Thank you to Ross Keys, Dalton Erickson, Barry Nelson, Rev. Gretchen Deeg, Rev. Sylvia Bull, Ashley Gaschk, Fowzia Adde, and so many others for all you do and for making me feel welcome in your community.

The new and deepened relationships I’m leaving ND with will strengthen my national organizing work. I’m grateful to keep supporting efforts in the Peace Garden State by amplifying wins, serving as a strategic partner, and ensuring ND has a place in the national conversation.

Our national climate can feel bleak, but being in ND reminded me that communities often forgotten by national orgs are fighting the good fight. When we center community, celebrate wins, and nurture hope, our movements grow more resilient.

Organizers with Interfaith Alliance of ND and ND Human Rights Coalition have deep networks and are winning at the statehouse. This session, advocates defeated 10+ bad bills targeting LGBTQ+ rights, education, and even declaring the “kingship of Jesus” in North Dakota.

From the Kennedy Memorial Center in Bismarck to the Fargo Public Library, folks are investing in local institutions that serve as third spaces where intellectual freedom and human dignity are centered.

In 2023, PRRI found nearly 50% of North Dakotans are adherents or sympathizers of Christian nationalist ideology. Countering this ideology is a tall task, but I’m leaving ND inspired by the resiliency and vision of the advocates I had the pleasure of meeting.

Take action to stop the SAVE Act here: support.interfaithalliance.org/a/no-on-save