In response to the disappointing news that Trump had been elected to a second presidency, progressives from Chicago’s Northwest Side gathered last Saturday to discuss how we can stick together and support each other through these troubling times.

Over 450 neighbors from all over Chicago met at Roosevelt High School on Saturday, November 16. They were joined by 12 progressive politicians and 9 progressive organizations ready to work with them to organize to defend, and expand, human and civil rights.

After an initial 30-minute rally, attendees broke off into 10 different hour-long discussion groups covering topics such as defending our immigrant neighbors, protecting our reproductive rights, and ending homelessness.

Finally, everyone regrouped in the auditorium to hear reports from the discussion groups and to connect neighbors with relevant organizations near them. Saturday’s goal was to create a network for long-term organizing so we can collectively fight back against Trump, and this gathering definitely accomplished that. Alderman Carlos Rosa even led us in collectively raising our hands and swearing to keep each other safe and fight back against Trump!

If you’d like to connect to our growing network, our “Yellow Pages” list contains both neighborhood-specific organizations and larger citywide groups dedicated to specific interests. Please share widely with friends and neighbors who may also be interested!

https://bit.ly/WardOrgYellowPages

Stay tuned as we share more posts about some of the individual discussion groups and what you can do next to fight for a better world!

Read news coverage of this debrief from NBC 5 and ABC 7 Chicago.