GRASSROOTS ALEXANDRIA

by Jonathan Krall

These are unusual times. While we continue to focus on local Alexandria politics, new volunteers are coming to us with national concerns that we share ourselves. With students and immigrants being “disappeared” to Louisiana or El Salvador, it is tempting to disconnect, to imagine that these actions are happening “somewhere else.” For residents or Northern Virginia, this week’s Amicus podcast shows us otherwise. Simon Sandoval Moshenberg, who is interviewed, comes from Legal Aid Justice Center (LAJC), right here in Northern Virginia (while LAJC is cited in the podcast, Mr. Moshenberg is currently with Murray Osorio PLLC). His client, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, one of the disappeared, is a legal resident of nearby Maryland. This is not happening far away. This is right here, right now.

Act Today: 1. Visit our events page, click “Community Voices Update,” attend a rally, training, or social gathering. 2. Download, print, and distribute our Community Voices Update flyer.

Simon’s client, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an asylum-seeker who was granted a stay from deportation in 2019, was a sheet-metal worker in Maryland. He was picked up by ICE for reasons that are still not clear, apparently as a result of an “administrative error,” and his presence in one of the many notoriously unreliable police “gang databases.” Last month, in defiance of a judge’s explicit order, three planes took people, mostly Venezuelans, to a dangerous prison in El Salvador. Mr. Abrego Garcia was on the third plane. The Amicus podcast raises a simple question: “Will the Trump administration follow a federal judge’s orders and bring Kilmar Abrego Garcia home?”

Continue reading “Right here, right now”

We in Grassroots Alexandria are getting a lot of inquiries from prospective volunteers. Here is some info to help you get started.

If you want to rally for democracy

Our Community Voices project raises awareness of events and actions that might help us protect our community from the dismantling of public services and the public square (that is, democracy itself), and the looting of public resources by kleptocrats. The Community Voices Update goes out to our email list and to this Facebook page.
To see the weekly Community Voices Update, see our events page or subscribe to the Grassroots Alexandria email list.

In addition, you can connect directly to any of these organizations (this is not a comprehensive list):

https://www.fiftyfifty.one
https://www.harrietsdreams.org
https://indivisible.org
https://linktr.ee/50501DC
https://mdcdsa.org/
https://www.movementinfrastructureproject.org
https://www.peoplepowerunited.org
https://www.anddemocracy.com/events/
Virginia Grassroots resistance events list

If you hear about a local rally or relevant national boycott, please let us know at grassrootsalexandria@gmail.com.

If you want to resist mass deportation

Organizations that are leading this effort in Alexandria are Tenants and Workers United and Legal Aid Justice Center:
https://www.tenantsandworkers.org/ 
https://www.justice4all.org/

Continue reading “What can we do?”

by Jonathan Krall

Recently, a friend observed that politicians seem to dig in their heels whenever activists like us pressure them to act. She asked, “does pressuring these people actually work?” I’ve spent plenty of time pressuring politicians. At my worst, I not only hit my head against a brick wall, I also seem to be helping them build the wall (as I persist, they become better at resisting). At my best, I’m delivering a cogent message while giving one of my politician friends an opportunity to do something positive. Be caring. Be heroic. Share a vision. I now refer to this win-win engagement as “positive pressure.”

Do something different

Sometimes, we take our case to a politician and seemingly fail to be heard. Afterwards, we ask ourselves what to do next. The answer is always the same: “something different.” If talking didn’t seem to work, we try a petition. If our petition is ignored, we seek publicity. If they don’t respond to me, I introduce them to a neighbor. It is one thing to think up yet another engagement strategy. It is quite another entirely to be sure that the  strategy du jour is contributing to a positive future instead of simply turning politicians into enemies.

If we directly attack, they will want to resist. This is human nature. If we insult them, especially if the insult is not accurate, refusing us becomes an act of justice, even heroism. For this reason, positive engagement and indirect pressure are likely to work better.

If we truly expect a decision-maker to act on our request, our first option is positive, win-win engagement. This is especially true when delivering a difficult or discomfiting request for action. On its surface, this “win-win” approach seems to contradict Frederick Douglass’s observation that “Power concedes nothing without a demand.” Frederick Douglass was correct. However, because a demand is simply a request backed up with power and because any demonstration of power contains an implied threat, decision-makers tend to react by heroically (in their mind) digging in their heels. The challenge, therefore, is to make effective demands in ways that minimize the tendency of decision-makers to tell themselves heroic stories of resistance.

