Hi there! Welcome to Easy A–Your go-to source for quick and easy actions you can take in five minutes or less about the issues you care about.
Are you a busy mom? Or maybe your work is so hectic you can’t think about anything else during the day? A lot of us are also taking care of parents or other loved ones too, leaving little time for anything else.
The good news is that these are things you can do while you’re waiting in the school pick up line, on your lunch break, or even at your kid’s soccer practice – anywhere you happen to be! And you can easily share Easy A with your friends so they can be in the know, too! We’ll send you a new action to take every week–just one, we promise –and it will always be something you can do in five minutes or less. Ready to get started? Let’s go!
Read This: The Quiet Danger of Soft Censorship
We’ve been fighting the explosion of book bans since Red Wine & Blue started. PEN America reports 16,000 book bans in public schools since 2021 — a level not seen since the 1950s during McCarthyism. This increase has been driven by organized groups with a political agenda — and lately even by the White House. They want to remove books because they don’t like the truth the stories tell, the characters they feature, or the personal identities of their authors.
But the American Library Association shows a slowing of reported book bans in the last year, so is it time to celebrate? It’s actually a little more complicated than that. This decline might be due to successful legal challenges to book bans, which is good news. But it’s also likely due to an increase in soft censorship.
What is Soft Censorship?
Soft, or quiet, censorship can come in many forms, but in general it’s defined as removing a work without officially banning it. Here are some examples:
- An organized group coordinates to check out all the books they don’t like for as long as possible so that they are never available for the people who actually want to read them. (Yes, people are actually doing this!)
- Books are quietly removed from shelves during a routine process called “weeding” which is normally used to remove books that are damaged, outdated, or no longer in demand.
- Books are purposefully not ordered or added to a collection because they are known to have been challenged elsewhere.
- Books are moved to age-restricted areas of the library or removed from public displays, even if they are written for younger audiences.
- Entire shelves or libraries are closed off while large reviews take place for extended or indefinite amounts of time.
- Book bans and challenges simply go underreported to the organizations that are tracking them, either because librarians and teachers have been silenced by fear or have left their jobs altogether in the face of unprecedented public scrutiny and attacks, or because the local news outlets that cover this issue are dwindling.
Censorship is wrong, whether it’s loud or quiet. It’s a violation of our freedom to read, speak, think critically, and be given equal legal protection. It’s also bad for our kids and our communities. Censoring or banning books keeps us from understanding ourselves and the world around us and it takes teachable moments away from our families.
Not to mention the fact that it’s expensive! Just like we found in the Costs of Conflict report, some school districts have spent up to $135,000 a year fighting book bans and soft censorship.
Successfully Fighting Book Bans
There actually is some good news in all of this. Recent surveys show that up to three quarters of Americans oppose book bans and trust librarians and teachers to provide appropriate reading materials. And standing up to book banning extremists works. We’re seeing people fight back in places like Idaho, South Carolina, and Tennessee. At least 12 states have already passed laws to protect the right to read and give legal protections to librarians.
So what can you do about it where you live? You can start by paying attention to what’s happening in your local public schools and libraries. Attend school board and library board meetings. Read district and school newsletters and other communications. Have a library card and participate in library and school programs. Get to know your local teachers, librarians, and their collections. Let them know that you have their back!
You can also pay attention to your state legislature. The organization Every Library tracks bills that threaten our right to read as well as bills that support libraries, so you can see what is happening in your state. If bills are being considered, visit your state legislature’s website to see if you can sign up for bill tracking alerts.
All of this will help you to be ready to speak up and fight back if any form of banning shows up in your community. We’ll cover more easy actions you can take to fight soft censorship in the coming weeks.
Take It One Step Further: Subscribe to the Suburban Women Problem on Substack
As you know, many of our weekly Easy A actions, like the latest series on the problem with school vouchers, have been informed by our awesome podcasts, The Cost of Extremism and The Suburban Women Problem. You know those “Listen to This” clips we share with you? Those come from our pods! If you’ve enjoyed learning from their in-depth coverage of important topics — even if you don’t have a chance to listen — then we have some exciting news for you!
The Suburban Women Problem is now on Substack! Each week, they’ll be sharing stories, updates, and key information about their podcast topic, and you can get those posts delivered directly to your email inbox! What a great way to do a deeper dive into topics you’re wanting to learn more about.
Check out The Suburban Women Problem on Substack here: substack.redwine.blue and subscribe to get the posts right in your inbox!
Do This: Sign the Petition to Stop School Vouchers
Ok, now that you know more about the harm that school vouchers can do to a public school system, you’re probably wondering what you can do to help — We’ve got you.
We are committed to protecting public schools so that all children can learn and thrive, and we know you are 100% with us on that. Let’s take the next step together: sign our petition to protect public education for all kids.
Thanks for taking action this week!
Watch This: The Problem with School Vouchers
Now that you’ve read about school vouchers, let’s dig a little deeper. Watch this video with education journalist Jennifer Berkshire where she shares how school vouchers are not a new idea. These programs have been around for awhile, but get renamed and rebranded by those who advocate for them because they know they are unpopular. Voters have historically rejected vouchers because they don’t want taxpayer dollars going to private religious schools, and because they see how school choice programs don’t benefit most students. We support public education as an institution that benefits all of us.
To hear more of our discussion about school vouchers, check out the full podcast here, or stream anywhere you get your podcasts.
Read This: The Problem with School Vouchers
School vouchers sound fairly innocent, don’t they? But did you know that school vouchers take taxpayer funds away from public schools and direct it to religious and private institutions that are not held to the same standards of education, equity and opportunity?
