This Week’s Actions
Action 1: Time Sensitive: Support unaccompanied children in San Francisco by donating essential items or sponsoring a child’s Christmas wish list.
Thank you to the 35 Americans of Conscience who completed this action!
KIND San Francisco supports unaccompanied children by providing both legal help and essential items. Because the current administration has rolled back protections for unaccompanied children, these vulnerable children are at great risk. This holiday season, KIND San Francisco is asking for our help to support unaccompanied children.
- Donate essential items such as hygiene products, socks, and blankets via the holiday wish list.
[LAST DAY!] Sponsor an unaccompanied child’s Christmas wish list. Email SFsocialservices@supportkind.org by Friday, November 21.
Source: Kids in Need of Defense (KIND)
Action 2: Advocate for affordable healthcare for all Americans.
Thank you to the 141 Americans of Conscience who completed this action!
Contact: Your two senators and one House representative (call, write, or email).
Script: Hello, I’m ______ from [ZIP], asking you to preserve access to affordable healthcare, which is essential to more than 22 million Americans and has vital implications for racial and reproductive justice. Please take urgent action to extend the premium tax credits that make coverage possible under the ACA, and reject the expansion of reliance on health savings accounts that overwhelmingly benefit wealthy people.
Bonus: Review your congressional district on this map and customize your call for action to include insights into how increases will affect your area.
Source: AoCC
Action 3: Urge a NO vote on a concealed-carry federal mandate.
Thank you to the 136 Americans of Conscience who completed this action!
Contact: Your two senators and one House representative (call, write, or email).
Script: Hello, I’m ______ from [ZIP], calling on you to reject the Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2025 (S. 65/H.R. 38), which would override state law and weaken concealed-carry laws nationwide. This mandate would make it easier for people with dangerous histories to commit violence in states that otherwise would not let them carry concealed weapons. Honor our states’ right to defend our communities by voting no on this dangerous bill.
Source: Moms Demand Action
Action 4: Prevent funding delays to essential housing programs.
Thank you to the 89 Americans of Conscience who completed this action!
Contact: Your two senators and one House representative (call, write, or email).
Script: Hello, I’m ______ from [ZIP], urging you to protect FY2025 Continuum of Care Program funding for housing support from timing delays and abrupt changes. HUD has issued a Notice of Funding Opportunity that will lead to service disruption and loss of trust as program participants face eviction and an increased risk of homelessness. Please take action now to ensure there are no unnecessary gaps and delays in resources for these critical programs.
Alternate: Use the NAEH form to create a detailed call for action specific to your senators and House representatives.
Source: NAEH
Action 5: Protect sacred lands and indigenous communities.
Thank you to the 119 Americans of Conscience who completed this action!
Contact: Department of the Interior Secretary Doug Burgum by phone at 202-208-3100 (voicemail), by email, through the Department of Interior contact form, or by mail at Secretary of the Interior, 1849 C Street, N.W., Washington DC 20240.
Script: Hello, I’m _____ from [STATE], reaching out to oppose revoking the ban on oil and gas drilling within 10 miles of Chaco Culture National Historical Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site. This region contains culturally significant sacred sites, and drilling has already caused damaging health impacts on local Indigenous communities. Please keep the full ban intact in order to protect these vital New Mexico lands and the people who call them home.
Alternative: Use the NRDC Form (you will be automatically signed up to receive alerts and updates).
Source: NRDC
Action 6: Demand release of funding for lead pipe replacement.
Thank you to the 30 Americans of Conscience who completed this action!
Contact: EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin by mail at U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20460.
Script: Hello, I’m _____ from [STATE], reaching out to demand the immediate disbursement of funds from the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund for mandated lead service line replacement. The $3B appropriated for FY25 by Congress has not yet been delivered to communities in Democrat-led states at risk from drinking lead-polluted water, which can cause permanent and devastating harm, particularly to children. Please release these wrongfully withheld funds to protect our communities from the toxic effects of lead poisoning.
Source: AoCC
Action 7: Donate clothing to keep immigrant and refugee families and children warm this winter.
Thank you to the 19 Americans of Conscience who completed this action!
With cuts to humanitarian funding, winter cold is especially difficult for immigrant and refugee populations, including children. Warm gear is essential for staying healthy during the winter months. Providing refugees and immigrants, including unaccompanied child immigrants, with needed clothing provides both physical and emotional comfort in the midst of chaos.
Donate to the Haitian Bridge Alliance’s “1,000 Coats of Warm Love” campaign via Amazon wishlists for New York or Springfield and donate cold weather essentials to keep kids safe and warm via the KIND Amazon wishlist for Hartford.
Source: Haitian Bridge Alliance and Kids in Need of Defense (KIND)
Action 8: Spread truth about the safety of mail voting.
Thank you to the 11 Americans of Conscience who completed this action!
Contact: Write a letter to the editor of your local paper, and/or have a conversation with a friend or family member.
Important: Don’t repeat the lies that are being spread about mail voting. Repeating false claims in order to debunk them actually gives them legitimacy. Instead, make positive claims backed by facts, including:
- Voting by mail is not new. It started during the Civil War as a way of allowing active-duty soldiers to participate in elections.
- Voting by mail is not a partisan issue. It has been shown to increase voter turnout regardless of party affiliation.
- Voting by mail has a fraud rate of 0.000043%, a rate so small that it rounds down to zero.
- Voting by mail saves taxpayer money on elections.
Source: National Vote at Home Institute
Action 9: Oppose unlimited dark money influencing elections in your state.
Thank you to the 51 Americans of Conscience who completed this action!
Contact: Your two state legislators (look up).
