That being said, it has always been my dream to find ways to combine my love of history and my love of political action. With that in mind I will be launching 2 new segments to the Substack.

The first will be mini-podcasts/written articles entitled “‘This has never happened before’…‘Well actually…’”. These mini lessons will point to things we are seeing in our current times that feel ahistorical or like they have come out of nowhere, and highlight their historical prevalence and context. Within our current administration there will be plenty to choose from. Mainly because this admin doesn’t just do things out of the blue, they do things they have been given tools to do so with, usually by a previous administration that never saw it going this far.

The second will be in a similar format called, “Civics 101: Things You Need to Know About How Our Government Works…For Now 😅”. These will be mini lessons on how government works. As I do with the main HTFB articles, I will try to make these as accessible as possible so that they are informative whether you have never thought about government before or you have a Ph.D in Political Science or Government Affairs.

I believe in order for us to effectively fight back we have to have the knowledge of where we came from and understand the system in which we are having this fight.

Let me know in the comments below some topics you would like to see discussed in either of these new segments.

Also, look for the new article about how alumni associations can participate in the fights sometime in the next few days.

Until next time, keep fighting back for our rights, lives, and future.

On November 7, 2015, 32 of the 64 players of the University of Missouri football team announced their intention to protest and sit out all football games until the president of the university, Tim Wolfe, resigned or was removed from his office. He resigned 2 days later.

This would spark similar protests from athletes across the country who would see similar demands met and would utilize their particular influence on campus to move their schools to becoming safer for Black, Brown and other marginalized students on campus.

They are but one example of student and professional athletes who have used their positions, influence, and voices to forward the cause of racial and social justice and help create a safer, better world for all of us. From Muhammad Ali refusing to serve in the Vietnam War to Tommie Smith and John Carlos raising their fists in protest during the 1968 Olympics to Colin Kapernick and Lebron James protesting during games in support of #BlackLivesMatter.

There are other examples such as Jackie Robinson and Roberto Clemente in baseball. Evgeni Malkin, a Russian player, in hockey chooses to participate in NHL Pride Nights despite Russia’s ban on LGBTQIA+ rights and “propaganda”. Ali Raisman, Gabby Douglas, and Simone Biles spoke out about the sexual abuse and harassment that US gymnasts had endured under coach Larry Nassar, causing him to be fired and convicted, and lending their voices to the #MeToo movement.

There is a great cloud of witnesses of those who have used what they have to stand up against the powers of tyranny, discrimination, and oppression.

You can stand up too!

Can I Make A Difference in This Fight?

Yes!

But it takes courage, unity, and strategy.

We’ll come back to that last one in a minute.

If you and your fellow athletes are going to fight against these changes to your campus, it will take courage. We are living in the age of bullies, jerks and cowards.

Many of the bullies are in the federal and state governments in this country. They are explicit in their desires to drag us back to times of blatant discrimination, oppression, and a two-tiered system that basically split us into the haves and the have nots.

The jerks are those who try to build intimidation on campuses and in our communities to make folks believe these changes are more popular than they are. These are the students on campus who like to harass professors and students who are protected by DEI programs in the first place. Their spiritual parents and older siblings are some of the very people the Mizzou football players and students, as well as many of the other student and professional athletes I listed above were fighting against in their own fights.

The cowards are the folks who fold instead of fighting for the existence of these programs and the impact/safety they provide to students who most need them. Unfortunately, without pressure and community organizing, many of these folks can be your college administrations and the boards that run your colleges and universities. They tend to make decisions on what will bring the least amount of risks and bad press. Part of fight is to make them understand that rolling over has its own risks and will definitely bring bad press.

As you begin your fight to save these programs on your campus, you will need courage to stand up against these folks. They will try to give you all kinds of excuses and reasons why you should just keep your head down and mind your business, but here is the reality, what happens on your school’s campus IS YOUR BUSINESS!

Especially when it involves the safety, security, and opportunities of YOU and YOUR FELLOW STUDENTS!

In order for your fight to succeed, you will need unity.

One person standing alone can make a powerful statement, but a team or even multiple teams standing together is a force to be reckoned with.

