19 Signs By Latinas That Gave Us Vida During The Women's March

Intersectional feminism was in full display over the weekend as Latinas took to the streets on Saturday for the Women’s March in Washington D.C. and its nationwide sister protests. 

The historic event included some incredibly creative and inspiring signs by Latina marchers. HuffPost Latino Voices asked our readers to tag their photos with #LatinasMarch and now we’ve collected some of the hashtag’s best images, plus a few other notable signs we found online. 

Take a look at 19 signs by Latinas that gave us life during the Women’s March. 

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This Troop Is Basically The Girl Scouts For Social Justice Warriors

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Of all the people who marched across the world on Saturday in the name of women’s rights, one group in particular will give you hope: the young’uns.

A dozen 8- to 12-year-old girls marched in the Women’s March in Oakland, California, brandishing banners with everything from “I am fearless,” to “Trans Lives Matter,” to “Rad girls defend their bodies and their community.”

They were part of the Oakland-based girls’ troop the Radical Monarchs, which is dedicated to helping young girls of color celebrate their identities and activate around social justice issues, from LGBTQ rights to racial justice.

“Kids are often an add-on to social justice movements ― they are not centered,” founder Anayvette Martinez told The Huffington Post. “Our troops are for girls to have a safe space where their identities as young girls of color are centered, where they can have conversations around the issues happening around them, and can feel empowered to make a difference.”

The girls represent the feminist movement of the future, one that is intersectional and understands that women are not just women (and certainly not just white women), but also are black, Latinx, queer, Muslim and more ― and therefore that every issue, from race to gender to class, is a girls’ issue.

Martinez started the Radical Monarchs in 2014, after her daughter Lupita, then in fourth grade, saw classmates joining a local Girl Scouts troop. She realized that, had she joined them, she would have been just one of two girls of color.

Martinez decided that she would start her own troop, one that also fostered leadership in young girls, but that specifically focused on lifting up young girls of color. It would also engage them in conversations around issues relevant to their community and the world, like climate change, police violence and women’s rights.

“Kids are [already] having conversations around the intense issues that are happening around them,” Martinez said. “But here they learn about them in a safe space, where they can ask questions and feel empowered to make a difference.”

The Radical Monarch members earn badges, much like in the Girl Scouts ― but instead of getting them for wilderness skills or selling cookies, they get them for activating around social justice issues: Girls can earn the Radical Pride badge for learning about gender and sexuality; the Radical Bodies badge comes from practicing self-defense and learning about consent; and for the Radical Roots badge, some of the girls met with a former member of the Black Panthers.

“People underestimate kids’ capacity to understand,” Martinez said. “We don’t overwhelm them with information, each unit is scaffolded, each conversation builds on another, so a kid can understand. You don’t just bombard a kid with colonization and slavery, it’s how you piece it out.”

For example, if in the Radical Pride unit, the girls had been taught about gender fluidity, the next unit on Radical Beauty would come back to those same topics.

“Using Barbie as an example, we might ask who is celebrated in Barbie, and whose identities are erased: How about non-gender conforming women, or trans women?” Martinez said. “A lot of our work is intersectional ― once they earn a badge, the conversation doesn’t end there.”

From just a handful of kids in 2014, the group has grown to two troops with a total of 24 girls in Oakland. Martinez would like to expand it further, in the Bay Area and across the country, but for that the group would need more funding.

“I think that this work now is more important than ever, in the climate we’re living in politically,” Martinez said. “We want to see this grow. It’s something that’s definitely needed in the world.”

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This Woman Helped Build Trump Tower. Here's Why She Marched.

Barbara A. Res started working in construction in 1971. Between 1980 and 1984, she helped build NYC’s Trump Tower. Res attended the Women’s March on Washington on Jan. 21 with a sign that said “I Am The Woman Who Built Trump Tower,” paired with a photo of her working on Trump Tower. The 67-year-old told The Huffington Post she attended the march to protest President Donald Trump’s positions on women’s issues. “I think that what came out of these marches is the message that women are ready to put up a fight for many things,” Res said. Below Res recounts the experience in her own words.  

