Solidarity in the Face of MAGA
Participant Page
Welcome! This page is for registrants in our Winter 2025 Solidarity in the Face of MAGA online training series. All homework materials and session recordings will be posted below. Please do not share this page with those who are not registered for the series. You are welcome to share specific homework materials, but not the link to the page – which will include links to session recordings as they become available.
Homework:
Important Information
Homework: Homework materials for all sessions will be posted below. Please allow around two hours for homework per session. We ask that everyone engage with the study materials and reflection questions prior to each session.
Recordings: Recordings of each live session will be available 1-2 days after it takes place. Links to these recordings will be posted at the top of the homework assignment for the corresponding session. Recordings, along with the participant page as a whole, will remain accessible for three months after our final live session.
Have you read your Course Welcome Letter? Please take time to review this letter and take the action steps outlined within it prior to the course (especially applying for your zoom login if you intend to attend any live sessions).
Questions? If you have questions about any logistical aspects of the course please first visit our FAQ Page. If you can't find your answer there email david@davidbfdean.com.
Session One: What is Solidarity-Based Organizing?
Session Recording: View Here
Chat Log: Read Here
Presentation Content: David's Slides
Study Materials:
Getting Started
Understanding and Navigating Our Current Political Moment
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"Coming to Terms with This Political Moment" – David Dean (3-4 min read). Read only the five paragraph section toward the beginning of this essay titled, "Coming to Terms with This Political Moment." The link above should take you to the right place in the article. This short section is meant to help us understand the current political factions of our ruling class here and throughout the global north.
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Building a Hospitable Left: Excerpt from an Interview with Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor (5 min read)
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10 ways to be prepared and grounded now that Trump has won – Daniel Hunter. Read the first four points listed in the article focused on resourcing ourselves emotionally and return to the remaining six after finishing your homework if time allows. (This initial portion of the article is a 10-15 min read)
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Optional resource: Our Margin of Effort: Looking back and looking ahead – Essay by Max Ebaum to come back to if time allows for a deeper dive on the dynamics of the 2024 presidential election.
Building a Solidarity-Based Analysis and Movement Culture
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How the Billionaires Divide Us: A Message from UAW President Sean Fain (2 min watch)
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Solidarity for Survival: An Interview with Ian Haney López – (Listen to 3 min intro) There is a transcript below the audio, if you would prefer to read. The first three minutes are delineated by a small division in the text.
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Why the Working Class – Vivek Chibber (10-12 min read)
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Self-Interest and the Sacred — Excerpts from the Work of David McDowell, Astra Taylor and Leah Hunt-Hendrix (5 min read)
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Kazu Haga on Belonging — Wider Roots Podcast hosted by Jeremy Blanchard (3 min watch. Watch from the cued point in the video to the moment when the screen goes dark). Both Kazu and Jeremy are friends of mine. Consider pre-ordering a copy of Kazu's book (use code FIERCE20 for a discount) and subscribing to Jeremy's podcast.
Martin Luther King on Race, Class and Coalition-Building
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King on the Populist Movement and the Roots of Segregation in the South (2 min watch)
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The Language of the Unheard: Martin Luther King's Social Democracy – Robert Greene (15-18 min read)
Session Two: How We Got Here
Session Recording: View Here
Chat Log: Read Here
Presentation Content: David's Slides
Before you begin the session two homework we ask that you join us on Mighty Networks, our online community portal for the training, and respond to our "Icebreaker Prompt." To join us on Mighty Networks, read the information and click the join link in this document. Note that you'll also be asked to respond to our "Taking Action" Mighty Network prompt in your activity below.
Activities: View Full Assignment
In the coming homework assignments, we will ask you to go through activities and other related content meant to support you to find more rootedness and direction in your work for social change. These will be a series of exercises related to your personal journey and won't always be tied to the content theme of the session. This week the assignment involves two things related to responding to the current political moment we are in. The first is an exercise to help resource yourself emotionally and the second involves a small call to action. Click here to read the full assignment.
