{"id":26711,"date":"2025-04-30T14:07:12","date_gmt":"2025-04-30T18:07:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/?p=26711"},"modified":"2025-04-30T14:07:12","modified_gmt":"2025-04-30T18:07:12","slug":"why-showing-up-as-allies-matters-right-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/why-showing-up-as-allies-matters-right-now\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Showing Up as Allies Matters Right Now"},"content":{"rendered":"

Beloved UUs,<\/span><\/p>\n

This plea is a lengthy one, and it comes from my heart at a crucial moment, as the administration\u2019s first 100 days near completion. In Texas, a ground zero in the fight against injustice, we are now past the halfway mark in our state legislative session.<\/span><\/p>\n

Summary:<\/b> Marginalized communities are doing the heavy lifting\u2014again. If you’re an ally, now is the time to step up and show up. The fight against anti-immigrant and anti-trans bills in Texas and other places across the U.S. needs all of us, because our liberation is bound together.<\/span><\/p>\n

Even if you can\u2019t do everything, you can do something. What will you do?<\/span><\/p>\n

The whole story:<\/b> I wasn\u2019t able to be at the Texas Capitol in person recently, at an essential juncture due to illness, but I was supporting from behind the scenes and watching the live broadcasts of multiple House committee hearings. I witnessed something that deeply moved me. One of the hearings was on HB 5580\u2014a bill that, like its companion SB 8, would allow local sheriffs across Texas to act as ICE agents, stopping anyone they choose, demanding proof of citizenship, and detaining them at will. In Texas, we are a Beta Test for what the federal government is looking to do elsewhere; what happens in Texas does not stay in Texas.<\/span><\/p>\n

What I saw, as testimony unfolded, was powerful: BIPOC leaders, immigrant organizers, and community members once again showing up with courage, truth, and love for their people. Some had waited all day to testify. Many spoke with determination and fire in their voices. These are the folks who are on the front lines\u2014again and again\u2014carrying the burden not only of surviving these policies but also of resisting them. Did you see the article UUSJ circulated last month? <\/span>They\u2019re coming for immigrants first<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>\u201cAnd the Trump administration is signaling that no one else might be safe, either.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

I saw similar courage and heartbreak in hearings affecting our trans community. Bill after bill, designed to erase, endanger, or silence trans lives, has been met with testimony from those most impacted\u2014trans folks, their families, and the advocates who love them. Over and over, they showed up, despite the cost. Despite the exhaustion. Despite the trauma. They spoke with raw honesty and radical love, defending their right to exist and to thrive. What about the other article UUSJ circulated, <\/span>The Attack on Trans Rights Won\u2019t End There. Once legal rights begin to fall, they fall for everyone<\/span>.<\/span><\/a> \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In both of these spaces, I was left in awe\u2014and also grieving. The communities under attack are doing the heavy lifting, bearing the emotional and physical toll of advocacy and pushing back against systems that refuse to see their full humanity.<\/span><\/p>\n

To those who are showing up, thank you. Thank you! We love you!<\/span><\/p>\n

Whether you are directly impacted or an ally, whether you\u2019re at the Capitol or organizing from home, whether you’re calling, writing, donating, or praying\u2014you matter. Your efforts make a difference.<\/span><\/p>\n

At the same time, I want to share a deep longing from my heart: [Continue Reading]<\/span><\/p>\n