Script: Hi, I’m ______ from [ZIP], calling to ask you to pass legislation in [STATE] that would immediately undo the effects of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling if that decision is overturned. Such “trigger laws” can lay the groundwork for rebuilding the campaign finance safeguards and First Amendment rights that were swept away by the misguided Citizens United decision. Can I count on you to support a trigger law opposing Citizens United? Thank you.
Source: Brennan Center
Action 10: Practice essential democracy skills.
Thank you to the 11 Americans of Conscience who completed this action!
Polarization makes it easier for authoritarian leaders to divide us and harder for our democracy to function. We don’t need to agree with the “other side,” but open conversations help all of us build mutual understanding. Some Americans are withdrawing their support from the current administration and its harmful policies, and we can play a role in that shift. Our democracy has a better chance when we practice civil debate, active listening, and mutual respect. With these skills, we can reunite our nation, one conversation at a time.
Will you practice better democracy? Participate in groups like Braver Angels, Crossing Party Lines, Make America Dinner Again, or Reunited States of America.
Source: AoCC
Action 11: Take credit for showing up in your own community.
Thank you to the 74 Americans of Conscience who completed this action!
It’s our hope that using the Checklist inspires you to become more involved in specific issues and/or local action. In the last two weeks, did you volunteer, do service, advocate, or support a local or state cause? Check the box to let us know!
Source: AoCC
Acts of Gratitude
We believe in gratitude as a tool for change. We will print a letter of thanks from Americans of Conscience with your signature and mail it to the recipient. Your information will be removed from this website no later than four weeks after the Checklist’s publication date.
Thank Dallas Police Department Chief Daniel Comeaux for turning down federal funding to assist ICE with immigration enforcement operations.
If you’d like to mail your own personal expression of gratitude, use this address: Chief of Police, Jack Evans Police Headquarters, 1400 Botham Jean Blvd., Dallas, TX 75215
Thank you to the 107 Americans of Conscience who completed this action!
Thank U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis for issuing an injunction that restricts federal agents’ use of tear gas and ‘riot’ weapons against peaceful protesters and clergy in Chicago.
If you’d like to mail your own personal expression of gratitude, use this address: Hon. Sara L. Ellis, United States District Court – Northern District of Illinois, Everett Dirksen U.S. Courthouse, 219 S. Dearborn St., Chicago, IL 60604
Thank you to the 99 Americans of Conscience who completed this action!
Good News
If you find good news for democracy, equality, and the planet, share it with us here!
Good news: Wins for democracy, equality, kindness, and planet.
- The Lac Du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa regain rightful control of two acres of their land.
- Both chambers of Congress pass and the president signs a bill to force the Dept. of Justice to publicly release files regarding a high-profile convicted sex offender.
- A U.S. district judge orders the release of hundreds of people who were unlawfully arrested during immigration sweeps in Illinois.
- A federal court finds that it is unlawful for ICE to detain people and deny them bond hearings while ordering the immediate release of Nestor Gutierrez, who has been held without bond since May.
- A federal court rules that the administration unconstitutionally violated the First Amendment rights of protesting university professors and students by targeting them for deportation.
- The nonpartisan Government Accountability Office determines that the administration unlawfully withheld or delayed congressionally approved FEMA funding for the Emergency Food and Shelter Program and the Shelter and Services Program.
- Following decades of additional safety research, the FDA will remove black box safety warnings from hormone therapy products used to treat the symptoms of perimenopause and menopause, increasing access to the medications and contributing to short- and long-term benefits for many patients.
- ME voters reject a ballot initiative that would have increased burdensome requirements to voting both in person and by absentee ballot.
- SC: A highly restrictive law that would have banned all abortions without exception fails to advance to the full Senate Medical Affairs Committee.
- TN: A court blocks the administration’s deployment of the National Guard in Memphis.
- A federal court blocks Texas from using new gerrymandered legislative maps in the 2026 midterms.
- UT: A court rejects a gerrymandered legislative map in favor of a more democratic map drawn by nonpartisan organizations.
- Police reform, racial justice, and housing advocate Soren Stevenson, who lost an eye due to police violence while protesting the murder of George Floyd, is elected to the Minneapolis City Council.
- The Dallas Police Department turns down $25M in federal funding to assist ICE with immigration enforcement in the city.
- Brown University President Christina H. Paxson rejects an offer from the administration that would have tied preferential access to federal funds to the forfeiture of academic freedom.
- United We Dream’s National Movement Building Training empowers young organizers to build the relationships and skills needed to lead movements in their communities.
- Daycare worker Diana Santillana Galeano is released from ICE detention following a federal court’s ruling that her arrest was unlawful.
- Jamaican citizen Orville Etoria returns to his native country after being deported from the U.S. to a prison in Eswatini.
- All 31 candidates endorsed by an anti-democratic extremist group who were running in competitive races lost their elections on November 4.
- Voters across the U.S. turned out in high numbers to vote in municipal elections on November 4.
- King Charles III’s brother is stripped of his royal titles and evicted from his royal residence due to being credibly accused of predatory behavior.
- AoCC volunteer Stephanie R.’s poem Remains is featured in the Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets’ quarterly poetry contest!
Need inspiration?
- Read the latest uplifting message from Guest Author Julie Mathison: Amy’s Story: How One Citizen’s Efforts Kept Local Democracy Alive
- Signs of Renewal in a Weary Nation
- They Are Us, and We Are Them
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The Americans of Conscience Checklist features clear, well-researched actions for Americans who value democracy, equality, voting, and decency. We are a big tent for all people who want a kinder, flourishing nation.