By Barbara A. Res

It took me almost 8 hours to get home.  But it was worth it.

I went to the March on Saturday, with my child, Res, who had made me a humongous sign which read on the front, I am the woman who built Trump Tower, and Not My President on the back. I went for a lot of reasons, mainly to express solidarity with women and the men who support our efforts to secure equal rights for everyone. However, in truth, I was protesting the presidency of Donald Trump and everything he stands for. 

I was like everyone else, except for one thing. Trump exploited his employing me. He claimed he “broke the glass ceiling” by hiring me. He declared that he did wonders for me, and when I came out against his candidacy, he tweeted that I was “nasty,” and at a press conference, he said I was dangerous and a terrible person. But even after that, his daughter bragged about hiring me, while his controlled media and supporters made me into a villain and a turncoat.

I had been working for the general contractor on the Grand Hyatt Hotel when Trump picked me. I was an engineer with many years in construction and a very bright future. Trump told me when he hired me that while men were “better” than women, “a good woman is better than 10 good men.” He knew that I had to be the best and have a thick skin and be very tough to survive in construction and that was what he wanted. He called me a killer. It was a great opportunity for me, but Trump wasn’t giving out favors.

I was protesting the presidency of Donald Trump and everything he stands for.

I kept a cordial relationship with Trump after I left him, until I wrote my book, All Alone on the 68th Floor: How One Woman Changed the Face of Construction.  Someone must have told Donald the book wasn’t good for him, which is not true because when I ran into him at a funeral, he was very mean and nasty to me and he denigrated my book. I never held this against him, and I even wrote to him to explain that I was surprised and hurt by his reaction. Of course, I never heard back.

So here I was at the march telling anyone who would listen that Trump is not good for women, and listen they did. So many people thanked me for coming and took my picture. Several had their picture taken with me and I signed autographs. My picture made it into a lot of media, and curiously, onto Rihanna’s personal Instagram page where it went totally viral garnering over one million likes! So many people were gratified to see me and they were genuinely interested not only in my working for Trump but at my working as a woman in construction in 1980.

go awf granny

A photo posted by badgalriri (@badgalriri) on Jan 21, 2017 at 11:55am PST

But the day was about protest and solidarity, not me. And I turned the conversations to the fact that Trump was opposed to abortion, pay equity, a fair minimum wage and he dismissed the idea of sexual harassment. He appointed an Attorney General Jeff Sessions who will not likely take up any of women’s causes. So, I said, it is up to us to make the agenda, and the way to do it, is to keep active. Let our Congress members know what is important to us. We need to support groups like ACLU and Planned Parenthood until it hurts. There are other things we need to do as well, like letting businesses know how we feel by boycotting. 

I still can’t believe the least qualified, least dignified, most obnoxious candidate to run for president in my lifetime is actually in office. I can’t accept it. For a while, I thought, I have to get behind the president. No, I don’t. He stands for everything I oppose. Besides the obvious issues that are important to women, he wants to enact racist policies, hurt immigrants who are still the backbone of our country, destroy the environment, let businesses run unsupervised and without accountability. I am not backing any of this. If he wants to bring jobs back that’s fine. But I can’t agree to destroying our relationship with our allies. If he wants to build infrastructure, good. But that can’t include a ridiculously wasteful and unnecessary wall. If he wants to join forces with Russia to destroy ISIS fine, but he must do so while acknowledging that we do not sanction Putin’s policies. 

I am hoping that Trump doesn’t do too much damage. I am worried about the environment and the Supreme Court. I hope all the liberal justices stay put, although I know that’s a lot to expect. In two years, we can take back the Congress. In four, we can elect, from either party, a president who is qualified in experience and temperament.

We just have to keep working hard and hoping for the best. And that’s what the march was all about. I am glad I went, and thankful to everyone all over the world for coming out.

