Weekly inbk newsletter

With so much going on, it’s hard to know what to do or how to do it. Our weekly newsletters gather as much information as we can find and organize it to make taking action as easy and accessible as possible. You don’t have to do ALL the things, but you should do SOMETHING. Our most current edition is below, and you can sign up to receive future newsletters here.

August 24, 2025

Like many of us these days, I often reflect on hope and how to sustain it through this fight. This week, these words (shared in a post by Rebecca Solnit) from an interview with the Czech playwright, dissident, and eventual president Václav Havel provided sustenance: 

“The kind of hope I often think about . . . I understand above all as a state of mind, not a state of the world. Either we have hope within us or we don’t; it is a dimension of the soul; it’s not essentially dependent on some particular observation of the world or estimate of the situation. Hope is not prognostication. It is an orientation of the spirit, an orientation of the heart; it transcends the world that is immediately experienced, and is anchored somewhere beyond its horizons.”

And yet, even when it’s hard to find it either in the state of the world or within, there is a way to orient the spirit toward hope — and that’s by taking action together. Read on and make your plan this week to fight with us for our communities and future.

Your Top 3 actions for this week

  1. 📣 March on Wall Street: Thursday, August 28 at 10am in the Financial District. Join the National Action Network and people from across the country to march from the African Burial Ground (290 Broadway) to Wall Street in demand of economic justice and fair opportunities for all. RSVP here.

  2. 🚨 Tell Congress to “Free D.C.” Because residents of Washington D.C. don’t have representatives in Congress, our representatives need to stand up for those who live in our federally occupied capital. Use the following script to call Senator Schumer, Senator Gillibrand, and your representative. You can find their phone numbers here.
    Hi, my name is [your name], I’m a constituent from [ZIP]. I’m calling to strongly urge [Senator/Representative ___] to support House Joint Resolution 115 to end Trump’s emergency order and federal occupation of D.C. This is a dangerous abuse of power that threatens D.C.'s right to self-govern and puts people — and U.S. democracy — at risk. And this isn’t just about D.C. The administration plans to expand these occupations to other blue cities, and many believe New York is next. We need leadership that will stand up to authoritarian overreach, not hide behind distraction talk. Will the [Senator/Representative] vote YES on the Termination Resolution? If so, can I count on [him/her] to CO-SPONSOR the Termination Resolution? If [he/she] won’t act on this urgent threat, it’s time to step aside for someone who will. Thank you for taking my call.

  3.  ☎️ Tell your NYS representatives to get back to work. The MAGA budget will make basic necessities like food and healthcare unaffordable for many of our neighbors while transferring even more wealth to the rich and transferring even more public funds to a secret police force that is a threat to all of us. But if legislators return to Albany, we can make the billionaires and wealthiest corporations who'll benefit the most from the MAGA tax cuts pay their fair share of state-level taxes, which would raise enough revenue to prevent severe cuts to the programs we rely on. We can also pass the New York for All Act (S.2235/A.3506 and Dignity Not Detention Act (S.316/A.4181), which would prevent spending our reduced public funds on assisting with a mass deportation scheme that makes us all less safe. And by convening a special session to get this work done now rather than waiting for 2026, we can show New Yorkers that Democrats will fight at least as hard for our communities as Republicans have been fighting against us. Call Gov. Hochul (518-474-8390), Senate Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins (518-455-2585), Speaker Heastie (518-455-4911), and your own NYS Senator and Assemblymember and tell them to get back to Albany and fight for us right now. You can also use NYC-DSA’s one-click tool to send them an email.

Upcoming Events

Weekly Vigil for Democracy: Tuesdays at 6pm at Third Ave & 29th Street, Brooklyn. The inhumane Metropolitan Detention Center is being used for ICE detention, housing more than 100 of our immigrant neighbors who have been taken from their homes, schools, and workplaces to be detained indefinitely. We’ll join our fellow organizers from Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Bay Ridge, to call for the release of ICE detainees, and to stand against the inhumane treatment of our neighbors. RSVP here. Promote the action to people in your community with this printable flyer or with a quick email or text template. For information about other community vigils, we have a live list because details change frequently. Find the vigil list here.

One Million Rising - How to Build Courage Campaigns with Target Majority NYC: Tuesday, August 26 at 8pm on Zoom. Building off of the One Million Rising campaign, Target Majority NYC is hosting a virtual gathering to discuss practical ways you can join with others and courageously push back on the real time threats America is facing. We'll break down the practical side of organizing such campaigns with others in your community, and offer concrete tips to help you think strategically about how to have maximum impact. RSVP here.

United With Haiti Rally to Save TPS: Wednesday, August 27, 11am-5pm at 1 Hillel Place (near Brooklyn College). Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is granted to foreign nationals who cannot return safely to their own country. Under the leadership of Kristi Noem, the Department of Homeland Security is terminating this status for Haitians, and it is currently set to expire in February. Join Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, Council Member Alexa Avilés and others at this rally to save TPS. Details here.

Phonebank to Protect New Yorkers from the MAGA Budget Scam: Wednesday, August 27 at 5:30pm on Zoom. The MAGA budget passed last month slashes healthcare, climate, and food access programs to fund ICE and handouts to billionaires. NYS can fight back by convening a special session to tax the ultra-rich at the state level to stop the cuts from hitting our communities. We also still need them to pass the NY for All Act and Dignity Not Detention to protect immigrant communities. Join a weekly phonebank with the Invest In Our NY coalition to talk with other NYers about what they can do to help fight back. RSVP here.

