Demonstrations
National events and demonstrations are planned to amplify the pressure on the Trump regime. Below is information about several and how you can participate.
July 4
The Women’s March which coordinates protests across the U.S. published a list of 140 events for Friday July 4th. The events include marches, rallies and block parties. To find an event near you go to: https://action.womensmarch.com/calendars/free-america-weekend?filter%5Blocation%5D=94610&page=1 and put in your zip code.
Encouraging participation, Newsweek also posted a list of July 4th demonstrations. You can read about them here: https://www.newsweek.com/map-lists-cities-trump-protests-2092556
July 17: John Lewis Day: Good Trouble Lives On
Thursday July 17th is the anniversary of John Lewis’s death. Over 800 events are already planned across the country including teach-ins, voter registration drives, faith gatherings and community art actions. You can sign up to host or participate in an event here: https://www.mobilize.us/john-lewis-actions/c/john-lewis-good-trouble-day/event/create/?emci=e7736b8e-5e57-f011-8f7c-6045bdfe8e9c&emdi=d40b0615-6557-f011-8f7c-6045bdfe8e9c&ceid=17674765
People Power United is hosting a virtual event to honor John Lewis’s legacy and to defend our rights and freedoms against the barbarism of Trump and his thugs.
The on-line event will take place on Thursday July 17th
6:00pm – 7:00pm EDT,
3:00pm - 4:00 pm PDT
To sign up to attend and for more information contact Mobilize Us at:
https://www.mobilize.us/john-lewis-actions/event/803723/
July 26: Medicaid Demonstrations
July 30 is 60th Anniversary of Medicare/Medicaid. Trump’s Big Bullshit Bill will decimate Medicaid, causing 16 million people to lose their health coverage, saving the government money so the rich can continue to pay minimal taxes. Dates and locations of demonstrations have not been set yet.
One Million Rising
Indivisible and Mobilize Us are organizing events to stop Trump’s regime. As they say: “Congress will not save us. The courts will not save us. We are the only ones who can save us.” They are organizing One Million Rising: Strategic Non-Cooperation to Fight Authoritarianism. The first training to be part of these activities will be July 16th at 8pm EDT and 5pm PDT. You can sign up to be part of this movement at: https://www.mobilize.us/nokings/event/803953/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=_20250702link4
Boycotts
A unanimous Supreme Court Decision in 1982, NAACP v Claiborne, held that boycotts as a form of peaceful political protest are protected by the First Amendment.
TARGET
Last week I described the effective and ongoing boycott of TARGET because of its capitulation to Trump’s racist demand that businesses eliminate their Diversity, Equity and Inclusion policies. This week my pal Mal Singer and I went to the parking lot at our local TARGET in Emeryville, CA. In 10 minutes we put flyers on about 100 windshields describing the boycott and encouraging people not to shop at TARGET. Below is the flyer we used in case you want to organize your own leafleting. No one bothered us or asked us to stop. We’re going back next week.
TARGET SUPPORTS TRUMP’S RACISM
DON’T SHOP AT TARGET
TARGET has given in to Trump’s racist demands. Under Trump’s pressure, TARGET abandoned its policies that promoted Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
The Reverend Jamal H. Bryant, other Black leaders and their allies have organized an increasingly successful boycott of TARGET. In just a few months, the year over year store sales in Target’s nearly 2000 locations have fallen almost 6%. Target’s stock value has fallen from $145 a share to $73 and its CEO’s salary was cut 43%.
We need to support and amplify the TARGET boycott to stop Trump’s pressure to Make America More Racist. We need to stop Trump’s drive to fascism.
You can learn more about the boycott through Reverend Bryant’s church: https://newbirth.org
PLEASE DON’T SHOP AT TARGET
TELL YOUR FRIENDS TO SHOP ELSEWHERE
Other Boycotts
Several other corporations are funding Trump and/or ending their Diversity, Equity and Inclusion policies to support Trump’s racism. These include Dollar General, Home Depot, Amazon,McDonalds, Avelo, and Tesla. The Dollar General boycott is significant because it serves thousands of people in rural communities.
Dollar General
Dollar General rolled back its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion policies. As a result, Reverend Jamal Bryant who is leading the successful TARGET boycott, called for a digital boycott of Dollar General through Labor Day. Dollar General has 20,500 stores in 48 states. Because Dollar General’s market is small, rural communities, the campaign doesn’t want to jeopardize poor consumers who have few if any other options where they can shop. Instead of a traditional boycott, Rev. Bryant is asking people to use social media, phones, write letters and send emails to protest Dollar General’s caving to Trump’s racism, non-livable wages and selling mostly unhealthy processed food to poor people.
Walmart on the other hand
Supporters of Trump are calling for a boycott of Walmart because the heiress to the Walmart fortune, Christy Walton, encouraged mobilizations for the June 14th No Kings demonstrations with a full-page add in the New York Times.
A Resource
A website called project2025.observer lists all the goals of the authoritarian 2025 manifesto and identifies those goals that have already been fulfilled, those that are underway, and what remains to be initiated. https://www.project2025.observer/
Good News
Good news is thin this week, especially with the likely passage of Trump’s Big Bullshit Bill.
People across the country are flooding lawmakers with calls and demonstrations against the bill. At the office of Representative Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), hundreds of his constituents held a die-in to demonstrate how cuts to healthcare in the bill would affect them. This is an excellent tactic to protest Trump’s drive toward fascism.
The Senate voted 99-1 to remove a 10-year ban on AI regulation from the bill, a small victory.
Don’t get too comfortable
The Trump administration has raised the possibility of stripping Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic mayoral candidate for New York City, of his U.S. Citizenship. Donald Trump was asked on Tuesday about Mamdani’s pledge to “stop masked” Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) agents “from deporting our neighbors”. Trump responded: “Well, then, we’ll have to arrest him.”
Mamdani responded: “The President of the United States just threatened to have me arrested, stripped of my citizenship, put in a detention camp and deported. Not because I have broken any law but because I will refuse to let Ice terrorize our city.”
Elon Musk said “The fundamental weakness of Western civilization is empathy.” He said that in March but I only heard it recently.
Thanks to Risa Jaroslow for editing and Steve Rohde for legal guidance.
Posters from the recent Grand Lake Theater demonstration
👍💕
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