Democracy is in danger—and not just here in the United States. All around the world, authoritarian regimes are seizing power even in countries once thought to be strong democracies. In state legislatures, extremists have taken pages straight from an authoritarian playbook to quash political dissent by silencing duly elected state lawmakers. From Montana to Oklahoma, to the Tennessee Three, state lawmakers have been practicing new models of resistance in legislative chambers to stand firm alongside their communities and against power grabs. As state legislators continue to be subjected to anti-democratic abuses of power by their colleagues, what can we learn from global movements in our continued struggle for democracy?
Paula Avila-Guillen is a Green Wave movement leader, international human rights lawyer, and Executive Director at the Women's Equality Center (WEC). She has helped lead the fight to decriminalize abortion in her home country of Colombia, and has supported the efforts that led to the... Read More →
Tara Houska is a mother, a land defender, a sundancer, an attorney and founder of Giniw Collective. She is committed to building a better world while protecting what remains of the sacred.
Joe is an indigenous Coloradan. He was the first in his family to go to college. He graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1993. In 2003, he graduated from the University of Denver College of Law.In November 2012, Joe was elected to the Colorado State House of Representatives... Read More →
Pushkar Sharma, is the founder of SACRED (the South Asian American Coalition to Renew Democracy), an action research and advocacy organization focused on advancing democracy and countering supremacist movements within the South Asian American community in Illinois. Prior to founding... Read More →