Saving Our Democracy: A Call to Action Ahead of Trump’s Joint Session of Congress
All of us — no matter our race or religion, whether we are native or newcomer, whether we have a degree or no degree, and whether or not we have a disability — believe in the freedom to make our own decisions about our lives and our identities and to have a government that works for all of us. As our national elected leaders come together on March 4 to hear President Donald Trump’s first joint address to Congress during his second term, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights reminds all people in America of what’s at stake and what we can do together to demand a government that lives up to our ideals and serves every person and community.
All of us want great schools, good jobs, and the ability to see a doctor when we’re sick and to take care of our families. We want to be safe and know that our leaders are solving problems, not creating them. The Trump administration has been brazen in taking actions — many of which are not legal — that will tell our schools what history they can teach, tell our businesses what they can and can’t do to compete in a global economy, and tell our cities and communities who belongs and who doesn’t. President Trump has personally promised to turn the government into a machine to drive personal vendettas, and his executive actions and his Cabinet members and advisors are attacking schools and small businesses while giving free reign to his billionaire buddy Elon Musk and attempting to turn us against each other. Unfortunately, the current regime is cutting essential health programs like Medicaid, veterans services, food programs that feed hungry communities, and even services for children with disabilities — all to put money in the pockets of the super rich. But this country is a proud one. It is a determined one. And we will not allow the corrupt and the dividers to distract us from making this nation a better one for all our people.
“We should judge our political leaders by their actions, not just their words. We are used to hearing promises, but we wouldn’t buy a house without checking the basement, and the basement of this regime is a dark and dangerous place for too many of our people and for our democracy overall. Words and phrases like ‘unity’ or ‘lower prices’ are meaningless in this climate of blame and chaos when many unconstitutional actions have been taken since the inauguration. The people of this country want real change and better lives, not corruption. They want rights and dignity, not retribution. They want solutions and not threats,” said Maya Wiley, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference. “We know exactly what the president wants to do because his agenda was outlined in Project 2025, and he’s been enacting it at full force since his first day back in office — with great harm to the American people.”
“Billionaires and corporations have been benefitting, and ordinary families are paying the price. And this is not going unnoticed,” Wiley added. “Constituents at town halls across the country have sounded the alarm in recent weeks with furious voters asking if their representatives will stand up to Trump and Elon Musk’s hostile takeover on behalf of them and their communities.”
Our Only Choice: Take Action
Stop the Dangerous Defunding of Your Schools and Health Care
Tell your member of Congress that defunding education and health care is wrong!
When families lose Medicaid coverage, medications like inhalers for asthma become unaffordable. Children should be in classrooms learning, not in the ER with an asthma attack because they couldn’t afford an inhaler.
Republican leadership is pushing a massive effort to defund education, health care, and other essential programs benefiting families and children to pay for tax cuts for billionaires and corporations. They’ve already cut education research and have proposed massive cuts to Medicaid that would take health insurance away from millions of people with low incomes across the country.
Participate in the March 4 Protect Our Kids campaign in your community.
The Protect Our Kids campaign is mobilizing educators, parents, students, and community allies to fight against devastating cuts to public education. The Trump administration’s plan to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education and block grant federal education programs would strip critical funding from millions of students.
Click here to find a local march in your community.
Support Immigrant Communities
The Trump administration’s attacks on immigrants through mass deportations, expanded detention, and efforts to undermine birthright citizenship are catastrophic for all Americans. These policies erode constitutional rights, weaken the economy, waste taxpayer dollars, and create fear in communities that do not make us safer. While courts have blocked his unconstitutional attempt to end birthright citizenship, his administration continues to escalate detention, deportation, and rollbacks of protections like Temporary Protected Status (TPS) — harming children and families. We must stand against these inhumane policies and defend the rights and dignity of all.
Email your elected officials to urge them to support just immigration policies.
Protect Your Right to Vote
Congress should pass voting rights bills that protect against discrimination and expand access to the ballot for everyone, like the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, Freedom to Vote Act, Native American Voting Rights Act, and the DC Statehood bill. Instead, congressional leaders are poised to vote on the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, which would disenfranchise communities of color, seniors, young people, rural voters, and even married women who have changed their name.
Stop the Illegal Overreach by Elon Musk and DOGE
Right now, Elon Musk and his gaggle of unqualified, unelected, and unvetted minions are running the show at the White House and trying to turn our country into a badly run tech company. They are leading the largest data breach in U.S. history and putting AI before people, leading to real harm to real people. Time and time again, Musk and his lackeys lie about the amount of resources they’ve cut and what their cuts actually accomplish. Instead of saving taxpayers money, Musk is pocketing $8 million a day in contracts and likely paving the way for more tax breaks for the wealthy few like him. Nobody elected Elon Musk. This illegal overreach of power calls for immediate and decisive action until these efforts are halted, investigated, and Musk and his minions are held accountable by Congress.
Urge your members of Congress to STOP Elon Musk’s illegal overreach of power.
Oppose the Nominees Putting This Agenda to Work
Defend Civil Rights Enforcement: Oppose Harmeet Dhillon’s nomination
We deserve a Justice Department that works for all of us, with leaders who respect and recognize our hard-fought civil and human rights. Dhillon has focused her career on diminishing civil rights rather than enforcing or protecting them, including by working to restrict voting access, helping to fuel the “big lie” and undermine democracy, attacking LGBTQ+ rights and reproductive rights, and more.
Uniting Together for Civil Rights
“Throughout our 75-year history, The Leadership Conference has never stopped fighting for an America that lives up to its ideals of equality, justice, and opportunity,” Wiley concluded. “When we join together across our differences, just as past generations did to end Jim Crow and secure voting rights, we build the power to create lasting change. That is needed now more than ever.”