Troubled by the new administration, four friends joined forces to redirect their frustration and launched a North Shore chapter of Indivisible, holding its first meeting on Thursday, Feb. 16, at Temple Beth-El in Great Neck. A practical guide for resisting the Trump agenda, Indivisible directs the passion of this growing movement as former congressional staffers reveal the best practices for making Congress listen. The North Shore chapter is just one of more than 6,000 that have formed since the November presidential election.
“Indivisible is a way to channel your shock and organize to resist what’s happening,” said the creators of the North Shore chapter.
Prior to the first meeting, which drew more than 100 supporters, the local organizers had been sharing information with its 87 participants via the Google group Stand Indivisible and Indivisible North Shore on Facebook.
“It’s all about electing Democrats in 2018,” explained the organizers. “Our group will react as things happen, because there’s so much to worry about.”
Indivisible North Shore was started by a group of friends who are working moms and prior to this election, many were not politically active. “We are reacting to the election,” said the group creators. “This is a resistance movement to what’s going on.”
The group will encourage members to make a daily habit of one email, one phone call or one fax each day to a local representative, which will be followed up with an office visit. A simple way to do this effortlessly is by texting “Daily” to 228466. Recipients will receive a notification about the initiative for the day and input their zip code to be connected with a local representative.
The group will be forming committees to help organize their efforts. “We will use what’s out there nationally and make it local,” said the women.
One passionate audience member stood up and said, “Trump is not normal and we shouldn’t be working with him. We should be trying to get rid of this madman.”
As the organizers discussed the committees they’d like to set up, the audience members were prepared to help and take action. “Elections have consequences,” said one audience member. “Democrats shouldn’t be labeled as obstructionists, we need to move forward.”
To do this, the committees being formed will provide a calendar of federal, state and local meetings, elections and rallies; a public relations/social media committee to help promote the group and be impactful; a news monitoring committee to consolidate all the information the community has been bombarded with; and the chapter will join forces through local partnerships like with the Little Neck/Douglaston Indivisible group, which had members in attendance.
“We want to be a slow and steady force,” said North Shore Indivisible creators. “One of the ways the Civil Rights Movement was very effective was small groups consistently meeting and taking action.”
Read the complete Invisible guide at www.indivisibleguide.com/web. Those interested in taking action can find details at the Google group Stand Indivisible.
