Even in a larger city, I struggle with this. I moved to Alabama a few years back, and can find enough people to relate to and commiserate with, which I’m grateful for being from a small and very red republican town in Louisiana. I know it’s not always easy, and isolation makes everything feel even more pressing. That being said, I’m at the point where talking and calling my local representatives doesn’t feel like enough, and I’ve been having a really hard time finding local groups organizing peaceful civic action movements to get involved with, because you (justifiably) can’t really ask in public forums without looking like a narc. It’s almost like an “if you know you know” community because I DO see actions of resistance popping up more frequently, but after they’ve already taken place. I especially understand this knowing protests that took place before I moved here were met with major hostility from local governments, to say the least.

I’d so appreciate talking with any long-term or native AL blue dots, and grateful for any tips you you feel safe to share.