Barbara A. Res is an attorney and engineer, living in New Jersey.  She served as Vice President in charge of construction of Trump Tower, and later as Exec. Vice President in charge of Development at the Trump Organization.

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Source: HuffPost Black Voices

11 Profound Photos From Black Women At The Women's March

Black women showed out at women’s marches around the world on Saturday with some ridiculously profound signage. 

While some women of color expressed mixed feelings over the march and chose not to attend, those who did made sure to send powerful messages. From calling on white women to take accountability for the election’s outcome to reminding America of black women’s contributions, here are some of the striking signs black women held at the landmark protest: 

#proud @billythepandaa #womensmarch #pussygrabsback #mybodymychoice #usa #myneckmybackmypussy

A photo posted by LiLi (@black_willow) on Jan 23, 2017 at 10:14am PST

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Kumail Nanjiani And Jessica Williams Headline Progressive, Must-See Sundance Comedies

Three movies I saw at Sundance this weekend had a fun through-line. They all starred young, likable comedians whose characters ― not far removed from their real personas ― needed to get their acts together. Each of them will find effortless mainstream appeal beyond the festival bubble, especially “The Big Sick,” which Amazon bought for a whopping $12 million.

Here are thoughts on Jessica Williams’ big-screen breakthrough, Jenny Slate’s mixed-bag follow-up to “Obvious Child,” and Kumail Nanjiani’s impressive romantic comedy “The Big Sick.”

“The Incredible Jessica James”

Written and directed by Jim Strouse
Starring Jessica Williams, Chris O’Dowd, Noël Wells, Lakeith Stanfield and Taliyah Whitaker

Jessica Williams is a tremendous talent. A former “Daily Show” correspondent who appeared on a few episodes of “Girls” and now co-hosts the funny podcast “2 Dope Queens,” Williams has a magnetizing presence. “The Incredible Jessica James” marks her first starring vehicle, a lovely introduction for anyone not privileged to know Williams’ name. (But really, know it.)

Williams is relatively new to the big screen, but writer/director Jim Strouse is not. Strouse has made Sundance movies like “Grace Is Gone” and “People Places Things” (in which Williams had a supporting role) for more than a decade, but he’s never surpassed the indie-festival vacuum. “Jessica James” could change that. A crowd-pleaser with a distinctly modern voice, the movie plays like a romantic comedy of sorts. Thankfully, its nuances supersede its cliches.  

Williams plays ― you guessed it ― Jessica James, who is a version of herself, or at least a character who borrows Williams’ sardonic, self-assured aura. Jessica is a 25-year-old aspiring New York playwright and devoted children’s theater teacher who wryly tells her mother’s suburban friends that, no, she doesn’t really care for “Jersey Boys” because she prefers “dialogue-driven dramas that explore the human condition.” Feeling unanchored in the aftermath of a breakup, the marriage-averse Jessica schools Tinder dates on not needing validation from a partner. Then she returns home and refreshes her ex-boyfriend’s (Lakeith Stanfield) Instagram over and over. 

When a like-minded friend (Noël Wells) plays matchmaker, Jessica is surprised to find herself attracted, maybe, to an amiable 30-something white guy (Chris O’Dowd) who created an app. You’ll spot where “Jessica James” is headed, but the movie feels fresh thanks to its relentlessly lovable and imperfect protagonist. Strouse gives her a well-rounded appeal that stretches far beyond Jessica’s relationship drama. By the time she gives her pregnant sister a self-illustrated picture book called Subverting the ABCs of the Patriarchal Paradigm, we are rooting for Jessica because we appreciate her drifty self-searching that butts up against her determined social values. That’s the lovely thing about “The Incredible Jessica James” ― its title character feels like a lost bird, hoping to sprout wings, but we know she has herself figured out pretty damn well. Plus the movie is a laugh factory. 

