Newsletter - May 1, 2026

In the Know: Timothy Snyder + Immigration

TIMOTHY SNYDER INTERVIEW

On April 30th, Indivisible Charlotte and the broader Indivisible North Carolina coalition of groups hosted an In The Know Live interview with Professor Timothy Snyder of the University of Toronto. Professor Snyder is a world-renowned historian and intellectual who has been an important advocate for freedom and democracy. Professor Snyder has been a strong supporter of Indivisible. It was an incredible honor to host a live discussion with one of our heroes of modern times. 

More than 250 participants had the opportunity to hear members of ICLT’s Research Team interview Professor Snyder about his latest book, On Freedom, and his views on the Supreme Court and voting rights, “Superpower Suicide,” Midterm Election disruptions and lessons learned from the Hungarian election.

Watch the interview

Read the article

IMMIGRATION

Reflections from our coalition partners on ICE and CBP’s surge in Charlotte last November.

WATCH THE INTERVIEW

READ THE ARTICLE

Last month’s article: Kicking a Hornet’s Nest

Check out and subscribe to Indivisible CLT on Substack: https://indivisibleclt.substack.com

Podcast Ep 08 - Timothy Snyder on Building Freedom, Resisting Tyranny, and Defending Democracy

Indivisible Charlotte hosts a webinar discussion with historian Timothy Snyder about his book On Freedom, contrasting “negative freedom” (freedom as removing barriers or acting on impulse) with “positive freedom” (collectively building social and political conditions—like education, healthcare, and solidarity—that enable dignified lives and moral self-creation). Snyder explains the book as an answer to what resistance to tyranny is for, arguing that imagining a future is essential and that “futurelessness” functions as a governing strategy benefiting oligarchs. The conversation links these ideas to current events: “superpower suicide,” the Supreme Court’s weakening of the Voting Rights Act, organizing and messaging for voters, possible pre-election “stunts” such as war, religious claims, or manufactured terrorism, and concerns about ICE and military politicization. Snyder cites anti-corruption coalitions and the protest–election connection in Poland and Hungary as lessons for U.S. democracy.

Listen: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube | Pocketcasts | Substack

Please subscribe to our podcast on Substack, YouTube, or wherever you listen to podcasts!

To learn more about Indivisible Charlotte and participate in future events, visit www.indivisibleclt.org/events.

Young Voices Social

Join ICLT's Gen-Z + Millennial group at Common Market Plaza Midwood on Sunday, May 24, 10:30 AM! Help us assemble kits with hygiene and comfort items for neighbors experiencing homelessness. We’ll grab coffee or food at Common Market, put the kits together, and for anyone who wants to also distribute, we’ll take them to Uptown around noon (~10 min away).

This event is completely free to attend. If participants are able, $10 toward kit items would be greatly appreciated!

Please register here to join us! Follow us on Instagram @youngvoices_ICLT

Every Call Counts

Every Call Counts makes it simple to call federal and state legislators on urgent issues. Using the 5 Calls platform plus custom scripts for local policies and key votes, we help activists take action each week.

PLEASE SHARE this link with friends, neighbors and family. WE’RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER! You will receive a confirmation email once you finish signing up here on Mobilize.

Voter Engagement: Canvassing & Lit Drops

We know the administration is planning to interfere in the mid-term elections. We must all do our part to ensure a blue tsunami in November! What will you do?

The NC Supreme Court has 5 corrupt justices and 2 fair justices. Only Justice Anita Earls is up for re-election in 2026. Three of the corrupt justices (Newby, Berger, & Barringer) are up for re-election in 2028. If at least 2 of them are defeated in 2028 and Justice Earls is re-elected in 2026, then the progressive justices will have a majority on the NC Supreme Court. This is critical to ensuring that appeals are handled fairly within the state judicial system.

Encourage your friends and family to vote the entire ballot. In addition to Justice Earls, we need to support the 3 progressive judges running for re-election to the NC Court of Appeals (Judge Toby Hampson, Judge John Arrowood, and Judge Christine Walczyk).

Join us on a canvass! We provide an experienced canvassing partner, training, & all materials. Not quite ready to canvass? Consider participating in a literature drop for our judicial candidates. Complete this interest survey to help us determine the interest level for leaving literature at pre-selected, friendly addresses, either in your neighborhood or in precincts identified by FlipNC where your efforts may have the greatest impact.

New Member Orientation

Join us for the next session on Thursday, May 14 at 7:00 PM to connect with fellow members, hear from leadership, and learn how to get involved in various activities like canvassing, voter registration, and events. The hour-long Zoom will include breakout sessions for discussions and is open to new, current, and prospective members. Join us to discover more about our organization and how you can contribute!

REGISTER HERE

ICLT May Social

Get ready to unwind and meet some like-minded people at Indivisible Charlotte's monthly social gathering.

Wednesday, May 6, 2026, 6:30-8:30 PM

Starlight on 22nd (422 E. 22nd St, Charlotte)

Light appetizers will be provided. Additional food and drinks will be available for purchase.

Register now and mark your calendar for a night of good company and community. We hope to see you there!

