Yesterday, a Red Wine & Blue Network group called Knitty Gritty JC helped lead a protest to demand that Newark Airport put webcams on their tarmacs to expose ICE activity.
They knew success was possible because earlier this year, community groups demanded the same thing at Boeing Field International Airport in Washington… and they won.
Boeing Field Airport, located five miles south of downtown Seattle, began tracking ICE activity last month. The airport even created an official position called “Flight Monitoring and Outreach Coordinator" to watch and record ICE deportation and relocation flights at their airport. The airport shares the livestream of its camera feeds and publishes weekly passenger logs on its website.
“The feedback we got from the community was we want more transparency,” said Cameron Satterfield, the spokesperson for Boeing Field. “We want you to log how many people are coming on and off the flights, when they’re coming in, what’s happening on these flights. We’re just trying to bring more transparency into something that’s been a furtive, in the shadows kind of thing.”
Another RWB Network group has been making good trouble in Virginia… for 86 weeks in a row.
Back in October of 2025 (that’s right, almost a year ago!), we wrote about the Roanoke Social Circle’s weekly rally in front of Republican Rep. Ben Cline’s office. Every Monday, they gather to protest Rep. Cline’s support of President Trump, ICE, rising prices, and more. The weekly gatherings usually attract between 125-150 people, with attendance sometimes reaching up to 300 people!
This past week, their weekly protest was joined by Beth Macy, the woman running against Ben Cline in November. Beth is a mom, a former reporter, and the author of Dopesick, an award-winning book about how opioid executives preyed on vulnerable communities. Best of all, she credits the Roanoke Social Circle’s weekly rally as the reason she’s running against Representative Cline in the first place.
And for an example of the great legislation that Democratic women leaders can make, look no further than Governor Maura Healey of Massachusetts. Last month, she signed a Freedom to Read law that keeps book bans out of her state’s schools and libraries.
Signed at the Franklin Public Library, the oldest public library in the United States, the law establishes a fair and transparent process for reviewing books while strengthening protections for teachers and librarians.
“We have always believed that our communities are stronger when people, especially young people, have access to knowledge and a free exchange of ideas,” said Governor Healey. “This bill is about protecting the freedom to read, to learn, to ask difficult questions and to encounter ideas we might agree or disagree with. It’s also about protecting our teachers and librarians and allowing them to do their jobs. At a time when President Trump is defunding education and trying to censor any ideas he doesn’t agree with, it is more important than ever that states step up to lead. That’s what we’re doing here in Massachusetts."
Here’s hoping that come November, we’ll have even more powerful women leaders supporting families and families at all levels of our democracy!
