9.9.25 Action Center Update
Welcome to the Action Center Weekly Update. Each week, we’ll share:
A brief analysis of critical issues in this political moment
Immediate actions you can take
Resources to deepen knowledge and strengthen our collective work to side with love
Nothing is inevitable. Justice movements are built by ordinary people who come together to defeat oppression and nurture a loving world. You are not alone. We have power. Together, we can create a just and thriving future.
Movements are strongest when we act together. Organize with your teams and networks, and take these actions in community. For practical tools, see our Organizing School and Skill Up resources.
Democracy
We are in a contest for the future. And as the midterm elections approach, This Administration seeks to choose its voters and the outcome. Last week, Trump announced plans for an Executive Order mandating voter ID for all elections and significantly limited mail-in voting. The Department of Justice sought access to 2020 voting machines in Missouri. Abbott signed the redistricting bill, which adds 5 congressional districts designed to advantage Republicans. In a democracy, voters chose their leaders and this process is being undermined at an alarming scale. As we await action on the massive voter suppression bill, the SAVE Act, in the Senate, democracy groups are mobilizing to stop this devastating bill. We cannot beat authoritarianism at the ballot box alone, and it is still a battlefield that we cannot cede. As people of faith and conscience, we believe in a democratic world where all thrive. We find our power by calling that world into being by practicing democracy at every scale, in our communities, in our labor unions, and in our government.
Join:
UU the Vote coalition partners at Declaration for American Democracy for a national movement call on September 10, 7pm ET/6pm CT/ 4pm PT. They break down the latest on the fight against the federal SAVE Act in the Senate, expose Trump’s dangerous attempts at a federal takeover of elections and Washington, D.C., and highlight the redistricting battles shaping the future of fair representation across the states.
Listen to episode “Collective Care in the AIDS Crisis” from the Practical Radicals podcast to learn about how care is an essential practice of democracy that supports and strengthens our movements.
Read:
The Brennan Center’s brief “The Trump Administration’s Campaign to Undermine the Next Election.
Take Action:
to stop the Save Act. Use the DFAD partner toolkit to mobilize your congregations.
Learn: Legal Guide: How to be a conduit of wealth redistribution
Gender & LGBTQ Justice
Core Principle: Every body is sacred. We affirm that trans people are divine, abortion is a blessing, and no one is disposable. Attacks on identity are designed to divide us—solidarity is our moral and strategic mandate.
The Update:
This week, trans rights face new challenges and opportunities for action. Take action by submitting your public comment via PFLAG to oppose federal attempts to criminalize gender-affirming care, as 26 states already enforce bans. In the news, USA Cycling announced the strictest policy yet, barring transgender women from female categories starting September 15. In culture, The Guardian spotlights why trans art matters, featuring Amy Sherald’s work centering Black and trans representation in portraiture. Get involved by donating to Advocates for Trans Equality (A4TE), helping fuel bold advocacy and political strategies. And for deeper context, listen in with Slate’s What Next and Outward podcasts, unpacking the escalating barriers to trans healthcare under the current administration.
Take Action:
Submit Your Comment on Gender-Affirming Care via PFLAG - 26 states have anti-trans healthcare bans, with more states trying to pile on with trans discrimination. Now, the federal government is trying to criminalize medically necessary healthcare for trans, nonbinary, and intersex youth.
It’s time to take action in support of our loved ones!
Resources:
Read: USA Cycling bans transgender athletes from female categories beginning September 15, 2025, “The new policy is the strictest eligibility criteria USA Cycling has adopted to date regarding transgender participation, and follows direction from the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC).”
Learn: The Guardian: Why trans art matters more than ever: ‘It reflects how people live and love’ - “Part of the magic of portraiture is how it renders so much of the human experience accessible to us, things we might never see otherwise. This has been very much on Black artist Amy Sherald’s mind. When I spoke to her in advance of the debut of her exhibition American Sublime, she told me that Black representation was foundational to her practice: “I developed this idea that, when I look at art history, for the most part I don’t see portraits of people that look like me. So it started there.”
Join: Support the Fight for Trans Equality - “Your donation to Advocates for Trans Equality (A4TE), a 501(c)(4) organization, fuels bold legal, policy, and political advocacy to defend trans rights, push back against discrimination, and build a future where all trans people can participate and succeed in American life. Your support helps power the political and electoral strategies our movement needs to create lasting change. We're deeply grateful for your solidarity and commitment.”
Watch/Listen: From What Next: Trans and Shut Out in Trump’s America | Outward: Slate's LGBTQ podcast - “Trans rights and access to health care have been under attack on the state level for years, but the second Trump administration and the Supreme Court have accelerated a chilling effect at clinics across the country.”
Decriminalization & Immigration
Core Principle: Criminalization and dehumanization deny the dignity of our communities. Safety cannot come at the expense of others. As people of faith, we proclaim a future of care, abundance, and mutuality—not domination.
