Rally! Train! Take Action!
Join Us for Pro-Democracy Rallies!
Thanks to everyone who has been attending the weekly IMV rally on Broad Street in Utica! That event continues Thursday, 4-5 pm, and you are always welcome to join and bring friends and family. There are usually extra signs available or bring your most raging concern on a sign. It's a great way to connect with IMV friends and build our movement.
There's also a rally today 4-5 pm in Clinton on the village green hosted by the Kirkland Town Democrats. No shortage of Trump/MAGA Republican outrages. Or bring signs in support of immigrants, Texas Democrats who are fighting racist gerrymandering, frontline VA workers, whose collective bargaining rights were just terminated by Donald Trump, and truth and transparency about economic data.
It was great to see a pop up ralliy in Rome last Saturday at Ft. Stanwix that drew a crowd of about 50 resistance activists. It's happening again tomorrow:
Peaceful "Rage Against the Regime: Protest
Saturday, August 9th
12 -1:30 pm
in Rome at the Fort Stanwix National Monument
Corner of E Dominick Street and Black River Blvd. (by the Rome NY sign)
PROTECT THE VOTE
Bring a friend
Bring a sign, flags, cowbell, kazoo etc.
Let's show our opposition to the regime!
One Million Rising Zoom on Wednesday (3rd Mass Training Session)
Across the country, authoritarian forces are getting bolder and more dangerous. Trump and his allies are not hiding their agenda: mass deportations, rollbacks of civil rights, weaponized courts, and full-scale attacks on our democracy. We don’t have to wait until it’s too late. We can stop this. But it’ll take all of us—not just on single days of mass action, but through sustained organizing in our communities.
That’s why this summer, we’re participating in One Million Rising—a national effort to train one million people in the strategic logic and practice of non-cooperation, as well as the basics of community organizing and campaign design. This is how we build people power that can’t be ignored. You’re invited to join us—and lead.
Did you miss the previous sessions? That's OK! You can use the YouTube links below to watch previous sessions and be caught up before Session 3 (though watching these is not required to attend!).
Session 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4496VWDjwS0
Session 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahLB5Fre7nI&t=2s
Register for Session 3: Wednesday, August 13 at 8pm
In Session 3 you'll get plugged into our next national campaign work, and your second community resistance gathering afterward will move this action forward.
Building Power Through Visuals at Mass Mobilizations
Strong Economy for All is demystifying the mechanics of how to make signs, banners and props help us meet our goals and win.
This is a practical workshop for people concerned with logistics and efficiency with examples from the last decade, If you are helping plan mass actions, training is for you whether or not you care about “art”--so long as you care about power. How can we reach the wider public? How can we connect with people so they get involved in the movement to fight billionaire backed autocracy?
Monday August 11th 7-8:30PM
Hosted by Strong Economy for All
RSVP here: http://lookloud.org/strongeconomyforall
Virtual Meet & Greet with Antonio Delgado
Monday, August 18th, 6:00-7:30 pm, Virtual Meet & Greet with Antonio Delgado. Come meet Antonio Delgado, candidate for Governor of New York, and hear firsthand about his vision for a more just, inclusive, and hopeful New York. This is a casual, community-focused virtual event, log on with your neighbors and your energy! Whether you're already a supporter or just curious to learn more, this is a great opportunity to connect and get involved from wherever you are. Register for the Zoom meeting HERE.
Two Surveys from Sarah Reeske, NYS Indivisible Organizer
Please provide feedback in these two surveys. Sarah Reeske says:
"I want to organize a social media masterclass for Indivisible groups on how to use it better for their political activism. There are a TON of possibilities, so I’d like to know what you would be most excited to learn. I have a very simple survey for you and your group members if you want to fill out so I can understand what is important to all of you."
" I'd love to get your thoughts on the Governor's race. Here's the survey."
Rome Democratic Committee Candidate Meet and Greet
Wednesday, August 13, 2025
6:00 PM 7:30 PM
Jervis Public Library 613 North Washington Street Rome, NY, 13440 United States (map)
Sign up here: Rome Democratic Committee Candidate Meet and Greet.
