Building face-to-face relationships across differences is the first act of resistance—and the foundation for community defense, disaster response and democratic revival in the South.

This essay is part of an ongoing Gender & Democracy series, presented in partnership with Groundswell Fund and Groundswell Action Fund, highlighting the work of Groundswell partners advancing inclusive democracy. You’ll find stories, reflections and accomplishments—told in their own words—by grassroots leaders, women of color, Indigenous women, and trans and gender-expansive people supported by Groundswell. By amplifying these voices—their solutions, communities, challenges, and victories—our shared goal is to show how intersectional organizing strengthens democracy.

Knowing our neighbors. It may sound simple, but it is an essential ingredient to a functioning democracy—and more important now than ever.

In the face of the dismantling of government and public service, communities devastated by ongoing climate catastrophes, and individuals targeted by state repression, we must return to the simple but powerful act of getting to know the people we live near. Whether it’s lending or borrowing a cup of sugar, or providing others bare necessities when the power goes out on your block for two weeks, it is essential that we break our prolonged isolation and build relationships across differences. 

For us at Southerners on New Ground (SONG)—a regional organization building a grassroots base of LGBTQ+ Southerners—we see this as a crucial first step towards creating community defense and disaster response networks across the South. These networks are lifelines that enable us to defend queer and trans kin, fight back against the targeting of Black and immigrant communities and address the material impact of climate crises.  

Real relationships rebuke the forces that attempt to fracture or isolate us.

Last year, when back-to-back hurricanes devastated our communities from Florida to Kentucky, SONG mobilized quickly to meet urgent needs. Our teams delivered carloads of essential supplies to impacted areas in North Carolina and Georgia, provided over 100 composting toilets to Western North Carolina in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene and made 839 wellness calls to check on our members’ safety and well being.

We need to be ready for the storms to come this year—the literal rain and wind, as well as those that are brewing to threaten our state and national political system. Our democracy depends on our preparation—and community engagement.

In a world defined by increasing isolation, whether on account of social media or prolonged impact of the pandemic,  it is sometimes easy to forget the power of a face-to-face conversation. Organizing is inherently personal—which, in turn, is deeply political. 

Our motivations for overcoming the fear to speak out often comes in the form of a friendly face reaching out and encouraging action. It is remarkably uplifting, much more so than another article or post or photo to “like.” And for us at SONG, our organizing work goes far beyond ballots or political cycles. 

The Southern organizing tradition that guides and informs our work is rooted in the tireless, sacred and devotional community-building work that strengthens kinship and deepens connection to one another. Real relationships rebuke the forces that attempt to fracture or isolate us.

Our organizing work is about resistance and resilience. It is about building a beloved community that, without question or pause, knows it right to drop off a plate of food when someone is sick or call just to see “how ya’ doin’?” One that knows it right to clean up the mud, pull up the carpet, and rip out the walls in rooms overtaken by flood waters. One that knows it right to defend your neighbor when ICE rolls through your town.  

Get to know your neighbors. It can change our future.

April 22: Join Our Organizing Training

In these moments of onslaught, where despair threatens to overwhelm us, we invite Southerners seeking a political home to join up with SONG and support our neighbor-to-neighbor door knocking efforts. Next up: our “Won’t You Be my Gaybor” organizing drive. We have dozens of Southerners already in action, from Hattiesburg, Miss., to Pittsboro, N.C., and offer ongoing training calls. Join us on April 22 at 7 p.m. ET; register here.