REGISTER HERE

Pop-Up Protests

visibility charlotte

We believe protest is patriotic.

Visibility Charlotte hosts more than 25 ‘Pop-Up’ demonstrations around the county every week. Find a day and time that works for you - morning/evening rush hours or weekends. Click on the Mobilize links for exact times and locations.

Join us!

mondays

MORNING

EVENING

Tuesdays

MORNING

EVENING

Wednesdays

MORNING

EVENING

Thursdays

MORNING

EVENING

FrIDays

EVENING

Saturdays

MORNING

MIDDAY

AFTERNOON

SUNDAYS

MIDDAY

STUCK IN TRAFFIC? rEAD OUR SIGNS!

Slow traffic is an opportunity to educate. We host three protests on highway overpasses: Hawthorne Bridge over Independence Blvd, I-485 N at Benfield Rd, and I-485 S at Elm Ln. Each one reaches 5,000-10,000 motorists in just an hour.

Join our Bridge Brigade

You’re welcome to join on the spot, but registering on Mobilize, helps us contact you if there are last minute changes or cancellations.

If you would like to join our team, please email visibilityclt@gmail.com.


SIGNS OF FASCISM

On Saturday, March 21st, Indivisible Charlotte members held Signs of Fascism signs at Tesla to educate the public about the rise of authoritarianism. Almost 40 protestors spanned a quarter of a mile at the dealership on Independence Blvd in Matthews. Even with the dissolution of DOGE, Musk continues to work to dismantle our democracy. Join us at Tesla every Saturday from 11:30 to 12:30! Sign up here!

We have a Signs of Fascism team with several upcoming events:

  • Signs of Fascism - Kings Drive Greenway on May 3 - SIGN UP

  • Signs of Fascism - Southpark on May 9 - SIGN UP

If you would like to participate in these powerful demonstrations that expose the threat of fascism, please contact us at visibilityclt@gmail.com. Stay tuned for additional dates/locations.


ICLT is committed to nonviolent action, and we expect all participants to seek to de-escalate any potential
confrontation with those who disagree with us. Signs and chants must not incite violence. Of course, there’s always an inherent risk to protesting.

Voter Engagement: Write Postcards

POSTCARDS ARE HERE!

Postcard Sign-up Form

We've had 134,000 of these important Get Out The Vote Postcards for North Carolina from Postcards to Swing States (Progressive Turnout Project) delivered to us here in greater Charlotte! Almost 3000 of you have volunteered to write them and it's time to get started. They will be available to be picked up at 18 different sites in Mecklenburg, Union, Gaston, Cabarrus and Stanly County. If you recently volunteered to write cards and/or have already been receiving emails specifically about postcard projects you'll be receiving an email in about a week with a list of sites and instructions. The cards are in bundles of 100 with recipients names and addresses, messaging and mailing instructions included. Start buying your postcard stamps which are currently 61 cents each but scheduled to increase again in July. These cards are to be mailed on October 21st so you've got plenty of time to plan postcard writing parties and involve your family and friends to help get them written. The first date they can be picked up will be May 13th. If you haven't signed up to be a postcard writer yet please fill out this Google form here. Thanks in advance for helping with this important work.

Podcast Ep 07 - Community Leaders on the 2025 Immigration Enforcement Surge

Indivisible Charlotte’s In the Know Live, hosted by Freda Zeh and Wes Fryer, features a recorded panel with community leaders Rachel Salo (Indivisible Charlotte), Hector Vaca (Action NC), Stefanía Arteaga (Carolina Migrant Network), and Marcelle Vielot (Charlotte Metrolina Labor Council) on the November 2025 immigration enforcement surge in Charlotte, dubbed “Operation Charlotte’s Web.” Panelists describe the operation as a targeted campaign of fear by CBP, discuss why Charlotte was selected, and explain distinctions between CBP and ICE. They outline coalition organizing through the Charlotte Immigrant Protection Alliance, including verifier networks, live alerts to 70,000 people, street patrols, school watches, mutual aid, Know Your Rights trainings, protests, and pressure on local officials. They address workplace disruptions, limited legal protections and capacity, ongoing documentation of civil rights violations, upcoming May Day organizing, lessons about impacted-community leadership, cross-movement solidarity, and the importance of self-care.

Listen: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube | Pocketcasts | Substack

Please subscribe to our podcast on Substack, YouTube, or wherever you listen to podcasts!

To learn more about Indivisible Charlotte and participate in future events, visit www.indivisibleclt.org/events.

Podcast Ep 06 - Great Replacement Theory and the “Chain of Humanity”

Speaking at the No Kings 3 Rally and Protest in Charlotte after traveling from Houston, Ibram X. Kendi describes encountering ICE agents at the airport and reflects on how many Americans still support authoritarian measures. Citing survey results showing significant openness to dictatorship and expanded power for Trump, they argue that the strongest predictor of today’s anti-democratic attitudes is belief in Great Replacement Theory—the idea that progressive elites are enabling people of color to “replace” white people, requiring authoritarian protection. Drawing on an 1767 warning about rulers binding people by “the chain of their own ideas,” the speaker links modern Trumpism to racist and xenophobic beliefs and traces the term’s popularization by French writer Renaud Camus. They conclude by urging a shift from the “chain of ideas” to a “chain of humanity” to defeat oligarchs and authoritarians and build an anti-racist democracy.

