In the month of May, we reflected on the 5th anniversary of George Floyd’s murder and the progress, backlash, and lessons since that summer of reckoning. The first hundred days of the Trump administration was a hot topic with attempts to assess the levels of authoritarian consolidation, and how we will know if we’ve lost our democracy. Many are still uplifting the experiences of democratic decline in other countries to help the U.S. make sense of our current political context, and others are ensuring that the stories of people who have been disappeared without due process in our country are not forgotten.
As civil society has come under increasing threat in the U.S., there are some great resources to better understand what’s happening and prepare. The Independent Sector’s Policy Tracker is tracking executive action, litigation, as well as tax and other federal legislation affecting the charitable sector. The National Council of Nonprofits publishes two regular e-newsletters to keep the nonprofit community up-to-date. And you can listen to the recent Fund the People podcast on Nonprofits, the U.S. Constitution and the ACLU to fully appreciate what’s at stake when nonprofits and democracy are under attack. You can also find helpful advice on strategies for nonprofits to fend off attacks; steps to take for nonprofit resiliency; and ways to support leaders grappling with systems collapse. If you’re looking for some good graphics to help with your storytelling on the impact of cuts to federal programs by type of program and by state visit the Pöster Project: Infographics for Democracy.
There are many networks, coalitions and movements to get involved with, and a growing interest in how we build connective tissue between dispersed efforts. If you are in DC on June 6th, please join in the nonpartisan Unite4Veterans rally; and on June 14th you can find counter-programming to the planned military parade with events being organized around the country such as the No Kings rallies, and the Kick Out the Clowns events. You may enjoy this article on making impactful protest signs. Don’t miss the recently released 2025 Civic Season Guide to help you to take advantage of spaces like museums, libraries, and parks between Juneteenth and July 4th thanks to Made by Us to help “build a sense of community, connect to history, and create fun ways to participate in civic life.”
Horizons launched a Substack this month, The Beautiful Movement. You can also find new Faithful Fight toolkits a series we are publishing with Protect Democracy. Don’t miss the most recent one on Practicing noncooperation and civil disobedience by Maria Stephan and Rev. Stephen Green. You can watch Maria’s recent remarks at the New Republic’s series on resisting the authoritarian takeover here, and listen to her interview on the nonviolent Jesus podcast here. Also, watch Maria’s short interview on Bob Greenberg’s The Brainwaves Video Anthology – Why civil resistance works: the strategic logic of nonviolent conflict.
Julia Roig’s article on Block Bridge Build was published this month in Nonprofit Quarterly, and you can re-watch the recent webinar with NCDD with Julia and Jarvis Williams presenting on the Block Bridge Build framework here. You can also watch Julia’s interview on the Political Forgiveness podcast here, and read Jarvis’s cover-featured interview with Sojourners Magazine (behind a paywall until June 1st).
On June 4th from 4:00 – 5:00pm (ET) please sign up to hear Maria and Rivera Sun speak about the Top 10 Most Effective Actions to Meet This Moment, hosted by the Franciscan Action Network. And here are some other resources we’ve been reading, watching, and listening to this month:
READING
Racial justice is a public good
by Lori Villarosa, Philanthropic Initiative for Racial Equity
“Nonprofit and philanthropic infrastructure associations have joined in… statements of opposition to [the] attacks on the charitable sector. It’s vital to stand together against power grabs to take over and ultimately destroy civil society. But, solidarity demands specificity. What’s under threat is not just our freedom to give; it’s the legitimacy of racial remedy, inclusion, and equity. As nonprofits and funders prepare for the battles ahead, we have to name these things as public goods explicitly and often… Repairing the harms of systemic racism and expanding who belongs strengthens every institution, every community, and every freedom. Recognizing this interconnectedness strengthens our collective ability to defend civil society.”
Systems are crumbling – but daily life continues. The dissonance is real
by Adrienne Matei, The Guardian
“The increasing instability of the US’s democratic norms has prompted… references to hypernormalization,”… described recently by digital anthropologist Rahaf Harfoush. “First articulated in 2005 by scholar Alexei Yurchak to describe the civilian experience in Soviet Russia, hypernormalization describes life in a society where two main things are happening. The first is people seeing that governing systems and institutions are broken. And the second is that, for reasons including a lack of effective leadership and an inability to imagine how to disrupt the status quo, people carry on with their lives as normal despite systemic dysfunction – give or take a heavy load of fear, dread, denial and dissociation… What makes dysfunction so dangerous is that we might simply learn to live with it. But understanding hypernormalization gives us language – and permission – to recognize when systems are failing and clarifies the risk of not taking action when we can.”
‘We have power together’: Three social change leaders on solidarity and what we can learn from history as we build a more equitable future
by Marianne Schnall, Forbes Magazine
“Reflecting on the historic figures and events that have advanced rights and freedoms in the U.S. can be a meaningful source of inspiration for today’s leaders who are working toward a more equitable future, especially at a time when many of those hard-won rights feel under threat. Three pro-democracy movement leaders recently had the opportunity to do just that [in this interview.] LaTosha Brown, cofounder of Black Voters Matter, Monica Riley, executive director of The Alabama Alliance, and Pamela Shifman, president of Democracy Alliance were in Montgomery and Selma, Alabama to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Bloody Sunday… Riley shared her hope that ‘one of the biggest takeaways I want people to understand is that liberation doesn’t happen in isolation, especially not in a place like Alabama. It’s not just about one group or one fight; it’s about all of us, moving together toward justice and collective freedom.’”
