To the Editor:

Many thanks to everyone in Vineyard Haven, West Tisbury, and beyond who supported the June 28–29 yard sale to support Democracy Forward. I am especially grateful to Liza Coogan, Dolly Campbell, and Jennifer Garfield, who organized the event, as well as those who donated items to sell, made purchases, worked the cash registers, and donated to Democracy Forward online. Together, your community raised more than $1,700 to support our work.

Democracy Forward and our partners have been on the frontlines of protecting the American people against the current administration’s attempts to undermine the well-being of people and our democracy as a whole. We have filed nearly 100 legal actions, and have won court orders on behalf of veterans’ groups, houses of worship, unions, nonprofit organizations, and more. Empowered by the support of people across our country, we provide legal services at no cost to our clients to ensure the American people can get into court to defend their rights. 

Your generosity in raising funds to support our work also helped to create community. Building community is essential not just for our work, but for the very existence of democracy. In fact, autocratic movements seek to deprive people of their agency, seeking to convince people that they have no power to make change. To resist these attempts to minimize the power of people, our organization recently launched Dinners for Democracy and Coffee for Change, which encourage people to gather together and create community in this time.

If you are wondering what you can do next, I encourage you to gather your friends, family, or neighbors for a meal or a cup of coffee. Democracy Forward provides free digital resources for you to use at these gatherings, including conversation starters, book recommendations, concrete suggestions on how to advance democracy, and more. You can sign up at democracyforward.org/dinners.

Community creates the conditions for courage — courage to advocate for ourselves and for one another, courage not to give into attempts to divide us. Thank you for all that you are doing to build community and demonstrate courage. Your support for our work means the world to us, and makes a difference in the lives of so many across the nation.

 

Skye Perryman, president and CEO

Democracy Forward