Tulsans are organizing after President Donald Trump’s first month in office, marked by mass federal firings, executive orders targeting transgender and immigrant communities and a wave of lawsuits against the administration.
A group working on the grassroots organizational effort is Indivisible Tulsa County. They held their first in person event called Pints and Politics at McNellie’s Pub earlier this week.
“We had four generations at that meeting Monday night,” said Susan Young, one of the group’s members. “We had people in their 80’s and we had people in their teens and everything in between.”
Young is a retired nurse and social worker, and Susan Badaracco is a retired pediatrician. They want more people to join Indivisible Tulsa County.
Young is the self-described “hand shaker” and “door knocker” of the two while Badaracco uses a more data driven approach to get people involved. Badaracco said this creates a symbiotic relationship.
“She (Young) is really good at being first in line for answering questions from journalists," Badaracco said. “I adore going on the web and pulling from data.”
Badaracco uses the data to get the word out to progressives to do everything from contacting a local representative to adding people to a mailing list from Monday’s event.
More than 100 people attended Pints and Politics Monday night. It’s the first in-person event for Indivisible Tulsa County.
Indivisible nationally began in 2016. The organization was started by congressional staffers that wanted to stop a bigoted and anti-democratic agenda.
The national group of Indivisible made waves recently by contacting Democratic leadership to get them to do more to stop Trump and Musk.
Indivisible isn’t the only group attempting to get folks organized.
One grassroots group is coming together via wristwear.
“I’ve had people when I’m out and about comment on my bracelet,” said Sara Joyce, creator of the Oklahoma Blue Dot Bracelet Brigade. “This is why we wear these (bracelets) to represent left leaning politics. If the person is like-minded, I always offer to give them one and it’s just kind of a fun way to build community.”
The blue dot movement started last year when yard signs with blue dots started popping up in Omaha, Nebraska. Even though the bracelet brigade isn’t directly connected with that start in Cornhusker land, the blue dots have made their way to Green Country.
“I think it’s really easy to feel like you’re alone in the state, because Oklahoma is so red,” Joyce said. “So, I think maintaining a sense of community right now is more important than ever.”
The bracelet brigade group connects progressive folks on Facebook, and they have regular in person meet ups. Posts on their page include calls to action to contact conservative politicians and make the voices of the state’s minority party heard.
Joyce mentioned that after the November election there was a lull in the group, but since Trump took office, they’ve been re-energized.
The same energy reached members of Indivisible Tulsa County.
Badaracco said she has a specific focus for the group.
“My main goal is fighting Project 2025,” Badaracco said. “It’s an attack on the military, civil servants, public education, women and reproductive rights, civil rights and immigrants. It’s an attack on everybody.”
Indivisible Tulsa County will meet to set up their leadership structure next week. The hope for the group members is to be organized, unlike the Will Rogers quote about the Democratic party:
“I’m not a member of any organized political party. I’m a Democrat.”
