Over the summer, I asked one question: What is the future of We (the People) Dissent? How can I continue to record the stories of resistance and move people to action?
Then it occurred to me: People need hope AND practical action steps.
The headlines are devastating. Rights are under assault. Community members are languishing in detention centers. Well-paying jobs are scarce. Public lands are being stripped. Every day, we close our browsers and shove aside the rising tide of hopelessness.
It’s not that we don’t want to act: It’s that we don’t know how.
Starting today, We (the People) Dissent will share one story of hope, as well as one strategy to push back against a recent assault on our freedom. The calls to action will be timely and take a page from resistance history.
It will be published daily (well, nearly), and the experiment will last two weeks. At which point, I’ll ask for your input.
So, what role can you play? You can submit stories of hope. People need to hear all the good that is happening. Whether it’s a protest of one or a walk-out of hundreds, it matters. Links to local newspapers are welcome, as are original stories not covered elsewhere.
Second, you can submit ideas. I want to hear about creative, poignant, powerful strategies. Share them.
Finally, share. My hope is for these stories and strategies to land in the hands of 200,000 people weekly. We have a ways to go. And if you’re new here, subscribe
BLUE ASH, OH
Hundreds of people lined Kenwood and Malsbury roads in Blue Ash, Ohio, early Sunday morning outside a federal immigration office. They gathered to stand with their Haitian neighbors.
Ignite Peace partnered with Miami Valley Immigration Coalition to organize the demonstration that drew over 500 community members. They flew Haitian flags. They chanted, “Immigrants are welcome here!” Their signs read “Love over hate” and “When tyranny becomes law, rebellion becomes duty.”
Blue Ash, OH, is one location where local Haitian immigrants have been ordered to appear after the Supreme Court upheld the President’s decision to end their protected status. Since the ruling, community members have begun to receive letters mandating check-ins. At these check-ins, several have been outfitted with ankle monitors, causing several activists to draw a parallel to the yellow stars worn during the Third Reich
“A lot of Cincinnatians don’t know that there’s an ICE field office in Blue Ash in the first place,” Kelly Sheehy, with Ignite Peace, told the Springfield News-Sun. “Let alone that people are being asked to drive over 70 miles from their homes for these check-ins when they’ve already been stripped of their driver’s license. They’ve already been stripped of their work permits.”
If you live in Ohio and would like to be involved, connect with Ignite Peace or Miami Valley Immigration Coalition. In regions with Haitian and Syrian refugee populations, form mutual aid networks. Along with the loss of their status, many have lost their work permits as well.
Every week, this publication maintains one of the nation’s most comprehensive databases of protests. It also shares calls to action and stories of hope.
All of this continues because paid subscribers support it for as little as $5 a month.
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📝 LIST of protests this week
🗺️ MAP of protests this week
In the southwest, a battle is waging. It is being fought by conservationists and local businesses. They are the David to the federal government’s Goliath.
The battleground is the southern border, specifically, the stretch of canyons, rivers, and plains that stretch through Big Bend National Park. Instead of untouched vistas, access roads will soon mark the landscape. Along stretches snaking near the Rio Grande, a wall will skirt the mountains and shorelines.
In a social media post, Laiken Jordahl, an advocate with the Center for Biological Diversity, wrote, “We hear they will soon be building a man camp to house construction workers in the national park. They will be pumping massive amounts of groundwater for construction. They will be dynamiting Mariscal Mountain and other sheer canyon walls to build senseless roads through the wilderness. They will be putting up steel vehicle barriers in locations vehicles have never and could never cross the border.
“We're witnessing the beginning of the biggest attack on an American national park in generations.”
In an open letter to Texas senators and Governor Abbott, over 140 businesses called for the state to stand against the project. According to the letter, though Big Bend occupies a 517-mile stretch of the border, it saw just 1.3% of all southwest border apprehensions.
“On March 9, 2026, all five border sheriffs in the Big Bend region issued a bipartisan joint statement opposing barrier construction, stating that steep mountain ranges, deep canyons, expansive desert landscapes, and the Rio Grande itself already create formidable natural barriers, and that border security is not a one- size-fits-all proposition.”
On the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol page, Smart Wall Map, you can view the details of the project. Contracts can be viewed on the USAspending.gov website. According to this site, three companies have been contracted to build a combination of walls and roads in and near Big Bend National Park: Barnard Construction, Southwest Valley Contractors, and Fisher Sand & Gravel.
Resistance history has taught us that one of the most effective forms of protest is targeted boycotts and protests. In addition, local businesses can hold incredible sway when they work together. Here are a few ways to help.
Sign the petition and stay connected by visiting No Big Bend Wall.
There will be a protest in the park on August 12 at 9:00 AM. Get details. Poster below. Similar protests have happened in Austin and El Paso. Connect locally to stay involved.
Make the Barnard Construction, Southwest Valley Contractors, and Fisher Sand & Gravel infamous
Write, call, or email the companies. Do not make threats. Instead, voice your disapproval.
Protest outside of their offices and construction sites.
Post pictures of Big Bend and talk about the destruction.
Comment on posts about the park. Talk about the companies responsible for this destruction.
Call on environmental activists, travel bloggers, and outdoor apparel brands to take a stand.
On Big Bend park reviews, mention the companies. Talk about the destruction taking place.
Read this article.
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