A friend said recently that FORWRD is something like a beehive, because we’re providing structure, community and coordination that helps people take action, in groups or alone.
HELL YEAH. Organized bees are a SWARM, after all, capable of taking down much larger and more powerful enemies. Productive, mobilized, and deadly? Sign us up.
Let’s GOOOOOOOOOO 📸: Mahdi Zafar
If you missed our last bulletin, here’s the headline: we’re organizing support for Katy Padilla Stout’s campaign in District 23 (you can read all about it here).
Since we weren’t born with the ability to organize into perfect teams of workers and queens (WE’RE ALL QUEENS IN THIS HIVE, HONEY 🐝), the full scope of our Katy-To-Win plan is still coming together.
So far, we’ve sketched out four specific initiatives:
FUNDRAISING: Save the date! We’ll host our first FORWRD fundraiser for Katy on: Wednesday, May 20th at the 29th Street Ballroom. We hope it will be the first of many across the district and beyond.
HOW TO PLUG IN: Contact the fundraising lead here.STUDENTS/YOUTH: Young people, especially in Texas, are being bombarded with Turning Point/CPAC-style messaging. We can help enlist and mobilize this critical voting bloc. Creatives welcome!
HOW TO PLUG IN: Contact the students/youth lead here.GROUP COORDINATION: District 23 is HUGE, and there are already lots of groups — chapters of Indivisible, local Democratic precincts, Red Wine & Blue outposts — who are doing work on the ground. Our goal is to coordinate and connect these groups, to maximize impact and identify gaps. If outreach and spreadsheets are your jam, this is the place for you.
HOW TO PLUG IN: Contact the group coordination lead here.FORWRD-SATX: San Antonio is filled with badass, risk-taking women. Our goal is to get them all in a room together and see what happens.
Who do you know who should be there?
HOW TO PLUG IN: Contact the FORWRD-SATX lead here.
Will this be all we do for Katy? We hope not! There’s room for as much creativity and activity as we can manage. The more, the deadlier, as the bees know.
NEXT STEPS: This is all coming together very quickly … we hope you’ll tap yourself on the shoulder and jump into the game with us. We’ll also be taking more active recruitment measures in the weeks to come, because we’re determined to build a KILLER SWARM by November 3.
“In Times of Injustice, Resistance Is the Prayer”
That was the blessing Pastor Jim Rigby used to launch a caravan of 40-some local folks to the Dilley Detention Center.
Some of the intrepid folks who spent their Saturday showing up for detained immigrants
Approximately 200 people gathered from across the state (on a very cold and windy day!) to protest the Trump regime’s inhumane detention policies and demand the release of every family by Mother’s Day.
The protest made national news and strengthened the connections between groups from all over Texas. District 15 candidate Bobby Pulido generously provided food for a post-protest picnic, giving folks a chance to socialize and plan. It’s that kind of can-do spirit we’re seeing bust out all over Texas — everyone’s ready to come together for real change.
FORWRD member Jul Suits designed this incredible banner 🙌🏾
Big congratulations to local organizer Amy Hayes and her statewide partners for a hugely consequential event. Let’s keep making trouble together!
Uniting for Gina
Amid all this activity, we’re not forgetting our friend Gina Hinojosa!
Gina attended our first meeting, thrilled to enlist and support new allies in the fight for democracy in Texas. Now we’re thrilled to support her campaign for governor.
A few friends and FORWRD members are hosting a fundraiser for Gina on Monday, May 11, and you’re invited:
We hope to see you there!
🗓️ Calendar Highlights
For Friday, April 24th: April Showers Bring People Power 💪
💜= FORWRD member recommended
In Person Events:
Saturday, April 25th 1:00-4:00 PM LWV Friends and Family Spring Festival Live music. Poetry. Yoga. Games. Kona Ice. Free. Outside. Community energy at its best!
Saturday, April 25th 3:00-4:00 PM Winning in 2026 - Relational Organizing Join Blue Action an in person interactive training session where you’ll learn the essentials of relational organizing—a proven strategy for building powerful, people-centered movements.
Sunday, April 26th 3:00-5:00 PM A Conversation with Community Members Detained by ICE The Friends Meeting of Austin Anti-Racism Awareness Group is hosting a conversation with two community members about their experiences in ICE detention.
💜Friday, May 1st May Day Strong workers, students, and families take action to demand a nation that puts workers over billionaires, with many refusing business as usual through No School. No Work. No Shopping. In Austin there will be a May Day Rally and Labor Fair followed by a May Day March from City Hall to the Capitol.
💜Saturday, May 2nd 9:00-11:00 Citywide Garage Sale Benefitting the AMA Immigrant Support Fund Austin Mutual Aid is hosting 4 garage sales around town to raise money for their Immigrant Support Fund. Please come shop, donate, or just say hi! Unable to make it? You can still donate here to the Immigrant Support Fund!
Saturday, May 2nd 6:00-9:00 Activists of Austin Art Show “Activists of Austin” is a project highlighting the incredible range of community care Austinites demonstrate through their organizing work.
Recurring Events:
MONDAYS in April and May:
5-6 PM Moral Mondays: Love Forward Together Inspired by the work of Rev. Dr. William J Barber, Repairers of the Breach have created a local chapter in Austin. They are meeting every Monday at Senator John Cornyn’s office. “We are gathering because our nation is choosing to spend billions on war while people suffer. We stand against policy violence, abandoned communities, and the normalization of destruction. We stand for peace, truth, justice, and the common good.”
5-7 PM Bannering in Cedar Park Help show Cedar Park how many of us work to end GOP fascism and corruption -- ICE OUT! No War! No Kings & No Dictators, End GOP Corruption, Fund the ACA, and more. **NOTE: Starts April 13th
💜💜 5:00-5:30 PM Weekly Protest at the Menchaca Library Join FORWRD members in holding up signs at the Menchaca Library every Monday. Bring your own sign or borrow one of ours!
7-8 PM Austin Resistance Choir Hangout Need a happy way to start your week? Join the Austin Resistance Choir for a pop-in, no-experience-necessary hangout every Monday night at Batch Craft Beer & Kolaches.
TUESDAYS in April:
8:00-9:30 AM West Side Banners Over Austin with the Rosedale Huddle. These are super fun, peaceful, energetic! We will be holding banners and signs over the interstate at peak traffic /visibility times - we wave flags, support our banners and thumbs up to the many honks and waves from cars and trucks below. (Fan favorite? “Stop Truth Decay!”) At Far West and MoPac
WEDNESDAYS in April:
8:00-9:30 AM Banners Over South Austin with the Rosedale Huddle. Come help us fly Flags, Banner, and Signs like ICE OUT and HANDS OFF OUR LIBERTY on this bridge that no-one has noticed ... til NOW! Grab that coffee and meet us at 8AM for a workout waving and flagging to Lots of Honks and Waves from the many many commuters below.
8:00-9:00 AM ICE Out Rally N. Lamar & W. Rundberg Wednesdays 8:00am - 9:00am Bring signs in English and/or Spanish
FRIDAYS in April:
8:00-9:30 AM East Side Banners Over Austin NEW TIME! Join the Indivisible Rosedale Huddle at the 12th St bridge over IH-35 to wave signs and bring attention to current events.
SUNDAYS in April:
12-2 PM ICE Out for Good in Pflugerville Join us on Sundays to protest the presence of ICE in Pflugerville
Thinking of our friends in San Antonio 🙏🏾
(Don’t get this joke? You can ask a Spurs fan
— or click the photo for a brief Facebook explanation.)
