My Ten Favorite Resistance Moments of 2017
In a year when Trump took office and the alt-klan invaded my hometown of Charlottesville, it is easy to forget how massively and unexpectedly successful resistance has been. Here are ten of my personal reasons to hope (and pray) that 2017 has laid the foundation for great progressive victories in this new year.
10. Fascists Fired: Bannon, fired. Gorka, fired. Spicer, humiliated, hiding in the bushes, fired, and flailing in his resurrection tour. Milo loses book deal with epic copy edits for all the world to read. Resistance (and also, at times, satire) were successful in getting bad men fired, perhaps most notably after the massive outpourings in response to neo-nazi rallies.
9. Resistance Repeatedly Trumps Trump: A flood of activism blocked the Trump Administration’s preemptive efforts to gut Congressional Ethics investigations. When Trump promised to eliminate all funding for science and Planned Parenthood, a wave of marches, phone calls, and town halls produced a budget with zero cuts and zero dollars for the border wall. He tried to roll back the rights of our brave transgender troops, only to be shut down. He equivocated on nazis and hate, and consumer pressure pushed big business CEOs to flee various Presidential councils (leaving mostly only white male “evangelical” leaders to fill seats).
8. Airport Rallies: Few moments captured the real face of America more than the massive outpouring of crowds that looked like all of America at airports around the country. I was struck by how the crowd at Dulles looked like the new, more inclusive Virginia (this was the same Virginia that a few months later delivered a massive defeat to Trump’s agenda of hate at the ballot box). The crew of lawyers did not leave until everyone’s rights were protected and every foreigner landing from abroad was made to feel welcome.
7. Get Out: So much about this movie was perfect and perfectly timed for this year. As we saw the kind of militant racists this year who wore klan robes and gave nazi salutes, it was powerful to see something break through that made sure this didn’t let the rest of us think the neo-klan (or voting for Obama) provides a “get out of racism free” card.
6. July 26 and March 24 TrumpCare Defeats! Obamacare survived multiple attacks thanks to relentless organizing by Indivisible, ADAPT, Disability Action for America, Little Lobbyists, and countless other groups across the county. While the mandate repeal at year’s end is a big setback, tens of millions still have healthcare and Medicaid expansion survives…for now.
5. “Reclaiming my Time” and (Partial) Recognition of WOC Leadership: Maxine Waters schooling Treasury Sec/Bond Villain Steve Mnuchin embodied Women of Color (WOC) Members of Congress leading resistance against smug, entitled Trump officials. We saw the same from Rep. Frederica Wilson when the White House unleashed verifiably false slanders against her to distract from President Trump’s terrible treatment of yet another Gold Star family. We saw belated recognition of the movement leadership role of Tarana Burke in launching the original #MeToo a decade ago, the tragic crusade of Erica Garner, and the role of women-led community groups that pulled off a miracle in Alabama. While traditional and social media are “celebrating” the role of women of color, the question remains whether that will translate into greater seats at the table and voice in setting the agenda.
4. Cville Stands Strong, and America Has Our Back: The events of August 12th — actually the third neo-KKK rally of the year — were seismic and tragic. But on the streets that morning, I also felt overwhelming solidarity — 1,000+ anti-hate neighbors that crossed every racial, generational, and class line to ceded zero physical or psychological space. This reflected months of tireless organizing by local racial justice groups and courageous actions by these UVA students during the tiki torch march. When the community rallied again en masse with a candlelight march to the Rotunda, the images were powerful and, as my friend Brennan famously tweeted, sent a clear message — “We replaced you.” The alt-klan had hoped Cville would launch a series of coming out events across the country, but instead Americans from Richmond to Boston stood strong against hate. Beyond the forced firings and White House departures, we saw monuments were shrouded or removed, and frankly more Americans understand the true history behind these statues, the Lost Cause and the linkages to the New Jim Crow. Meanwhile, Cville voters shocked the establishment by electing independent candidate Nikuyah Walker, closely associated with BLM and racial justice, to the City Council. And the tragic death of Heather Heyer and the inspiring word of her mother have become an enduring symbol of love triumphing.
3. Women’s March: Most marches over the years have fizzled before or soon after they are held, and many pundits predicted this about the Women’s March. Instead, it broke records, was replicated organically in small towns across blue and red America, produced thousands of local chapters that have persisted in their resistance, and inspired many women to run for office. It set the tone for a year where resistance was women-led, organically grassroots (often several steps ahead of traditional political leaders), and able to be far more sustained and effective than expected. I was struck throughout that day by the progress made towards intersectionality, where signs for criminal justice reform and equal (living-wage) pay were inter-mixed with calls for reproductive justice, universal healthcare, and climate protection.
2. #MeToo Changes the Game: In recent decades, the pace of LGBTQ equality victories set a new standard for changing social norms and policy. But perhaps no change has come faster than the long-overdue tsunami of accountability for sexual harassment and assault, along with broader conversations about toxic masculinity. The bravery of women who have come forward, the tirelessness of investigative journalists pursuing leads, and the power of social media (a positive one, for once!) have brought down some of the most powerful abusive men in multiple industries and given voice to those who have been long silenced. Perhaps there is no more fitting smackdown of Trump and what he represents than this movement.
1. Virginia — Resistance Power Becomes Ballot Box Power: Republicans, particularly in Congress, have had been asking one overarching question this year, which is whether all of this march/protest/phonebank energy is going to mean anything at the polls next year. The resounding answer from Virginia this November was “Hell yes.” In Virginia, we saw the full Obama coalition turn out in response to one of the most viciously racist campaigns of my lifetime run by Ed Gillespie, a Trump-on-steroids greatest hits about fearing sanctuary cities, Latino gangs, and efforts to erase “our” Confederate history. The response was a tidal wave that may even flip our House of Delegates, which will now include our first two Latinas, first two Asian American women, first openly transgender elected and seated legislator and an increased number women in the House by 60% in a single year. We swept the top of the ticket, including only the second time electing an African-American to statewide office. The race was won on an uncompromising message of inclusion, criminal justice reform, and debt-free community college, and should ensure that over 400,000 Virginians finally get Medicaid expansion. These results are already producing more Republican retirements, particularly where Indivisible and allied groups have been most active. In 2009, the Republican sweep in Virginia set the tone for a disastrous 2010. Virginia has once again set the tone for a wave year, this time for Dems in 2018. If we persist.
