Be The Change: Take Action in 2021
Change happens because of people like you. Join our people-powered movement for justice, equity and freedom!
No matter your level of experience, there is an opportunity for everyone to get involved:
- Sign up for our general volunteer e-mail list to receive information about upcoming trainings, virtual events, and opportunities to take action.
- Join us for a text or phone bank. Our Outreach Team helps us mobilize voters to contact their lawmakers, turn people out for online events, and connect people to ACLU resources. We host at least one phone or text bank a week, register here.
- Chapters are the grassroots team of the ACLU, organizing locally across Northern California. They host events to build community and educate the public, cultivate partnerships with local organizations and leaders, and work with staff to move forward ACLU campaign goals and civil liberties priorities. Learn more at one of our chapter information sessions:
2021 Training and Events Calendar
Please sign up for individual trainings and events below. You can sign up for one or all: they’re free! Check back here for recordings and an updated calendar as we add new trainings and events throughout the year. If at any time you have questions, please email Changemakers.
January
- Thursday, January 28 at 5:30pm: Be an ACLU NorCal Change Maker: 2021 Campaign Priorities
Join the ACLU Organizing Team to learn what’s at stake in 2021, how we plan to move forward a powerful agenda, and how you can be involved. This event has passed, but you can view the recording at your convenience.
February
- Trainings for Change Makers: Meeting with Elected Officials
Your elected officials work for you! Learn how to effectively meet with your elected official and talk to them about the issues that matter to you. After the training, we will provide you the materials to meet with your State Senator or Assemblymember to talk about ACLU legislative priorities. This event has passed but you can view the recording at your convenience.
March
- Culture Shift | Trainings for Equity and Racial Justice: Combatting White Supremacy in Progressive Spaces
Culture Shift Trainings are held on the first Tuesday of odd-numbered months at 6pm, with office hours for further discussion on the first Thursday. This event has now passed; please see the next Culture Shift training in May.
- Trainings for Change Makers: Opportunities for Advocacy in the Local Budget Process
The local budget processes in your city and county are opportunities to make your voice heard and advocate for issues important to your community. Join us to learn how you can make the most of this opportunity! THIS EVENT WAS CANCELED. Please see the Training for Change Makers event in May or watch a similar webinar here.
April
- ACLU California Action Conference
Join us to help level up policy change in our state. The ACLU of California Action Conference is an annual statewide conference with opportunities to level up your advocacy and policy change in California. You will learn about civil liberties here in California, participate in statewide and local campaigns, and network with like-minded people. Please see recordings below.
May
- Culture Shift | Trainings for Equity and Racial Justice: Outreach Through a Racial Justice Lens
Learn how to avoid tokenism, build trust through action, and create transformational relationships in your outreach. This event has now passed. - Training for Change Makers: Local Legislative Process
During this training we will talk about how local government works -- Board of Supervisors, City Council, City Mangers, Commissions, and Advisory Boards. Who has power, how do we shift that power, and how do we hold our electeds accountable? This event has passed, but you can view the recording here.
June
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Training for Change Makers: Redistricting 101
What is redistricting? It is one of the most important democratic processes of 2021! Redistricting is the redrawing of district lines from which public officials are elected, like city council or school board districts. Redistricting matters. The way lines are drawn will not only impact who your community has the power to elect, but ultimately, your ability to shape the local, state, and federal policies that affect your everyday life. Join us to learn how you can engage in this process to advocate for district lines that are truly representative of the community. This event has passed, but you can view the recording here.
July
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Culture Shift | Trainings for Equity and Racial Justice: Getting Comfortable with Conversations About Race Having conversations about race can be really hard for us as individuals or for other people we are trying to engage in dialogue. Discussions about race can bring up a lot of discomfort for people not normally impacted by racism or anti-Black racism, but that discomfort can create the space to learn and grow. In this session, we are joined by facilitating partners Jolana Watson and Jazzmine Hardges-Garner to talk about building comfort with discomfort in order to have productive conversations about race. Register for the July 13th training here.
August
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Training for Change Makers: Redistricting 201
Ready to take a deeper dive and up your advocacy skills to engage in the redistricting process? If you joined us for the June Trainings for Change Makers (Redistricting 101) and want to help advocate for district lines that are truly representative of your community, join us for this training where we will provide more in depth detail about what you can expect in the process and how you can advocate to ensure that district lines are drawn fairly and in a way that maximizes community power to shape the policies that affect everyday lives. Register for the August 10th Training here.
