Listen To This Story

“Protect our democracy!” That’s the new refrain. Millions of protesters across the United States — on April 5, on April 15, on April 19, on May 1, and beyond — are trying to claw back the rights disappearing day after day. And hitting the pavement is important. But a concentrated, full-blown effort needs to emerge so that one message is heard above the din: Protect our democracy. 

This week’s One Small Thing is a little different because I’m spearheading one of many movements in my local community, which means the small things I’m involved in all lead to one main goal. Here’s the rundown on what I’ve been doing to launch my Miracle at Kat Cammack’s Office campaign, and how you can organize an initiative of your own.

1) Provide the content.

When creating an initiative, the first thing you need to do is get your content together. People need to see the stories and the work behind the idea. My campaign called for writing letters to Congress. I chose to write 10 different letters on different bills introduced in Congress or calamities that I wanted our representative to respond to. I used primary sources and data from other organizations that help people email legislators with a template letter on whatever the issue is. I made sure to back up all the information in the letter with solid research, and I gathered all the letters together here. All of my letters for this initiative are personalized to Rep. Kat Cammack’s office, but as you’ll see via the link, the letters in the file have a blank spot for your rep’s name, and if you are interested, you will be able to download and edit as you like, and send to your own representative.

The 10 letters I wrote cover the following topics: public radio defunding, immigration, sanctuary cities discrimination, climate and clean air, addiction treatment and resources, DEI and anti-LGBT legislation, Medicaid and SNAP cuts, Medicare cuts, national parks preservation, and the SAVE Act (which has already passed in the House).

I settled on 10 topics because if I can get 100 people to sign 10 letters each, I won’t need to get 1,000 people to sign one, which would be 10 times as time consuming if you do the math. All of these issues are important, and none of them have been properly addressed in Congress. And those who have called, emailed, and been ignored usually have many causes they are passionate about. What I’ve learned is that, for the most part, if a person was moved to sign one letter, they would sign all 10.

2) Collect your supplies.

For this project, I needed physical copies of everything. The supply list will differ with your chosen project, but, for me, I needed to print 100 copies of each letter. I also bought out the envelope supply of multiple pharmacies and grocery stores. I ordered a stamp with Cammack’s full name and office address from Office Depot so that I wouldn’t have to hand-address 1,000 envelopes. Originally, I had wanted to send them via USPS and support our public mail service, but I didn’t have the funds to buy 1,000 stamps. So I decided to drop them off in person. 

3)  Build relationships.

It soon became clear to me that I couldn’t do this alone. As I mentioned last week, I reached out to some local organizers I knew to see if I could garner support. In addition to asking for a table at the local HopeFest, a festival for civic-minded residents to gather and spread ideas, I also donated some items to the raffle, a part of the festival’s fundraising effort. This bought me a lot of goodwill, as well. Always give as much as you are hoping to get, if not more.

4) Promote your initiative to the broader public and like-minded folks.

On the day of HopeFest, it was pouring rain. I got to the covered patio area late because I had a previous engagement that ran an hour over. An empty table waited for me, in the center of the covered patio, away from the outer perimeter where the rain was blowing in. “DARLENA” read the sign, a scotch-taped piece of lined notebook paper. While I may not formally belong to any of the activist groups that put on this event, they treated me as a friend. And my letters, despite the rain, stayed dry, even splayed out across that table, as people wandered by and allowed me to give them my spiel: “Hi, I’m sending 1,000 letters to Kat Cammack. I’m going to Miracle-on-34th-Street her. Once they’re all signed and in envelopes, I’m going to dump them all at her front door, hopefully with the press in tow.” 

The festival-goers nodded. They smiled. They signed all 10. I sighed in relief. Maybe this was a good idea after all.

In the span of two hours, I got 536 letters signed, more than half my goal.

Whatever your initiative is, get to know organizers in your area and make sure you attend their local events, where you can promote your initiative to sympathetic audiences. 

5)  Do the on-the-ground work.

Of course, 536 is not 1,000, so I had to hit the pavement and get the rest of my signatures. I asked everyone I knew and brought the letters everywhere with me. I had them organized in stacks of 10 by this point, so people could just leaf through and sign all of them conveniently. Date at the top, printed name, signature, zip code. Every day, I went to places where resistance groups gathered, and I collected more signatures until I had almost 800 signed.

Whatever your initiative is, keep going. It can get grueling, but you can do it.

6) Attend every protest you can.

In the midst of my signature collecting, Gainesville, FL, took part in the April 5 Hands Off! protests around the country. It was the largest protest I have ever seen in Gainesville. Nearly 3,000 people packed the sidewalks at a roundabout near a local museum and playground. They stood in the blazing Florida sun from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m., waving signs, chanting, and breathing life into each other and the movement. I had brought along a clipboard and a bag of my remaining letters. I explained my initiative, and people nodded, and smiled, and they signed the letters while I held their protest signs. 

7) Jump onto other initiatives when you can.

Now that I’m spearheading my own (albeit local) initiative, I have a keener eye for collective action in the guise of small individual things. The 50501 movement put out a call for people to email their representatives’ offices about articles of impeachment all at once. They asked people to sign up with their email addresses and sent out clear, step-by-step instructions. Hundreds of people signed on. We all filled in the same subject line, wrote the same letter text and asked our rep’s office to reply yes or no to supporting an impeachment within two days of receiving the email. The organizers set us up with the email addresses of our reps’ press agents and our local details. 

Through this initiative, 11 legislators indicated that they formally supported articles of impeachment. Most didn’t answer. Kat Cammack’s office was one of them. But the initiative was concentrated, organized, and laid out a clear intent and purpose. And that will be our way forward. We must be specific and target our small things from here on out to have the most effect.

As you can see, this week I laid the groundwork for a project that won’t culminate until next week. That’s okay. With the proper organization and enthusiasm, small things will naturally evolve to become more powerful. 

Your individual role is of utmost importance, but finding kindred souls and common ground within your community will greatly amplify the message. Look for groups with this larger vision and get behind them. The time is now to protect democracy. See you next week.

Past weeks of “One Small Thing” can be found here.