An artist’s job is to slow down, look hard and listen closely.
I became an artist. I looked and listened hard – and what I learned is that mostly: Folks are doing the best they can. And still, so many suffered.
I wanted to help, so I became a philanthropist. We founded Together Rising. Along with you we’ve raised 11 million dollars in 6 years for suffering folks abroad and at home – folks like refugees, veterans, single dads, sick babies, homeless teens, addicts, trafficked mamas, prisoners, foster kids – you know how long the list is.
The Together Rising team and I spent six years frantically and relentlessly connecting suffering people with every resource in our grasp: money, services, sisterhood, hope. The needs: Endless.
As we worked, this question lived in the back of my mind: Why? Why are all of these people who are trying so hard – still hurting so badly?
And then, one day, I read this:
There comes a point where we need to stop
Just pulling people out of the river.
We need to go upstream and find out
Why they’re falling in.
~Desmond Tutu
And on that day: I became an activist.
For the rest of my life, if I’m lucky enough: My Love Work in the world will be AND/BOTH.
I will put on my Together Rising hat daily and we will pull folks out of the river but you better believe that every single day I will also put on my activist hat, look upriver and confront the Ones Pushing Them In.
YESTERDAY, TOGETHER RISING ASKED YOU HELP US SOME PULL SOME DROWNING FAMILIES FROM THE RIVER.
Together, you raised 1.4 million Dollars to hire them lawyers and advocates.
TODAY, I ASK YOU TO LOOK UPRIVER WITH ME AND CONFRONT THE ONES PUSHING THEM IN.
Yesterday, we gave our children Love.
Today, we give our lawmakers Hell.
Who’s Coming With Us?
We have a Four-Step Advocacy Plan below – All of which you can do in 20 minutes today:
1) Learn the names and phone numbers of your Members of Congress
2) Call your Representative
3) Call your Senators
4) Post on Social Media the leaders you called (and their contact numbers), what you told them, and encourage your people to do the same.
NOW – We want to make sure to be completely clear about the objectives. Our three objectives are:
1) Voice our outrage and demand that the people in Washington who work for us take decisive action to combat the horrendous practice of tearing families apart based on unauthorized border crossings.
To do this, we are asking them to introduce legislation to combat the administration’s zero-tolerance policy (which makes every unauthorized border crossing a crime – even those of asylum seekers). This 100% criminalization of unauthorized border crossings is what is leading to the immediate separation of families. We are asking our leaders to introduce legislation that will protect families crossing the border from being torn apart, even if they are still subject to civil liability for the unauthorized crossing.
2) Ask our Representatives in the House to sign on to the DACA Discharge Petition. But first, some background:
- WHAT IS DACA?
- DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) was a program that shielded some young undocumented immigrants —who often arrived to the U.S. at a very young age in circumstances beyond their control—from deportation. The recipients of DACA – so-called “Dreamers” — are young people who have grown up as Americans, identify themselves as Americans, and many speak only English and have no memory of or connection with the country where they were born. Recipients had to come to the U.S. before reaching their 16th birthday, have to be in school, have a diploma or the equivalent or be an honorably discharged veteran and not have been convicted of a felony, or be a public or national security threat.
- WHAT HAPPENED TO DACA?
- On the orders of President Trump last September, Attorney General Jeff Sessions declared that DACA would end March 5. The administration said the deadline would pressure Congress to come up with a substitute for DACA. There are multiple bills that are proposed replacements for DACA in the House, but Speaker Paul Ryan refuses to bring any of the bills up for a vote. It is suspected that he and leadership are trying to avoid going on record on these “tough votes” prior to the November election. As a result, nearly 535,000 Dreamers are in legal limbo regarding their right to remain in the only country they’ve ever known.
- WHAT IS A DISCHARGE PETITION & WHY DO WE WANT IT?
- House leadership is not allowing the bills to replace DACA out of committee – again, because leadership is trying to protect members from making “hard” stands on the record prior to November elections. Discharge petitions allow rank-and-file members to go around leadership and the committee process to force a floor vote. They are hardly ever successful. But we need just FIVE MORE VOTES (for a total of 218) on the DACA Discharge Petition to force a vote on the as many as four “replacement” bills. This path toward a DACA fix (at least one bill gives a path to citizenship for the Dreamers), and force representatives to go on record with their positions – which will allow us to make informed decisions in the November elections.
- BUT THESE BILLS DON’T DEAL DIRECTLY WITH FAMILY SEPARATION AT THE BORDER SO WHY DO WE CARE?