Listen: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube | Pocketcasts | Substack

Please subscribe to our podcast on Substack, YouTube, or wherever you listen to podcasts!

To learn more about Indivisible Charlotte and participate in future events, visit www.indivisibleclt.org/events.

May 1: People Over Profits

May Day is a national day of action supporting Workers over Billionaires. Indivisible Charlotte, The Redress Movement, alongside faith leaders, community advocates and residents, will host a press conference and march calling for accountability from local corporations Atrium Health and Duke Energy.

Together we will demand that our families, children, and workers come first, not corporate profits.

Our People Over Profits event will highlight how rising housing costs and increasing energy rates are making it harder for working families to afford to live in Charlotte.

REGISTER HERE

10:30am Press Conference

11:00am Depart for march, 1 mile up Brooklyn Village Ave to Tryon St

11:30am-1pm 525 S Tryon St, Duke Energy HQ Protest

Join us as we celebrate May 1 through action and community.

Good Reminders: Indivisible CLT is committed to peaceful, non-violent protesting. We do not engage with those that have opposing views, and we work to de-escalate as situations arise.

Please review the guidelines: https://tinyurl.com/ICLTProtestGuide

Signage – Positive & appropriate that does not include profanity, incite violence or include hate symbols.

Questions? Email visibility.clt@gmail.com

Newsletter - April 1, 2026

In the Know Live: Timothy Snyder

On April 30th, Indivisible Charlotte is hosting preeminent historian Professor Timothy Snyder for an insightful discussion about freedom, based on his recent New York Times Bestseller book On Freedom. Professor Snyder’s On Freedom challenges the common “negative" definition of freedom — the absence of government interference — and proposes a “positive" vision where freedom is the ability to create and choose your future. In addition to discussing other topics from his book, we will ask Professor Snyder to connect these topics to what is happening in the USA today - and most importantly, how do we prepare for what comes next. Please join us and register for this In the Know Live podcast on Thursday, April 30 from 12-1 PM ET.

Timothy Snyder holds the Temerty Chair in Modern European History at the Munk School, University of Toronto, and is a permanent fellow at the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna. His books, which have been published in over forty languages, include Bloodlands, Black Earth, On Tyranny, The Road to Unfreedom, Our Malady and On Freedom.

REGISTER HERE

In the Know: Risks & Consequences of the War with Iran

Kicking A Hornet’s Nest: Risks and Unintended Consequences of the War with Iran

Political analysts have been in overdrive assessing the war, its risks and effects. There are so many disparate issues, collecting them in a high-level review may provide a better understanding of what is at stake. This is a volatile and evolving crisis, so more risks and consequences will certainly become evident as time passes, but in the meantime, this review focuses on several areas:

  • Clarity of objectives and US military and foreign relations effectiveness

  • US’s international standing with allies and rivals

  • Domestic approval and support

  • Effects on antisemitism and Islamophobia

  • Global and domestic economic effects

  • Spread of terrorism

Read the full article on Substack.

Check out and subscribe to Indivisible CLT on Substack: https://indivisibleclt.substack.com

Photo: J, J. (2017). Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald. United States Navy.

No Kings 3

We have the power and are claiming it together. No Thrones. No Crowns. No Kings.

What began in 2025 as a single day of defiance has become a sustained national resistance to tyranny, spreading from small towns to city centers and across every community determined to defend democracy. Our peaceful movement is bigger than ever.

When our families are under attack and costs are pushing people to the brink, silence is not an option. We will defend ourselves and our communities against this administration’s unjust and cruel acts of violence.

On March 28th, rise up, take to the streets, and say it loud: no thrones, no crowns, no kings. We’re not watching history happen—we’re making it. Join us.

Let’s make this the largest No Kings event yet! More details and ways to represent Indivisible CLT with our NK3 team are coming soon. Invite your organizations and friends to attend so we can grow our coalition. Sometimes all someone needs is an invite to join. Check the nokingsclt.com website for updates.

REGISTER HERE

ICLT April Social

Get ready to unwind and meet some like-minded people at Indivisible Charlotte's monthly social gathering.

Wednesday, April 8, 2026, 6-8 PM

Town Brewing (800 Grandin Rd, Charlotte)

Light appetizers will be provided. Additional food and drinks will be available for purchase.

Register now and mark your calendar for a night of good company and community. We hope to see you there!

REGISTER HERE

Newsletter - March 1, 2026

In the Know: Giving Up Is Unforgivable

Our article and interview this month features Joyce Vance, a law school professor and former US Attorney. Professor Vance discusses her book Giving Up is Unforgivable, which addresses the urgent challenges facing American Democracy today.

The article: Democracy Under Siege

The interview: Giving Up Is Unforgivable

Last month’s article and podcasts: Voting Rights and Suppression, Podcast Part 1, Podcast Part 2

Check out and subscribe to Indivisible CLT on Substack: https://indivisibleclt.substack.com