And you literally have the materials that they use to make their schools successful: your bodies, minds, and voices.

As student athletes, your contributions are what allow your schools to bring in the largest revenue sources for their operations.

Don’t Just Take My Word For It, Follow The Money

Colleges in the modern era get a great deal of their funding and prestige through athletics. Even schools that are not known for championships and national standings spend and take in millions of dollars every year for athletics.

According to the NCAA's own website Division 1 and Division 2 schools give a combined $4 billion in athletic scholarships to students annually. The NCAA itself had over $1.3 billion in revenue in 2024.

Among the 25 schools with the most lucrative athletic departments only 7 schools have not abandoned their commitment to DEI. Let me say that again, out of the 25 colleges and universities with the wealthiest athletic departments, only 7 of them have not abandoned their commitment to keeping their Black, Brown, queer, disabled, low-income, women, veteran, and international students safe and welcomed on their campuses.

Of those who have rolled back their DEIA programs only 8 of them are in states that have actually passed anti-DEI laws, and some of those going beyond what the state actually requires in their laws. That means 10 of these schools with top earning athletic programs rolled their programs back voluntarily. This is very curious considering no college has voluntarily started sharing revenue from merch sales with their college athletes in NIL deals similar to the endorsement deals that many have been able to score from private businesses.

The wealthiest among them is Ohio State University with $1.32 billion valuation and $280 million in revenue in 2024. In February of this year they announced that they would be ending their diversity, equity, and inclusion offices, positions, and any major/organization that is designed for students of color, LGBTQIA+, and gender studies. University of Michigan, coming in at number 4, with $1.06 billion valuation and $230 million, announced earlier this month that they would be shuttering their DEI initiatives.

You can find the list of top earning athletic programs here and the list of schools that have rollback their DEIA programs here.

Without college athletes none of this money would be possible.

What Do I Do With This Exciting New Knowledge?

I am so glad you asked.

This is where the strategy part comes in.

Step 1 - Do Your Research

Find out the numbers for your own school.

What is their revenue make-up?

How dependent are they on college athletics for their budget?

Which sports bring in the most revenue (likely football and basketball, but not always)?

Which games bring in the most revenue each year?

Understanding how the revenue structure works will help you in planning your protests, demonstration, strike,…etc.

Step 2 - Partner with Other Student Organizations on Campus

There are likely other students and organizations already organizing to combat these efforts. One of the key parts of Mizzou’s success is that they partnered with the CS1950 organizers (Concerned Students 1950) to learn about the issues that had been going on with the campus and the demands those students had.

If they had gone out alone without doing their research or collaborating with organizers already engaged in the work, they may have ended up harming the efforts instead of helping.

The student organizations likely to be affected would be a good place to start finding out this information. It is likely your Black Alumni Association or Organization has been working to prevent these efforts as well. Community organizations that assist and provide resources for those most affected also likely have information and guidelines on how you can help with the fight.

Step 3 - See if you can get your coaches to join you, but don’t be surprised if they don’t.

Many of your coaches care about you as people and see these efforts for the oppressive policies that they are. Some of your coaches have already spoken out that they don’t like these efforts and feel that they are problematic.

Some of your coaches don’t care about DEI or social justice at all. Some of them are there to watch you play and collect their checks. What happens in your life off of the field or court doesn’t concern them.

It is highly likely you know which coaches are which by now.

If not, ask them how they feel about these policies and changes. See what their answers are. Determine if they are safe adults to help guide you through this journey or not.

Mizzou’s coach supported them and their efforts. He gave them the added validation to know that they could do this without repercussions from here. To be honest, that may not be the case at your school. Organize accordingly.

Step 4 - Organize among your team members and other teams on campus.

Remember what I said earlier. One person demonstrating can be powerful and send a powerful message, but a group together can make a great impact.

Talk to your teammates. Let them know what is happening. Get a temperature for how willing they are to participate.

Talk to other teams. Assess their willingness to join. Organize it so that each team’s demonstration coincides with their seasons and the games that will make the most impact in their arena.

Make a joint statement, if that feels like the best strategy.

Let the college know this isn’t going to go away by trying to intimidate one or two people, much less one or two teams.

