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: Supporting the Transgender Community
June is Pride Month, a time to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community and advocate for their rights.*
This year, supporting the transgender community and advocating for their rights is especially urgent. That’s because the Trump administration has launched a series of executive orders and other actions that take away trans people’s rights and try to erase their very existence.
Here’s how:
- One of the very first executive orders Trump announced — on his inauguration day! — orders the federal government to only recognize two sexes, “biological males” and “biological females.” It also removes all previous federal guidance that recognized and supported non-binary and transgender people. This means that government-issued IDs like U.S. passports and records like tax and social security forms won’t recognize all genders. And federal prisons will have to house prisoners based on only two sexes, putting non-binary and transgender prisoners at risk of physical harassment and assault.
- A similar executive order restricts what schools can teach about the LGBTQ+ community and requires public schools to only recognize two sexes. It bans schools from recognizing transgender students by their preferred names or pronouns and actually threatens to withhold public funding from schools that support students in this way. It also threatens the prosecution of teachers and school administrators who don’t comply.
- Also impacting schools, a separate executive order bans transgender athletes from playing on girls’ and women’s sports teams, rather than leaving this decision up to state and local organizations. This order goes beyond schools, seeking to pressure independent national and international athletic organizations — including the Olympics — into adopting the same policy. Not only does this take away opportunities for trans girls, but it subjects all girls and women to the possibility of unnecessary and invasive physical examinations.
- Another executive order bans transgender people from serving in the U.S. military. After it was announced, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth directed the military to stop providing healthcare for transgender service members. Both actions are being challenged in federal courts, but for now, the military can ban the enlistment of transgender people and discharge thousands of active service members.
- A separate executive order restricts access to healthcare for transgender children and teens, even in states where it is specifically protected by state law. It misrepresents the guidelines and standards of gender-affirming care recognized by the medical community and takes away the freedom of kids and families to make their own healthcare decisions. The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule soon on a case, U.S. v. Skrmetti, which will decide if the U.S. Constitution protects healthcare for transgender kids.
- The U.S. Supreme Court has also agreed to hear Chiles v. Salazar, which could overturn a ban on “conversion therapy” in Colorado. This discredited practice tries to force LGBTQ+ people into being straight. All major medical and psychological associations have proven that it does nothing but cause serious harm. If the court overturns the ban and allows “conversion therapy” in Colorado, it would set the precedent to overturn similar bans that exist in 20 other states.
The bottom line is that these policies are trying to push trans people out of our communities and deny their existence.
To make matters worse, these political attacks have led to an increase in suicide risk among LGBTQ+ kids and teens, and Trump has proposed to cut federal funding for the life-saving 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. This hotline helps thousands of kids a month — more than 1.2 million since it started in 2022.
It’s up to all of us to stand up in support of the transgender community. As less than 1% of the U.S. population, they cannot fight this fight alone, but they are 1.6 million people whose health, safety, and happiness matters. Pride Month is a great time to take action, and in the coming weeks, we’ll show you how!
*If you have more time this week, you can read last year’s Easy A posts that dig deeper into the history of Pride Month.
Read This: Immigration, The American Fabric
Many extremists made immigration and the fear of immigrants a central issue in their 2024 election campaigns, and it worked. A lot of them got elected, including Donald Trump with his promise to conduct mass deportations. So let’s talk about immigration.
Who Are Immigrants?
The United States is largely a nation of immigrants from all over the world. We are each diverse threads that weave together to create the beautiful American fabric.
Immigrants are not a monolith. They come from many different countries for many different reasons. Everyone is an individual with their own unique story. Whether they are fleeing war, violence, corruption, economic instability, climate disasters, or looking for opportunity, they share a desire for safety and a future for themselves and their families.
Immigrants come to the U.S. through work, student, or family visas, as asylum-seeking refugees, or meet the legal requirements for naturalization. They contribute to our communities and economy by starting businesses, serving in the military, or working in areas like healthcare, childcare, agriculture, construction, government, and service, to name a few.
Truths About Immigrants
Extremists want us to fear immigrants, so they spread dangerous myths and disinformation. But immigrants are not the problem. The problem is the partisan politicians who are dehumanizing and othering immigrants to divide us and gain political power. The scarier and more negative the lies are, the more quickly they spread and take hold. Let’s look at some facts instead.
