Blue Beginning
Reminder: Tonight is Blue Monday!
Remember “Blue Friday,” when we used to gather at the Hideout at the end of the work week? We’d have a beer, trade some political gossip, hear the views of an interesting and well-connected guest speaker, and talk about what we were doing to change the political picture. Those were the days! Now “gathering” is dangerous, the Hideout is dark, and for too many of us “the end of the work week” has become a nebulous if not meaningless concept.
But we still have beer, gossip, and interesting people with things to say, and now more than ever we need to talk about changing the political picture. So starting this week we’re reviving the concept with Blue Monday, part of our final drive toward the election day we’ve all been aiming for. Every Monday in August will be a Blue Monday. We’ll start tonight talking about the push for racial justice and how it’s affecting our electoral politics. Guest speakers will be Christian Perry, founder of the Black Millennial Renaissance; Ashley Perkins from the Institute for Nonviolence; and Angela Lang from BLOC/Milwaukee. Our favorite blueswoman, Melody Angel, will provide some musical entertainment; and our friend Tom Moss, host and producer of the Indivisible Chicago Podcast, will join Marj to emcee the proceedings from the virtual version of our beloved Hideout headquarters. Join us at 8 PM at hideoutchicago.online. And bring a few friends—maximum occupancy is virtually unlimited!
November is coming
As our president, to use the term loosely, sinks deeper and deeper into his own morass, as he becomes ever more petulant and aggrieved, he’s getting desperate: he spins blatant lies about mail-in voting; he appoints a puppet postmaster to slow down the mails; he suggests postponing the election and can’t commit to accepting the outcome. It’s becoming clear that we can’t just defeat him in November—we have to defeat him so soundly that the result of the election can never be in doubt. We can’t risk a week’s delay while mail-in ballots are counted. We can’t let the election get into the courts. Unfortunately, we can’t take any comfort in the Biggest Loser’s sinking fortunes. On the contrary, we have to work harder to make sure his comeuppance is quick and complete.
Indivisible Chicago has set ambitious goals for November. We want to make at least 200,000 phone calls before election day. To do that, we need to double our number of phone bank volunteers. If you’ve been waiting for Go Time, it’s here. If you’re uncertain about phone banking, we’ll train you. We have a large and enthusiastic group of callers who enjoy the work and the camaraderie of our Zoom phone banks. They’ve already logged about 30,000 calls, but we can’t expect them to do it all. We need everybody to pitch in.
- Here is our current (and ever-expanding) schedule of phone bank training classes. We’ll show you the ropes and make you comfortable and confident.
- Here is our schedule of upcoming phone banks. We work together on Zoom. Your fellow volunteers provide encouragement and your leaders are always there to help.
- Here are our text banking and text bank training events. We’re reaching voters, especially young voters, in Michigan, Wisconsin, and swing states nationwide.
Do you have two or three friends who care as much as you do? Recruit them! Send them to 3states1mission.com.
Help wanted
Over the next couple weeks we need to reach out to Blue Beginning members to recruit them for the work ahead. We could use some help phoning and texting them. If you can volunteer, please send us an email at bluebeginning2017@gmail.com.
Visit us at bluebeginning.org. Email us at bluebeginning2017@gmail.com. Check in with our Facebook group for news, events, and action opportunities posted by our members.
