@madisonngarcia
Native Angeleno in the South. Strategist to leaders and organizations catalyzing social change. Wayfinder, photographer, often outdoors. Interested in what slows us down, wakes us up, and connects us to each other.
A 35 year old letter to the editor, written by a very ballsy 15 year old, about the Rodney King verdict.
Remembering today that having your heart broken is a necessary step on the path to becoming fully human. Whichever heartbreak is your first, it’s probably critical that a state break your heart so that you can develop a political imagination. If this is your first, I’m sorry and also welcome.
In 2026 I want all of the decent people to remember one thing.
You aren’t meant to be this disciplined, this self-sacrificing to survive. The environment is supposed to support good living. We can have that. You are not a failure. That is politics.
That is all.
Also: it will be possible and necessary to grieve and act at the same time. And we'll need to lean on each other as we do this.
What's got me hanging on by a thread these days: the amount of people moving from a place of resolve, generosity--even joyfulness--in this hellscape. There are no small gestures, friends. We need all of us and every shred of light.
This has me in tears tonight. Thank YOU.
If you're reading this, whoever you are & whatever you're doing to try to make this world better, whether it's calling, protesting, providing mutual aid, making art, raising awareness, training & teaching people new concepts & skills, journalism, surviving through it all, or whatever else: thank you
From Marge Piercy's book, To Be of Use.
#poem #books #writing
Unmatched cruelty.
Built a sandcastle for the first time in too long. Reminded of the restorative power of play and deep rest.
"On Tyranny" is a #1 NYT bestseller again. I wish the moment were different. But I’m glad the book is useful. And grateful for all the kind words about putting the 20 lessons to work.
snyder.substack.com/p/twenty-les...
Some words that have been really taking root:
"Resistance is not wanting to live in the limited imagination of the white colonial mind." —Céline Semaan
Lovely! Yes to joy.
A bit of water for the journey (some desperately needed good news).
Reminded again and again of the power of gathering, of sharing physical space, of witnessing one another up close—in our joy and grief, in our rage, often all at the same time.
Marching, dancing, singing, huddling around a kitchen table—protest takes a thousand forms and none are insignificant.
Learn about a new funder pledge developed by Trust-Based Philanthropy Project, Grantmakers for Effective Organizations, & National Center for Family Philanthropy. It’s the latest installment of “Defend Nonprofits, Defend Democracy” on Fund the People Podcast: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/f...
Looking forward to this! My first time at HRB.
"Play courts joy. Play disobeys. It wouldn’t be play without some level of rebellion. Play moves toward knowing by not knowing. Play is somatic. Play is how the body laughs.
...It’s disruptive. It’s expansive. The government knows it. The cops know it."
shiraerlichman.substack.com/p/play-is-se...
Ross Gay bringing the medicine on the heels of this terror of a week.
"I remember. My color's green. l'm spring."
Miss me with anything else.🎯
This is what it looks like to really hold the line.
Thank you for this, hit someplace very tender. The losses have been staggering.
Thank you for directly naming eugenics…too few folks are willing to call this out. Language matters.
A large cherry blossom tree’s pink blooms frame a gray house against a clear blue sky on a quiet neighborhood street corner filled with trees and greenery.
Joyspotting in my neighborhood. Spring in all her glory—reminders of renewal, possibility.
Yes! Real, visible resistance matters. This was no small thing.
Leaning on my grief practice a lot these days.
Finding anchoring this morning in the words of Malkia Devich-Cyril:
"Grief is an evolutionary indicator of love—the kind of great love that guides revolutionaries."
At the end of the day, folks just want to see more people in power sacrifice and put something, ANYTHING, on the line for people with way less power.
Shows the impact of DOGE cuts -
theimpactproject.org/the-impact-m...
NCCDPHP Division of Reproductive Health Division of Population Health BCSB EPI branch Prevention Research Translation Branch Office of Smoking and Health NCHHSTP Division of TB elimination -Communication, Education, and Behavioral Studies Branch PBEMB GLOBAL Division of HIV and TB Communications Branch SPIN SPICE PBEMB MCHB HIDMSB EHSRB Scientific Integrity Branch NCEH Division of Environmental Science/Practice Asthma and Air Quality branch NCIRD ISD/Partnerships NIOSH Miner safety Health effects lab division Respiratory health division NCBDDD Office of the Director Disability Health NCIPC Division of Violence Prevention Division of Injury Prevention OD Office of Health Equity OCOO Office of Human Resources
New — Here is a running list of Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS) offices that have either been fully eliminated or gutted into non-functionality as a result of today's mass firings (provided to me directly by a CDC staffer):