Study Materials
The following video and two essays cover histories of the development of modern Republican political strategy and the struggle of the Democratic establishment and the left to counter it:
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Reverend William Barber II on the "Southern Strategy" (3 min watch)
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Divided and Conquered – Astra Taylor (20-30 min read)
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Trump's Victory and the Left's Dangerous Doppelgangers – Naomi Klein (18-20 min read). This is an excerpt from Naomi Klein's recent book, Doppelganger, that she recently sent out in her newsletter. It's really illuminating in the way it uncovers the shifts in right-wing strategy since the pandemic began as well as the left's struggle to respond to these shifts. Klein closely tracks the tactics of Trump strategist, Steve Bannon, and examines the ways in which he methodically worked to broaden the MAGA coalition in time for the 2024 election. If you're short on time, I would prioritize reading this piece. You also might want to briefly read the book description too as it could help with understanding a few contextual things in this excerpt.
Session Three: Palestine: Solidarity in the Face of Settler Colonialism
Session Recording: View Here
Chat Log: Read Here
Presentation Content: David's Slides
Study Materials:
Getting Started
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An Introduction to Session Three Study Materials (4-5 min read)
Palestine, Settler Colonialism, and Global Capitalism
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The Set-Up of Settler Colonialism: From the US, to Ireland, to Palestine – An Essay From David (25-30 min read or listen)
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Israel is a core pillar of US dominance – Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) summarizing Adam Hanieh's "Framing Palestine" (3 min read)
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Why a Liberated Palestine Threatens Global Capitalism – Jason Hickel (1 min watch)
Palestine Solidarity in the Trump era, the weaponization of antisemitism accusations, and collective liberation
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Has Fire Ceased? – Eman Abdelhadi (3 min read)
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Trump would turn Gaza into Beachfront Property – JVP (3 min read)
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"Project Esther": The Heritage Foundation's blueprint for attacking the Palestine solidarity movement (and an attempt to build a framework for attacking all progressive organizing) – JVP (3 min read)
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Trump's 1/29 Executive Order (Drawing on Project Esther) – Palestine Legal (3 min read)
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Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions – Omar Barghouti (A 2011 interview about a movement that continues to be an essential part of international solidarity with Palestine, as it was in the long struggle against South African apartheid; 6 min watch)
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Optional: Explore The BDS Movement website
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Jonathan Rochkind on Palestinian freedom and it's connection to our collective liberation (From March 2024; 3 min watch)
Reflection on Getting Involved in Social Movement Organizing for the Long-Haul
While the previous study materials were Palestine-specific, these are meant to return us to our individual journeys of finding a meaningful, sustainable place for ourselves in the work of social change. They call us to reflect on involvement in independent political organizations and/or labor activism, two key flanks of the solidarity-based movement we need to build (we'll learn more about the importance of each in our next session's study materials).
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How to get involved in an activist organization and become a valuable volunteer–starting today – Laura Casado (5-7 min read)
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Joining a Political Organization (5 min read; 15+ mins of research)
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Building the Labor Movement Inside and Outside Your Workplace (5-7 min read or listen)
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Naomi Klein on the theme of "rest" while being part of a movement (1 min watch; watch from cued moment to end of Klein's words)
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Optional: The real fight against Elon's coup has begun – J.P. Hill (10 min read). Focus on the previous resources in this section and read this one if you have time. It's meant to offer inspiration about the promise of organized community members and workforces in this political moment.