- Correct, these bills do not deal directly with tearing children from their parents at the border. But they do relate very clearly to keeping families of Dreamers together, including Dreamers who are the parents of U.S. citizens. Also, bringing these bills to a vote forces our elected officials to go on record with their votes – to do their jobs – and not hide behind a committee so they don’t have to explain their votes during the November election. They need to know that we expect them to do their jobs, just like the rest of us, that we are watching them and if our Representatives are too afraid to vote, we will vote them out.
3) Lastly, to spread the word, and educate and empower our friends with the information they need to take these same actions today.
READY??? LET’S DO THIS. OUR FOUR-PART PLAN:
NUMBER ONE: WHO ARE THE PEOPLE WHO WORK FOR ME IN WASHINGTON?
1) WHO IS MY REPRESENTATIVE IN THE HOUSE & HOW DO I CONTACT THEM?
A. Click here to find out who the Representative is for your Congressional District & their phone numbers. (You can search by State and Congressional District to get the name and phone numbers of your Representative).
B. If you don’t know your Congressional District, click here to get your District number and then circle back here to find your Rep’s name and phone number.
2) WHO ARE MY SENATORS & HOW DO I CONTACT THEM?
A. Click here for the names and phone numbers of your Senators. (You can use this website to search by your State if you don’t know who your Senators are).
3) SAVE THESE PHONE NUMBERS IN YOUR PHONE — WE WILL KEEP USING THEM.
NUMBER TWO: GREAT, NOW LET’S START WITH MY REPRESENTATIVE IN THE HOUSE: DID MY REPRESENTATIVE SIGN THE DACA DISCHARGE PETITION? Click here to find out whether your Representative signed on to the discharge petition. 213 Members have signed on – see if your Rep is on the list.
1)YES, MY REP DID SIGN THE DISCHARGE PETITION?
A. GREAT! Time to call your Representative and tell them what you think they are doing well and how you’d like them to do their job better. Here are some talking points for your consideration:
- I am a voter and constituent of Representative __________.
- I am calling to thank Representative __________ for singing on to the DACA Discharge Petition.
- I am also calling to voice my utter disgust and outrage about the terror of family separation at the Border, in which children as young as one year old are being ripped out of their mothers’ arms.
- I expect Representative ___________ to take clear and decisive action to stop this abhorrent practice. I understand this practice is contrary to historic U.S. policy and is a result of the new “zero-tolerance” policy, which vows to prosecute all unauthorized border crossings as criminal offenses – even for asylum seekers.
- I am calling on the Congressperson to work for an end to this barbaric practice of family separation by introducing legislation that will protect families crossing the border from being torn apart, even if they are still subject to civil liability for the unauthorized crossing.
- I will be watching the Representative’s DACA votes closely if the bills are discharged from committee, as well as his/her decisive action on the atrocity of family separation. In preparation for the November election, I will be organizing within our District – either for or against the Representative – depending on his/her actions in connection with DACA and the torture of family separation.
2) NO, MY REP DID NOT SIGN THE DISCHARGE PETITION
A. OKAY! Time to call your Representative and tell them how you’d like them to do their job better. Here are some talking points for your consideration:
- I am a voter and constituent of Representative __________.
- I am calling to urge Representative __________ to sign on to the DACA Discharge Petition. I expect Representative ________ to do his/her job and make their constituents’ voices heard – not hide behind a committee in order to avoid taking difficult stands ahead of elections. If our Representative is too afraid to vote, we will vote them out.
- I am also calling to voice my utter disgust and outrage about the terror of family separation at the Border, in which children as young as one year old are being ripped out of their mothers’ arms.
- I expect Representative ___________ to take clear and decisive action to stop this abhorrent practice. I under stand this practice is contrary to historic U.S. policy and is a result of the new “zero-tolerance” policy, which vows to prosecute all unauthorized border crossings as criminal offenses – even for asylum seekers.
- I am calling on the Congressperson to work for an end to this barbaric practice of family separation by introducing legislation that will protect families crossing the border from being torn apart, even if they are still subject to civil liability for the unauthorized crossing.
- I will be watching the Representative’s DACA votes closely if the bills are discharged from committee, as well as his/her decisive action on the atrocity of family separation. In preparation for the November election, I will be organizing within our District – either for or against the Representative – depending on his/her actions in connection with DACA and the torture of family separation.
NUMBER THREE: I COMPLETELY NAILED THAT CALL TO MY REPRESENTATIVE,
NOW I’M CALLING BOTH OF MY SENATORS!!!