Holding the line doesn’t need to mean losing ourselves
by Michael Braithwaite, Next Big Thing
“The institutional instinct in times of crisis is nearly always to triage — to circulate wellness tips that place responsibility back on the individual, to plan a team-building day that momentarily lifts spirits before dropping everyone back into the same unsustainable conditions… However, these surface-level fixes, profoundly miss the deeper collective opportunity that burnout actually presents: to treat it as a systems signal pointing toward institutional misalignment — one that demands structural reimagining. What we’re confronting is an inherited operating system shaped by centuries of cultural programming that now runs so deep as to appear natural: productivity framed as moral virtue, overwork celebrated as proof of loyalty or mission dedication, and rest stigmatized as unprofessional or an indicator that someone lacks dedication to the cause. These aren’t truths about human nature or organizational necessity, but rather cultural relics still quietly running in the background of most organizations…”
WATCHING
Is Trump losing? A debate
The Ezra Klein Show
“Is Donald Trump eroding American democracy and consolidating power for himself? Or is he trying to do that and failing? Is this what sliding toward authoritarianism looks like? Or is this what a functioning democracy looks like? And how can you tell the difference? Two articles came out recently that offer very different perspectives on these questions. In Vox, Zack Beauchamp wrote a piece called “Trump Is Losing,” which argues that Trump’s efforts to cow his enemies and consolidate power are not organized or strategic enough to make a serious dent in our democratic system. In The New Yorker, Andrew Marantz published a piece that he reported in Hungary, about how life in a modern authoritarian regime doesn’t look and feel like you might expect: “You can live through the big one, it turns out, and still go on acting as if — still go on feeling as if — the big one is not yet here,” he writes.” Beauchamp and Marantz debate these big questions: What timeline are we on? What signs are they looking at? If we’ve crossed the line into authoritarianism, how would we know? Is Trump losing? Or is it possible he’s already won?”
We’re experts in fascism. We’re leaving the U.S.
New York Times Opinion
“In this Opinion video, Marci Shore, Timothy Snyder and Jason Stanley, all professors at Yale and experts in authoritarianism, explain why America is especially vulnerable to a democratic backsliding — and why they are leaving the United States to take up positions at the University of Toronto. Professor Stanley is leaving [as] an act of protest against the Trump administration’s attacks on civil liberties. “I want Americans to realize that this is a democratic emergency,” he said. Professor Shore, who has spent two decades writing about the history of authoritarianism in Central and Eastern Europe, is leaving because of what she sees as the sharp regression of American democracy. “We’re like people on the Titanic saying our ship can’t sink,” she said…Their motives differ but their analysis is the same: ignoring or downplaying attacks on the rule of law, the courts and universities spells trouble for our democracy.”
Silicon Valley’s scary new cult religion: TESCREAL
The Nerd Reich with Gil Duran
In this episode, Gil has a conversation with Rev. Otis Moss III and Dr. Emile Torres about the rise of a new techno-religion sweeping Silicon Valley: TESCREAL – a powerful and unsettling fusion of Transhumanism, Extropianism, Singularitarianism, Cosmism, Rationalism, Effective Altruism, and Long-termism. They reflect on how these ideologies promise utopia but often mask colonial mindsets, moral blind spots, and a dangerous disregard for human dignity. “From the quest for digital immortality to space colonization dreams, these techno-beliefs are shaping a future that may sacrifice the present, exclude the marginalized, and idolize technology over love and ethics.”
LISTENING TO
Working from the inside out: paths to personal and global transformation
Accidental Gods podcast
“We’ve known for decades that the ‘yell and tell’ strategy of belittling people, endeavouring to cajole—or shame—them into some kind of change doesn’t work – in fact it can’t work. It’s not how we’re wired.” Dr. Renée Lertzman is a researcher and the founder of Project InsideOut, an initiative that equips changemakers with psychologically grounded resources for collective transformation. She shares how to bring serious emotional literacy to the table so that we can create the containers and attune to the anxieties and aspirations of people around us.
New rules: 11 unlikely lessons for activist artists navigating MAGA
Change the Story / Change the World podcast
“As censorship and threats escalate for activist artists and community leaders, navigating today’s polarized world demands more than passion. This episode draws powerful insights from prison arts programs to help creatives and organizers thrive amid rising societal conflict and control. Discover 11 practical rules for building credibility, resilience, and respect in high-stakes, divided environments.
Learn why sustained relationships and long-term commitment are the foundation for real, transformative change; Gain essential strategies for navigating us-versus-them traps, telling bold yet responsible stories, and protecting mental health in toxic climates; Listen now to unlock time-tested survival strategies that can empower your activism, deepen your community work, and sustain your creative mission.”
Protests, political violence and its alternatives with Erica Chenoweth
Why is This Happening? podcast
“You’ve probably seen footage or photos of people protesting the Trump regime. Some data suggests that the volume of protestors is higher than in Trump’s first term. But at the same time, you might be wondering if we’re seeing enough civil resistance to preserve American democracy… Erica Chenoweth is a political scientist at Harvard [and discusses] historical and contemporary strategies for protesting, democratic backsliding, global comparisons and more.”
FOR FUN
Kermit The Frog’s commencement speech to 2025 University of Maryland graduates
“Kermit the Frog knows it’s not easy being green — or graduating from college and entering the real world, especially during a time of economic uncertainty and political turmoil. Members of the University of Maryland’s class of 2025 received their diplomas… with sage advice from the amphibious Muppet ringing in their ears. ‘As you prepare to take this big leap into real life, here’s a little advice — if you’re willing to listen to a frog,’ the beloved Muppet said. ‘Rather than jumping over someone to get what you want, consider reaching out your hand and taking the leap side by side, because life is better when we leap together.’” Congratulations to all graduates and their families this month!