IMV Meeting Sunday, May Day Rally Thursday
Thank You for Huge "No Kings!" Rally in Rome
Thank you to everyone who turned out for our big No Kings! Rally at Fort Stanwix in Rome on Saturday. We got lucky with a break in the rain, and if there was any counter demonstration it was too small for most of us to even see it. We counted nearly 1000 attendees at the height of the rally--wrapping around three sides of the national monument--on James Street, Erie Blvd, and Black River Blvd. Hundreds of cars drove by responding with honks of support.
We are especially appreciative of the safety marshals who helped with street crossings and rally safety, and to everyone who maintained the commitment to non-violence and civility even while carrying some spicy signs!
We made our point that on the 250th anniversary of the first shots of the Revolutionary War, it is critical that we preserve a constitutional republic where we are free from the rule of tyrants and kings, and no one is above the law. Our press release went out immediately following the event; you can see it HERE. Attendees took photos and videos; one such video shared online had more than 32,000 views by Sunday! Another video made by Ron Klopfanstein (Utica Phoenix) with participant interviews has been picked up by national media.
We received positive feedback from hundreds of you who had registered for the event and completed the post-rally survey (100% thumbs up!)--and comments that said you were ready for more pro-democracy actions. We had quite a few first time poltical demonstraters at the rally, and many people who came with family members. A number of attendees said that their reason for coming was to be there for people who could not attend because of age, disability, or legitimate fear. These folks were there not just for their own needs and rights but for those of others. You rock!
What's Next? May Day Strong!
Historically, May Day celebrates the progress of working people and honors those who fought for it, but as the MAGA movement rolls back workers’ rights and strips America down for profit, we’re joining a vast coalition of organizations to turn May 1 into a nationwide day of mobilization: May Day Strong. We are working in alliance with Citizen Action, CNY on May 1st. We will host a rally (co-hosted by Citizen Action) at Oneida Square at 5:00. Toward the end of the rally we will march on the sidewalk a couple blocks to where Citizen Action is hosting a Celebration of community unity and worker rights. So we invite everyone to join the celebration!
IMV's May Day Strong Rally at Oneida Square in Utica
Thursday, May 1st, 5:00-6:30 pm.
Register HERE. Then share the invite with friends.
Bring SIGNS in support of workers, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, immigrant and civil rights, and against the looting of public lands and goods by Trump-Musk. They are attacking our libraries, our schools, our labor unions, our federal workforce, destroying the economy with tariffs, and stealing our personal data. Creative signs for the day!
Please bring a donation for Cornerstone Church's Morrow Warming Center:
Paper products (cups, plates, bowls, plasticware)
Cereal, pasta, canned fruit and veggies, spaghetti sauce, canned meats, oranges, bananas
Snacks like granola bars, cheese crackers, cookies
Coffee, Powdered drink mixes
First Aid items, tampons
Blankets, socks, underwear
Oneida Square has been a gracious host to us many times as we rallied and protested and in return, we want to show them some support. The church serves meals and hands out supplies and snacks to unhoused people in the neighborhood. They need volunteers and monetary donations as well. We encourage you to consider helping them out however you can. Sign up to be on their newsletter mailing list HERE.
We will rally and then march down the sidewalk to DeSales Center (309 Genesee Street) to join the Celebration of Community Unity and Worker Rights hosted by Citizen Action (and co-hosted by IMV and Mohawk Valley Latino Association) where there will be speakers and music. Please register for the 6:30 pm celebration event if you can join us!
IMV Meeting on Sunday
We can't wait to see you at our April 27th IMV meeting at MVCC in Utica, 1:30 pm-3:30 pm. We have a lot to debrief about the past few weeks, and more to plan, including how to respond to what's happening as the Trump administration continues its steady march across the red line, with open defiance of judicial, and even SCOTUS, rulings. We will talk about what kind of training and community building we need to do with our new activists, and how to start building our local blue wave in the 2025 election cycle. What you need to know:
1) Please preregister today if you have not done so already, as this will speed check in at the door.
2) We are meeting in the Alumni College Center (AC) Commons. There are multiple parking lots to choose from. Easiest access to the front entrance is behind the Academic Building and walk on the sidewalk between AB and ST to AC.
3) Bring your ideas for how to make the May Day Strong rally big and impactful. And bring your curiosity about how to build a big inclusive movement that can dismantle the support--in the public and in government-- that Trump is relying on to carry out his illegal actions, his creeping authoritarianism, and his looting of public resources.
Climate Crisis Working Group Actions
Two Actions We Can Take For Climate
1. May 7th: Albany Lobby Day: Plastics Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Bill RSVP here.
2. Lt. Governor Delgado & Bill McKibben: Affordability of Energy (Crisis and Solution)
Register here for this critical climate conversation from 7:00 - 7:30 pm on May 7th.
Sum up and Inspiration
1) Show up Sunday for our IMV meeting.
2) Plan to rally and then celebrate on May Day (Thursday, May 1st) in Utica. We are part of a historic movement for the rights of people--including workers and immigrants. This country is for all of us, not just the billionaire few.
3) Take a look at the calendar. There are some dates to save and some opportunities to connect in smaller groups (CAFE Friday!) and to connect to the national movement ("What's the Plan?" on Thursdays).
Trump fatigue is real. It's bad and it's real. Kilmar and the other kidnapped immigrants are still in detention camps and prison death traps. Threats come at our treasured institutions and agencies on a daily basis. But we can't give in and be can't give up. In a world where it's easier to be Columbia, we need to find ways to be Harvard.
We really liked Rachel Maddow's framing of the situation as she wraps up her "first 100 days" nightly coverage of the second Trump term. She noted on Wednesday night that there are three sides to what we've been going through.
1) Yes, it's a story of Trump's extremism, without precedent. Trump and his administration are trying to destroy government, and threaten and hurt people who disagree with them, and they using authoritarian tactics on a daily basis.
2) At the same time, we have people saying NO to what Trump is doing. People across America, in a wide range of institutions, spheres of life and work and activism are organizing and reponding to fight back. There are protests small and large in cities and towns, red and blue, in every state across the country.
3) The third thing is that the administration's overall incompetence has made screw-ups and reversals the hallmark of their governing. "Just because they're trying to do really, really bad things doesn't change the fact that they're also just really bad at everything they try to do."
What we believe is that the combination of Trump's and Musk's incompetence, together with the growing active resistance from Indivisibles and other activists, judges, and many others, will be enough, over time, to hold back the tide of authoritarianism. As Maddow also said, "Push back doesn't always work. But not pushing back never works. And sometimes when you do push back, you win."
Ezra Levin, co-founder of Indivisible, who appeared on Rachel Maddow on Wednesday, said: "Cowardice is contagious. So is Courage...That's what we've been seeing month after month. Starting with some people demonstrating courage, and then other people looking around and saying, 'Wait, I can do that too. It's in my power. I'm not just a victim of world events. I can be a participant.'"
We thank you for choosing to be a participant, for making time to show up, and for mustering up courage that is contagious in your own social circle as well as in the streets. "There is a lot more to come."
Democracy is not a spectator sport.
"No one let go of anyone's hand."
Follow us on Bluesky: @Indivisiblemv.bsky.social, on Instagram's Threads.net/@indivisiblemohawkvalley, on X (Twitter) using @indivisiblemv and of course on our Facebook page and IMV Activism Group.