Bring friends so they can get excited to vote in the 2025 election for candidates who will uphold democracy and humane, common sense values against the MAGA tide.
IMV Community Circles
IMV Community Circles allow us to come together and meet each other, talk about political actions we can take, and build a strong community movement to protect democracy and stand up to MAGA. Thanks to everyone who has hosted or attended a community circle so far. We have loved receiving the many creative ideas you have generated and the teams you are developing to make political activism local, bite-size, and fun. There are a lot of people signed up for the Rome circle, and the Herkimer group is committed to meet again in August!
ROME
Wednesday, August 27 (Please note this isn’t a new date because of the conflict with Rome Democratic Candidate Meet & Greet on Aug. 13)
6:00 PM -7:30 PM
Rome Art and Community Center
308 W. Bloomfield Street, Rome
Register here to let us know you're coming.
HERKIMER COUNTY
Tuesday, August 12 and August 26
6:00 -7:30 pm
German Flatts Community Center
555 Rt 5-S, Mohawk
There is ample parking --meet at the outdoor pavilion.
Hope Comes from Action: Take an Action Today
We know that the news is exhausting and disheartening on a daily basis. If you want to feel more strength and power in the face of it, we urge you to take an action, even if it is just sending and email or making a phone call. Here are three timely actions that Indvisible recommends this week:
Blue State Indivisibles: Call on state Democrats to fight fire with fire by readying new congressional maps. If red state Republicans rig the midterms by redrawing their maps to steal seats, blue state Dems must even the playing field by responding in kind. Use our tools to demand that Democratic governors and legislators act now.
Email your Members of Congress to call for an end to Netanyahu’s intentional starvation of Gaza. Trump acknowledges widespread starvation in Gaza but hasn’t acted to address it. Members of Congress from both parties must force the issue, with demands to lift aid restrictions and allow trusted third parties to distribute food. See more from Indivisible here >>
Use our Epstein cover-up toolkit to call out Trump and MAGA Republicans for trying to bury Epstein evidence. Congressional Republicans fled DC early to avoid voting on the Epstein files, but we’re keeping pressure on during August recess. Our toolkit includes call scripts, pressure tactics, and social media tools to demand a vote as soon as Congress returns.
Sum Up and Inspiration
If you are looking for some good news:
Some of the Disappeared are released every week. That was true of the South Korean daughter of a beloved NYC Anglican-Episocopal priest, the hardworking landscaper/gardener and father of three marines in California, and many others. Pressure has been working, in spite of Trump's claim that no more will be set free.
A small group of activists and immigrant advocates met last week with Oneida County Sheriff Maciol (D) and asked him not to join with other law enforcement officials in the region who were actively cooperating with ICE. The meeting went better than expected. More to come.
John Zogby Strategies. The international pollsters based right here in the Mohawk Valley discussed their latest poll of Trump's approval on their weekly podcast on July 30 and the headline says it all: "An Intense Collapse of Trump Support." But it's still fun to watch the conversation and the details of Trump's rapid precipitous decline in support even among his key constituencies: Seriously. watch. It will cheer you up and give you hope. He's doing the damage himself. But ask yourself, "What can I do to spread the news about his terrible leadership and the many ways that he is hurting Americans like me and engaging in behavior that even my conservative neighbors don't like?
IMV has secured insurance for large events after several months without coverage, which was no longer available to groups via Indivisible national. Thanks to CNY Solidaroty and Kathy Wojo, we are once again able to start renting venues that require a Certificate of Insurance. Look out for a weeknight meeting in September TBD. (Weekends in the fall are devoted to direct voter contact actions like door knocking!) We can't wait to see hundreds of you again, all in one room!
For now, consider taking an action, signing up for a Zoom training, or joining a local rally. Because:
Democracy is not a spectator sport.
“Activism is my rent for living on the planet.” —Alice Walker
Website: indivisiblemv.org
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.