- TRUTH: Immigrants are less likely to be criminals. US Census data shows that immigrants have never committed more crimes than native-born citizens.
- TRUTH: Most fentanyl is brought into our country by American citizens, not by immigrants.
- TRUTH: According to economists, as immigration goes up, more jobs are created — including jobs for native-born citizens. Many of the industries listed in the section above rely heavily on immigrants for their workforce.
- TRUTH: The health and stability of our economy depends on immigrants. They reduce labor shortages and contribute billions of dollars a year — yes, billions — to Social Security, Medicare, and state and local services.
- TRUTH: Only citizens can vote and have their vote counted in federal and state-wide elections.
It’s also true that our current immigration system is not equipped to handle the increase in people seeking citizenship. We can debate how to fix it, but most Americans agree, we want to solve our immigration challenges with humane policies and legal pathways to citizenship. We want our politicians to find solutions, not scapegoats.
Keeping the American Fabric Strong
So what can we do? It may feel difficult in light of the recent election results, but we don’t have to lose our values or our hope for the future.
We can have conversations with the people we know. We can stand up to partisan talking points and myth-bust their disinformation by sharing facts and real immigrant stories — starting with our own family histories. We can reject the othering of immigrants and seek to find similarities and honor our differences. We can support immigrant-owned businesses in our communities and immigrant families in our local schools. And it’s never too soon to look for like-minded politicians to support in the next election cycle.
The strength of our American fabric comes from the tight weave of our diverse threads. Let’s not let hateful politicians tear that fabric apart.
Take care of yourself through community
It’s only been about 24 hours since we woke up to the bad news. Donald Trump has won the 2024 presidential election and Republicans took control of the Senate. It hurts.
We’re feeling all the feelings, from shock to sadness to fear to rage. It’s important that we take the time to allow ourselves to feel these feelings and grieve the loss of the future we worked and hoped for.
But you don’t have to cope with any of this alone. Your Easy A this week is simple — take care of yourself and find support from the Red Wine & Blue community however you need it.
We have each other in this moment and we’re not going anywhere. There are over 600,000 women and 500 local groups in our community, and we’re leaning on each other right now for comfort and strength.
If you aren’t already connected with a Red Wine & Blue group on Facebook or locally through TroubleNation, we invite you to join one here:
Facebook Groups:
Red Wine & Blue: North Carolina
SWEEP by Red Wine & Blue (national)
Local Groups Nationwide:
Right now, our women are connecting and supporting each other in all of these spaces. We have seen how these connections can make a difference in so many ways. Today, we need them to help us process this loss.
You are not alone. We can grieve together in this moment and then heal, because we are not giving up. Women have found their power in our community and we won’t stop going, no matter who is in office.
Do This: It’s time to get out the vote!
The scariest thing to us this Halloween isn’t a movie or a costume, it’s the reality we face on November 6 if extremists get elected. So let’s make some time over the next five days to make sure that doesn’t happen!
Take 5 minutes to visit our website and sign up for Rally.
Rally is our organizational tool that helps you have conversations with friends and family about the importance of voting. Signing up only takes a few minutes. Then, you can come back to it and spend a few minutes every day picking from a list of quick actions to help inspire your people to vote.
We’ve proven that relational organizing with Rally works. Red Wine & Blue Ralliers increased voter turnout by more than 10% last election! That’s a big deal, because we know that this election is going to be close and that every vote matters.
If everyone who reads this blog uses Rally to help turn out other voters, we can mobilize tens of thousands of people to help secure big wins on November 5.
Look, we’re all feeling some election anxiety. It’s totally fine if you want to stress-eat Halloween candy for the next five days — we know we will! — but don’t let that be all that you do!
Sign up for Rally today, and take just a few minutes every day through November 5 to take simple actions. We promise it will help you feel better, and together, we’ll defeat extremism!
Watch This: It’s time to get out the vote!
How are you feeling about the upcoming election?
We’re hearing from some Red Wine and Blue members who are filled with joy and hope, and others who are filled with anxiety. Either way, you are not alone!
It’s natural to feel some anxiety, especially if you’re prone to doomscrolling, but there are many reasons to be excited about the importance of this election. Just think of what we can accomplish if we get our common sense candidates elected!
