Sura Gail Tala first became an activist when she protested the Vietnam War in 1969. Today she continues to protest, but now it is against President Trump’s administration. She shared advice on activism at a Bloomington Peace Action Coalition meeting.
“Showing up is the thing,” she said. “That’s the beginning.”
Participants at Monday’s Bloomington Peace Action Coalition “Organize and Speak Out!” meeting at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Bloomington provided an opportunity for experienced activists and people who had never advocated before to learn how to respond to the Trump administration.
The meeting involved a discussion of strategies to lobby effectively and get a message out to politicians.
The members shared ways to get involved, stay informed and contact representatives.
This needs to be the progressive movement’s “Tea Party” phase and have a lasting effect on Congress, activist David Keppel said, referring to the conservative group’s influence on Republicans.
“One thing we are learning is to put pressure on members of Congress,” Keppel said. “We’re moving to the let’s go to the street phase to putting real pressure on Congress.”
The event also included discussion of Bloomington Peace Coalition’s upcoming meeting with an aide of Sen. Joe Donnelly, D-Indiana, in Indianapolis.
Although their lobbying meetings generally focus on single issues, Keppel said the upcoming meeting will cover a wide variety of topics, including immigration, climate change, foreign affairs, nuclear weapons and other Trump administration policies.
“The shock and awe in which this administration has come in has made it impossible to lobby just on one thing,” Keppel said.
One of Donnelly’s weakest points has been with climate and the environment, Keppel said, so they plan to address the issue in their meeting with his aide.
“We don’t get two planets to live on,” he said.
Throughout Tala’s years as an activist, she has learned that calling people and sending postcards are among the most effective ways to get politicians to listen to constituents, she said.
Protesting in the streets is just the beginning.
Tala said she advises people to use their own postcards, rather than postcards with a pre-written message, like the official Women’s March stationary.
Otherwise, they might be quickly discarded.
Keppel also gave people advice on the most effective ways to reach out to Donnelly and Sen. Todd Young, R-Indiana.
He recommended calling their Indianapolis offices instead of their Washington, D.C., offices.
Bloomington Peace Action Coalition also has plans to reach out to more people by improving their website, graphic designer David Orr said.
They are laying a foundation to make themselves more visible and provide resources for other progressive organizations, he said.
Keppel said he wants more young people to join Bloomington Peace Action Coalition, and he hopes the improved website will help accomplish this.
“If you have some energy, sign up and add your political insights into what we’re doing,” he said.