Quick Calls to Action to Consider
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Building Momentum Toward an Arms Embargo – Arab Resource and Organizing Center (AROC)
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Tell University of California Regents: Protect student protesters from deportation and set a nationwide precedent – Jewish Voice for Peace
Related Resources for Optional Deeper Study:
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More related to Project Esther: Article by Ryan Grim and Murtaza Hussain (5-7 min read); Short Clip from Dylan Saba (3 min watch); Project Esther Full Text From the Heritage Foundation
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Framing Palestine: Israel, the Gulf States, and American Power in the Middle East (Full article -shorter summary in study materials above) – Adam Hanieh
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On Visions of a Decolonial Future: Can Palestinians and Israelis coexist in a single democratic state? – Alain Alameddine and Seth Morrison (15-20 min read); Freeing Judaism from Ethno-Nationalism – Peter Beinart (Short watch)
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Violent Settler Colonialism Caused this War – An Interview with Rashid Khalidi
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Why a Liberated Palestine Threatens Global Capitalism (Longer version of short clip above) – Jason Hickel (7 min watch)
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"Reel Bad Arabs" – Trailer for documentary on how anti-Arab racism in Hollywood enables U.S. militarism and genocide (1 min watch)
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How to Fight Antisemitism and Win - Shane Burley and Ben Lorber (10-15 min read)
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Israel, Palestine, and the Doppelganger Effect – Two Chapters from Naomi Klein's book Doppelganger (downloadable at this link)
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Palestine: A Socialist Introduction – Book edited by Sumaya Awad and brian bean (link to purchasable paperback and free e-book from Haymarket Books)
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How Irish Dunnes Stores workers who fought against South African apartheid inspire radical Palestine Solidarity – Beauty Dhlamini (7 min read)
Session Four | Blocking MAGA, Building our Movements & Finding Your Political Home: A Teach-In with Bill Fletcher Jr.
Session Recording: View Here
Chat Log: Read Here
Study Materials:
Getting Started
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An Introduction to Session Four Homework (3-4 min read)
The Block and Build Organizing Framework
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Block and Build 2.0 – Convergence Magazine Editorial Staff (25-30 min read)
Short Journaling Prompt (5-7 min):
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This "Block and Build 2.0" piece was a lengthy essay with many insights and suggestions. Take out a journal (or find a place to type) and write down two or three points from the piece that particularly struck you. How did these understandings impact you? Are there ways you could make use of these insights in your own activism?
Important Insights and Communication Tools for Building a Broad, Powerful and Welcoming Progressive-Socialist Left (25 min total)
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Building Power to Win: Organize more than you mobilize and listen more than you talk – Jane McAlevey (5 min watch)
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Race-Class Messaging: Messaging Toolkit from Demos Action (3-4 min read); An Example from David (1 min watch). Note: This communication tool can also be adapted to inoculate people against the scapegoating of other groups (i.e. trans and non-binary people, feminists, anti-genocide protestors, and more).
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Loretta Ross on "Calling People In" (rather than "calling them out") (1 min watch) – As mentioned in session one, our goal is to create a movement culture that challenges bias and oppression while affirming all people's fundamental stake, role, and belonging in shared struggle.
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Kazu Haga on Belonging — Wider Roots Podcast hosted by Jeremy Blanchard (3 min watch. Watch from the cued point in the video to the moment when the screen goes dark). This was a resource from your session one homework, however we're including it here for anyone who missed it.
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Nothing More Powerful than a Strike – Jane McAlevey (1 min watch)
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On Democratic Socialism and the Importance of International Solidarity – Excerpt from an Essay of David's (7-8 min read or listen).
Personal Assessment Activity:
View Full Assignment (20 mins to 1 hour, depending on how much time you choose to spend with it)
In this activity, you will journal about your current level of political involvement and how you may want to shift or deepen it. Our political engagement is most effective when we base it alongside others in an organization or group. This exercise is meant to help you discern how to shape your participation in such a collective effort in a way that is sustainable for you, meaningful, and more aligned with the lessons and insights you've gained from this course. Click here to read the full assignment.
After you finish this activity, please share your response to the final activity prompt about your "next step" in the comments of this Mighty Networks post.
If you haven't yet made a profile on Mighty Networks please do that first by following the instructions here.
Related Resources for Optional Deeper Study:
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How We Can Defend Ourselves in the New Trump Era – Read or Listen to this Interview with Bill Fletcher Jr. by The Nation Magazine's Dave Zirin
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Organizing to Win a Green New Deal – Jane McAlevey on the importance of organized labor within larger social movements (written in 2019)