Continue reading “Positive pressure for politicians”

by Jonathan Krall

When writing on this website, we have adopted the convention, similar to that of the Washington Post, of capitalizing Black and White whenever we refer to these significant cultural groups. I am occasionally asked why we do this. Today, the idea of capitalizing Black is not as controversial as when W. E. B. Du Bois advocated for Negro instead of negro in the 1920s. In a nation where anti-Black racism is visible daily, the capital B is an elevation. Because Whiteness needs no further elevating, many hesitate to apply the capital W. In his excellent book, How We Win The Civil War, author Steve Phillips says “I am no longer capitalizing ‘white’ because white nationalism has become so powerful…” However, in the Atlantic, Kwame Anthony Appiah quotes two (Black) staffers from the Center for the Study of Social Policy: “To not name ‘White’ as a race … frames Whiteness as both neutral and the standard.” Here, in Virginia, where “white” became a term of law as early as 1705, we can move beyond the “white” default. We can embrace multiculturalism. We can envision a world where race is known only as the archaic social construct that produced those elements of White culture and Black culture that we continue to enjoy.

Embracing knowledge

In November, 2019, I attended an Undoing Racism workshop hosted by OAR and conducted by the People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond. I was taught that it is racist to assume that White is a neutral default, such as in a story where only non-White characters are described in racial terms. Arguing for the capital W and against the idea that white is somehow a neutral default, Appiah states that, “Perhaps a stronger argument would be that white people don’t deserve a lowercase w and shouldn’t be allowed to claim it.”

Continue reading “Multiculturalism in Black and White”

by Jonathan Krall and Mo Seifeldein

Today, in 2024, the decades-long war between Israel and Palestine is a national issue. The post-October-7 “plausible genocide” in Gaza has broken the relative silence surrounding US complicity in this lopsided conflict between a national military and an occupied people. As with Vietnam in 1968 and Apartheid in 1986, students are acting. Students in Virginia universities and activists in Virginia city halls and county boardrooms are doing their best to make Palestine a Virginia issue. Are they correct? We say yes because we uniquely use our Virginia tax dollars to connect Israeli and Virginia tech firms, because Northern Virginia is host to so much of that military technology, and because (plausible) genocide touches so many Alexandria families.

(Plausible) Genocide impacts Alexandria

Let’s begin with one of the most fundamental questions raised by Gaza: how should we respond to a horrific event that is either “a war” or “a genocide”, depending on who you ask?  We note that the International Court of Justice calls the events in Gaza a “plausible genocide,” only because their litigation is ongoing. Weirdly, because genocide is so serious, some institutions and some individuals hesitate to recognize their reality.  Because modern genocides rarely match the stunning planning, mechanization, and scale of the Holocaust, some believe the oft-repeated phrase “never again” does not apply. They lie to themselves and to us.

Our point is not that these are genocides (even though they are; the legal definition is included below). Our point is that the mental gymnastics that seemingly allow our political leaders to tune out the humanitarian crisis in Gaza are letting them ignore other, equally significant humanitarian crises. With the Holocaust as a yardstick, every modern genocide is, seemingly, just another war. These “just another wars” impact Alexandria communities. They have been too-long ignored.

Here in Alexandria, where many speak the Amharic language of Ethiopia or the Arabic language of the Middle East and North Africa, many families were and are touched by genocides in Tigray, Darfur, and Gaza. The politically-convenient blind spots that enable politicians to ignore genocide are making some of these Alexandria families feel ignored and marginalized. We can do better.

Virginia is uniquely entangled with Israel

In Virginia, politics and the military uniquely intersect. The taxpayer-funded Virginia Israel Advisory Board (VIAB) partners Virginia and Israeli businesses to obtain American grant dollars. To our knowledge, only one other state funds a similar entity. Unlike other advisory boards, such as the Virginia LGBTQ+ Advisory Board, VIAB will not advise the Governor to support human rights and will receive taxpayer funding ($244,000 in FY 2024). Other such Virginia boards are unfunded. Citizens in Virginia are questioning this relationship and demanding that it be ended.

Continue reading “What does Palestine have to do with Virginia?”

by Jonathan Krall

On March 12, 2024, after nearly two years of steady effort by a coalition of Alexandrians, the Alexandria City Council passed a resolution in support of Medicare For All, adding to the national map of Medicare For All support. The coalition consisted of Grassroots Alexandria, the Northern Virginia Branch of the Democratic Socialists of America, Our Revolution Northern Virginia, and Tenants and Workers United. This is how we did it.

We were doing so well. We had the votes lined up. Then…

This is part 4 of a 4-part story. Part 1.  Part 2. Part 3.

The process, part 4: we become City Council whisperers

We met with one member in July, emailed back and forth through the summer and fall, and received a draft resolution from him in November. Then nothing.