Step 5 - Decide What Your Demonstration Will Look Like

This will look different for various campuses.

For some this will look like a bold, declarative strike.

For others it may work better for it to be a sick-out where certain key players refuse to play certain games, and the number of players who can’t play goes up as the school refuses to meet your demands.

For some it may look like simply speaking out about the issue publicly and making other students aware of the issue to put public pressure on the school.

For some students it may look like you looking at other schools during the transfer portal for your sport. And letting it be known that your decision will be influenced by a school’s commitment to DEIA.

You Matter. Your Voice Matters. Your Influence Matters.

Remember that this fight is about the safety, well-being, and opportunities for your fellow students and for future students. Every student should be able to get a quality education at the school they attend. They should be able to feel safe and welcomed. They should have the resources made available to them that they need to succeed.

Any threat to that should be fought and exposed.

And the students who deserves all of those things include you. The student athlete who is there to showcase your talent, but also receive the best education possible.

You matter. You deserve to be safe and welcomed on campus.

Your voice matters. You are not just a body, you are a person.

Your influence matters. You and your fellow athletes contribute to the success of your schools and therefore you should be included in the well-being and operations of your campus.

I look forward to seeing you make good change for your campuses. May student athletes and students of the future learn about your efforts and how you made a difference to improve the lives and futures of those around you.

To learn more about the Mizzou’s demonstrations read here, here and here. You can also learn more about various demonstrations by professional athletes here.

{Missouri players stand arm-in-arm as they protest university system president Tim Wolfe, whose leadership has been criticized after several racial incidents at the school. Photo credit to Twitter user@1Sherrils_2MIZZ/Twitter}

The answer is yes. If you pay any taxes in your state. If you live in a state/county with a state-funded school. If you know folks who will at some point seek out a college education.

This fight is your fight.

For many of us, we know theoretically that we are apart of the ecosystem that allows education to be funded, but the reality is that our tax dollars go to support education at the federal, state, and county levels.

This doesn’t just mean K-12 education.

This extends to state-funded colleges and universities too.

Are DEIA rollbacks really that big of deal?

While most of these schools do charge tuition for students and their families, what allows them to be less expensive than privately-run colleges and universities is supplemental funding from the state and federal departments of education.

When schools choose to roll back DEIA programs, departments, resource centers, housing, and scholarships, they are telling you the community members that we can spend your tax dollars in ways that hurt students.

And to be clear these rollbacks absolutely hurt students.

DEIA affects Black students, Second language learners, women, disabled students, students of color, queer students, students from low-income families, students who are veterans or children of veterans, homeless students, students who have spent time in the foster care system, and many others.

The rollbacks mean that these students do not get the supports they need to help them navigate college. They also mean that these students do not get to take courses that reflect their lived experiences. They mean that professors who are hired for their expertise and extensive study in these subjects get fired or reassigned to classes/departments that do not align with what they studied or agreed to teach when hired.

They place students who are already vulnerable to discrimination and oppression on predominately white campuses, in even more danger from racists and institutional bias.

It is a big deal!

Ok, so what can I do to help?

I’m glad you asked.

Step 1 - Find out who your local representatives and senators are. Look up the folks in your state who are on the state education committee in the legislature.

Knowing who your state representatives and state senators are is just good information to have. In this particular fight, they will be the government officials you will be in contact with the most.

Elected officials and their staffs keep a record of how many contacts they get from the public, which issues voters spoke to them about, and what their viewpoints are on those issues. This helps them decide how they are going to vote on certain bills and legislation. It also helps them to know if they vote “the wrong way” how much push back they can expect from their constituents, including possibly being primaried (having someone from their own party run against them) or having someone run against them in the next election from the opposing party.

In addition to looking up your representatives and senators, you want to find out who is on the Education committee for your state. Because these initiatives involve schools, they are likely to go through the Education committee first. There may even be an opportunity for members of the public to speak on the record before these committees to voice their opinions about these bills.

Lastly, you want to look up caucuses such as the Black Caucus, Rainbow Caucus, Hispanic/Latino-e-x Caucus, and/or Asian Caucus in your state legislature. They are likely already trying to fight against these bills and will have information to help you formulate your arguments.

