Betterment and Praxis

Welcome to the NYC Directory of Resources and Aid (DORA) — a community-powered map and directory connecting New Yorkers to essential resources across all five boroughs.

October 18 stands as a massive organizing opportunity. Bring petition sheets for ballot initiatives and gather signatures while you march. Distribute flyers with specific instructions on contacting state representatives with concrete demands: arrest ICE agents who overstep their authority, fire and criminally charge police officers who fail to prevent abuses of power, pass state laws barring Trump from appearing on ballots if he attempts a third term. Push your state to ban local agencies from cooperating with unconstitutional federal actions, encourage Attorneys General to investigate and charge corrupt politicians, establish state-level safety nets to replace threatened federal benefits, join multi-state compacts for healthcare and civil rights protection, and expand voting rights, voting hours, and ballot access in states like Texas where suppression is systematic. Bring literature explaining these measures and how to pressure legislators to adopt them. The gathering of two million people is wasted if everyone just walks and goes home. Turn the crowd into a recruitment and coordination network for the sustained campaigns that follow.

Hope isn’t passive. It’s not some gauzy filter or fluffy feeling. It’s a lens. A stance. A refusal to let cynicism have the last word.

The FBI drugged Fred Hampton, then shot him in the head while he slept. The next morning, Black Panthers served free breakfast to 50,000 children.

Hosted by the Brooklyn Public Library, this Burner Phone 101 workshop introduced participants to phone-related risk modeling, privacy-protective smartphone practices, the full spectrum of burner phone options, and when to leave phones behind entirely.

Faith traditions call us to welcome the stranger, protect the vulnerable, and love our neighbors.

This guidebook offers practical tools and principles for peacekeepers, rooted in the belief that nonviolent discipline is not just a tactic — it’s a strategy for resilience. By projecting calm, modeling solidarity, and preparing for the unexpected, peacekeepers help movements withstand pressure without fracturing. If fear is the goal, then solidarity is the antidote.

For the April 1, 2025, Illinois Consolidated Elections, I created a voters’ guide to contested public library board elections. This wasn’t the initial plan; I intended to cover all the boards with elections. But the effort was Herculean, even with a group of dedicated volunteers, and ultimately, it wasn’t the guide’s goal. So rather than try to cover every public library election on the ballot, I focused exclusively on those elections where there were more candidates than open positions (that is, they were contested elections).

Environmental activist and author Robin Greenfield is known for his fully committed experiments in ecological living. His most recent book, Food Freedom: A Year of Growing and Foraging 100% of My Food, covers his efforts to live entirely independently from the industrial food system. Greenfield succeeded only by relying on others who guided him in his gardening, fishing, and foraging, and came to understand the profound power of community and how naturally that flows through food.

We need more discussion spaces and more spiritual and emotional support groups. While some on the left are dismissive of gatherings and activities that are not grounded in productivity, we must acknowledge that the connective tissue we need to move, build, and care collectively is lacking. In addition to not being bonded to one another, we often lack the skills to build those bonds. Plenty of people and products are primed to exploit those shortcomings. We must present alternatives, issue invitations, and welcome people into the messy process of building relationships.

There is a common admonition that often circulates on social media, especially among leftists, that goes something like: You don’t have to ask what you would’ve done during the Holocaust, or any other historical atrocity. You're doing it right now. These words are valuable in that they encourage us to abandon fantasies of who we would have been in another context, and to live our values here and now.

an eight page zine about different ways to support your local library! made for adults but is kid/teen friendly as well.

We’re fighting to protect and expand Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid; lower drug prices; ensure economic justice for all; and guarantee health care as a human right—because everyone deserves to live in dignity.

To be in shape for the long haul, we have to get our minds and spirits ready, as well as jump into action.

Kia ora and happy new year 🎉

Jury nullification is a term used to describe a situation when jurors decide to acquit a person of criminal charges even though the person on trial could technically be convicted based on the evidence. Jury nullification is a concrete, practical way that jurors can assert their values and stop people from going to jail or prison, and it is one approach that we can use, alongside many others, to disrupt the carceral state.

