I first met Debra at our Arizona senator’s office. Our paths crossed again at an ACLU Resistance Training.
This time Debra came with her partner, Candy, and shared that for decades, they’ve been organizing to secure their rights and were willing to join with us to continue the work on behalf of others. Truth be told, they offered not only solidarity but a rich education borne out of their experience.
After the training session Debra invited me to her resistance group of women who met every other Sunday. They’ve been doing this since the Women’s March in January and their numbers were growing as more women like me hungered for a sustainable way forward.
I couldn’t resist her invitation.
She followed up with an email describing the agenda. There would be time to discuss current actions, write postcards to government leaders and then an optional dinner. If I wanted to stay for dinner, I only needed to bring something to share and the hostess would provide salad.
The Sunday I attended felt bittersweet, like it was both my first and last opportunity to gather with these women since I’d be leaving to join my family in Burundi in a few days. I would be there for four months—away from the demands of citizenship at this critical time, away from resistance groups like this one. I could not resist Debra and Candy’s hospitality, so I brought my sugar snap pea salad to add to the buffet.
Leave a Reply