Being agitated in political organizing circles is a way for your peers to ask you to dig deep. Sometimes it is in a way that calls you out - why haven’t you made your fundraising goal? And it sometimes can push you all the way to talking about how you did not have a lot of money growing up, so money makes you uncomfortable, so asking for money is super hard. It can be helpful. It can be traumatic. It is my least favorite part of organizing.

Being agitated as an elected official is part of the job.

On Friday I went to the members preview to the Art Institute of Chicago’s Frida’s Month in Paris exhibition. As I was walking through with a friend, I turned and was shocked to see Senator Durbin and his wife. I turned and was like, “OMG, Senator Durbin is here!” She asked what I was going to do. My head was spinning with ideas.

A few years ago I saw my Congresswoman, Jan Schakowsky, at the Target. My then-husband asked me, “Are you going to ask her something?” I decided to let her shop in peace. Today is a different story. Elected officials, especially ones who keep voting yes to the current administration, should not be left alone.

Unlike most people in that gallery, I had a special in with the Senator. I am alum of his wife’s IWIL program that has been training Illinois women to run for office since 2002. I really do credit that program with refining my skills that I had learned while working on campaigns and attending other campaign schools for my electoral win in 2023. Especially with the cold calling people to ask them to donate to my campaign. If that was you, thank you again!

After a few minutes of weighing all the things and crafting a script in my head, I walked over to him.

I introduced myself in my best museum voice. A soft, but firm whisper. I included my status as an IWIL alum in my introduction and thanked his wife for the program. That is when I got the relaxed smile from him. And that is when I told him, no pleaded with him to fight like hell. That I know he knows how to fight. And that he must oppose everything that is coming from the White House. That I know some people are hard to organize right now because he isn’t fighting. He politely listened to my very polite demands, said thank you, and we parted ways.

What will my agitation do? Who knows. Nothing? But at least I did what I know I needed to do. Recently the Sunshine Movement held an action at Federal Plaza demanding the same thing, but with more flare, audacity, and anger.

Could I have been more angry? Sure. Could I have made a spectacle? Sure, but would he have listened as intently as he did for those 60 seconds? Who knows. All I know is that countless people have tried to get in touch with his office, with him, to demand that he fight and I got a minute with the Senator.

After my heart stopped racing - look, I’m all for agitation in any form, but even I get worked up and need to recover - I went back to the Frida exhibition. It was far more about Mary Reynolds and other friends of Frida. Let Frida draw you in for a wonderful time. And don’t forget to look up to see who else is standing right next to you.

How I am Persisting - Books

Slayers, Every One of Us:
How One Girl in All the World Showed Us How to Hold On 
by Kristin Russo and Jenny Owen Youngs

If you have mentioned Buffy to me in the last eight years, I likely have told you all about Buffering the Vampire Slayer. A podcast hosted by two women who were once married to each other, now are married to other people, who rewatched Buffy and podcasted about it - spoiler-free. Which is kinda funny when you think about how loyal listeners know how this book goes, we got the spoilers. Jenny & Kristin fell in love, Jenny made Kristin watch Buffy, then podcast about it. Then they experienced a miscarriage. Got divorced (and kinda made a song about it!). Kept the podcast going. Along the way they parented a community that showed up for each other, loved a good prom, and was very, very gay (but not as gay as Kristin). We know the spoilers, but we don’t know the details. Like how they made the podcast, wrote the songs, and how they were able to compartmentalize so much heartbreak to give us seven seasons of spoiler-free commentary.

This super quick read will devastate you on the bus, so maybe pack tissues or read at home. But it gives you a real sense of what pop culture does for us in our most trying times. For me, Buffy spans my adult years before I became a mom and lost my mom. I turn to the Chosen speech to rally myself for battle. Fans of the pod will absolutely love this book. If you haven’t listened to the podcast, I still think you will love this tale of two women who loved each other and Buffy enough to work their way through heartbreaks and keep each other in their lives. FYI - They are now rewatching Buffy AGAIN and podcasting AGAIN, this time with spoilers.

She Who Knows by Nnedi Okorafor

Okorafor does it again by gifting the world a fantastic young woman who dreams bigger than her world and is full of complications. I read this novella in order to be ready to dig into the sequel which is soon to be published. I’ll do a larger review then. While featuring a teenage young women, these are not children’s books. Firmly YA, and heavy on the adult for the violence.