stop supporting brands — national or local — that refuse to speak out
Make whistle kits at home with this handy guide from Vecinos Unidos
Fund organizations already doing the work
Set a small monthly donation - this is the sustainable support orgs need
National orgs include: RAICES, National Immigration Project, Immigrant Defense Project, ACLU, and others
Please give monthly to Vecinos Unidos locally: https://donorbox.org/vecinos-unidos-mutual-aid-fund-emergency-relief-for-families-after-ice-abductions
But also, show up offline.
Court watching, shopping, or driving for families in hiding with groups like Vecinos Unidos
Volunteer with local food pantry support orgs, we love Dallas Feeds Dallas
Attend events - anything will get you more engaged
FEDDs Judges, Community, and Solidarity program on Tues, Feb 3 at 6:30pm
In addition to learning about judges on our ballots, we will be making KYR whistle kits with our friends at El Movimiento
“Know Your Rights” (KYR) whistle kits are used on the streets - you hear the whistles in all the videos in Minneapolis, the same are in use here and everywhere
And, lean into community.
Find your resistance crew.
Mine is a lot like this.
To find your tribe, try attending organization or club meetings (like the ones listed above). Or, build your own small circle of friends who show up together. Organizing with friends is one of the most joyful parts of my life.
Today, we felt cooped up from the ice storm here and wanted community, so we met neighbors outside on our corner and had our own anti-ICE protest.
We chatted, held signs, wrote Abolish ICE in the snow, got honks of approval from cars driving by, and talked about voting in the Primary Election between Feb 17 & 27. I felt much better after the connection with neighbors.
And yes — rest and joy are required, not optional.
Burnout is not noble. Regulated nervous systems are how we stay in this long enough to defeat authoritarianism.
All of this matters.
Every bit of it.
Because community is the antidote to authoritarianism.
Because solidarity is how we survive this.
Because helping each other is how we get out.
So…. Find. your way to -
Build community.
Fight white supremacy.
Be a Helper.
That’s how we get through this — together.
With solidarity and care,
Joey
This newsletter is free, but if you’d like, please buy us some coffee. xoxo
Organizer’s Corner is a Newsletter brought to you by our very own, Joey Cade. Lots of folks have ideas of what can help / what you should do — and while no one has all the answers, we (specifically Joey) do have some. Okay, a lot. Joey is not just a co-host of Get Pod Local …she’s also the Precinct Chair for Dallas’ Precinct 1052.
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GPL Presents: Organizers Corner w/ Joey Cade
Every Sunday night, Joey Cade, our Resident Precinct Chair, lays out our Call To Actions for the week. Because knowing what’s going on is one thing. But doing something about it is another. Let’s do both!
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Jalon D'na here! I make sure to add levity and always have moments of zen, just like all of our newsletters. 🩷
Some seem spurred to action now that another white person has been murdered. Over the past year, dozens of non-white people have been killed by ICE or in their “care”, thousands are being tortured in detention centers as we speak, and MILLIONS have had their lives ruined. Family members have been detained or deported, many have been forced to live in hiding or leave the country. The reality is, most non-white people are enduring trauma every single day they have to be out in the world, knowing people who look like them are being hunted by ICE.
As an anti-racist still working hard to eschew white supremacy in my own life, I want to call out this situation and hope we can each examine the ways we are playing a role, even at times when we mean well.
But I’ve recently been inspired by the young people I’ve met in local immigrant resistance efforts who are so kind and welcoming to every person who shows up to offer help. They say that they don’t care what took them so long. They are happy to have every person willing to help and don’t care where they’ve been until now.
I can see the wisdom in that thinking. So I am here to welcome everyone to the Resistance with open arms. Thanks for getting here when you did. We need you. Your help can make all the difference.
And your friends and family, tbh.