While some require folks make their statements in person, most legislatures have the option of virtual submission of statements and the option to have someone else read your statement on your behalf.

Step 2 - Find out if there are already groups/organizations that are working to prevent these rollbacks. You will likely find student organizations at your local schools that are already involved in this.

It is highly likely that someone in your area is already organizing around this issue. There may be alumni organizations tied to the colleges/universities who are working to fight these policies. There may be parent/community organizations that are forming as well.

The group that is definitely organizing are students and faculty at the schools. See if they have any meetings that are open to the public. Find out how you can help their efforts.

They may need you to show up at a demonstration or to share your opinion at a meeting. They may just need you to donate food or supplies for students who are already actively protesting these efforts.

Whatever is needed, it is much easier to help a movement that has already started than to start one from scratch.

Step 3 - Formulate a concerned citizens organization around this issue. Hold town halls and meetings informing members of your community about what is going on and how they can contribute to the fight.

That being said, having a committee of concerned community members is also a viable and powerful option.

Just like community committees have been great at getting safety measures passed, moving forward/blocking efforts to make major changes to neighborhoods, and helping to clean up neglected areas of their communities, community committees joining forces to address the elimination of DEIA programs in colleges/universities can go a long way to changing minds.

I remind you, you pay taxes for these schools. While the powers that be sometimes act like they forget that, they haven’t. Your voice matters.

A group of concerned tax payers is a powerful force in this fight.

Let your officials know that getting rid of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility is not what you want to represent your community or your taxes going to.

Step 4 - Write op-eds about your views on this issue.

Op-eds are one of the greatest ways to share how you feel about something. They are usually found in local newspapers and allow the fellow members of your community to know that there is someone else who shares their views about this issue.

In many communities, particularly those that seem hostile to DEIA programs, people tend to think that they are the only ones who disagree with those voices. Op-eds help them to realize they are not alone and there are others they can join the fight with.

If you have formulated a concerned citizen committee, op-eds are really great ways to help others know you exist and how to get in contact with you.

You will find that even in hostile areas there are more people who are with you than you realize. The most recent example we saw of this was the elections after school districts put in place book bans. Many of these districts thought the majority of the parents agreed with these bans. What they found out in the following election was that, even in conservative areas, those who sided with the book bans were voted out by wide margins across the country.

Don’t underestimate the power of your voice.

Step 5 - File amicus briefs on any lawsuits that are going forward about the issues.

You may be in an area or near a college/university that has already started or been named in a lawsuit concerning this issue. If that is the case, you can file an amicus brief in the lawsuit.

Amicus briefs means literally a friend of the court brief.

These are usually filed by organizations that have a vested interest or will be affected by the issue in the lawsuit.

It tells the court how community and professional organizations feel the decision will affect them and what those organizations feel should be the decision the court comes to.

While they are not supposed to sway judges/justices, they can help make a powerful case for the impact their decision will have.

Step 6 - Attend, virtually or in-person, any town halls or meetings that are open to the public on this issue.

Last, but certainly not least, any town halls, meetings, forums,…etc that are open to the public, attend.

One, because you have the right to and they are just great ways to get to know what is happening in your community.

Also, because they are great places to meet people of like-mindedness. They are great places for recruiting people to join your committee or for finding committees and organizations that already exist.

It is even better if these are meetings and town halls taking place at the colleges/universities that will be affected. Many of these schools are in a conundrum trying to figure out what they should do. The reason many are complying before there are even laws compelling them to is because they are afraid that this is what the public wants and they have no choice but to comply.

Your voice could be the one that helps them realize that if they fight, there will people there to back them up.

In conclusion, the person this fight needs is YOU!

You are important to this fight!

Your voice matters more now than ever before!

Join the fight to preserve diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in the colleges/universities in your state. The education of the students in your community depends on you.

{Credit: 4Getty Images}

If you have been online at all in the past 3 months, you have seen several state schools shutter their DEI programs and departments, supposedly in adherence to the laws of their state legislatures and with pressure from their boards.

