Dear Indivisibles,
My name is Ivonne, and I’m the group leader of Roanoke Indivisible. I got started with activism a week after the 2016 election when a small group of progressives met in my community in rural Virginia. We discussed how to protect the most vulnerable in our community and, while we were a bit disorganized, we knew it was time to fight.
Luckily, someone recommended that I read the Indivisible Guide over the holiday break, and it was everything my group needed to make an impact.
The Indivisible Guide was not only succinct, but it also offered practical instructions on how to resist the Trump agenda. And in 2017, we were able to save the ethics office, fight for progressive values in deep red Virginia, and engage our Representative Bob Goodlatte (R-VA 6) to demand more accountability (even though he decided to retire after 13 terms in office).
The same day we registered our Roanoke group on Indivisible’s website was the same day Rep. Goodlatte filed an amendment to strip the Office of Congressional Ethics of its independence and its ability to investigate anonymous ethics claims. This action went against everything that everyone -- including people who voted for the new administration -- wanted from Congress.
We followed the Guide’s instructions, found Rep. Goodlatte’s local district office, and recruited 12 people to show up there with us. We decided to have a bit of fun while protesting and wrote New Year’s cards to the congressman (another tip from the Guide!). We even got some tips from Leah Greenberg and other Indivisible staff about what to expect when we got to the office.
But it turned out to be much more dramatic than we expected. The congressman’s staffer refused to let us enter the office, and, instead, he had an impromptu meeting with us in the lobby of the building. Afterwards, we took a selfie and did a quick video explaining our action. This was another tip from the Guide -- we never would have thought to take photos and videos without reading it beforehand. And it turns out, that’s what caught the eye of the national media.
 Our selfie outside of Rep. Bob Goodlatte’s (R-VA) office after he tried to gut the Office of Congressional Ethics.
Our action was picked up by The Rachel Maddow Show, which did a 20 minute segment on our visit to Rep. Goodlatte’s office and Rachel herself interviewed Ezra Levin right after. As Ezra spoke, hundreds of Indivisible Groups like ours were popping up around the country.
To be honest, I didn’t even see the interview! I spent the evening phone banking for a special senate election in Virginia, cooked pork chops for my kids, and watched a bit of TV. I only found out after I woke up the next day with my Facebook blowing up and my mother calling me on the phone.
My mother, who was born in Guatemala, initially feared for my safety. Where she’s from, being associated with anything political means you could be a target of the government. But we assured each other that, in this country, we could do this. And not only could we protest and demonstrate, it’s our responsibility so we don’t become a country where those sorts of things aren’t permitted.
Thanks to Indivisible I realized I have the power to safeguard our democracy. The way this country is designed, it works best if everyone understands they are the beating heart of our democracy. It is ours to protect.
Because of Indivisible we have guidance and counsel on the best ways to do that, whether it’s stopping the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, or protesting the Trump tax scam, or demanding more government transparency.
This past year has been incredible and, in Roanoke, we’re already working to making next year even better.
Thank you,
Ivonne Wallace Fuentes
Roanoke Indivisible
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ROBIN HVIDSTON