 

“Landline”

Written by Gillian Robespierre and Elisabeth Holm
Starring Jenny Slate, Abby Quinn, Edie Falco, John Turturro, Jay Duplass, Finn Wittrock and Jordan Carlos

Jenny Slate and writer/director Gillian Robespierre first teamed up for 2014’s “Obvious Child,” a progressive comedy that explored romance through the lens of abortion. It a wonderful movie, so anticipations were high for their follow-up, the domestic dramedy “Landline.” Alas, this particular child is a bit too obvious. 

“Landline” is charming enough. It’s the type of movie that makes you say, “Well, that was cute,” and not much else. Set in 1995, “Landline” captures the tensions of a Manhattan nuclear family dealing with the same domestic hardships that plague many clans: a rebellious teenager, affairs, monotony, drug deals, “Mad About You” episodes. When a graphic designer (Slate) stuck in a quarter-life crisis and her testy younger sister (perfectly cast newcomer Abby Quinn) discover their wannabe-playwright father (John Turturro) has penned erotic poems to someone other than their businesswoman mother (a steadfast Edie Falco), the tribe’s restlessness further unravels. Each character is dealing with his or her own emotional upheaval. In moments of impulse, Slate’s character cheats on her allegiant boyfriend (Jay Duplass), her sister dabbles in heroin, and their dispirited mother sports a replica of the Pepto-Bismol suit that Hillary Clinton wore during her now-famous women’s rights speech

“Landline” has ample charm, even if its ‘90s setting feels like an unnecessary excuse to cram references to Blockbuster, “Curly Sue,” Must-See TV and eyebrow rings. Robespierre and co-writer Elisabeth Holm strive to capture the same lived-in vibe that “Obvious Child” carried. Instead of Jenny Slate and Jake Lacy grooving to that titular Paul Simon song, for example, the sisters dance to PJ Harvey’s “Down by the Water.” Slate and Quinn have nice familial chemistry, but beneath that charisma is a shaky script that shortchanges most of its characters. Frankly, the story feels too familiar, which diminishes the dramatic elements that surround its comedy. “Landline” manages not to feel overly precious, but in mining so many homespun tropes, little lands with the impact Robespierre hopes. That said, it’s clear that she and Slate make a complementary team, and hopefully their next project together will rise to a new occasion.
 

“The Big Sick”

Written and directed by Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon
Starring Kumail Nanjiani, Zoe Kazan, Holly Hunter, Ray Romano and Aidy Bryant

If you follow him on Twitter or watch “Silicon Valley,” you know Kumail Nanjiani is one of today’s sharpest comedic voices. That’s even more apparent in the semi-autobiographical “The Big Sick,” Nanjiani’s first big-screen showcase. He wrote the movie with wife Emily V. Gordon, basing the story on their cross-cultural courtship.  

At its premiere, “The Big Sick” played like gangbusters. At times the audience giggled so uproariously that it was hard to hear the next joke. And for good reason: Nanjiani and Gordon’s script offers a lovable portrait of a character named (what else?) Kumail, a stand-up comedian living in Chicago. Kumail’s traditionalist parents insist on arranging a marriage with a nicePakistani woman, but he won’t bite, especially after sparking a slow-boiling romance with Emily (an effortless Zoe Kavan), a grad student studying to become a therapist.

Directed by Michael Showalter, the brains behind “Wet Hot American Summer” and last year’s “Hello, My Name Is Doris,” the movie leans into cultural politics with a refreshing spirit. Kumail struggles in admitting to Emily that he hasn’t told his parents about their relationship, only to regret a harsh exchange when unexpected illness lands Emily in a coma. That’s where “The Big Sick” falters a bit. Judd Apatow produced the movie, and like all Apatow productions, this one is about 20 minutes too long. The extended hospital stay could benefit from some trims, largely to circumvent the movie’s routine paths and redundancies. It does, however, give us Holly Hunter and Ray Romano playing Emily’s parents, who travel to Chicago to be with their daughter. They are remarkable in the roles, displaying amusing signs of a weathered marriage. (Seriously, fire up Hunter’s Oscar campaign now. She’s comedic gold.) 

