Thread by @ArtReyesIII

Michigan showed tf up yesterday & the day before that & the day before that & the day before that.

After MI certified the election, key dominos fell: GSA moved on transition, State Supreme Court rejected appeal on their lawsuit, GOP Senators/CEOs acknowledged Trump's loss 1/

This was a decisive blow to Trump & his allies attempts to undermine our democracy. We may see some last gasp efforts to hold onto power, and we'll be ready for it if it comes, but the proverbial nail is in the coffin. 2/

It's important to tell the story of how and why we've prevailed when our democracy was on the brink. This is an organizing victory. A people's victory. A movement victory. We did this.

Not our institutions, not the party, not Biden. Organizers did this. Here's how: 3/

We built strong, distributed organizing structure. Committed core team that meets everyday, committees that did real work and pulled people in, and incredible geographic based Action Councils led by local leadership in every corner of the state. We did this months ago. 4/

We built & drove the strategy here, on the ground, in Michigan. Strategy is not something that comes from on high, from magical national orgs, pollsters or consultants. It's build actively with our people, it's adaptive & more about our strategic capacity than a rigid plan 5/

Bc of this, we *out prepared* our opposition & anticipated their moves. We thwarted them at every desperate turn, and it was fun af. Bc of the robust structure we were nimble & could pivot on a dime w/ lots of leaders in key moments (TCF, airport actions, BOC testimony, etc.) 6/

We could also hold our own when some national orgs (mostly yt progressive orgs & attorneys) got all anxious & started to cook plans. We were able to collab with our allies (you know who you are) to play contain, so national orgs didn't stumble in & fuck stuff up. 7/

The national ecosystem, ultimately, followed our leadership, stayed out of our way, and made real & meaningful contributions (deploying their members, supporting our strategy & adding capacity, etc). @KairosFellows went above & beyond in their humble support & solidarity. <3 8/

We were also explicit about race from the jump. When we first came together in August, we said if they try to steal this election, they are going to do it with racist attacks on Detroit in an attempt to disenfranchise Black voters & other voters of color. 9/

We said it to everyone that would listen. This will be racialized & unless folks stand in solidarity with Black folks & Detroit, they're going to wage divide & conquer attacks, encourage white nationalist violence, & wedge white folks against us w/ Law & Order rhetoric. 10/

So no one was surprised when Trump was got out his racist dog-whistle in his 11/5 unhinged presser saying Detroit was corrupt & couldn't be trusted with the election. We saw it for what it was - a racist dog-whistle attempting to disenfranchise Black folks. 11/

And everyone was clear about it when they testified. Yesterday at the BOC meeting, rural white folks, Yoopers, suburbanites stood in solidarity with Black&brown Detroiters calling out the racist bs. The very ppl they were trying to wedge with the dog-whistles called bullshit 12/

We were capped off by mass COVID-safe offline & online actions. Yesterday's miles-long Car Caravan + livestream & digital actions were amazing. Led and planned by women of color organizers like Rai from @MILiberation, Steph from @SEIU, and Hoai An from @WeThePeople_MI + more 13/

It was the cherry on top of a month of powerful offline & online actions with thousands of ppl in dozens of communities in every corner of the state. Actions that were joyful, fun, moving - with music & dancing & healing space & OUR people. The stuff ppl want to be a part of 14/

And finally, we operated as a collective. The whole was genuinely > the sum of its parts. We built relationships deeply, operated with trust, left egos & drama aside. Named tension when it came up & dealt w/ it. We flew under the @WeMakeMichigan banner & rocked together. 15/

All of our leaders, teams, orgs got to shine in the ways that they shine. & we gave love & gratitude. It was beautiful. It is the future. So when you start hearing pundits talk about who saved our democracy, know it was us. It was our people. 16/

We did it for our people. We did it for each other. & WE ARE JUST. GETTING. STARTED. 17/17

So many ppl to appreciate, but want to at least name the orgs that grinded everyday on core team to help make this happen @WeMakeMichigan - @WeThePeople_MI @Detroit_Action @MILiberation @482Forward @SEIU @MichiganSeiu @ProgressMich @KairosFellows @MichiganUnited @MovementVote