A lot of people over the past few days have been asking me how they can stay engaged in political activism in the wake of this election. I thought it would be helpful to share a few of the suggestions I’ve been making:
1. Progressive Massachusetts cares about a lot of the things we care about and already has a structure in place to actualize them. Progressive Newton is the local version for Newtonites.
2. Raise Up Massachusetts already won us a higher minimum wage and paid sick leave, now they’re fighting for a $15 minimum wage, paid family and medical leave, and a fair share tax.
3. SURJ Boston – Showing Up for Racial Justice & Newton Supporters of Black Lives Matter – Great way to get involved in racial justice in your community.
4. For specific issue groups – NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts or Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts for reproductive rights, MA Sierra Club, Environmental Voter Project or Environmental League of Massachusetts (ELM) for environmental advocacy, etc. Get in touch if there’s something specific you’re looking for.
5. Lastly, just want to say to keep meeting. Keep talking to people. Stay engaged. DO NOT just go back to your everyday life and move on. I don’t think any of us know what this is going to look like down the road. But the important thing is that people stay active and engaged until this movement is fully formed.
Pantsuit Nation http://www.pantsuitnation.org
It’s a new group but is 3.5 million strong. There are also local chapters Pantsuit Nation Massachusetts, Pantsuit Nation Boston, and Pantsuit Nation MetroWest.
In the Washington Post:
The idea behind “Pantsuit Nation” was simple: Organize a bunch of Hillary Clinton supporters to wear pantsuits to the polls on Election Day.
But the “secret” Facebook group, which requires an invitation from a member to join, has become something much more significant in its two weeks of existence: a very public counternarrative to the popular assumption that Clinton lacks genuine, passionate supporters outside the campaign machine who are voting for Clinton, instead of just against the other candidate.
When we wrote about the rapid growth and influence of Pantsuit Nation on Monday afternoon, the group had 1.9 million members. As of Tuesday morning, membership was up to 2.5 million.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2016/live-updates/general-election/real-time-updates-on-the-2016-election-voting-and-race-results/inside-pantsuit-nation-the-secret-facebook-group-for-clinton-fans/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2016/11/07/inside-the-huge-secret-facebook-group-for-hillary-clintons-biggest-fans/
Thanks Bryan.
Just to clarify the meaning of the word “secret” in Facebook terms means that you are invited to join the group by another group member. This avoids the trolls that one finds at the bottom of a Globe article.