Truth and Action Roundup 9.05.25

View this email in your browser Welcome to the Truth and Action Roundup, your reliable weekly source of information, inspiration, and opportunities for action during the second Trump administration.  Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up here to continue receiving it. On Wednesday, we learned via a video promoted by President Trump that the military allegedly killed 11 people in the Caribbean, which Secretary of State Marco Rubio later confirmed. In each of the public statements made by the administration, they have framed this act as a triumph against “drug dealers.” It is a testament to the pernicious nature of our beliefs about “crime” that we now see an administration openly admitting to killing 11 people under the guise of drugs. This chilling development occurs alongside the ongoing deployment of federal officers and National Guardsmen in Washington, D.C., with threats to spread these deployments nationwide despite a federal ruling that Trump’s actions in Los Angeles, where he also sent troops to occupy the city, were unconstitutional. We must reflect upon these acts and pray for forgiveness for the lives lost in Wednesday’s strike in our name, and shudder at the specter of such logic being used against anyone perceived as a “drug dealer” here at home. We also see this lawless logic at play in our relationships abroad, with reports stating that Trump has also given Netanyahu a green light to complete ethnic cleansing in Gaza this week. In this time of escalating violence here and abroad, our priority must be a commitment to creating a just and lasting peace as believers. We must push back on the assertion that violence is the only answer in our world. — Rev. Moya Harris and Chad Stanton, Sojourners  In the News Here’s a look at what happened this week: 1) As the occupation of the District of Columbia continues, the federal government’s deployment of actual and potential state violence is ramping up: The U.S. military carried out a strike on Tuesday, killing 11 people on a boat in the Caribbean Sea, which was coming from Venezuela, claiming it was carrying drug dealers. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated, “On the president’s orders, we blew it up. And it’ll happen again.” Trump claimed that the National Guard and federal officers are “going in” to Chicago to carry out immigration and law enforcement despite the objections of Illinois and city leaders. A federal judge ruled that the deployment of thousands of National Guard troops to Los Angeles earlier this year was illegal. DC Mayor Muriel Bowser issued an executive order Tuesday welcoming indefinite cooperation with federal law enforcement “to the maximum extent allowable by law within the District.” 2) Alarming developments in Israel’s assault on Gaza continued: Israel’s assault on the outskirts of Gaza City—where a famine was declared last month—intensified, creating “horrific humanitarian consequences,” according to the United Nations and aid groups. A plan circulating in the White House envisions the forced and allegedly temporary displacement of Gaza’s entire population and U.S. trusteeship of the enclave for at least a decade. The GREAT (Gaza Reconstruction, Economic Acceleration, and Transformation Trust) plan was discussed by a group of far-right Israeli politicians in the Knesset. Israel’s far-right finance minister stated on Wednesday that maps are being drawn up for annexing territory in the West Bank. 3) Domestic news in the United States underscored government overreach in several fields: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced that NGOs are now prohibited from registering new voters at naturalization ceremonies. Florida announced it would end its state vaccine mandate. The state’s surgeon general, Joseph Ladapo, a longtime vaccine skeptic, went so far as to say the vaccine requirements “[drip] with contempt and slavery.” Chicago police have been increasingly using forced psychiatric hospitalization as a form of “shadow arrests,” according to South Side Weekly, despite little evidence that the practice helps people in crisis. Take Action This Saturday, we’re joining Free DC for their We Are All DC National Day of Action. We’re also joining, celebrating, and supporting the local community through the Beloved Community Banquet later in the day as a counter narrative to the federal occupation of the District of Columbia, as we continue to push back. We are also continuing to call on Congress to end the occupation of the District of Columbia. What We’re Reading The Doubt and Faith of a Journalist, Parent, and ‘Full-Time Arab American’ | “Doubt is there to challenge you and get you to a position where you’re closer to your spiritual side and that spiritual connection that we all share.” (By Josiah R. Daniels) “Layoffs at Faith in Public Life Reflect Struggles Across the Sector” | “If you had asked me last year, I never would have imagined this was a possibility,” (By Mitchell Atencio) Deep Breaths  Building from Hope When what we’ve tried no longer works, why is it so hard to let go? Like a snow globe, we shake and stir, hoping for something new, only to find the same scene waiting. This is a moment that calls for courage and imagination. But instead of reaching forward, we often settle for what feels safe and familiar. At a coalition meeting, Rev. Traci Blackmon asked us to imagine the world we want to build—and to work from that space, not just toward it. That invitation stirred something in me. What if we lived from the imagination God has already given us, shaping our lives and choices with hope as our starting point? Hope is not passive. It moves us out of silos and beyond ego. It teaches us to connect instead of compete, to walk with family, neighbors, and colleagues rather than push one another away. This is why those who thrive on control seek to divide us. Division weakens our empathy. Without empathy, we can ignore violence when it doesn’t touch us directly. Divided, we cannot build beloved community or see the systems designed to destroy while lies flourish unchecked. But if we root ourselves in Spirit and love, we will be compelled to walk and work together. We will keep moving in cycles of hope and rest until the world is reshaped into places of healing and joy for all. Howard Thurman once warned that fear breeds deception, and deception breeds hate. That cycle is real—but it is not inevitable. We can turn instead toward love and hope. God is calling us to build from the hope already alive in our hearts. That hope is our compass. It can propel us toward the world we dream of—and together, we can make it real. — Rev. Moya Harris, Senior Program Director, Sojourners The Truth and Action Roundup is compiled by Sojourners staff: President: Rev. Adam Russell Taylor Senior Research Associate: J.K. Granberg-Michaelson Digital Content and Community Specialist: Kassandra Tapia Chief Program and Impact Officer: Bryan Epps Political Director: Chad V. Stanton Senior Program Director: Rev. Moya Harris Digital Education and Outreach Specialist: Cortnie Brooks Policy and Action Assistant: Trinity Williams Senior Director of Marketing: Sandra Sims Donate Subscribe Copyright © 2025 Sojourners. All rights reserved. Email: sojourners@sojo.net | Tel.: 202.328.8842