Despite its hiccups, “The Big Sick” is a success. Nanjiani makes a lovely leading man, framed to look like a traditionally handsome rom-com star. His delivery is naturalistic and humane, never relying on physical gags or ham-fisted clichés. And if you thought 9/11 was one of the few things we shouldn’t joke about, just wait ― the movie lands a terrorism punchline so funny that the next few lines of dialogue were inaudible over the theater’s laughter. “The Big Sick,” one of Sundance’s hottest bidding items among distributors, is a witty, worthy love story telegraphed through the lens of cultural divides. It’s about parental expectations, professional hurdles and romantic gumption. Bravo for that.

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'Stranger Things' Star On Becoming A 'Smooth' Ladies Man For New Edition Role

“Stranger Things” star Caleb McLaughlin is taking fans down memory lane for his latest role as a young Ricky Bell in the BET’s, “The New Edition Story.” 

Born in the Boston neighborhood of Roxbury, Bell served as a founding member of the famed group in 1978 before later leading 90s spin-off group Bell Biv DeVoe. The biopic, which stars Bryshere Y. Gray (as Michael Bivins), Luke James (as Johnny Gill), Woody McClain (as Bobby Brown), Elijah Kelley (as Ricky Bell during his adult years), Algee Smith (as Ralph Tresvant), and Keith Powers (as Ronnie DeVoe), will chronicle New Edition’s humble beginnings in Boston to the trials and tribulations of their 30-plus year music career.

For McLaughlin, recapturing Bell’s adolescent years in the film was a great experience to showcase to viewers ― especially his parents, who he says are avid fans of the group.

It brings it back to my parent’s era, and they’re excited to see me,” he said during an interview with HuffPost. “So I just wanna make them happy.”

The 15-year-old ― who initially auditioned for the role of group member Michael Bivins ― went on to add that director Chris Robinson and executive producer Jesse Collins offered him the role of Bell after he performed a few lines depicting the Massachusetts-native.

Aside from impressing Robinson and Collins with his vocal chops and dance moves to support the role of Bell – thanks in part to his past as a Harlem School of the Arts student – McLaughlin says his one obstacle was honing Bell’s charming personality traits.

“I sing and I dance, but he’s a ladies man,” he said. “And I’m a ladies man too, but I’m not as slick and smooth as he is. But I became to be more slick and smooth as he is by learning the character.”

 “It was challenging to please Mr. Ricky, but what actually helped a lot was Mr. Ricky being hands on in the project,” he continued. “I would call him and ask him some questions. I would look up YouTube videos to see his mannerisms and his dance skills. So that’s how I became the character.”

Similar to his role as Lucas Sinclair in Netflix’s ‘80s inspired series “Stranger Things,” McLaughlin’s performance in “The New Edition Story” marks his second consecutive role centered around the decade’s formative culture. 

Despite his generational gap, McLaughlin says there’s an informative silver lining within the nostalgia of each respective role.

 “I never really thought that I would be doing a bunch of 80s stuff,” he said. “But it’s great because I get to learn more than my era and I can learn from people’s mistakes back then. It’s pretty fun. And I get to relive my parents’ childhood.”

The six-hour, three-night premiere of “The New Edition Story” airs on Jan. 24 at 9PM/ET on BET.

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'HamilDemos' Are The Rough Cuts Of 'Hamilton' Songs Fans Dream Of

Here’s a dad joke for you: What does Lin-Manuel Miranda call the rough cuts of songs from “Hamilton: An American Musical”?

Hamildemos,” duh.

The portmanteau-friendly Miranda tweeted about said “Hamildemos” on Jan. 20, shortly after President-elect Donald Trump became President Donald Trump. In a series of “Um, you guys wanna hear…” posts, he revealed early versions of “My Shot,” “Satisfied,” “The Story of Tonight” and several other favorites from the Broadway hit.

Today, post-inaugural craziness, you can listen to all eight of the tracks on Soundcloud. And then, because you must, you can listen to all the songs from “The Hamilton Mixtape.” Happy Hamildays. 

