From the first day of his second term, Donald Trump and his enablers have been flooding us with unimaginable outrages which I will not detail here but which you all know about.
Elon Musk’s gem-encrusted chainsaw was an apt symbol of his extra-governmental agency that cut and slashed everything in government. Then came the so-called “Big Beautiful Bill” that has caused deaths both in America and around the world.
Many of the country’s largest and most prominent law firms, universities and media organizations complied in anticipation of demands from the regime or quickly bent the knee, while Democratic Party leaders were like “deer in the headlights” much longer than we could have imagined.
Truth be told, many of us also felt paralyzed. But I was buoyed by the work of many grassroots groups on the ground as well as national organizations such as Movement Voter Project, the Working Family Party and Indivisible, which sprang into action even in the face of daily assaults on our institutions by the president and the authors of Project 2025 — all of whom were applauded by a totally cowed Republican Party.
It feels as if we can’t do anything in the face of this onslaught, but that is precisely one of the aims of the flood. We actually have had some significant victories in the courts and on the streets, though they have not been widely reported.
I want to focus on a recent big success that was supported by local activism. On July 17, Citizens Bank announced that it would stop lending money — $2.5 billion to date — to the GEO Group and CoreCivic, two for-profit detention centers used by ICE. The campaign against Citizens Bank’s support of these detention centers where human rights abuses are rampant and people have died from neglect or beatings, was a national effort supported by 125 activist groups; 53 religious institutions, including the Greater Boston Interfaith Council, which divested $3 million of its funds from the bank; groups of unions including the AFT at Brown University, which divested $500,000 of its funds; municipalities such as Montclair and Jersey City, New Jersey, which divested their funds; and many others.
Citizens Bank’s decision was also the result of standouts in front of the bank, at detention facilities and the hunger and labor strikes of people incarcerated at Delaney Hall in New Jersey, with their loved ones and supporters standing outside in support, day after day.
Perhaps you were among those who participated in the weekly standouts on King Street in Northampton where Citizens Bank has a branch in Stop & Shop. Perhaps you were among the many individuals who closed your account at the bank in protest, or maybe your faith group divested from Citizens. This action was the result of many groups working together, and that is what it takes to stop the horrendous things that are being done in our name and with our tax dollars.
I want to celebrate this victory and the part Northampton played in this struggle organized by Indivisible Northampton. And while I am at it, let’s remember that Avelo airlines’ decision to completely cease transporting detainees was the result of activism. Many of us were there with our signs.
There are many more struggles to be waged, but we have to acknowledge and celebrate what we have won. We certainly can’t depend on the news media to even note the win, so we have to do it ourselves to help keep us going. And keep going we will.
If you want to know how to get involved in the many weekly and monthly standouts or more, visit the Indivisible Northampton website and sign up for Tuesday Tips, a weekly email that lets you know what is going on locally — Indivisible Northampton – Swing Left Western Mass— Indivisible Mass. Onward!
Arlene Avakian lives in Northampton.