Kick off your fall activism at INBK’s September General Meeting: Wednesday, September 3 at 7pm, location TBD. We will be gathering in person to be in community with each other and launch our fall organizing plans. Join us! RSVP here.

Get the Word Out About The New York Health Act @ the 2025 NYC Labor Day March: Saturday, September 6, 9am-1pm, Midtown Manhattan. Join INBK, Physicians for a National Healthcare Program-NY Metro Chapter with other healthcare and labor allies to spread awareness and build support for the NY Health Act, to create a NYS single payer system, among union members at this crucial time when healthcare funding is under attack. RSVP here to sign up for a one hour shift. And, before or after your shift, join the march or cheer from the sides to show solidarity with workers!

Strategic Non-Violence Training with Target Majority NYC: Saturday, September 6 at 2:30pm in Manhattan. Learn the basics of non-violent resistance at this training hosted by Target Majority NYC. We’ll cover Know Your Rights for immigrants and bystanders, the efficacy and legal implications of a range of actions to resist or even block access to ICE, how to maintain strategic nonviolence and respond to conflict in a de-escalatory way. By upholding disciplined Strategic Non-Violence, whatever happens, we can help keep our actions as safe as possible, and keep attracting the numbers of folks we need to say no to the cruelty of this regime. RSVP here.

Canvass for Zohran: various days and times in various neighborhoods. Tens of thousands of volunteers knocked on over 1.5 million doors to get out the vote for Zohran Mamdani ahead of the June primaries. Now we need to win over the rest of the electorate to ensure that Democratic nominee Mamdani becomes our next mayor. The General election campaign is here! Join one of the canvasses in neighborhoods across the city and be a part of this historic grassroots campaign. RSVP here.

More Ways to Resist This week

Use the Blue State Defiance toolkit to demand that our NY state electeds fight like our rights depend on it. This toolkit from Indivisible National addresses vital issues including redistricting, ICE overreach, secret police, deportation, and a call for special session. Find the toolkit here.

Tell NYC DOE to protect students from ICE. Use the script provided here to demand that leadership protect our public school students from ICE.

Support humanitarian aid for Gaza. Children in Gaza are starving due to Israeli policies backed by Congress. 46 senators — including Gillibrand and Schumer — support a resolution for urgent aid (S.Res.224), and Reps. Clarke and Velázquez have backed the House version (H.Res.473). But Reps. Goldman, Jeffries, and Malliotakis still have not taken this basic step to end the starvation of civilians. If your rep is on the resolution, thank them — and push for a permanent ceasefire. If not, demand they co-sponsor H.Res.473 now and support the immediate delivery of aid. Ask why they haven’t. You can find their phone numbers here. And, if you’re able, donate food and medical aid organization, Palestine Children’s Relief Fund.

Host a community resistance gathering. Indivisible’s One Million Rising campaign is a national effort to train one million people in the strategic logic and practice of non-cooperation, as well as the basics of community organizing and campaign design. This is how we build people power that can’t be ignored. You’re invited to join us — and lead. Let’s build a force bigger than fear and louder than hate. You can find everything you need to host an event with your friends and neighbors here. Feel free to join in with any Indivisible Brooklyn actions as one of your group’s next steps, and encourage all attendees to sign up for our mailing list! To connect your gathering to Indivisible Brooklyn and amplify your local organizing efforts, let us know about your gathering here.

Call on our leaders in NYS to end subsidies for airlines who contract with ICE. New York gives airlines $11-17 million a year in jet fuel tax exemptions. Lawmakers have proposed revoking these exemptions from airlines that violate civil rights. Avelo Airlines is contracting with ICE to use their flights for deportations. They need to feel the pressure to end this contract and stopping those subsidies will be a big hit and push to stop collaborating with fascists to deport our immigrant neighbors. Call your Assemblymember, State Senator and Governor Hochul to pass legislation ending tax breaks for deportation contractors. You can find their phone numbers here.
Sample Script: Hi, my name is… and I’m a constituent living in [your neighborhood]. I’m calling because our state’s jet fuel tax breaks — worth up to $17 million a year — are benefiting airlines like Avelo that run deportation flights for ICE. These flights operate without transparency and with no guarantee of due process for the people on board. I’m asking you to support the SAFE AIR Act (S.7960/A.8188) to revoke these tax breaks for any airline engaged in deportation flights, including Avelo. Will you commit to taking that stand?

Sign up for an immigration court watch shift with JFREJ. While masked ICE agents are seizing immigrant NYers at mandatory court appointments, Jews for Racial and Economic Justice is organizing court-watch work to help keep our neighbors safer. There are both early-morning, pre-work hours shifts, and later shifts, which run until noon and involve entering the public courthouse buildings and providing direct support to our most vulnerable neighbors. Please note that this work is harm reduction, not agitational. We are not escalating or interacting with ICE. However, it does require witnessing state violence and being able to remain calm and center those we are there to help. You can sign up here to join (and no, you do not need to be Jewish to participate).

Help support asylum seekers to work legally. With the passage of the Big Beautiful Bill came many new and exorbitant fees for many immigration applications, including $550 for work permits, $100 for asylum applications (they used to be free!) and $100 for each year the application is pending and $250 for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status visas (for those under the age of 21). No one without employment or with a low paying job can afford these fees. The Hall Street Mutual Aid Collective has created a fund to help cover the cost of these fees and allow our neighbors to establish their lives here. Please give what you can by donating via PayPal to @HallStreetFund and include the note “work permit”. Share this widely with your networks! 

In solidarity,
The INBK crew