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White House Signing Ceremony Reveals Blinding White Maleness Of Trump's Inner Circle

President Donald Trump signed a trio of executive actions on Monday, withdrawing the U.S. from negotiations surrounding the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, implementing a federal hiring freeze and reinstating an international policy that is likely to restrict reproductive health access worldwide.

Video from the Oval Office showed Trump slowly appending his signature to the orders with deliberate, bouncing pen strokes. The camera then panned up and across the White House advisers on hand to witness the event. 

There wasn’t a woman in the shot. Plenty of white men, though, including chief White House strategist and senior counselor Stephen Bannon and senior White House adviser for policy Stephen Miller ― Trump’s “Steves,” as the president refers to them. The Steves have drawn controversy for their past criticism of ethnic diversity, among other issues, and were responsible for writing large sections of Trump’s nationalistic inauguration address, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

It was a telling visual, and one largely consistent with the demographics of Trump’s cabinet and inner circle. Trump has nominated 18 white men ― the overwhelming majority ― to Cabinet or Cabinet-level positions in his administration. He’s tapped just a handful of women and people of color to serve, with most being selected for lower-level positions. His Cabinet will not have a single Hispanic member, which hasn’t happened since 1988.

Trump’s advisers are similarly white, though a few women will have the president’s ear. Kellyanne Conway is officially serving as Trump’s counselor. Hope Hicks is director of strategic communications. Omarosa Manigault, who is black, has joined the White House as assistant to the president.

Obama also faced criticism for not appointing more women to Cabinet-level positions, but a study conducted in 2015 found that he’d placed more women and people of color in policy positions than any president in history.

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A Box Of Fried Chicken Was Left On A Black Student’s Car Not Long After Trump’s Inauguration

WASHINGTON ― Elliott G. Holliday, a 20-year-old junior at North Carolina State University, was leaving a friend’s house early on Sunday morning when he found his car in disarray.

“There was a chocolate milk bottle by the right rear wheel,” Holliday told The Huffington Post. “There was an open bag of Cinnamon Toast Crunch on my rear windshield, there was an Afro pick on my rear windshield and on the roof of my car there was a box of Popeyes chicken with chicken still in it.”

The incident occurred barely two days after President Donald Trump took the oath of office. That’s probably not a coincidence, Holliday said.  

Trump “campaigned on race and bigotry,” Holliday argued. “I don’t want to believe that this was racially motivated. I really hope that this is some stupid college kid making ignorant decisions. However, I really can’t ignore the fact that there was a box of chicken and an Afro pick placed on my car in a vandalizing manner … I hope this isn’t racist, but I don’t want to ignore the fact that it could be.”  

Holliday filed an official report with the university’s police department. Holliday’s report is considered a “university information report,” said Maj. David Kelly, since there is no indication that a crime was committed (such as damaged property or assault).

This allows NCSU to further investigate the incident and determine if it should be filed as a criminal report. The university’s Bias Incident and Response Team, which reviews incidents of bias and works with the reporting person to find a resolution, is also investigating.

“There’s nothing that was left at the scene ― such as a note or any type of hate speech, any vandalism, any property damage … to indicate a nexus between the food left at the vehicle and any implications to Trump’s election or any other issues on campus,” Kelly said. “There’s nothing that leads us to believe anything at this time.” There have been no other complaints of this nature since the election, he said 

There were over 1,000 incidents of hate between Nov. 9 and Dec. 12, according to estimates from The Southern Poverty Law Center. At least 28 occurred in North Carolina and 34 percent of the crimes targeted African-Americans (The SPLC aggregates reports of hate ― many of which are anecdotal ― from news articles, social media and submissions via their #ReportHate intake page).

Trump told his supporters to “stop it” with the racist attacks during his first post-election interview in November. 

Hate crimes often spike after electionsdomestic or international ― and the surge of Trump-related attacks that followed the election have tapered off. But, overall, hate crimes rose by 6 percent between 2014 and 2015, according to FBI statistics. Attacks against Muslims jumped by 67 percent, while African-Americans continued to be the most frequent victims of race-based hate crimes.

