It was just 4C (39F) on Saturday, January 25th in Fairfax, Virginia when we started to set up hot coffee, cookies, and a table of pamphlets. Despite the cold, the mood was bright, and everyone was eager to pitch in and help. A group of 20 organizers across Loudon and Fairfax counties joined together to pass out fliers to educate voters and encourage action against a series of anti-organizing bills that aim to curb our freedom of speech in Virginia.
Despite the cold, and the huge influence of the war industry and other merchants of death in our area that is so close to the heart of the US empire, we received a warm welcome from those who were out and about visiting the library, their favorite restaurant, or out walking their dogs. Our requests were simple: learn about the bills, and contact your House and Senate representatives if you disagree with these proposals.
We had a QR code ready that sent folks to a website where they could easily email their representatives and use or edit a suggested email draft to do so, and a tablet with the same site open ready for folks who wanted to send the emails in real time. This yielded excellent results. Over coffee and cookies, passersby stopped, asked questions, and shared their stories with those at our table, while other comrades spread out through the intersections nearby and talked to still more folks.
Together, we handed out dozens of fliers, and had several people respond in the moment using our tablets. All of these were constituents contacting their local reps, and most said they never would have otherwise known about these bills or how to fight back without our guidance. A key to our success was our readiness: we educated ourselves first.
Everyone arrived with significant knowledge of the bills, how it would impact our pro-Palestinian organizing, and how similar bills have disproportionally harmed Black and brown folks in other states. Another key to success was focusing on a specific, material goal focused on our local conditions and governance. Often, just a dozen calls and emails from voting constituents can sway a State representative or senator, and this can be done in a short afternoon with just a handful of prepared comrades leading the way.
Already, we have seen the fruits of our labor: the Senate already struck down one of our targets, Senate Bill 1284. This bill would have prohibited anyone providing information or resources about any “terrorists” or “sponsor of terrorism” access, occupation, or presence on any campus in Virginia… without defining what constitutes ‘terrorists’ nor who gets to make those decisions. This term has been used throughout our history to suppress liberation movements of all kinds, especially Black and Indigenous movements. Most recently and visibly it has been used against pro-Palestine organizers across the country as well as Stop Cop City forest protectors.
These small but substantial wins help us regain control of our government, build our community of care, and keep our state safer and more free. We hope this success story-in-progress inspires others to hit the streets and educate, agitate, and organize for a better world.
We have more work to do: join us!
Beyond Virginia:
Similar bills are being proposed in states everywhere. This strategy can and should also be applied to the myriad of extremely important issues like immigration and reproductive health.
Virginians:
- Use the VCHR toolkit to raise your voice against these remaining bills https://linktr.ee/VCHRAdvocacy2025
- As of this writing, we’re still fighting against:
- HB 2529: sponsored by Jones (D) and Helmer (D). Prohibits universities from divesting from any country not on the federal government’s sanctions list. This limits the ability of organizers to demand divestment, and also hampers universities from being able to make the best investments for them.
- HB1650: sponsored by Ballard (R). Expands the Attorney General’s power to investigate any individual or organization suspected of abetting “terrorism”, without a definition of terrorism or limits to that power.
- HB 2186 and SB 1247: sponsored by Freitas (R) and Durant (R). Public universities cannot partner with institutions in any country not allied with the US. This would limit programs like Fullbright and others and freeze important cross-institute collaboration at many levels within science and beyond.
- HB 2207: sponsored by Kilgore (R). The companion bill to the now-defeated SB 1284 which violates first amendment rights of students.
Leave a Reply