Many of these schools release crocodile tear-filled letters and press releases noting how sorry they are to cause such an uproar in the lives of their students and faculty. The folks who work in DEI departments and resources offices that provide services to students affected will be placed in other offices. They will continue to find ways to ensure they uphold the vision of an inclusive, diverse community they say. They are just doing their job 🙄.

First of all, this is a load of bull from every perspective, including legal, financial, and safety.

As we have seen with many of these schools who so easily comply, many of them implement these changes BEFORE these policies are even passed by their state legislatures. The most recent example of this has been the shuttering of Ohio State University’s DEI departments and faculty positions.

Ohio has not passed an anti-DEIA law yet. There is one working its way through their legislature.

It is NOT the law of the state, nor is it the law of the land.

So students will lose their scholarships, faculty and staff with lose their jobs, whole academic departments will be shuttered, and possible Black Student Unions as well as other student groups, and housing designed for creating safe places for Black and other marginalized/protected students will likely be ended.

For the possibility that a law MIGHT be passed.

What does this have to do with parents?

A LOT!

Parents help their children navigate choosing a college, usually keeping financial aid packages in mind.

Parents are usually the ones who help their children figure out if the schools they are going to will actually have the programs and academic departments that will help them get the degrees that they want.

Parents are the ones who are most concerned about their children’s safety and well-being on campus, especially if their child is moving away from home.

Parents are who will have to pick up any financial slack that comes from dropped scholarships, programs, and grants that were promised to their children.

Parents are one of the most important stakeholders in this fight around DEIA on college campuses.

And most of them don’t know it.

Parent Activism

Most of us have seen the PTA parent to activist pipeline in recent years in the wars over the direction of education in this country.

We’ve seen parents show up at school board meetings and demand justice or answers for one issue or another. When book bans started a few years back, we saw this movement promoted through conservative and right wing parenting groups, claiming to be concerned about their children. This outrage has been at the center of school zoning debates, anti “CRT” policies, and curriculum fights.

We have also seen groups like Moms Demand Action; Red, Wine, and Blue; Real Mama Bears; and Every Town for Gun Safety formulate to fight for pro-democracy, pro-safety, and pro-inclusion policies in their communities.

Many of us may even know that person who was politically apathetic who became super involved when they had a kid of school age.

We know the power that parents can play in shaping education in our communities.

Many of us assume this has to end when our children graduate high school and attend college.

However, a moment has come upon us that demands that that same passion and energy that many of us put into fighting for safe, quality education for our children in primary and secondary school, may be needed to fight for safe, quality education for our children in post-secondary as well.

Does this mean I need to join another PTA😩?!?!

I’m glad you asked 😅.

Not quite.

Your college students are adults and therefore should be leading the efforts on fighting for policies, academic changes, and culture changes on campus. There is a reason FERPA exists, which keeps your college students’ educational and academic records private, even from you their parent.

That being said, you can fight back against these efforts.

Your options look different based on where your children’s college or university is in the process of deciding what to do.

This is a very important thing to find out as quickly as possible.

If they have already decided to comply with these anti-diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility policies, your options will look different than if they are still taking public opinion or weighing their options.

So what can I do?

No matter what stage the college/university is at, the first thing you want to do is form a parent group with like-minded parents. I would highly suggest looking into alumni associations for help in finding parents and suggestions on how to organize a group.

Having a group of parents who are on the same page to protect their children (hopefully all children) from these draconian policies allows you to have a support system for navigating your emotions, fears, and anger. They are also good for organizing many of the steps I will lay out below.

It is easier to set up letter campaigns, practice questions, make focused phone calls,…etc when you are organized vs trying to do these things on your own, hoping others are doing the same.

These groups can be in person or virtual. I would highly suggest you make them hybrid to make them accessible for families who live away from the main campus, to allow for multi-campus organizing, to be able to include families with disabilities or financial obstacles to travel, and also to accommodate various work schedules. Make sure they are recorded and made available for members who can’t be there at the time of the meeting.

Be mindful of the times these meetings are held. One of the issues that can happen with K-12 parent organizing is that meetings will take place in the middle of the day when either folks who are stay-at-home parents, work-from-home parents, or folks with very generous PTO/flexible schedules at work can attend. As you are fighting for inclusion on your children’s campuses, make sure you are being as inclusive as possible in your process, including scheduling.

