Prep for ‘Freedom Summer’ 2.0 and Stand Against the Cuba Blockade

Make a difference for democracy, from the streets to an overpass near you

Democracy is not a spectator sport. Whether you want to exercise your right to vote, join a protest, call your elected officials, run for office, or keep tabs on the week’s hottest issues and protests, The Contrarian has you covered.

Here are our top suggestions for getting involved in the days ahead. These are heated times; we encourage non-violent and lawful activism.

Cheer on Vote Defenders

In rare good news on the redistricting wars in the South, voting-rights groups prevailed this week in Alabama — securing a ruling by a three-judge district court panel that blocked the state’s effort to impose new a congressional map for 2026 because it was “tainted by intentional race-based discrimination.” (The decision is being appealed to the Supreme Court, which had earlier given Alabama a tentative green light to proceed with a hyperpartisan redistricting in the wake of the high court’s Callais decision.)

The ruling is a reminder to support the crucial work of the ACLU, which brought the litigation in coalition with the Legal Defense Fund, church groups, and the NAACP of Alabama. The ACLU also played a leadership role in the fight for representation in South Carolina, where this week Republicans, heeding the call of pro-democracy activists, stalled a Trump-backed redistricting plan that would have eliminated the state’s only majority-minority House district.

Prep for “Freedom Summer” 2.0

The Civil Rights organizers at Black Power War Room are launching a reprise of Freedom Summer, evoking the historic 1964 mobilization that registered Black voters in the Deep South. The just-announced calendar includes a series of events designed to activate and turn out Black voters and allies in the fight for a true American democracy. It begins with a Juneteenth “week of action” and stretches through a pre-election “last push” on Halloween. Sign up with an email to access the group’s toolkit for activists.

Train to Fight While Trump Watches UFC

On June 14, the No Kings Coalition is hosting a nationwide organizing event as counterprogramming to the UFC spectacle at the Trump White House. The coalition describes the purpose of the evening as “transforming the energy from the streets into sustained local organizing” in order “to build long-term, local collective power and defend our communities against this administration’s ongoing threats.”

These organizing parties will feature their own marquee entertainment — a Rise Up, Sing Out concert in defense of the First Amendment, with appearances by Bette Midler, Rufus Wainwright, and Jane Fonda. “Throughout history, authoritarians have wanted to make people feel alone, isolated,” Fonda said, announcing the concert. “[But] when people have stood together—with open hearts, open arms, in solidarity and in community—the people have prevailed.”

Sign up for an organizing event at NoKings.org, or look for concert tickets here.

End the Cuba Blockade

The Trump administration’s lawless blockade of Cuba is creating immense suffering as island residents go without gasoline, fuel oil, and electricity. Now the administration has unveiled a criminal indictment of Raúl Castro, perhaps setting the stage for regime change like the United States imposed on Venezuela after indicting Nicolás Maduro. Indivisible has a campaign for activists to contact Congress to demand an end to the blockade and to oppose potential military action on the sovereign island nation.

Protect ICE Detainees and Protestors

Don’t let ICE atrocities slip from the spotlight. ICE agents clashed with protestors outside of the Delaney Hall detention center in New Jersey on Tuesday after Sen. Andy Kim’s inspection of the facility. The protests began after news spread that a detainee — who organized a hunger strike against inhumane conditions inside — was being transferred to another facility.

Support the detainees and protestors. For those in New Jersey, contact your representatives and advocate for bill A4300, which would impose a tax on private detention facilities to fund immigrant legal defense programs. Outside of New Jersey, demand that your representatives and senators enact ICE reforms and conduct inspections of facilities that have earned comparisons to concentration camps. Encourage Congress to embrace Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker’s simple logic for ICE funding: “No accountability? No check.”

Prep for “Seven Days In June”

Leading unions and healthcare groups have launched a Seven Days in June campaign to elevate a national conversation about America’s healthcare crisis and the need for consistent non-partisan public health investment. Read the group’s call to action and plan to participate in a candlelight vigil on June 5.

D-Day is for Democracy

Pro-democracy organizers of the Visibility Brigade are honoring the sacrifice of D-Day and the fierce fight against fascism that it symbolizes by mounting nationwide protests on June 6. The Visibility Brigade organizes demonstrations on freeway overpasses — holding large signs and banners to communicate “peacefully, visibly, and powerfully” to passing motorists, with the aim of “reminding everyday people that they are not alone in these unprecedented times.” The D-Day event targets the unchecked billionaire power that’s fueling the fascist lurch the federal government. You can find a brigade chapter near you, check out the group’s activist toolkit for “rush hour resistance,” and sign up for the D-Day events here.

Fight Presidential Corruption

Donald Trump has secured an outlandish “settlement” from the Justice Department that creates a nearly $1.8 billion slush fund for Trump to distribute to supposed victims of judicial “weaponization.” As our publisher Norm Eisen described it: “This is a smash-and-grab job, pure and simple: Trump wants to raid the American treasury to line his allies’ pockets.”

Many of those now clamoring for a payout are Jan. 6ers, including former Proud Boy honcho Enrique Tarrio, whom Trump pardoned for seditious conspiracy. Indivisible has launched a campaign to contact your members of Congress to demand “no payouts for insurrectionists.”

Stand with E. Jean

E. Jean Carroll — who outraged Donald Trump by winning a combined $88 million in judgments against him related to sexual assault and subsequent defamation — is now being criminally investigated, in a case of actual weaponization by the Trump Justice Department. Watch a documentary about Carroll that includes gutting footage of her deposition recounting her abuse at the hands of Trump.

Vote Like Your Nation Depends on It

Tuesday, June 2, is a major event on the primary schedule with elections from coast-to-coast.

California holds its “jungle” primary, which could either put two Democrats through to the next round in the fight for governor, or effectively choose the next leader of the Golden State if a Republican makes it to the general election. (California hasn’t elected a Republican to statewide office since 2011.)

On the same night, Iowa will choose a Democrat to fight for the Senate for the seat being vacated by Republican Joni Ernst. Montana decides which Democrat will get the nod for a pivotal House race. There are also primaries in New Jersey (where Republicans will pick the candidate to face off with Sen. Cory Booker), New Mexico, and South Dakota.

The rest of the June primary calendar is stocked, with another ten contests upcoming:

June 9: Maine, Nevada, North Dakota, South Carolina

June 16: Oklahoma, Washington, D.C.

June 23: Maryland, New York, Utah

June 30: Colorado

Check Vote411.org to verify your voting details and make a plan to cast your ballot.

Click here to find The Contrarian’s standing resources for empowering yourself in American civic life — from contacting your elected officials, to ensuring your right to vote, to supporting public-interest journalism.