The Trump administration has placed all federal workers in its crosshairs — from executive orders on DEI and return to office, to mass layoffs, destruction of teams, and shuttering of departments — with more to come. It’s easy to feel demoralized, but many workers just like you are stepping up.

[Image description: a largish cardboard box containing around a hundred packets of vegetable seeds]

Just wanted to share the servers Gardenfence has identified as hate sources so you can curate your fedi experience better.

I just signed up for the RSS feeds that tell you what bills are going through the senate, congress, and the oval office. I recommend this subscription.

for your propaganda use

Growing up in Arizona (little fluffy clouds), this unnecessary twice-a-year routine is still baffling.

Origin and Mission: The Visibility Brigade model was born in 2020 out of a frustration due to the lack of physical messaging in the real world regarding the existential crisis we face as a nation. People need “social proof” to know how best to act and we deliver this weekly. We present our messages at a pedestrian walkway over Route 4 in Paramus, New Jersey. Our goal is to remind folks of this crisis, to suggest simple actions to take and to support pro-democratic state and national candidates. However, perhaps the greatest purpose at present is to comfort heartbroken voters and let them know that they are not alone.

"We have less than 30 days until the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) laws are rescinded. This is the 50-year bedrock of American environmental conservation. Normally, these actions take years but the administration has provided 30 days for public comment gutting clean water and clean air. Please stop scrolling for 2 minutes and populate the Federal Register with dissent. The comment period ends on MARCH 27!

STATE OF PLAY: WHY WE’RE TAKING ACTION

Because knowledge is power, learn about active boycotts right now.

This workbook is intended as an extension of the book Let This Radicalize You: Organizing and the Revolution of Reciprocal Care by Kelly Hayes and Mariame Kaba. It was created to feature resources that the authors couldn't fit in the book, including other helpful books, essays, wisdom from veteran organizers, and more. Educator and activist Ursula Wolfe-Rocca drafted the "Souped-Up Study Guide," which is the core of this workbook. The other components are included as a supplement to the guide. The workbook is designed so that it can be used by independent study groups and individuals outside of group settings.

If you look, there are people resisting at every level. Blockades of freeways. American Bar Association urging an end to illegal orders. Past inspector generals penning op-eds, as a current inspector general refuses to accept her illegal firing. The Pope slamming VP Vance’s theology.

Every year, there are constant calls for solidarity actions both nationally and internationally. In recent years, the go to action of choice for many has been banner drops along highly trafficked streets and freeways. We in no way shape or form want to take away from these actions. Banner drops can be seen by potentially thousands of people, photos of the banners can be shared online, and write ups of the action give those behind it a chance to issue a statement of solidarity. Moreover, banner drops are also often easy to carry out and help build trust and confidence between those doing the action.

A nice interactive map and live list of available mutual aid in the US.

An option to take action.

A maintained list of DEI and Anti-DEI companies.

As we enter an era of increased authoritarianism in this country, it will be critical to stay true to our values. The siren song of the right is intended to entice many to abandon their principles, and their fellow Americans, capitulating in order to protect themselves or in a misguided attempt to attract conflicted voters. To fall into this trap is to lend credence and credibility to the MAGA Agenda. Americans consistently favor progressive policies – from our freedom to decide if and when to start a family, to our freedom to join together in union, to our freedom to shine bright as our true selves - and we must continue to promote them.

Maybe you’re wondering, “What should I do in these times?” What we have put down here are some meaningful places to start — doable, local, impactful, and important.

Hello everybody.

Mōrena buzzy bees!

A helpful guide on how to be less frustrating towards people of color.

This is the original source for the link I posted in !science@beehaw.org. I hope it can help someone in our community.

On a summer afternoon in 2019, nurse Charlotte Lay got ready for her night shift as normal but "wasn't feeling quite right".