Steps to Consider

If your school has already started efforts, lawsuits are the best option. Many of these policies have already been overturned or delayed in the courts. This is definitely an option you want to use if you have to.

Hopefully you won’t have to.

If your children’s college/university is still considering what to do, you need to start organizing with students, faculty, alumni, and PARENTS now.

Families of students affected by diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) pay just as much tuition and fees for their students going there as other families.

Step 1 - Formulate Parent Boards

Take some of the skills you use in PTAs for K-12 to form boards and community.

Step 2 - Figure out what plans and approaches you want to implement at your children’s college/university.

Approaches may differ based on the political environment of your school, state, and community. Realize that some environments are more hostile than others. This does not mean you shouldn’t organize, but adjust your methods.

I will be writing an article in the near future that will outline what those different approaches can look like in different environments.

Step 3 - Show up at community events/meetings about the issue.

Pay attention to school communications about interest meetings, town halls, public opinion panels, and board meetings open to the students or public. You may even want to assign 1-4 people who are solely responsible for paying attention to any media or information about this conversation coming out of the university/college.

Ask questions.

This may seem minor or obvious, but this is where a lot of the real power comes in interacting with the colleges/universities. Your questions help them know where the concerns are and what they need to be addressing with their own boards and legal teams.

Set up meetings with provost, student affairs, trustee boards. Ask what their plans are to protect students’ physical, mental, emotional, and social safety.

Ask about their plans to fight as appeals/lawsuits make their way through the courts (in other words do they plan to simply comply or delay while plans work through the courts?) This is a big one, that I definitely will be writing an article about specifically in the coming days.

Ask directly, for the public record, how this will affect scholarships, faculty positions, organizations on campus, and property on campus. This is key, because this is the part that will most affect your children and your pockets.

Ask if your school has given statements in the legislative process or amicus briefs in lawsuits filed. This gives you insight into how serious they are about being in the fight with you. If they haven’t done these things, this also puts them on high alert that they should consider doing so.

Step 4 - You can speak directly to your political leaders and community

This is extremely important if you are in a state where this legislation hasn’t passed yet. Doubly so if you are in an area where elected officials believe everyone is on board with these policies.

You can speak up at legislative sessions, board meetings, and community meetings. Your parent organization can file amicus briefs in lawsuits. You can give official statements when these issues go through committee and open sessions, letting your voice and position be known. Your organization can write and publish open letters in the local, school, and national newspapers/outlets.

Step 5 - Be prepared to join or assist in lawsuits.

It may even (under certain circumstances and we will discuss what those are) be wise to let the college/university know that this is an option you are considering.

You can fight these efforts and should!

Don’t Give Up The Fight, Get Into It!

You are the person/people who have been fighting for your children’s safety and well-being ever since becoming their parents. While college is a time when your children become adults and have to start making decisions for themselves, fights that you know they can’t fight alone, they still need you for.

This is one of those fights!

Don’t give up the fight, get into it!

You can make a difference in this fight. Your efforts may not just help create a safer campus for your children and their friends, but for students for decades to come.

See you next time where we will be discussing how to formulate a collegiate Parent Board.

[Photo credit unknown. Will be added with further information]

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First of all, let me introduce myself.

I am a writer, educator, advocate, and organizer. I have been working, pontificating, and engaging in justice and political work pretty much since my college years in the early 00s.

Back then, I was fighting against the state of Florida ending Bright Future’s Scholarship (some things never change 🙄) which helps fund education for students throughout the state who earn at least a 3.0 GPA during their high school years. We were fighting for our education and the future of our state. We knew that as much as it would affect us in real time, the devastating effects such a law could have on the future of students in Florida would be endless.

I protested, volunteered, and even worked on other campaigns and causes, including canvassing to raise the minimum wage in the state in 2004, throughout those years and utilized that information to help me spread knowledge, connect with community groups, and advocate for causes that were important to me throughout my adult years.

Not too long after that glorious time in college, I began working as an educator in Miami-Dade County. My career in education in one of the biggest accomplishments of my life. I have worked in public schools, private schools, as a tutor, college prep teacher, extracurricular counselor, and helped countless families navigate the college admissions process.

