Indivisible Greater Kalamazoo
Indivisible Greater Kalamazoo Actions
1) Weekly Protests at Huizenga's Office continue! Join the fun and enjoy all the encouraging car honks! Fridays at 12:00, and 4:30; co-hosted by Indivisible Greater Kalamazoo and Indivisible Southwest Michigan; 5228 Lovers Lane, Suite 108, Portage.
The Kalamazoo Visibility Brigade is often up the road on the overpass, and Indivisible sometimes joins forces with them. Check them out here:
mobilize.us/kalamazoovisibilit…
2) Wednesday, May 21, 6:30 pm - Next Indivisible Greater Kalamazoo (IGK) Meeting, People's Church, 1758 N. 10th Street, Kalamazoo, MI.
3) June 6 & 7 are both the Do Dah Parade and PRIDE weekend. Please email IndivisibleKalamazoo2@gmail.com if you can volunteer to (A) help do parade PREP (we have a "Robin Hood" theme), (B) MARCH in the Parade with Indivisible (because we need to know how many "costume" items to make) and (C) STAFF our table at Pride for part of a day.
4) Next MASS EVENT: Saturday, June 14 - details to come. This is Flag Day and the President's birthday. He wants a military parade. We The People are going to protest everywhere else around the country and avoid D.C. The theme is NO KINGS! More forthcoming at: nokings.org/?SQF_SOURCE=indivi…
5) IGK Shirts are available for order through our website: indivisiblekzoo.itemorder.com/… Shirts are printed in batches, so note the deadline listed at the top of the Order page.
Opportunities Through Other Organizations
6) 5/6/25 - 5/12/25 is the second Amazon Boycott due to concerns about the company's business practices, labor conditions, and the rollback of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. This is organized through The Peoples Union USA. Here is an article about their efforts:
newsweek.com/nationwide-amazon…
7) Saturday, May 10, 12:00-2:00 "Takedown" Protest, corner of S. Westnedge and Old Kilgore. "No Kings, Jesters, Oligarchies!" Boycott and divest from Tesla, SpaceX, Boring, Grok, and Target. Donations of shelf stable foods, toiletries, diapers accepted.
8) Monday, May 12 at 6pm Comstock School Board meeting. "Comstock School Board Quietly Rescinded Protections for Trans Students — We Demand a Reinstatement Vote". Show your support. Bring a sign or share your story during public comment. We ask that this remain a peaceful demonstration of support. 6138 King Highway, Kalamazoo, MI 49048. ➔ More info below, including an opportunity to write to Comstock School Board Members.
9) Mondays 5/12 and 5/19, 6-8 PM Monday Poster Nights! Join Kalamazoo and Van Buren Indivisible members for fun making posters - supplies provided (or bring your own). ALL are welcome. ALL ages. ALL IDEAS! The Lucky Wolf, 404 E Michigan Ave, Paw Paw, MI; 269-913-4153
10) For those who can travel - Monday, May 12, 6 pm No ICE Detention Center in Baldwin - "Communities not Cages". Attend the Baldwin Village Council Meeting to support their opposition to this ICE Detention Center; 620 Washington St, Baldwin, MI. ➔ Flier attached below, with more info and other ways to get involved in this initiative, including contacting our Elected Officials.
Press Release here: nodetentioncentersmi.org/2025/…
11) Tuesday, May 13, 6 pm - The KCDP Do Something group is meeting at Crawlspace Comedy Theatre
315 W. Michigan Ave, Kalamazoo. Sheriff Fuller will be speaking about ICE, and related issues for Kalamazoo County. allevents.in/kalamazoo/do-some…
12) El Concilio and the United Farm Workers are calling for Action on farmworker wages.
Senator Slotkin has announced plans to freeze farmworker wages. You can find more information on this issue here: Instagram Link
Call to action: Instead of fighting to protect American workers, Elissa Slotkin told us she’s decided to work with the GOP to make it easier and cheaper to import vulnerable foreign guest workers. You can call Senator Slotkin’s DC office at 202-759-4087 to voice your concerns. ➔ You can find a script about Protecting Farm Worker Wages below.
More on the Comstock School Board
Comstock School Board Quietly Rescinded Protections for Trans Students
We Demand a Reinstatement Vote
On March 10th, 2025, the Comstock Public School Board voted to rescind Policy 5106 –
Transgender Students, which outlined basic protections for transgender students, including affirming names and pronouns, bathroom access, and accurate school records. The vote happened quietly and without community input, in response to Executive Orders 14168 and 14190 from the Trump administration threatening to pull federal funding from schools that support trans students.
The board's action was nearly invisible—until a parent was contacted and told, incorrectly, that transgender students would now be required to use bathrooms matching their gender assigned at birth. That misunderstanding revealed the board’s lack of clarity on civil rights law and prompted community concern. Only after pushback did they acknowledge that federal protections still cover bathroom access—but by then, the damage was done, and the policy had
already been rescinded.
Let’s be clear: this was a politically motivated decision based on fear, not facts. The federal threats are already being blocked in court, and schools are not losing funding for affirming trans students.
