20250422 STAND Newsletter – Spring is here!

Dear Friends,

Some of you know that I am not a native Georgian, and that I grew up in upstate New York. If you knew that, you might also know that I am a bit of a zealot when it comes to fall and early winter in the Northeast. There is a crispness and clarity and calm that comes from a walk in the mountains in September that I will admit to you that I miss. But as much as I miss that natural tranquility, there is a power here in Atlanta in the spring that I have come to deeply appreciate. The inevitability and forcefulness of new life on display over these past few weeks is consistently awe-inspiring, and it makes me deeply hopeful every year I get to experience it. If you have survived the pollen (I’m hanging on, just barely), I hope that you have had the opportunity to experience that as well over the past few weeks.

Last week I announced a slight shift in the look and feel of our next meeting on May 3rd (flyer attached), and that shift represents an important milestone within STAND – the independent functioning of our STAND action teams. I told you in our last newsletter that this meeting would begin to offer a pivot towards action, and that we would start with a focus on the work that we are engaged in to support federal employees. We are very excited to give you an update on an effort that I think is really beginning to bear fruit, and spend some dedicated time figuring out how to plug folks that are interested directly into that work. 

And speaking of plugging in to the work, our Protest team is beginning to think hard about how to prepare us on the streets and in our interactions with law enforcement. Next Tuesday, April 29th, STAND Protest will launch a workshop on the use of technology in protest. We will discuss recording devices (read: your phone), their effective use in confrontation, how they are accessed by the authorities to monitor protest movements, and how we can effectively communicate with each other safely and securely within the movement.

However, as excited as we are for both of those offerings, it will continue to be that the core of the STAND effort rests in community building. Creating a space where we know and support each other is the most fundamental component of what we do. We understand that when we gather, there will always be those among us that simply need to sit with people and be heard. So, in addition to our programming with Communications and Protest, we will continue to offer guided small group settings at all of our general meetings for people to sit and find their bearings with others.

I will stress that it is not weakness to need a breath of spring air in community without any other motive – it is activism. It is activism to learn to talk to and support your neighbors, and it is resistance to build those connections in the context of governance that seeks to divide. Engaging in that work individually allows us to make a collective impact, and it drives our movement forward. There is always an opportunity to plug into the outward-facing efforts, but we are more effective if we are internally whole.

As always, our meetings and events are open to all comers, and can be found on our website at www.whenwestand.org. Please take some time to let folks know what we are up to, particularly as we begin to orient the community we’ve built towards external action. I’m looking forward to seeing you all soon, and don’t miss the opportunity to meet with Protest on the 29th to make sure that we are all ready for the work to come!

STANDing with you,

Matt