If anyone knows how hard students, parents, and teachers work to help students learn, grow, and prepare for their futures in college and beyond, it is me. I have looked into parents’ faces as we work towards making college more affordable through scholarship searches and making hard decisions about whether or not to consider student loans. I have watched students struggle in subjects like math and English, bust their behinds to bring up their grades and skills, and go off to college and become stellar students and community members. I have seen teachers tirelessly give up hours of their free time to mentor, tutor, and encourage young people to help prepare them for being responsible, productive adults and skilled students who are prepared for the real world.

What does all of this have to do with “How To Fight Back!”

Everything.

We are looking at a world that is attempting to steal the present and future from these students and families. Whether we are talking about anti-DEIA programs that seek to dismantle the resources and structures put in place to help us create a more perfect union, or federal budget/worker cuts designed to rob folks of stable jobs and income, or book bans in schools and libraries across the country, these policies and attempts seek to steal the present gains and future opportunities for our students and families.

Many people are doing great work to address and fight back against these issues (we will have a post in the future about connecting with those already doing the work). But there are also many issues going on that folks know need to be fought, but have no idea where to start.

This is where this Substack comes in.

How do I start? Who do I contact? What questions should I be asking? Do I need a lawyer? Do I have to run for office?

For many of us, these questions and more go through our heads in trying to even wrap our heads around fighting back against institutions, systems, and organizations that seem so much bigger than us.

What can you expect from this space?

1. You can expect practical advice on organizing resistance to policies and practices that attempt to affect the livelihood, well-being, and opportunities of Americans of all kinds.

2. You can expect this space to consider all issues from an diverse, equitable, inclusive and accessible mode.

   • I will give advice that may involve showing up in person, but I will also, where possible, give accessible alternatives for those same actions.

   • I will give tips and strategies that can work for multiple groups, but that also take into consideration the specific needs of certain groups, regions, political environments, and economic levels.

   • This includes educational diversity in terms of literacy levels, access to information, and varying civic education levels (some of these posts will include basic civic education so that we are all on the same level with understanding who to talk to and why).

3. You can expect pragmatic steps and guidelines on questions to ask, people to speak to, and collaborators in your community to look for in aligning with your cause.

4. You can expect me to walk with you through this process with passion, empathy and encouragement.

   • I know for many of you, this may be your first foray into any time of activism or political fight. That is not lost on me and I will try my best to guide you through it as smoothly as possible.

5. You can also expect me to be silly from time to time.

   • The fights we are up against are serious, the spirit with which we approach the bullies that pull us into these fights does not always have to be.

   • I am very practical and thorough in my approach, but I also love to have fun and believe joy and humor help to power us in the fight.

Where do we start?

The first official article will be posted in the next 48 hours.

We will be starting with a series on Fighting Anti-DEIA compliance on college campuses.

This is one of the most important issues of our times (which is saying something considering how many important issues there are in our times).

Over the next few weeks, I will be writing a series of articles about the various stakeholders who can (and should) get involved in these fights. Each stakeholder will have a post dedicated to a list of steps to take. Articles will follow these posts explaining what those steps look like in practical terms.

For instance, if you are reading an article about how parents can get involved in pushing back against schools who quickly comply with anti-DEIA policies (many of which are not even law in these states, much less that they violate the federal Civil Rights Act, which is still the law of the land), you will find a stand-alone article with a list of steps, and then a follow up article about forming a Parent board at your child’s college, and another about who to contact about what compliance vs. non-compliance looks like in real terms.

Each major step will have their own space for explanation, clarity, and chats (for our paid subscribers) to ask more questions beyond the article.

Thank you for taking this journey with me.

While we live in perilous times, the fact that so many are gaining the courage to rise up and resist the wrongs we see happening around us is heartening and gives me hope.

Should we take these times seriously? Absolutely.

Should we lose hope or count ourselves helpless in the face of tyranny? Absolutely not!

The people united can not be divided. Utilizing our voices, skills, and communities to fight against those who seek to divide us is the way forward. To protecting what we have fought for and to building a future even better than what we have ever dreamed.

I look forward to taking that journey with you.