Comstock’s decision is out of step with the rest of Michigan. Of 535 public school districts:
26 have adopted and retained trans student policies
461 never had a policy
41 considered a policy but left it blank
Only 9, including Comstock, have chosen to rescind
We demand that the Comstock Board immediately move to vote on reinstating Policy 5106. Our students deserve clarity, consistency, and compassion—not performative compliance and legal ambiguity.
🗣Take Action : Copy and paste the form letter below and email it to every board member and the superintendent. Let them know we see what they did—and we expect better.
🧑🤝🧑Join Us : Next Monday, May 12th, at 6pm for the next Comstock School Board meeting and show your support. Bring a sign or share your story during public comment. We ask that this remain a peaceful demonstration of support.
6138 King Highway, Kalamazoo, MI 49048
Board Members:
Pamela Dickinson - President
pamela.dickinson@comstockps.org
Matthew Schreiner - Vice President
matt.schreiner@comstockps.org
Paul Lamphear - Treasurer
paul.lamphear@comstockps.org
Saralyn Brown - Secretary
saralyn.brown@comstockps.org
Hillary Cook - Trustee
hillary.cook@comstockps.org
Richard Hathaway - Trustee
richard.hathaway@comstockps.org
Kristie Poulson - Trustee
kristie.poulson@comstockps.org
Jeff Thoenes - Superintendant
Jeff.Thoenes@ComstockPS.org
Indivisible Kalamazoo Action Items (3/12)
1. Keep making calls.
5calls.org/
2. Call Congress about the budget; email Huizenga.
3. Amazon Boycott through March 14.
4. March 13 & 27 phone banking for Susan Crawford for WI S Court indivisible.org/scowls2025
5. March 15: Mail #IdesofTrump postcards
(text me if you need some)
6. March 16: Rally for LGBT rights, 2-5 pm in Lansing
7. March 18 & 27: Imagine Kalamazoo 2035 environmental group
kalamazoocity.org/Government/P…
8. March 19: League of Conservation Voters Huizenga Protest
lcv.org/
9. March 19 & 26: non-partisan Vigil of Faith, noon at city hall
10. March 21-28 Nestle Boycott
The local action working group is also planning no on Friday protests at the Lovers Lane office of Bill Huizenga.
Indivisible Resources
Indivisible (national)
indivisible.org/
Statewide Indivisible Michigan
statewideindivisiblemi.com/
Indivisible Greater Grand Rapids
indivisiblegrr.substack.com/
Indivisible Greater Kalamazoo
indivisiblekzoo.org/
Week of March 9 Action Items from Indivisible GRR:
Top 5 Things You Can Do This Week
The list may seem short this week, but we’re directing people to utilize the 5Calls app, which includes the current issues and is updated regularly. Also, there are definitely A LOT of events happening in the coming weeks, including a few outside opportunities so you can get some fresh air after you make those calls.
Call Senators Peters, 202.224.6221 and Slotkin, 202.224.4822 (see Resources for You for more contact info)
Sen. Slotkin: Thank her for her State of the Union speech response (even if you think she wasn't aggressive enough)
Hold town halls during the upcoming Congressional recess (March 15-23)
Oppose firing of 80,000 jobs at the VA, which is 15% of the VA workforce.
Oppose reduction of IRS workforce by 50%.
Oppose MAGA plan to stockpile taxpayer money in a crypto currency reserve scam
Demand that Trump disclose the identities of the donors to his transition team and how much they donated.
Call Rep. Scholten 202.225.3831
Sign up to receive Rep. Scholten’s newsletter. It’s actually quite informative.
Hold town halls during the upcoming Congressional recess (March 15-23)
Publically - loudly and often – fight and obstruct the Trump/Musk agenda with all possible congressional tools
Oppose firing of 80,000 jobs at the VA, which is 15% of the VA workforce.
Oppose reduction of IRS workforce by 50%.
Oppose MAGA plan to stockpile taxpayer money in a crypto currency reserve scam
Demand that Trump
Call your State Representative: Every single Michigan House Republican voted to cut $5 billion (25%!) from the education budget and to defund higher education. It didn’t even go through the committee process to allow people to read it (see contact info in Resources for You).
If you have a GOP Rep: Let them know how you feel about this lack of process and their vote
If you have a Dem Rep: Thank them for voting against this budget
Use apps to maximize and amplify your resistance!
Download the 5Calls app and start calling!
Check out the Everywhere Is Queer app to support local, LGBTQ+ owned businesses in your area
Educate Yourself
Read: Thirty lonely but beautiful actions you can take right now which probably won't magically catalyze a mass movement against Trump but that are still wildly important
Check out the A History of Racial Injustice from The Equal Justice Initiative. Founded in 1989 by Bryan Stevenson, a widely acclaimed public interest lawyer and bestselling author of Just Mercy, you can sign up for daily history lessons delivered right to your email inbox. Here is an overview of March that will give you an idea of the information they provide.
Subscribe to Letters from an American, Heather Cox Richardson’s column on Substack where she breaks down current events through the lens of history.
Attend any of the events listed below!
#6 for triple extra credit: Take care of yourself! Watch your favorite feel good movie(s) to take a break from the relentless chaos. Casablanca, Amelie, and School of Rock are good options. You probably have others on your own lists. Pop some corn, open a can of your favorite carbonated beverage, and settle in for a little vacation for your brain.
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2025-05-11 12:26:09