Continue reading “How We Succeed, part 4: coalition politics”

by Jonathan Krall

On March 12, 2024, after nearly two years of steady effort by a coalition of Alexandrians, the Alexandria City Council passed a resolution in support of Medicare For All, adding to the national map of Medicare For All support. The coalition consisted of Grassroots Alexandria, the Northern Virginia Branch of the Democratic Socialists of America, Our Revolution Northern Virginia, and Tenants and Workers United. This is how we did it.

In many instances, a successful coalition shows that their persistence is greater than the decision-makers’ patience. The price of persistence is time, effort, and (whether we like it or not) higher standards of conduct.

Speaking to City Council

People who speak to City Council for the first time are given a lot of latitude. Some repeat popular myths, such as the myth that most politicians are corrupt (they are not). Others claim that every vote is rigged in advance (also not true). Some cite “facts” that don’t add up. Some are insulting. They are given a pass because public speaking is not easy, because many speakers are inexperienced, and because most political issues are more complex than they seem on the surface. As activists who show up month after month, we ourselves are expected to “learn the ropes.” We no longer get a pass.

Continue reading “How We Succeed, part 3: the price of persistence”

by Jonathan Krall

On March 12, 2024, after nearly two years of steady effort by a coalition of Alexandrians, the Alexandria City Council passed a resolution in support of Medicare For All, adding to the national map of Medicare For All support. The coalition consisted of Grassroots Alexandria, the Northern Virginia Branch of the Democratic Socialists of America, Our Revolution Northern Virginia, and Tenants and Workers United. This is how we did it.

This is part 2 of a 4-part story. Part 1.

During the long months of intermittent Public Health Advisory Commission debate over aspects of public health deserving of their advice (Medicare For All was not deserving), we turned to the public. In July 2022, we posted action-alert messages, asking our supporters to write to the commissions.

As our institutional support campaign seemed to fall on deaf ears, we built up our public support campaign. In October 2022, we drafted a petition and started gathering signatures. While gathering petition signatures for Medicare For All, we received kind words of support from the public. We also received more than our share of skepticism.

Skepticism

Personally, I know I am not the only one who has little faith that Congress will soon deliver the healthcare, public safety, immigration reform, or life-improving climate action that a majority of Americans are asking for. I am not the only one who feels like they’re screaming for billionaire taxation, social security that gets stronger instead of weaker, and a housing safety-net that isn’t a prison. However, even as my faith in American democracy wanes, I follow tradition and fight on.

Continue reading “How We Succeed, part 2: public support”

by Jonathan Krall

On March 12, 2024, after nearly two years of steady effort by a coalition of Alexandrians, the Alexandria City Council passed a resolution in support of Medicare For All, adding to the national map of Medicare For All support. The coalition consisted of Grassroots Alexandria, the Northern Virginia Branch of the Democratic Socialists of America, Our Revolution Northern Virginia, and Tenants and Workers United. This is how we did it.

This is part 1 of a 4-part story.

What is power?

Power is the ability to get a decision-maker to do the right thing when they would prefer to do otherwise. Even when we ask a decision-maker to support a cause that they already favor, they can be hesitant to take action. They might be busy with the annual cycle of meetings. They might not have confidence in public support for this particular “right thing.” When we asked our city council for a Medicare For All resolution, we were adding to their workload.

Coalition power is temporary. Our coalition came together around a specific goal. We built tools, such as flyers and petitions. We demonstrated our power by showing up in public and in the media. Fortunately, power is attractive. When our coalition becomes attractive enough, decision-makers join us. When enough decision-makers join us, we win.

Continue reading “How We Succeed, part 1: visiting commissions and gathering receipts”

by Shira E. and Beth S.

^{Caption: Candidates Aguirre, Bagley, Chapman, and Gaskins respond to a question about holding the school board accountable (photo by Jonathan Krall)}

On May 2, 2024, Grassroots Alexandria partnered with Tenants and Workers United and the Northern Virginia Branch of the Democratic Socialists of America to host a City Council and Mayoral candidate forum. The event took place outdoors at the Tenants and Workers parking lot and was simultaneously translated into Spanish. One out of three Mayoral candidates attended (Alyia Gaskins), as well as ten out of twelve candidates running for City Council: Canek Aguirre (D), Sarah Bagley (D), John Taylor Chapman (D), Abdel Elnoubi (D), Jacinta Greene (D), Kevin Harris (D), Jonathan Huskey (D), James Lewis (D), Kirk McPike (D), and Jesse O’Connell (D). Greene and Elnoubi, current ACPS School Board members, had to leave the forum early to attend a school board meeting.

Continue reading “Mayoral and City Council Candidate Forum”