The Update:
A federal judge declared Trump’s occupation of LA over immigration protests illegal, and DC is next, suing the President as ICE kidnappings increase and he threatens to occupy Chicago and New Orleans. Meanwhile, more than 10,000 people were out in the streets in DC on Saturday united in their demand for an end to Trump's occupation. FreeDC reports that the DC “occupation is not over by a long shot. We also learned this week that Stephen Miller is the person running Trump's occupation of DC — and he wants to keep it going all through next year. DC is united against Trump's occupation, and we have what it takes to win. We saw that on display today and it was a powerful reminder of what is possible when we take collective action”
Take Action:
Tell Congress to stand down the federal escalation - FreeDC asks allies across the country, DC has no voting representatives in Congress. That means there is no one who can advocate for us right now — so we need your help. We want Congress to do everything in their power to stand down the escalation of federal forces in DC.
Prepare for possible increased military presence in your region with this Harnessing Our Power to End Political Violence (HOPE-PV) framework and getting clear on what you have to offer through Congregational Asset Mapping
Resources:
Read: On September 6, more than 10,000 people came together in DC to demand an immediate end to Trump’s occupation of the District. Get inspired by these photos here
Learn: Safe Schools for Every Student: A Comprehensive Guide for Action. This guide — adapted from the National Education Association’s Guidance on Immigration Issues — lays out a comprehensive plan for action, helping Indivisible groups safeguard immigrant children in their communities.
Watch/Listen:The Trap of Law and Order Under Fascism, Movement Memos Podcast with Kelly Hayes and Andrea Ritchie. “There’s no rule of law that’s going to get us out of where we are,” says author and organizer Andrea Ritchie.
Climate Justice
Core Principle: A just and loving world is also a flourishing one. A fossil-free future is possible, where clean energy is a human right and all beings thrive. To get there, we must create new systems, norms, and practices.
The Update: The Trump regime is making clear connections between racial justice, gender justice, trans justice, environmental justice, and climate justice to enable malicious action against communities.
In Side With Love’s August 19 Action Center update, we shared the update of a coalition class-action lawsuit, first of its kind, suing Trump’s EPA over their cancellation of $3bn from the Environmental and Climate Justice (ECJ) block grant to “help historically disadvantaged communities come up with local solutions to improve resilience in the face of worsening climate shocks and environmental degradation.” On August 29, a federal judge tossed out the lawsuit and became the first court to rule in favor of Trump’s EPA. His decision was based entirely on a precedent recently set by the Supreme Court which ruled in favor of Trump on August 21 “allowing the Trump administration to cut off health research grants it contends advance diversity, equity and inclusion efforts or promote ‘gender ideology extremism’.”
Connected with this fight is the equally large issue of Trump’s EPA freezing the entire fund for greenhouse gas reduction projects, which totals $20bn. Both this $20bn and the $3bn for Environmental and Climate Justice block grants were created by Congress through the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. Grant recipients sued the EPA over the termination of climate action funding, and Judge Tanya Chutkan of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia sided with them, issuing an injunction against the funding terminations, ruling that the EPA had violated the law and the Constitution.
On Tuesday, the court of Appeals sided with Trump’s EPA on the “climate grant terminations fight” removing Judge Chutkan’s injunction. The court majority agreed with the Trump administration’s argument that: “The grantees are not likely to succeed on the merits because their claims are essentially contractual, and therefore jurisdiction lies exclusively in the Court of Federal Claims.” The Trump administration is trying to break the coalition and force each individual grant recipient into its own siloed case in the Court of Federal Claims. They do this because they know that people are easier to defeat when they are divided. In the latest court of Appeals, the grantees have an opportunity to appeal the decision. Even if the courts uphold the decision, “additional litigation will follow – and EPA could find itself on the hook for the outstanding balance.”
Act:
Deepen your understanding of how climate justice intersects with other justice issues by completing a power impact analysis (as outlined in the Climate Disaster Preparedness for UUs toolkit).
Submit a public comment urging the EPA to uphold the Endangerment Finding. The Environmental Protection Agency aims to repeal its own 2019 Endangerment Finding which forms the foundation for the EPA to regulate polluting greenhouse gas emissions and meaningfully respond to the climate crisis. The EPA is accepting public comments through September 22. Review the Federal Register guidance for public comments. You can read Pres. Sofía’s call to action to ground your comments in UU values and use the Climate Action Toolkit to prepare your comments. Submit commits online on the Federal Register website and Regulations.gov.
Read:
Appeals court sides with EPA in climate grant terminations fight
Judge dismisses EPA grant termination lawsuit
Learn:
Get updates on the latest development with EPA’s ‘endangerment finding’ and what you can do at https://sidewithlove.org/endangerment-finding.
Watch:
Climate at the Intersections videos - an ongoing series about how climate justice intersects with other issues of justice.
Join:
UUA Strategies to Advance Climate Justice - Green Sanctuary 2030 Community Meeting
September 17, 2025 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM ET Online
President Sofía’s UU Climate Justice Working Group was established to identify where our faith calls us to lead, beyond narrowly defined “net zero” goals towards equitable decarbonization, community resilience, and a just transition from fossil fuels to a clean energy future. Join Mathew Jensen, UUA Senior Investment Officer, and Rachel Myslivy, UUA Climate Justice Strategist, to learn about the Working Group’s Draft Commitments for Culture and Resources. Come together for shared learning and mutual supports with other UUs transforming our congregations through climate justice. Green Sanctuary 2030 community meetings take place on the third Wednesday of the month at 4PT - 5MT - 6CT - 7ET for 90 minutes.
Together, we practice the world we long for. Together, we win.
