1XX Ways to Change the World By Organizing Where You Live
Introduction
A letter from Katie Paris, founder of Red Wine & Blue:
One of our body’s five responses to trauma is to freeze. This is our body’s way of shutting down when it feels like fighting or fleeing isn’t an option.
Sound familiar?
My hope is that this guide helps you get out of freeze – and into a healthy response mode that enables you to fight back effectively, take care of yourself and others, and have way more fun than the other side is having.
Before diving in, here are the three things I need you to know:
- You are the majority.
- You have an enormous amount of leverage where you live.
- Your power is your network.
Who We Are
“I don’t think this group has a problem with this. But it’s really important to have a better time than they’re having.”
— Timothy Snyder, speaking to Red Wine & Blue in March 2025
Everything we do is grounded in our core values — building authentic relationships, leading with love, embracing continuous learning, creating inclusive and welcoming spaces, and facing challenges with resilience and boldness.
The 2024 presidential election made us feel a whole range of emotions: heartbreak, anger, fear and resolve. The RWB community worked hard to bring our friends, family, and everyone we know to the polls and spread the message of the extremist threat of a second Trump term.
But despite losses at the federal level, almost everywhere RWB targeted locally, MAGA had a bad election night. Across the country, RWB bucked national trends to bring home wins:
- Three-quarters of the school board extremists we targeted lost in Michigan — and almost ALL of them lost in Virginia.
- The state legislative candidates we supported picked up seats in both chambers of the Ohio legislature, narrowly defended the majority in the Pennsylvania State House, broke the supermajority in the North Carolina State House, and won tight races in the Michigan State House.
- One of RWB’s top priorities for 2024 was defeating the Moms for Liberty extremist who lost her bid for NC Superintendent, trailing Trump by 3-5 points in nearly all of our targeted counties.
- Both pro-reproductive freedom MI Supreme Court candidates won by nearly 13 points.
The vast majority is with us, and when we organize, they show up.
It’s that common-sense majority of women that RWB has been recruiting, training, and empowering to organize right where they live, in their own communities, starting with their own friends and neighbors.
We’re so glad you’re here. Welcome!
Purpose of Our Guide
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Caring for Each Other: Mutual Aid & Protection
Mutual aid & protection is about coming together to meet our community’s immediate needs while working to create political changes that benefit everyone. Remember: the system is the problem, not the people being targeted by it. Let’s work together to help our neighbors.
Showing Up: Protests, Boycotts, and Beyond
Do you know how often we hear women all over the country say “I thought I was the only one!”? We can’t let loud extremists make it seem like they’re more powerful than they are. Visible opposition serves two main purposes
Taking Back Power: Elections & Advocacy
Want to keep your community safe from misguided decisions made in Washington? Start local. Electing thoughtful, common-sense leaders to your school board, city council, state legislature, and state Supreme Court is how we build a strong foundation. And no matter who we voted for, our representatives work for us. It’s our responsibility to make our voices heard — by telling them how we expect them to vote and what issues matter to us.
The Secret to Effective Messaging
No matter where you organize or what you set out to accomplish, there’s one more thing you need to know (even if you don’t quite believe it yet): you are the most effective messenger for why it’s so important to get involved right now, information about your local elections, and the issues that matter most to you.
Building Your Community
Connection is at the heart of organizing. Extremists want us to feel isolated and alone — but when we come together, we’re unstoppable. The antidote to division is community building.
The Right Next Step
You don’t have to have everything mapped out — you only have to decide on the next right step!
Stay Active
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- Within the next six months