WHO WE ARE
IndivisibleHoCoMD is an informal group of citizens in Howard County, MD, registered with the Indivisible Project’s national network of local grassroots groups. We believe in fairness, tolerance, inclusion, and democracy, and come together to fight the racism, xenophobia, authoritarianism, and corruption pushed by the Trump administration and its allies. Read our charter.
IndivisibleHoCoMD is an all-volunteer organization. We do not do fund-raising. However, we may pass the hat for donations to cover the costs of room rental and printing at events we sponsor.
WHAT WE DO
We engage and empower ordinary people to drive extraordinary change at all levels of government. As Alice Walker said “The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.” We believe that if we take our rights and responsibilities as citizens seriously and fully engage in democracy, we will make a difference.
Using the tactics outlined in the Indivisible Guide, our work is based on organized, direct action in the form of calling our representatives, holding rallies, educating the public, mobilizing voters, and advocating for progressive legislation at the local, state, and national level.
HOW WE DO IT
While any constituent can contact their representatives to advocate for issues that are important to them, there are advantages to working as part of a group of like-minded people. No one person can stay up to date on all of today’s important issues, and a single voice on an issue won’t change the position of a member of Congress.
Our Action Teams keep on top of issues such as climate change and education, and figure out what actions can have an impact in Howard County and beyond. These actions are sent to all of our members each week. Most actions take only a few minutes to complete, and it is up to each member to decide which actions to carry out. By coordinating our efforts, we amplify our voices and our impact.
OUR PRINCIPLES
- Defend our democracy against racism, authoritarianism and corruption.
- Work on local, state and national change in partnership with other progressive organizations. We demand that our Members of Congress serve as our voice in Washington, DC, and that our state and county officials reflect our values.
- Embrace progressive values. We model inclusion, respect, fairness, and non-violence in all of our actions.
WHAT DOES MEMBERSHIP ENTAIL?
Membership is largely defined by the interests and availability of each member. Members who have the time and interest are encouraged to join one of the Action Teams. Most Action Teams meet every couple of weeks to share research about their issue and identify how best we can bring about the change we want to see. They then come up with “actions” that the entire membership can participate in. Actions may be phone calls to our elected officials about current legislation (with names, phone numbers, and talking points to make it easy), rallies, lobbying events, opportunities to get involved in campaigns, and more. Members don’t need any specific expertise, just passion for the Action Team’s mission.
All members, whether they are on Action Teams or not, receive an email once a week with the actions that have been identified by either our Action Teams or the national Indivisible organization, so you can have confidence that your effort will be timely, meaningful, and appropriate to Howard County. It is up to individual members to decide which actions they will carry out. Our email updates also include information on events sponsored by other local progressive groups.
Each Action Team has one or two Facilitators who call meetings and help keep the team organized and on track. Organizational decisions are made collectively by all the Facilitators.
TO JOIN
Fill out our New Member Form to join our group and receive our weekly action emails.
Already a member? Fill out our Action Team Form to join an Action Team.
IndivisibleHoCoMD January 2023 Member Meeting
Was Polling Weaponized in the Mid-Term Elections?
Meeting video featuring out guest speaker: Tom Bonier, who was one of the few pollsters who rightly challenged mainstream press narratives about a supposed “red wave” in the 2022 mid-terms. A local resident of Sykesville MD, he is a nationally known Democratic political strategist and the CEO of TargetSmart, a data and polling firm. Tom also teaches political science at Howard University and is a member of SEIU Local 500. Watch the video to learn more about right-wing efforts to weaponize polling and how we can help to counter the impact of bad-faith pollsters and pundits
