Resistance Radio – Boulder CAN

“Go to their offices, try to schedule meetings, if you can’t get a meeting, picket outside until somebody comes and talks to you.”

Since the election of Donald Trump, countless Facebook groups have emerged working around political activism. Many of those online groups have now evolved into organizations that are mobilizing people in all 50 states to become more politically active. One such group is Boulder CAN, part of the Colorado Action Network which has between 10 and 15 chapters around the state.

Jennifer Rose is an organizer with Boulder CAN, she told KGNU’s Maeve Conran that the group has been making phone calls to Senators and Representatives, and showing up for marches and rallies to make sure members of Congress know they feel. She says the best way to have your voice heard is by speaking to your representatives in person.

“Go to their offices, try to schedule meetings, if you can’t get a meeting, picket outside until somebody comes and talks to you; going to town halls and just showing that we’re here and we’re active is…the most effective way to get through. The second most effective is making those phone calls.”

Boulder CAN has several “teams” focusing on specific issues—including healthcare, women’s rights, and immigrants and refugees—that help to develop calls to action for their members. The group also looks to the Indivisible Guide, a guide created by former Capitol Hill staffers to help resist the Trump Administration’s agenda.

While Rose hopes the group can organize events itself, she says it is important that members support other groups that are already doing activist work.

“One of the things that we’re trying to do is mobilize members to support existing groups. I mean, we don’t really want to be reinventing the wheel…so we want to find the groups and work with the groups that have already been fighting against injustice and inequality and also threats to women’s reproductive rights and other rights, and support their work.”

Resistance Radio – Boulder CAN KGNU News

You can find more about Boulder CAN by visiting their Facebook page: www.facebook.com/bouldercan

You can also learn more about the Indivisible Guide at www.indivisibleguide.com

Resistance Radio is a regular feature that airs every Monday on KGNU during the Morning Magazine, highlighting local groups that are working around political resistance.