Lots of little things people can do to build community, and stay safe. Here’s an idea, but it could easily be a house, or a she-shed, or a man-cave, etc., etc.
As the National Guard has been deployed to the streets of D.C., one private Black-owned networking club is offering a safe space to work and connect with others.
Last week, President Donald Trump declared a public safety emergency in Washington, D.C., a move that, according to the D.C. Home Rule Act of 1973, allows the federal government to take over the city’s police department for 30 days without congressional approval. Anxiety level is high as many are worried that taking over the Chocolate City — where Black people make up nearly 43 percent of the population, according to Data USA — is just the first part of Trump’s plan to implement a police state in America.
But one local membership club just made a move to make sure the city’s residents have a safe place to go during these uncertain times. The Gathering Spot is a Black-owned private membership club with locations in Washington, D.C., Atlanta and Los Angeles, created to provide a space for executives, artists and entrepreneurs to connect and build community.
Although you normally have to pay to play, the club just launched a safe house initiative, which will provide complimentary access to its D.C. location (with a few less perks than full membership would get them).
Residents can complete an online form to request access. Once they are approved, they can use the space to “work, rest and connect” with others. The Gathering Spot’s CEO, Ryan Wilson, announced the plan in an August 12 Instagram post.
“This is an opportunity for people who are not members of the club to take advantage of the club. It is more important that we are in community during moments like this than ever,” he said.
Although we don’t know how long the safe house initiative will last, many TGS members said on social media that they are happy that the place they call home is opening its doors to others when they need it most.
Note from A: I love this writer. He’s a heck of a great human. I used to read him when he wrote for the Wichita Eagle, and since have sort of kept up with different things he’s done over time. He wrote back a thank you note to me when I wrote in to thank him for some particularly incisive, also brave, coverage. I don’t recall what, but I’ll never forget he wrote back. Anyway, it’s good to see him writing again, and on a vital subject. Give it a look!
Last night, I was honored and delighted to join a phenomenal group of brilliant leaders and hundreds of thousands of women across the country in support of the Vice President on the first Women for Harris National Organizing Call.
You can watch the organizing call in its entirety right here, and I strongly recommend doing so.
Speakers included Women for Harris Director Rhonda Foxx, Sen. Laphonza Butler, Chelsea Clinton, Min Jin Lee, Yvette Nicole Brown, Shannon Watts, Ai-Jen Poo, Glynda Carr, and so many more.
I honestly did not expect to cry so much, but when Ms. Lee began telling her story and teared up, I completely lost it. By the time Ms. Clinton reminded us all of the history of women seeking the White House, I was a mess.
It was a bad night for mascara and a great night for democracy.
Below are my remarks:
Good evening!
My name is Charlotte Clymer, my pronouns are she/her, I’m a writer and activist, and I am so excited to be part of this historic gathering of women across the country.
Now, look, I’m not gonna repeat to y’all what the brilliant and eloquent women who spoke before me stated, nor do I have the eloquence and brilliance of the women who will speak over the remainder of this evening.
I’m just gonna tell y’all a quick story about why I proudly support Vice President Harris.
I am a proud American, a proud Texan, a proud military veteran, a proud trans woman, and a proud Democrat.
And I have found that there a lot of folks, including Donald Trump and J.D. Vance, who want to place me in a specific box.
They say I’m too queer to be a proud military veteran.
They say a trans woman like me can’t be a Christian and a strong person of faith as I am.
They say women like me don’t belong in America.
Well, here’s what I have to say to that: thank goodness our leader, Vice President Harris, has common sense and believes no American, no human being, belongs in a box.
A little over four years ago, a number of rightwing extremists took a picture of me from a public event and attempted to harass me online. They wanted me to be ashamed of how I look as a trans woman.
Now, just like the women I admire—women like my grandmother, women like Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett from my home state of Texas, women like Vice President Harris—am I going to give these sad and insecure people that kinda power over me?
No.
I don’t have time for that. I love how I look. I know I’m beautiful.
So, I wrote a thread explaining that, and I offered an open hope that these sad and insecure people will someday have the kind of peace and comfort in their own skin as I have in mine.
She fights for the military veteran who comes back from war with horrific wounds. She fights for the woman turned away from life-saving abortion access. She fights for the public school teacher who’s overworked and underpaid. She fights for every child, every senior, every single American. She fights for all of us.
One of the first public figures to respond to that thread was then-Senator Kamala Harris. (emph. mine-A)
She gave me support. She gave me encouragement. She made me feel seen. And in that moment, she sent a clear message that supporting her means supporting the basic concept that all of us are worthy to be who we are authentically.
I want to be clear: there were no incentives for her here. I hadn’t endorsed her. I hadn’t talked with her campaign. It wasn’t like she was gonna fundraise off this moment.
She did it because Vice President Harris is the kind of leader who fights for every American.
Donald Trump and J.D. Vance are gonna throw everything they got at her—every cruel remark, every disgusting sexist and racist trope, every bit of vile—and they’re gonna find out the hard way that it just isn’t enough.
And why is that? Because we have a clear strategy here. All we have to do is follow the example of Vice President Harris. She is a leader who builds bridges, who invites tough conversations, who always embraces discomfort as a gift for growth.
If we follow her example, if we make every phone call, if we knock on every door, if we invite tough conversations with our friends and family and neighbors who are on the fence in this election, I guarantee you, on everything I hold dear, that Kamala Harris will be the 47th President of the United States.
Thank god this is our leader. Let’s follow her example. Let’s go win this thing.
To find out how to volunteer and elect our first woman president and save democracy from Trump and Vance and Project 2025, text WOMEN to 30330.
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