Truth and Action Roundup 2.14.25

View this email in your browser Welcome to the Truth and Action Roundup: a reliable weekly source of information, inspiration, and action for the first hundred days of the second Trump administration. Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up here to continue receiving it. Today is Friday, Feb.14, day 26 of the new Trump administration. Happy Valentine’s Day to you and yours. If you’re like us, the disorientation and anxiety of the first month of the Trump administration is taking its toll on body, mind, and spirit. And yet, we are determined to care for ourselves and love our neighbors—and that resistance and commitment is only growing. We hope this week’s Roundup will give you the fuel to be informed, inspired, and motivated to practice sacred, loving acts of resistance. We’ll be back next Friday — remember always that you’re not alone.   — Rev. Adam Taylor and Rev. Moya Harris, Sojourners In the News Here’s what’s been happening this week: 1) The Trump administration and Elon Musk’s plan to slash the federal civil service continues:  • The federal judge who earlier paused the so-called “fork in the road” deferred resignation program allowed it to move forward on Wednesday, clearing the way for the government to buy out approximately 75,000 workers they claim applied for the program, representing nearly 4 percent of federal workers.   • Probationary employees (federal workers in their first or second year of service in their current position) are being fired across the government, including at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Department of Education and beyond.   • Trump has fired Democratic members of bodies such as the National Labor Relations Board, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the U.S. Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board before the end of their terms.   2) Donald Trump’s recent call with Vladimir Putin has created alarm across Ukraine and much of Europe that Trump’s desire for a quick end to the conflict may result in a deal with unfavorable terms for Kyiv. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky pushed back, saying Ukraine will not accept any deal struck without its involvement.   3) The Department of Education is pushing the NCAA to rescind athletic awards already won by transgender athletes, as Trump continues to scapegoat trans people as a threat to our national values.   4) Nearly a year after Sonia Massey was killed in her home by police, her family has reached a $10 million settlement with Sangamon County, Illinois. Sean Grayson, the deputy who killed Massey, is facing charges of first-degree murder.  Take Action • Protect Houses of Worship from ICE Raids! Sign and share this petition to the president, the Department of Homeland Security, and Congress demanding that houses of worship and other sensitive locations be given protection from immigration raids. The petition accompanies a lawsuit filed by 27 religious groups.   • Protect Foreign Aid! Our partners at Oxfam provide an opportunity to contact Secretary of State Marco Rubio and demand that humanitarian and development assistance be protected. What We’re Reading • My Black Church Now Owns a Racist Logo by Moya Harris   My local D.C. church Metropolitan AME, successfully sued the Proud Boys in June 2023, winning a $2.8 million judgment through default judgement for trespassing and vandalizing our property. But because they have yet to pay, our church creatively sought to ensure payment by stripping the hate group of its trademark, meaning they can no longer sell merchandise to fund their hate — unless our church allows it. Any profits the Proud Boys earn from using the trademark must be paid to Metropolitan to help fulfill the multimillion-dollar default judgment. The church is selling T-shirts for a limited time with the logo to benefit its community justice fund.   • What Advocates Want Churches to Know About Defending Migrants by Hojung Lee  Within hours of coming into office, President Donald Trump rescinded a 14-year policy prohibiting Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers from arresting migrants near “sensitive locations,” including schools, hospitals, and places of worship. Here’s how church leaders responded.  • How-to: Tell the Story of Self, Us, and Now  One of the most effective ways to remind yourself of what matters and to motivate others to join your organizing efforts is to develop your “public narrative,” which is made up of three things: the story of self, the story of us, and the story of now. This PDF will guide you through the process of developing and telling those stories! Deep Breaths Culture, Faith, and Freedom Under Siege  Freedom is under attack — bodily autonomy, jobs, citizenship, religious expression, and cultural identity are all being contested. This is not new. Oppressors have always sought to control culture because culture fuels resistance. And when culture is policed, faith is too.  We must recognize what is happening. Taking over the Kennedy Center, blaming system failures on diversity, dismantling education, and even renaming the Gulf of Mexico are not random — they are part of a larger effort to suppress culture and imagination, dampening the human spirit. We’ve seen this before: Black religious expression was banned, enslaved Africans were forbidden from reading, and hip-hop has been censored and criminalized. This is a pattern, not an accident.  And let’s be real — this is terrifying. People are losing jobs overnight. Lives are being used as pawns. Families face displacement. The fear is real, but fear cannot be the end of the story.  Faith and culture ignite change. The Black church has long been a space where imagination, music, and movement fueled liberation. Enslaved Africans clung to this truth, singing: “Before I’ll be a slave, I’ll be buried in my grave and go home to my Lord to be free.” Faith moved them forward even when freedom seemed impossible.  We saw this spirit alive in last week’s Super Bowl halftime show. Kendrick Lamar’s words, “The revolution will be televised,” channeled Gil Scott-Heron, reminding us that art is a battleground. Black bodies — citizens — asserted their presence, refusing erasure. This was more than entertainment; it was resistance.  Black History Month calls us to do more than remember — we must move in faith. Scripture says, “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Corinthians 3:17). We honor our ancestors and our Creator when we protect culture, defend truth, and stand for justice. The struggle for freedom is holy work. Fear is real, but so is our faith. May we have the courage to continue the fight.   A playlist to soothe the soul. — Rev. Moya Harris, Director of Racial Justice, Sojourners The Truth and Action Roundup is compiled by Sojourners staff: President: Rev. Adam Russell Taylor Director of Racial Justice: Rev. Moya Harris Senior Research Associate: J.K. Granberg-Michaelson Senior Adviser and Director to the President’s Office: Elizabeth Denlinger Reaves Senior Director of Campaigns and Mobilizing: Sandy Ovalle Martínez Director of Congregational Outreach & Education: Rev. Andrea Saccoccio Digital Communications Associate: Lexi Schnaser Mobilizing and Policy Assistant: Miriam Tellez Senior Director of Marketing: Sandra Sims Donate Subscribe Copyright © 2025 Sojourners. All rights reserved. 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