Fighting the Good Fight

Aftyn Behn led Indivisible's organizing in TN for years. As the state rep for Nashville, she takes a realistic approach to organizing inside a Republican trifecta.

By Martha Merson

In the 2024 election, Tennessee was not a swing state. Few campaigns were spending time or resources in the “Volunteer State.” In fact, since 2023 (when the Republican-led Tennessee State House expelled Democratic reps Justin J. Pearson and Justin Jones over an appearance with gun safety activists), I haven’t heard much at all about Tennessee.

But Aftyn Behn filled me in. Behn has organized rallies and GOTV campaigns. Before running for state rep in Nashville, she organized campaigns with Indivisible. Behn currently serves as a state representative, but she has built street cred as an organizer in the fights for health care, LGBTQIA rights, and services for rural residents.

Rep. Behn takes an unsentimental look at organizing in her home state. In her analysis, Tennesseans are living in a full blown autocracy. Accordingly, she has shifted the way she organizes, prioritizes issues, and how she guides people to plug in.

Painting barns and mutual aid

Behn admits that organizing in this moment is not easy and that what needs to be done might not be what Democrats have undertaken in recent years.

“It’s very sectarian right now,” she said. “Highly factional. People are in their camps. In Tennesssee there is no social fabric that is separate and distinct from the church. The Democratic Party in the state needs to be rerouted to providing direct services. We need to be out painting barns and providing meals.

“In the absence of a secular safety net, the rightwing churches have filled the gap. The church infrastructure encompasses services, faith, and party loyalty. Far right churches are well-oiled and well-financed. Nevertheless, working families are struggling and will struggle more as prices rise and axed benefits like Medicaid and long-term disability cut into their incomes. Since we don’t have enough mutual aid or funding for government programs, the far right church ecosystem will be the safe harbor unless we [progressives/Democrats] get serious about building that kind of infrastructure.”

Barriers, daunting but not Insurmountable

The barriers to change are real, Behn says. For example, advertising in a local paper isn’t a realistic tactic. “We have civic deserts in Tennessee,” Behn explains. “Most news outlets have disappeared. Where you do have local newspapers, they are owned by one family, typically far right oligarchs. You can barely penetrate.

“People haven’t had good government. They haven’t seen a government that is responsive to working people’s needs, so of course they don’t trust government and don’t see it as useful.”

As conditions deteriorate, Behn sees the possibility of building constituencies around anti-austerity measures. The 99 percent can agree on being anti-oligarch, and there’s a role for activists to engage in organizing in an organic way.

Stepping up

In Behn’s district, people are stepping up. For example, she knows a PTA mom who organized a meeting with an elementary school teacher to talk about protecting immigrant students. Behn has created guides to help people channel their impulse to act because there are tangible things you can do even when you’re outnumbered. Individuals can work with their neighbors locally to mitigate harm. Anyone interested in issues like education can get involved here: https://linktr.ee/aftyn4tn And she encourages activists to download the Action Network toolkit for organizers.

“Where we can begin is with an accelerated version of a listening tour. Either the Democratic county group, grassroots groups, or a trusted nonprofit leader can kick off a community needs assessment that identifies the issues. The meetings lead to producing a report, around which people can organize.”

Emily Tseffos, a candidate for office in Wisconsin used a similar approach in 2024. Tseffos organized a community survey to be delivered to doorsteps and held small meetings at coffee shops throughout the district. Tseffos heard from laborers, young parents, religious leaders, farmers, students, retirees, and more. Like Rep Behn, Tseffos found listening strengthened her sense of purpose and showed in her tailored messaging, which reached beyond party lines.

“Just starting the conversations is radical,” Behn said. “Asking someone to imagine the institutions and government that they want to see shifts the conversation.”

Behn sees co-ops as another way to organize without invoking the Red/Blue dichotomy. “Co-ops could be of any type: coffee shop owners or hair dressers. Co-ops can do everything from building expertise for new owners to finding ways to do bulk purchasing or accounting, and using these kinds of organizations for rebuilding community life, including organizing music festivals.”

On Collaborations

Activists in blue states cannot give up on the South, Behn said. “Our worlds are so different. We’ve been living in Project 2025 for years. Blue state residents can’t afford to write off southern states, even if it’s convenient to say, ‘Well, you get what you voted for.’ People need to give the South a place of reverence. As Imani Perry said: ‘As goes the South, so goes the nation.’”

The goal, Behn said, “is not to win the majority in the state senate or house in Tennessee. It’s not winnable. The Republicans created the maps. Right now we need our voters to bear witness to what is going on. We need to get people to the capitol to see what goes on in the House of Reps. When you see our mics turned off, when you see how the leadership prevents us from filing bills, when you see how we are ousted from committee rooms, you see that this isn’t two equal parties, but bullies who are doing the work of corporations instead of working for the people.”

Aftyn Behn won’t be silent

“I knew if I ran for this seat, I would have to be willing to take a bullet for a trans person or go to jail for an undocumented person. This phase in the US requires grit. The best part of the story of this moment is we’ll see unparalleled moments of courage. We’ll see leaders emerge who will carry this country forward.”

You can follow Aftyn Behn on Blue Sky @aftynbehn.bsky.social You don’t have to be quiet about the organizing work you are doing. Write it up for the Grassroots Connector. Get in touch for our guidelines by emailing thegrassrootsconnector@gmail.com