Proponents of school vouchers like to call this “school choice” — implying that vouchers are giving parents more options in their children’s education. But in reality, the actual choice is with the schools. Private institutions — even if they’re receiving public funds through voucher programs — are not required to admit students and can deny entrance to anyone. This means students with learning disabilities, students of color and students from lower socio-economic backgrounds often get left behind. All while these funds are diverted from public schools, making it harder for them to serve everyone.
So if school vouchers don’t give all students more choice in education, what’s the point? The real reason behind school voucher programs is to defund public education. It’s one step in a plan to eventually privatize education in the United States. We can’t let that happen. All students deserve access to well-funded public schools that provide equitable opportunities to learn and succeed.
Do This: It’s Survey Time. We Want to Hear From You!
Happy New Year! ? Red Wine & Blue is committed to listening to the people who make up our sisterhood – people like you! That’s why we want to hear from you.
We want to make sure we never lose sight of what our women care about – because that tells us what Red Wine & Blue can and should do. That means finding out from you whether you are finding the work we are doing – and the way we do it – valuable.
With that mission in mind, we are hoping that you’ll take a few minutes out of your day to complete our 2023 Red Wine & Blue Survey!
Take It One Step Further: Look Back on 2023, Look Ahead to 2024
There’s just a few days left of 2023 and we want to celebrate with you! Not gonna lie, it was a busy year. We accomplished SO MUCH and we did it together, as a community of badass superheroes. Check out our 2023 Year in Review now:
We are so proud of our wins – You should be proud too! – And looking ahead, we know that 2024 is going to be an even bigger year. And we could really use your help.
There are so many different ways to get involved with RWB and making a year-end donation is one of them. It’s an easy way to invest in the future of our fight against extremism. If you make a donation this week, your gift will be doubled thanks to a generous matching gift donor! That means $10 becomes $20, $25 becomes $50! If you’re a first time donor, your gift will even be tripled!
Are you ready to take the next step and help us continue our fight against extremism in 2024? Click here to make a donation and become a Red Wine & Blue superhero!
Oh, and one more thing: Happy New Year! ?
Do This: Become a Troublemaker!
Wow, what a year! We accomplished a ton in 2023. Thank you for being a part of our community – We couldn’t have done it without you.
Here are some other amazing things that happened this year: 
- Over 20,000 people attended Red Wine & Blue events.
- 110 members of our community ran for office.
- RWB members in Ohio collected 57,000 signatures to help put Reproductive Freedom on the ballot. And then they passed the ballot measure enshrining repro rights in their state constitution!
- TroubleNation (our national distributed organizing program) started in the fall and already has 112 grassroots groups in 37 states, with 38,000 mostly female members!
- Across multiple states we stopped extremists from winning seats on school boards.
- Over 14,000 people attended an RWB training in 2023. Were you one of them? If not, now’s your chance!
Are you ready to level up in 2024? How about making it one of your New Year’s resolutions to cause a little good trouble next year? We can help you get started with one of our upcoming Troublemaker Trainings. These trainings are super easy to fit into your schedule – They are entirely online, so you can do them from anywhere, and they’re only about one hour long. You’ll learn how to be a Troublemaker and meet like-minded women. You might even make a new friend! So are you ready to take the next step? Sign up now for a Troublemaker Training this January!
Watch This: We’ve Got a Theme Song!
One of the amazing things about the Red Wine & Blue community is all the unbelievably talented women it includes. We’ve got actors and singers, writers and artists, teachers and organizers. And we love seeing the creativity that our members bring to their activism.
In fact, one of our members, Mariama Whyte, even wrote a song for us! It’s called “We Came to Make a Change,” and it’s guaranteed to get you feeling fired up. Check it out now. And sorry, not sorry for getting this ear worm stuck in your head!
We’re gearing up to make some major change in 2024 with the support of everyday superheroes like you. Together, we will protect reproductive freedom, push back on book bans, defeat extremism in our communities, and stand up for democratic values. Click here to supercharge our work in 2024. Thanks so much for your support!
Read This: Meet the Superheroes of Black Voters Matter!
Happy December! All this month, we are celebrating the Everyday Superheroes that are making a difference in our communities. And as part of that celebration, we have joined forces with another superpowered group: Black Voters Matter (BVM)! 
Black voters turn out at the ballot box at the second highest rate in the nation, but extremists are using racial gerrymandering and terrible voter suppression laws to make it harder for Black Americans to vote. BVM is fighting back! Since 2018, BVM has been at the forefront of initiatives to protect voting rights and get the vote out where it’s most difficult.
We’re super inspired by the work of Black Voters Matter, and we think you will be too! So today, if you give to Red Wine & Blue, half of every dollar will go to support their amazing voting rights work.
Suppression of the Black vote doesn’t just stop at gerrymandering. States like North Carolina, Georgia, and Michigan have implemented strict voter ID laws, taken away Sunday voting, removed polling places in predominantly Black areas, and reduced early voting – all policies proven to reduce Black turnout.
Black Voters Matter has stood up for their rights in a BIG way. They organized a nine-day “Freedom Ride for Voting Rights” bus tour to garner grassroots support for voting legislation. They have sued Florida and Georgia to challenge restrictive provisions. They held clinics to help people get the correct ID to vote. They organized sending 69 million text messages to inform people of their rights.
We are going to need Black Voters Matter at full power to help turn out the vote in 2024, and you can make a real difference for them.
Thanks for being a superhero for Black Voters Matter and Red Wine & Blue! ??
Do This: Ask Your Friends to Join Us in Standing Up for LGBTQ+ Kids
Have you had enough with extremists trying to pass anti-trans legislation? Are you tired of the fear mongering that surrounds trans kids and their participation in sports? Do you wish people would just focus on real issues in education instead of these made up issues? Then you’re in the right place! And you probably have some friends who feel the same way.
Click below to help spread the word on social and invite your friends to join us. Let’s come together and work for all of our kids. Empathy is our superpower!