IMV Meeting Wed. 5/21 & Pop Up Rally Today!
IMV Meeting Wednesday May 21st on Zoom
Indivisible Mohawk Valley May 2025 Meeting
Wednesday, May 21st
6:00-8:00 pm
Meeting will be held over Zoom
Here is the link to register.
Agenda:
6:00 pm-6:30 pm EVERYONE join the Zoom. We're going to preview and update everyone on the plans for our local
"No Kings" rally on June 14th.
6:30-8:00 pm IMV Orientation to help new and newish members better understand our community, history followed by Q&A. Bring your questions!
Remember that you need to register for the meeting in order to receive the Zoom link. We are running out of time to save our constitional republic from authoritarianism. It's ALL HANDS ON DECK. We need to get everyone up to speed quickly on what to and how to do it. Sign up now to attend the meeting and ask a friend to sign up too.
Pop Up Rally Today in Utica!
Bring Your Signs: Save Medicaid! Stop Trump Corruption, and More!
There will be a pop-up rally
TODAY, Friday, May 16th
2:30-3:30
Alexander Pirnie Federal Building, 10 Broad St., Utica.
The theme will be whatever you choose. It can be on Medicaid cuts, SNAP cuts, tax cuts for billionaires, deportations, the "flying palace" gift from Qatar, and so much more! There is parking across the street at the train station or a lot on the right down Broad St towards the auditorium.
Remember to Vote on Tuesday, May 20
This is your final reminder from IMV to vote on Tuesday.. Each school district has its own location and voting hours, so please look at your school district's webpage for that information. Our public schools matter even if we don't have children or our children are no longer in school! Also, we are a PRO-DEMOCRACY organization. That means, that if we have a vote, then we must exercise it, every single time. Vote for your school district's budget and read about the candidates running for the Board of Education. Vote for candidates who will best support the needs of all students as well as their teachers.
As we noted last week, one of our active IMV members, Colt Brumm, is running for school board in Holland Patent, and is asking for our help. Here is his message:
"I need Indivisibles who live in the HP district to vote for me, of course, but I also need all local Indivisibles, whether they are in the district or not, to call, text, or chat with friends, family members, and neighbors to encourage them to turn out on the 20th and vote for me. The win number is somewhere around 400, so every single vote matters!"
Phone Banking for Colt Brum for School Board Monday, May 19th!
Please join us on Monday, May 19th at 5:30 pm to make calls to remind Holland Patent voters to Get Out To Vote on Tuesday for Colt Brum, long time IMV member and Holland Patent School Board candidate! The win number is somewhere around 400, so every single vote matters! If you can't join the phone bank, please call, text or chat with friends, family members, and neighbors in the Holland Patent School District to vote for Colt on May 20th at Holland Patent High School from 10am-8pm.
Zoom link for phone bank: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81071514283
Good luck to Colt, and we ask everyone to be sure to vote for your local school district budget and for school board candidates on Tuesday, May 20th!
June 14th No Kings Rallies
We are continuing to gear up for the BIGGEST Pro-Democracy/ Anti-Authoritarian mass demonstrations yet! On Flag Day this year, Trump has decided to spend millions of dollars on a "Dear Leader" style military parade. Now that may fly in Russia or North Korea, but it is NOT AMERICAN.
Indivisible Mohawlk Valley "No Kings" Day Rallies
Saturday, June 14th, 12:00-1:30 pm
Rome (Mass Rally with space for thousands around Fort Stanwix and in the grassy free speech area)
Utica/New Hartford (Burrstone Road & French Road)
Herkimer (Location TBD)
Sign up now for the main Mohawk Valley Rally at Fort Stanwix in Rome. Rome, NY has a special relationship to the American flag, as Francis Bellamy, a Rome, NY native, is widely recognized for penning the original Pledge of Allegiance. His version, written in 1892, was: "I pledge allegiance to my Flag and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all." We pledge allegiance to a flag that represents respect for the rule of law, freedom from tyranny, and participatory constitutional democracy, not a corrupt dictator-king who demands total loyalty, gold toilets, and Qatari planes.
Registration links for the other events will be coming soon. Keep reading your Friday email or check the IMV Facebook page.
Climate Crisis Working Group
The NYS Budget is Done: Where are the Climate Policies to Make Polluters Pay?
The NYS budget contains a record amount of over $1 billion in spending on specific environmental investments, but unfortunately that money comes from taxpayers rather than corporate polluters. Read the message from Roger Downs of the Sierra Club explaining what is and what is not in the NYS Budget when it comes to Climate and making the polluters pay instead of the NY State taxpayers.
The good news is that there is still time for the legislature to act and pass environmental measures that are based on equity and affordability. Only a few weeks remain in the legislative session.
Take Action By Adding Your Name To This Sierra Club Email:
SAVE THE DATE:
Join us in Albany Thursday June 5th for a final push for NY HEAT ACT before the legislative session ends! Sign up here for more info!
Sum Up and Inspiration
Did you see the Ezra Levin (Indivisible's co-founder) email this week? He writes:
"The best read of the week is about what works. In their op-ed How Will We Know When We Have Lost Our Democracy?, the authors of How Democracies Die and experts in authoritarianism argue that America is indeed descending into an authoritarian state, but this descent is not inevitable or irreversible. For those of us organizing and trying to convince others to organize, here’s a key quote that I hope we internalize:
“So far, the most energetic opposition has come not from civic leaders but from everyday citizens, showing up at congressional town hall meetings or participating in Hands Off rallies across the country. Our leaders must follow their example.”
That’s us -- that’s all of us! If you have called on your Dem reps or senators to fight back harder; if you’ve attended a Republican empty chair town hall; if you were one of 3.5 million who showed up for Hands Off; or if you are planning to show up for No Kings Day on June 14 -- you are doing what needs to be done. This is what building a pro-democracy movement at a time of competitive authoritarianism looks like."
Stay committed to your values of respecting the dignity of every human being, to building community, and to fighting like hell to prevent the descent into autocracy. If you feel like you need a stronger background in non-violent resistance to oppression and authoritarianism--what it has been historically and how to engage in it now--we suggest The Resistance Lab, which has a free online basic level organizing training coming up on June 1st. You can register for it here.
Sign up for our Wednesday evening IMV Meeting to be with others who are in this fight with you, and to learn the strategies we're using at the local level to do our part.
Join CAFE Friday this morning or the pop up rally in Utica later this afternoon.
Remember to vote in school board elections on Tuesday.
Democracy is not a spectator sport.
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.