If you or anyone you know have been the victim of a similar incident, please send an email to julia.craven@huffingtonpost.com and share your story. 

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How To Keep Your March Momentum Going

Millions of people across the United States marched on Saturday in what may become the biggest single-day demonstration in this country’s history. And when they woke up on Sunday morning, many wondered: What’s next?

Historically, marches don’t start movements so much as they grow and support them, according to Carol Chetkovich, a professor of public policy at Mills College and author of “From the Ground Up, Grassroots Organizations Making Social Change.” “What a massive demonstration like Saturday’s can do,” she said, “is energize people who have not been active or not as active as they might be.” 

Here are six concrete ways to keep your post-march momentum going:

#1: Sign up for e-mail updates from your local legislators.  

Heed Barack Obama’s advice in his farewell address and engage with the government in your town or city. “People need to get involved with local politics,” echoed Chetkovich. “Find an issue or a candidate, work for them, and then stay onboard.”

It’s OK to start simple. Look up who is in charge where you live. Who sits on your local city council or board of supervisors? Who is your mayor? Who is your local rep? Then sign up for updates. Many local legislators have e-mail newsletters, Chetkovich said, which are a great (and easy) way to stay informed about issues in your area, as well as to learn about local meetings you should attend. Then attend them.

#2: Support groups that are already fighting for the issues you care about with time and resources.

So many of the issues people were marching for on Saturday already have organizations committed to protecting them. So pick an issue you care about, find a local or national organization that focuses on that issue, then volunteer and donate whatever resources you can. “There are many, many social change organizations in communities all across the country,” Chetkovich said. “We need to support those groups.”

#3: Have a conversation with someone who disagrees with you—and keep that conversation going.

First, a caveat: “reaching across the aisle” is by no means a necessity for promoting social change. If, for example, you’re a sexual assault survivor who has been re-traumatized by the election of President Donald Trump, no one is arguing you must reach out to those who supported him in order for real change to happen. “If that’s the space you’re in, this is not the time for you to try and do that,” Chetkovich said. “But there are a lot of people who are not in that kind of extremely vulnerable space who can engage in these kinds of dialogues.” She mentioned groups the National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation as a good resource for guiding those efforts. 

#4: Consider 10 Actions in 100 Days.

Over the weekend, organizers of the Women’s March on Washington launched their own specific plan for next steps, releasing a new action every 10 days during President Trump’s first 100 days in office. “Now is not the time to hang up our marching shoes it’s time to get our friends, family and community together and make history,” the march website urges.

The first action calls for marchers to send a postcard to their senators describing the issues that are most important to them. “Pour your heart out on any issue that you care about, whether it’s ending gender-based violence, reproductive rights and women’s health, LGBTQIA rights, worker’s rights, civil rights, immigrant rights, religious freedom, environmental justice or anything else,” the group urges, adding that people should share their postcards on their social media accounts to help keep enthusiasm going. 

#5: Call Congress daily.

At Watch Us Run, HuffPost Women’s inauguration day event, activist and filmmaker Michael Moore offered his tips for resisting President Trump’s agenda: Call Congress daily. Here’s where to find your representative, and here’s where to find your senators. Make it part of you daily routine, Moore said, to the point where it becomes as second-nature as brushing your teeth. (Watch his full blueprint for resistance here.)

#6: Continue to demonstrate.

Marches and demonstrations will continue to happen. On Tuesday, January 24, for example, activists across the country are set to host a set of “Stop Trump’s #SwampCabinet” rallies in 35 states across the country. Anti-Trump rallies have been planned for April 15 ― tax day ― to pressure the president into releasing his tax returns.

“Demonstrations are a central strategy of movements,” said Chetkovich. “They can grow and sustain movements, and they can also put the opposition on notice. They signal that there a lot of people who hold certain values and beliefs.”

In other words, don’t hang up your marching shoes just yet. 

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Source: HuffPost Black Voices