Quick Treats Renewal & Root-Building
A little break from your newsfeed of horrors for activists who could use a dose of hope
April 2025 Quick Treats
Instead of demanding action, these treats are for you - with no expectations, no obligations, and no guilt if you’re not up for it right now
Good News
Cool Things That Exist Now
Oh Hey, We Found The Helpers
A Goofy Thing Just For You To Enjoy
Helpful Stuff To Keep In Your Pocket For Later
1. Good News In Resisting Voter Buyouts
Hi friends!
This morning, I woke up three hours early to help my partner flush a bug out of his ear. It’s a jarring way to start the day. But quite enough of an emergency to justify staying in bed and refusing to work.
So I was prepared for a bit of an off, unpleasant day - until I opened the news to discover the world’s neediest billionaire is having an actively terrible day. Delightful!
“[Wisconsin’s Supreme Court election] was the most expensive judicial race in US history. And Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, lost.” writes Sarah Shamim: Wisconsin Supreme Court election results: What Happened & Why It Matters.
I don’t want to sell you a false promise that bootstraps and hard work can overcome an oligarch’s power to buy US elections, which is why I’m linking to the article that gives transparency that both sides spent millions. This is still rich people fighting over power. But for now, let’s hold tight to the fact that Wisconsin voters have enough integrity to not actively sell their votes.
”Musk, who spent about $250m to help Trump during his presidential campaign, promised to pay volunteers $20 for each voter they recruited before the Tuesday vote. He also offered voters $100 in exchange for uploading a picture of anyone gesturing thumbs up while holding Schimel’s photo.”
Wisconsin voters’ decisions were influenced by educators and caregivers who taught them about the power of their vote, and the ways voting rights have been (and continue to be) denied to targeted people. While the media typically focuses only on national elections, this is a prime example of how state and smaller elections make a big impact.
Educating the next generation of voters starts NOW
Check out our Voting & Elections Toolkit for young families, which includes recommended picture books, a video explainer, discussion questions, and more.
BTW: We got the bug out - it was a carpet beetle!
2. Cool Things That Exist Now
TAP: The Art Project, which “shines a spotlight on the untold stories of underrepresented historical artists, crafting art projects that celebrate their legacy.”
Shawna Smith, the creator and activist-educator behind TAP, offers art classes for elementary-aged kids, but also provides free art classes on YouTube along with downloadable lessons from the TAP website.
I found TAP while collecting activities for our Asian & Pacifica Peoples Heritage Month Toolkit. I was looking for a representation that wasn’t about (1) our perpetual role as others/victims, (2) how good we are at math & science, or (3) over-focusing on East Asians. So I was delighted to find Smith’s lesson about Pacita Abad, a Filipina painter and trapunto (a type of sewing) artist who created art inspired by political movements.
In a perfect world, I would have the courage to email Smith and tell her how much I appreciate the accessibility and joy in her work. Writing this newsletter gives me an excuse to do so!
3. Oh Hey, We Found The Helpers…
Last week I did the scary thing and asked for help, specifically for support protecting me and my kiddos from threats and doxxing that comes with doing this work.
And gosh, the helpers who came to my rescue were even better than I could have hoped. Jen G. of The Trash Castle generously volunteered to let me use their physical address so I can keep sending newsletters without sharing my home address.
A trash…castle you say? INTRIGUING!
Oh, ho! It gets better. The Trash Castle is a micro-recycling workshop in Southside Chicago that educates families on upcycling and recycling hard-to-process plastics. It also provides a platform for Makers, Doers, and Artists to host community events built around art and sustainability.
Even if you’re not local to Chicago, the Trash Castle is just one hub of the Precious Plastic universe, connecting organizers, artists, and makers to build local communities around rubbish and the cool stuff we can make with it. If plastic stresses you out and you’re looking for a creative way to make a difference, see if there’s a community near you (or start one of your own!)
4. A Goofy Thing Just For You To Enjoy
[Video description: Wahima, a human I perceive to be Black and feminine-presenting with close-buzzed hair and wire-rimmed lounges on the sofa. A soft little black cat immediately pulls the glasses off their face. The two struggle a moment before the cat wins. The human appears to pause and consider their life choices before reaching off-screen to grab another pair of glasses, whereupon the cat IMMEDIATELY rips those glasses off too, giving the human a chance to put the first pair back on. We have like 2 seconds of peace before the cat realizes the human is wearing the first pair of glasses and pulls those off too. As a person with an identical void who is *almost* as needy and never lets me sit or use screens without interruption, this makes me feel less alone in my beloved frustration. I want to ask ‘why do we put up with this?!’ but we know. We put up with this because omg these little void-noodles are irresistibly cute.]
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5. Helpful Stuff For When You Need It
One Million Experiments & Interrupting Criminalization have created a handy-dandy workbook to help you sort your marbles before taking action and organizing for social justice.
“Are you interested in offering more to your community? Do you want to find a way to make your time, skills, or donations count for the things you care about? Part survey, part journal exercise, use this 'zine to form actionable goals and take concrete steps towards making your contribution.” - via the Interrupting Criminalization Newsletter.
This free 28-page workbook can help you refine your focus, assess your capacity, and identify unique ways to chip away at the kyriarchy.
Interestingly, we cover many of the same topics in the Summer Luminator (I didn’t copy - I swear! We happen to think alike, which is why I like them so much!) - but with personal support, a lot more guidance, and structure for neurodivergent activists juggling the extra complications of parenting and care work.
If you’ve got children dragging on your heels and want to figure this out, but will bookmark this, maybe even make a plan - but never get around to doing it, join us this summer. I don’t intend this as a shill for the summer collective, but plowing through deep decisions in a workbook isn’t always accessible for neurodivergent parents with kids crawling up our noses.
Coming up next
I’ll return next week with a family action toolkit to help you cultivate resilience and flexibility with your activist kiddos. Let’s raise kids who can keep fighting without burning out!
Which means modeling that ourselves, too.
::: glares lovingly but also intimidatingly at you :::
with you,
Ashia
PS: Our first round of 1:1 Ignition Sessions was a success, and I’m now expanding this experiment for all the lovely people who support this work here on Substack!
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