Our favorite piece of advice for how to overcome election anxiety is to take action! You’ve already taken the first step by reading this post, now watch this quick video about how Red Wine & Blue can help you take action and overcome election anxiety between now and November 5.
Feeling inspired? Stay tuned and we’ll talk more next week about how our Rally relational organizing tool can help you channel your anxiety and hope into action!
Read This: It’s time to get out the vote!
We are less than three weeks away from Election Day, and early voting has started in many places. It’s time to get out the vote!
No matter where you live, extremists are on the ballot, from the Presidential race to state houses to judicial races to school boards. It’s not hyperbole when the pundits say that this is the most consequential election of our lifetime. It’s crucial that we all show up and vote for common sense candidates and the preservation of democracy.
As a member of the Red Wine and Blue community, chances are you are a more engaged voter than the average citizen. That’s why your friends and family look to you — and trust you more than any other source — for guidance on elections. So let’s all be prepared, not only to vote ourselves, but to help everyone we know vote confidently too!
Here are some things informed voters are thinking about right now:
- Double checking our voter registration status.
- Learning our county’s early voting schedules and locations.
- Confirming mail-in or absentee voting requirements if we’re voting that way.
- Making note of our state’s voting rules and requirements, like: Do we need an ID to vote? Or, is it illegal to take a picture of our completed ballot? These things vary by state!
- Knowing our Election Day polling location and hours.
- Researching who’s on our ballot.
- Making our voting plan. Studies show that people who have made a plan to vote are more likely to do it!
Suburban women are a powerful part of the electorate. We can — and will — make a difference in this election. It starts by being up to date on all of this information, and then sharing that knowledge with everyone we know.
Start working through this list today, and in the coming weeks, we’ll share even more about how we can get out the vote and defeat extremism everywhere in November.
Do This: The Growing Movement to Ban Books
We know that book bans are on the rise at a shocking pace, and we know how bad that is for our children’s education and well being. Now, do you want some good news? The majority of Americans agree — book banning is bad for all of us.
More than 80% of Americans disagree with banning books about history or race. And a Washington Post study found that in the 2021-2022 school year, only 11 people were responsible for the majority of book bans. Book bans are being driven by a small but vocal minority, so we can stop them. And that’s exactly what we do with Book Ban Busters!
So earn your Easy A today by signing up to receive Book Ban Busters updates. We’ll keep you up to date on book bans and ways to take action. Together, we can reverse this dangerous trend.
Here are a few ways Book Ban Busters take action:
- Raising awareness by sharing information about book bans with friends and family.
- Publicly showing support for authors, educators, and librarians.
- Going to local school board and library board meetings to stay informed and ready to fight book bans if they arise.
- Voting for candidates who support the freedom to read.
- Running for a school or library board or volunteering on a campaign.
- Joining our banned book club.
- Hosting read-ins.
- Writing Letters to the Editor.
- Contacting elected representatives about legislative threats to our freedom to read.
Basically, the way we fight book bans is to organize — and that happens at the local level! Localized efforts are the most effective way to beat book bans. We win when people like you take action with the same boldness and fervor as the small groups bringing the bans in the first place. So let’s do this!
Watch This: The Growing Movement to Ban Books
As instances of book bans continue to skyrocket year over year, it’s important to know that they overwhelmingly target stories about people or characters from marginalized groups.
According to PEN America, from 2021-2023:
- 37% of all book bans targeted books about race, racism, or books with characters of color;
- 36% targeted books with LGBTQ+ characters and themes; 8% featuring transgender characters or stories.
We read last week about how diversity in books is invaluable to students. Now hear more about this from someone who knows firsthand.
Ellen Oh is an author and founding member of We Need Diverse Books, a nonprofit that strives to diversify the publishing industry. Their goal is to create a world where everyone can find themselves in the pages of a book. Ellen tells us why this is so important — even life-saving.
We Need Diverse Books has helped fuel an increase in new children’s books featuring characters of color. Twelve years ago, only 7% of children’s books published were about children of color. Now that figure is 40%. As we celebrate this, we also have to protect these stories from becoming the next targets of book bans. Next week, we’ll tell you how!
