It was just 39 degrees in Fairfax, Virginia when we started to set up hot coffee, cookies, and a table of pamphlets. Despite the cold, the mood was bright, and everyone was eager to pitch in and help. A group of 20 organizers across Loudon and Fairfax counties joined together to pass out fliers to educate voters and encourage action against a series of anti-organizing bills that aim to curb our freedom of speech in Virginia.

Despite the cold — and the huge influence of the war industry and other merchants of death in our area that is so close to U.S. imperialism’s capital — we received a warm welcome from those who were out and about visiting the library, their favorite restaurant, or out walking their dogs. Our requests were simple: learn about the bills, and contact your House and Senate representatives if you disagree with these proposals.

We had a QR code ready that sent folks to a website where they could easily email their representatives. We also had a tablet open on the same site, ready for folks who wanted to send the emails in real time.

This yielded excellent results. Over coffee and cookies, passersby stopped, asked questions, and shared their stories with those at our table, while other comrades spread out through the intersections nearby and talked to still more folks. Together, we handed out dozens of fliers. Several people responded in the moment on the tablet. All of these were constituents contacting their local representatives, and most said they never would have otherwise known about these bills or how to fight back.

Key to our success was our readiness: we educated ourselves first. Everyone arrived with significant knowledge of the bills, how it would impact our pro-Palestinian organizing, and how similar bills have disproportionally harmed Black and Brown people in other states. Also important was the focus on a specific, material goal related to our local conditions and governance. Often, just a dozen calls and emails from voting constituents can sway a State Representative or Senator, and this can be done in a short afternoon with just a handful of prepared comrades leading the way.

We quickly saw the fruits of our labor. In a few short days, the Senate struck down one of our targets, Senate Bill 1284. This bill would have prohibited anyone providing information or resources about any “terrorists” or “sponsor of terrorism” access, occupation, or presence on any campus in Virginia — without defining what constitutes a “terrorist” nor who would make those decisions. This term has been used throughout our history to suppress liberation movements of all kinds, especially Black and Indigenous movements. Most recently and visibly it has been used against pro-Palestine organizers across the country, as well as Stop Cop City forest protectors. The companion bill HB 2207, sponsored by Republican State Delegate Terry Kilgore, was also defeated soon afterward.

HB1650 was also defeated, a similar bill sponsored by GOP House Delegate Jason S. Ballard which would have expanded the Attorney General’s power to investigate any individual or organization suspected of abetting “terrorism,” without a definition of terrorism or limits to that power.

The movement also defeated HB 2529 has also been defeated, a bill sponsored by Democratic House Delegates Michael Jones and Dan Helmer. It would have prohibited universities from divesting from any country not on the federal government’s sanctions list, limiting the ability of organizers to demand divestment from Israel as part of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement. It also would have hampered universities from being able to make the best investments for them.

Defeating HB 2186 and SB 1247 was another victory. These were sponsored by Republicans Nick Freitas in the state’s House of Delegates and Tara Durant in the State Senate. Under these companion bills, public universities would have been barred from partnering with institutions in any country not allied with the U.S. This would limit programs like Fullbright and others, and freeze important cross-institute collaboration at many levels within the scientific fields and beyond.

These small but substantial wins help us regain control of our government, build our community of care, and keep our state safer and more free. We hope this success story-in-progress inspires others to hit the streets and educate, agitate, and organize for a better world.

Beyond Virginia, similar bills are being proposed in states everywhere. This strategy can and should also be applied to the myriad of extremely important issues, including the attacks on immigrant communities and reproductive health.

Image: CPUSA Virginia

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