1)Here are some talking points for your consideration:
- I am a voter and constituent of Senator __________.
- I am calling to voice my utter disgust and outrage about the terror of family separation at the Border, in which children as young as one year old are being ripped out of their mothers’ arms.
- I expect Senator ___________ to take clear and decisive action to stop this abhorrent practice. I under stand this practice is contrary to historic U.S. policy and is a result of the new “zero-tolerance” policy, which vows to prosecute all unauthorized border crossings as criminal offenses – even for asylum seekers.
- I am calling on the Congressperson to work for an end to this barbaric practice of family separation by introducing legislation that will protect families crossing the border from being torn apart, even if they are still subject to civil liability for the unauthorized crossing.
- I will be watching for the Senator’s decisive action on the atrocity of family separation, as well as the Senator’s DACA votes (if a Bill comes over from the House). I will be organizing within our state – either for or against the Senator – depending on his/her actions in connection with DACA and the torture of family separation.
NUMBER FOUR: I’VE MADE ALL THREE OF MY CALLS – I AM ON FIRE!!!
NOW, I WILL SPREAD THE WORD ON SOCIAL MEDIA!!!
1)YES! You are a Warrior!! Post on any social media you have – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. When you share, be sure to include:
- The names and phone numbers of the representatives you contacted
- A brief summary of what you said (feel free to copy and paste our talking points)
- Ask your people to do the same
- Tag your Senators and Representative in the social media post:
A. You can find Senators’ Twitter handles here.
B. You can find your Representative’s Twitter handle here.
C. You can find most Senators and Representatives’ Facebook handles here.
YOU ARE AMAZING!!!
LOOK WHAT YOU’VE DONE, WARRIOR!!!!
Author of the #1 New York Times Bestseller LOVE WARRIOR — ORDER HERE
Join Glennon on Facebook, Twitter, & Instagram
77 Comments
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xcellent point. Miller is another “upstream” issue. Since he is appointed by the president as an adviser and works only for the president (rather than being elected), he answers to none of us. Congress has no contr
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To spread the word, and educate and empower our friends with the information they need to take these same actions today.
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Thank you for making this doable. I used your words and wrote letters to my sentators and house representatives. I would never have been able to do it without someone doing all of the research and giving me the words. Thank you!
I’m in. I’m in. I’m in. Thank you, Glennon and team (Abby, Together Rising and beyond). Glennon, although I am thanking you AND your team, I am writing this to you. I want to thank you for the inspiration. You are the match that relit my pilot light. I have the courage of an activist (years of social work and education) and the heart of a warrior (born this way) but I’ve had a difficult time channeling them for outside causes lately. I am a doctoral candidate working on my dissertation and trying to keep the lid on my own pot (years of crippling self doubt required for this degree). HOWEVER, through your blog and thoughtful 4-step processes like this I can participate and keep those activism/warrior candles lit. I am sharing all your stuff with whoever’s eyes my social media circle can reach and hopefully your courage, leadership and compassion can impact more and more people. I know that I cannot fill another cup with an empty pot, so as soon as I can fill my own pot again, I vow to be a more present foot-soldier for your team. I love you. I love, love. I will fight for it with you.
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This is an awesome resource. Just wanted to make an observation/suggestion. You made the section on finding your Representative and Congressional District a bit more confusing than it needed to be. There is no reason to provide 3 links for that. The first link takes you to the directory where you can search by state and district and anyone who doesn’t know their district rep or number can use the search bar at the top of the page where you simply input your zip code. You don’t have to go to a different page for that. I’ve found when encouraging people to contact their legislators, they are much more likely to if you make it as look easy as possible. Adding unnecessary steps makes it look like more work than it actually is.
Thank you for this information and motivation to be more active for this horrific situation. I see there are now only 3 votes needed from representatives. I hope people who do not see their representatives on the list make the calls,! Only 3 more needed! Thank you for providing the script, it helpful when you feel nervous or unsure how to make the strongest point. This is a shameful time in history.
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Being around politics, on both sides (mom Republican – Dad Democrate) , for most of my life (Husband’s family consists of lobbyists and Senators) affords me the unique experience at witnessing bills get debated , both the public debates & the private ones over lunch, as well as Representatives & Senators getting contacted by their bosses, a.k.a The People.
