What is Bluegrass Activist Alliance?
We are part of a national Indivisible movement. With more than 5000 members, Bluegrass Activist Alliance represents concerned citizens in Kentucky’s Sixth Congressional District. You can learn more about us at www.bluegrassactivistalliance.org.
How did you get started?
In January, members of a Lexington book club, despondent over the election, agreed that Donald Trump’s racist rhetoric, vindictiveness, greed and general ignorance of the issues posed a real threat to our nation. Some had heard of an online guide that was inspiring thousands of local communities to form resistance groups. Deciding to start the group here, the members spread the news by word of mouth and social media. On Feb. 5, 2017, 220 people showed up at the downtown Lexington library to help launch Indivisible Bluegrass. One year later, Indivisible Bluegrass merged with Together We Will to form Bluegrass Activist Alliance.
Who wrote the Indivisible guide?
The Indivisible Guide was written by five former Congressional aides who witnessed first-hand how the Republican Tea Party movement effectively thwarted President Obama’s agenda. Called Indivisible: A Practical Guide for Resisting the Trump Agenda, the guide shows how progressives can use the very same strategies to resist Trump. One core value of Indivisible is:
- Be firm and persistent. Exert continuing pressure on your members of congress. Deluge their offices with letters, phone calls and visits. Demand they hold town halls and ask them hard questions. Insist they be accountable to you, their constituents.
Is it true that Indivisible is led by outside seasoned organizers?
No. The vast majority of us have never been politically active before. We are Sixth District residents whose only common bond is an abhorrence of the current administration’s divisive and unjust policies and a desire to promote inclusion, compassion, fairness and honesty in government.
Are there any areas in which you would support the President?
Yes. If the President ever proposes a policy that promotes inclusion, fairness, and honesty for all Americans, we will support it.
Is the Indivisible movement having an impact?
Since 2017, the guide has been viewed by over three million users and downloaded two million times. There are more than 6,000 local Indivisible groups—at least one in every Congressional district in the country. Indivisible is an important part of the nationwide resistance movement in which millions of Americans are writing editorials, marching, filing lawsuits, visiting their local members of Congress, and speaking out in other ways against this administration. Spirited resistance from Indivisible and similar groups has contributed to these Trump Administration setbacks:
- The Trump Administration’s first and second attempts at banning citizens from specific Muslim majority countries from entering the United States have been stuck down by the courts.
- Congress has passed a spending bill that flatly rejects most of President Trump’s budget cuts and specifically excludes funding for his controversial border wall.
- A federal judge has blocked Trump’s order to withhold federal funds from the “sanctuary cities” that refuse to assist federal authorities in deporting illegal Hispanic immigrants without criminal records who have been living here for decades.
- Two Congressional committees, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the U.S. Justice Department are investigating Russian influence in the election and possible collusion by the Trump campaign.
- The U.S. Government Accountability Office is investigating conflicts of interest related to the Trump family’s business holdings and the Administration’s dealings with foreign governments.
Where does Indivisible go from here?
The anger and frustration many experienced after the election cannot fade away. Bluegrass Activist Alliance is working with other progressive groups in the Sixth District to effect change in future state and national elections. We will persist with coordination and persistence. We will persist in the knowledge that Donald Trump did not receive a mandate and is an increasingly unpopular president. And we will persist in the belief that inclusion, fairness and honesty must prevail.