In Retrospect

As we wrap up 2024, we revisit your expressions of solidarity

In the days and weeks after Election Day 2024, grassroots group leaders wrote heartfelt notes to peers and volunteers. Here we pay tribute to those who extended solace and hope. Your words help carry our movement forward.

“These past months, we have given everything we had - our time, energy and unwavering hope - to helping students and new voters participate in our democracy. Please know that your efforts mattered - to me, to each other and to the students who looked to us for guidance and as a trustworthy source information in an environment overwhelmed by propaganda, vitriol, and misinformation. I cherish the work we've done together.” — Amanda Aaron, Swing the Vote

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“No one did more than you, and was more creative, relentless and effective in moving things forward. There was clearly a big wave out there none of us saw, or saw clearly enough.” — Bob Scheier, MA Flip PA

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“Our hearts are broken, but our spirits are not. We will need a few moments to heal and process where we are. We must give ourselves a brief mourning period and some time to reflect. Very soon we will come back together and, as always, work with our sister organizations all over the country to protect our democracy and the rights of those less fortunate than we are.” — ReSisters Leadership Team

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“After last week's election results, you may be struggling to figure out how to move forward as an individual, a community, and a nation. If there is one thing I know, it is that we must continue to uplift and be part of people-powered movements in the face of uncertainty.” — Andrea Miller, Center for Common Ground

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“We are an activist community, and the dreadful election results will not cause us to melt away into our individual corners to grieve and give up.” — 31st Street Swing Left

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“We may all need to take a little time to regain our equilibrium, but we will regroup and begin again together with the tens of thousands of other Americans who have put their daily lives aside to strengthen democracy. This is our only option.” — Dana Goss, Gretchen Elias, Rebecca Davison, Eve Jacob Carnahan, Susan Ritz, Lauren Geiger, and Brooke Nadell for Lean Left Vermont

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“We are still reeling from the election. Our emotions are raw as we vacillate between shock, disbelief, sadness, fear, and anger. We don’t know what lies ahead but we do know we are not stopping our advocacy. To keep going, we will discuss how to be brave. We have no other choice.” — Robbin, Katherine, Stair, Carrie & Finale, Friday Power Lunch

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“We want to remind all of us to savor those moments of solidarity, laughter, and good conversations with voters that we shared during September, October, and November in Maricopa. Our work will bear fruit we cannot yet see, both in Arizona, and in our own lives.” — Amy, Michael, Sue, and Betsy, SwingBlueAlliance Win Arizona

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“Please know this: It takes time to close minds, and it takes time to open them. We’ve seen this cycle of intellectual darkness and light throughout history. . . We’re still us. We’re still here. We have much to assess in our work to counter disinformation to date, and much to plan for the future.” — Jody, Cameron, Tim, Kelsey, Rachelle, and Lori, Your Indivisible Truth Brigade Team

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“We are in a tough spot right now. Yesterday I was mostly enraged; today I am mostly sad. But overall, I am determined. They will not take away our democracy. We will not cede our considerable power. We will strategize, rest, lean on our communities and do what we must to restore ourselves and plan our future. We will fight these would be autocrats at every turn.'“ — Marta, For Indivisible Northampton-Swing Left Western Mass

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“On days like this, after an election like this, I know it is hard to do but I am going to ask you to believe again in the promise of America. We simply must maintain belief in our collective ability to make change – person by person, block by block, issue by issue – until our energy and passion break through and sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression. . . The dream we all worked for in this campaign is alive in all of us. It can only truly die when the last of us gives up the fight.” — Laurie from The Outer Cape

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“The hope I can offer arises from the unpredictability of events. We don’t know what the future will bring, what opportunities to rebuild democracy may arise.” — Steve Schear

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“Things may feel a little bleak out there (okay, another understatement of the century), but we draw a lot of hope and inspiration from this community. There are tens of thousands of strangers, dotted across the country, choosing to spend their free time and disposable income to protect the rights and freedoms of people they don’t know and will never meet. That’s pretty f*cking amazing. We’re proud to be in this fight with you.” — Vote Save America, Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett, and Tommy Vietor

We give Hope in the Dark author Rebecca Solnit the last word. From her post on Election night 2024:

“There is no alternative to persevering, and that does not require you to feel good. You can keep walking whether it's sunny or raining. Take care of yourself and remember that taking care of something else is an important part of taking care of yourself, because you are interwoven with the ten trillion things in this single garment of destiny that has been stained and torn, but is still being woven and mended and washed.”