I have first hand experience watching all sorts of approaches when it comes to getting bills killed, stalled, and pushed through. As well as being near the action when The People raise their voices & what it looks like behind the behind the scenes when that happens & there is an outpouring of communication from the public. How and what ALL legislators react to. They’re all the same with certain types of public approaches because they are all human.
And I can, without hesitation, assure you that the tone and language of the script that is being provided for people to use when contacting their legislators will do the exact opposite of what the end goal is. It will make them listen less, not more. No matter how many come in. It will be viewed as mob mentality and not as an educated, purposeful, aware gathering of minds & hearts that will no longer allow the current situation to continue without major changes.
I promise you, you can and WILL achieve more without inflammatory words like, barbaric, terror & abhorrent, among others. This is not to say that what is happening is not any of those things, but it is to provide insight that terminology like that gets viewed as coming from a less credible source. A source that is pure emotion with no education. A source that saw something they didn’t like on face value but has done no research and has not questioned details, nuances, long term effects & consequences. A source that has not tried to understand the full scope of the issue.
In short, a mob mind who has stopped using any critical thinking skills or rational thought, but has instead started operating with one objective; attack anything that looks even remotely like what we fear… without question. A witch hunt.
Is that what you/ we are with this activism? Fear based? Most assuredly not. However, that is exactly how this script will represent us, the issue, and the goal. WE know we are operating from a place of love, it’s counter productive to use language that is fear based.
The core, the meat, the foundation, and the intent of the script is excellence! The tone, emotional manipulation, hostility, and threats do nothing but overshadow and discredit the cause.
We can and stand firm on this issue and convey our intent without resorting to communicating through fear & hostility.
I am so hopeful a revision with effective language will be provided.
Would you give an example of more appropriate language, please?
Sure, Joe!
For example, instead of,
” I am calling to voice my utter disgust and outrage about the terror of family separation at the Border, in which children as young as one year old are being ripped out of their mothers’ arms,”
Say,
“I am calling to voice my deep concern & disagreement of family separation at the Border, in which children as young as one year old are being removed from their families. This is an incredibly unacceptable situation that must end immediately. ”
One comes across as hysterical & irrational, the other as educated, thoughtful, and purposeful. One is a tantrum – there’s no talking to or sharing ideas with the first voice, let alone accepting anything they say as coming from sound reasoning. It’s not approachable at all. I would never continue a conversation with anyone in real life who used such obvious inflammatory terminology. It’s manipulating NOT advocating. It’s not even a conversation. It would be like me watching an adult throw a fit. Instant discreditation.
The other is the foundation of a conversation. An approachable invitation to explore this point of view more seriously and make changes.
I wish I had read this before sending my letter. I see what you are saying. Now I know 🙂
xcellent point. Miller is another “upstream” issue. Since he is appointed by the president as an adviser and works only for the president (rather than being elected), he answers to none of us. Congress
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Done! Done! Done! THANK YOU GLENNON!!! xoxoxo Becca
Many of us would like to speak up and do something, yet don’t know where to begin. Thank you for providing the information, guidance and tools to make our voices heard and thank you for inspiring me to take action!
Campaign Finance reform can’t be ignored if we want to sit by the river and not have its banks continually crumbling. We need publicly funded elections !n
Glennon, THANK YOU. I am a community organizer for the Waco Immigrants Alliance (TX) and I cannot tell you HOW thankful I am for you to be using your platform to join in this work!! As I stood on the Rio Grande Saturday night, at a vigil in Loredo for precious Claudia who lost her life last week, shot in the head by border patrol… I took your advice and just sat with the pain. I felt. And I didn’t run. The cameras turned on me, no doubt wondering why is this gringa crying so hard? And for the first time in this work, I stopped trying to hold back the emotions and keep it all together, and I let it go and it all came together more beautifully than I could have ever scripted.
Today I sat reading Love Warrior and telling my new friend all about you and Abby and you two’s badassery. Then I came upon this email and it just takes my breath away. Thank you 😉
Stephen Miller, a Trump staffer who came through Sessions office to his current position, seems to be very much responsible for a lot of the administration’s action on immigration. There’s a NYTimes story from 2.11.18 and NPR Morning Edition did a piece on him today (5/30). How do we get to him and make him uncomfortable?
Yes! I wondered the same thing as I listened to the NPR article. Miller needs to be ousted immediately! But how?
Excellent point. Miller is another “upstream” issue. Since he is appointed by the president as an adviser and works only for the president (rather than being elected), he answers to none of us. Congress has no control over him either. For as many things as we *can* do to improve this issue, it seems like Miller is in a bubble of safety.