Lately, the rallies and protests have reminded us of our collective power when we can stand united. I stood with my union and fellow activists among the 36,000 in Grand Park with Bernie Sanders and AOC a few weeks ago. With every chant, every handmade sign, every inspiring speech we feel it—that energy. It drives the goosebumps down your arms and brings tears to your eyes. But progress doesn’t stop with a protest and making change goes beyond the rally. This is where it starts. To truly impact our communities, we must move that energy from the streets into the halls of our government where systemic change can be made. The real work of change happens when we show up again and again: at city council meetings, on organizing calls, and at the ballot box. It’s not always flashy or social- me-dia-worthy, but inside those rooms is where power is built and wielded. We cannot allow ourselves to be shut out of the key decisions that continue to lead us in the wrong direction.
As progressives, we often face a barrage of issues; each urgent, each demanding attention. But fighting every battle at once has ex-hausted our strength and now many of us struggle to get folks to show up for the real groundwork beyond the major rallies with the trending hashtags. No shade here, just speaking from experience.
Instead, we must focus on the roots of systemic injustice: the policies, structures, and ideologies that fuel inequality across issues. When we target the root such as campaign finance reform to prevent the voice of the people from being drowned out by corporate money, we don’t just win isolated victories; we shift the foundation, we change the narrative, and we wield our true power.
This means organizing around strategic priorities, building strength that cannot be toppled after one defeat, and aligning our energy with movements that tackle the core of the problem. It’s not about comparing whose struggle is worse than the others, it’s about doing what matters most, with discipline and vision.
So, let’s think about our next steps carefully. Look at who is making the decisions, who holds the keys to the doors, and who is blocking the change that we want to see. It is time to take the rally to the next level. Join a committee. Testify at a public meeting. Volunteer on a campaign. Mentor a new activist. Help educate voters on the issues that matter most. The more educated the vot-er, the more likely they will see beyond the veil of heavily funded campaign commercials, and the 2026 elections are coming up fast.
Systemic change isn’t spontaneous. It’s the result of sustained, strategic, collective effort. The same strategies that were used to take power from us can be used to take our power back. We just have to believe in ourselves and stay focused on the root of the problem.
CCDC family, let’s turn passion into progress. Let’s keep showing up loud in the streets, but be even louder in the system, until it be-comes a system that works for us all. I hope to see you at our next meeting on May 14.