Read This: The Growing Movement to Ban Books
It’s Banned Books Week! Since 1982, this annual event supports our freedom to read and brings attention to the growing movement to ban books. So, let’s talk about the increase in book bans and why it’s so important for us to push back.
Book bans have been around for centuries. They started when governments and religious institutions wanted to censor what they saw as threats to their authority or moral standing. We’re now seeing everyday citizens challenge our access to books in schools and public libraries, and those bans are increasing rapidly.
These modern book bans are defined as when, for any period of time, a student’s access to a book is restricted or completely prohibited. PEN America has been tracking the increase in book bans since 2021. Their latest research found that there were more than 10,000 instances of book bans in the 2023-2024 school year, which is almost triple the number in the previous year!
These recent book bans are being driven by extremist groups like Moms for Liberty. They are targeting what they consider to be controversial or objectionable content, which is usually books with LGBTQ+ or non-white characters, histories of minorities, religious or political viewpoints different from their own, or sex education. “Controversial” and “objectionable” to them is really just code for ideas and viewpoints they don’t like or don’t understand, and often involves marginalized communities. When extremists are successful in getting these stories and narratives banned, they are unjustly erasing the voices and representation of entire groups of people. That erasure has very real consequences for all children.
Book bans narrow our children’s worldview by taking away their exposure to stories about other people and places. It keeps them from exploring ideas and perspectives that are different from their own, which hinders their ability to build empathy. Book bans also teach them that it’s ok to hate and censor things you don’t agree with.
For kids in the communities whose stories are being banned, it hurts even more. When kids don’t see themselves represented, they think their stories are not worthy of being told. And when they see them banned, they think their stories are shameful. All kids deserve to see themselves and relatable characters in stories to know that they are valued and are not alone.
There’s also a financial cost to all these book bans. When books are challenged, most school districts and public libraries have a process in place to review the books and rule on the challenges. That takes extra staffing and personnel hours. For example, last year in Texas, Virginia, and Pennsylvania, school districts reported spending between $30,000-$100,000 and hundreds of full-time staff hours reviewing book ban attempts! There are better ways for this taxpayer money to be spent and for these professionals to spend their time.
All this harm is being caused by a loud but small group of people. The majority of us — more than 80% — don’t want book bans, so we also have to be loud and push back. Over the next few weeks, we’ll explore how to put a stop to this increasing trend of book bans before it gets any worse.
Do This: Preventing Gun Violence
Over the past few weeks, we’ve been discussing gun violence in America. And in just that short period of time, our country has been rocked by another mass shooting at a high school and a second alleged assassination attempt on a former president. It is clear that gun violence is a nonpartisan issue — and one that threatens us all.
So how do we make our families and communities safer? Experts have shown that there are ways to reduce gun violence: requiring background checks on all gun sales; promoting the secure storage of guns; allowing for Extreme Risk Protection Orders (also known as Red Flag Laws); keeping guns out of the hands of domestic abusers and violent offenders; and supporting programs for mental health and community violence intervention. We just need politicians who are willing to turn these common sense solutions into laws!
And here’s something you can do right now in under five minutes — Tell your Senators and Congressperson to support common sense legislation to reduce gun violence. We’ve made it easy for you. Start by filling out the form directly below — or at this link — and our tool will walk you through the rest. We’ve even written a message you can use or customize to your liking.
Nothing will change until our laws do, so your representatives need to hear from you! Be a part of the solution and send your message today.
Watch This: Preventing Gun Violence
According to research by Everytown For Gun Safety, 59% of adults in America have personally experienced gun violence, or know someone who has.
Gun violence includes mass shootings, homicides, assaults, suicides and suicide attempts, domestic violence, unintentional shootings, intimidation, threats, and more. Anyone who lives through these experiences, either as a victim, witness, or loved one to those involved, is a survivor.
Understanding the lifelong physical, mental, and financial toll of surviving gun violence is an important part of finding solutions to the crisis. We can better understand the toll by listening to survivors’ stories.
Greg Jackson, Deputy Director of the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, recently shared his survivor story on The Suburban Women Problem podcast. Watch:
Greg succinctly described some of the hard questions we have to face as a country to solve our gun violence crisis. Next week, we’ll have some answers to those questions, and an easy action you can take to be a part of the solution.