Call to Action

American democracy is under attack.  

As writers and citizens, we cannot stand by and see our institutions dismantled.  Please join us in the battle of our lives.

  1. Call, email, write, and show up at the offices of your elected officials. Remind them government is by the people, for the people.

  2. Register to vote and show up at the polls, especially in special and runoff elections. Find out if there’s an election near you and vote prepared and informed at vote.org.

  3. Consider writing an OpEd for one of our nation’s online or print publications (see guidelines below) or submit to our Substack page.

  4. Join Writers for Democratic Action.  We’ll keep you informed of specific campaigns and opportunities to volunteer locally. You can also check out our Civic Action Toolkit.

  5. Don’t have a state WDA chapter?  Form one.  Contact us, and we’ll get you started.

STOP U.S. MILITARY AID TO ISRAEL

We members of the National Steering Committee of Writers for Democratic Action are appalled by the carnage being inflicted on the people of Gaza by the Israeli Defense Forces. With its refusal to alleviate the hunger of starving Gazans and its ongoing campaign of sadistic destruction, the government of Israel is violating not only the laws of war, but every norm of human decency. As American writers, we join the chorus of those demanding an immediate end to the military support the United States is providing Israel for its immoral and illegal war.

WE CALL FOR A CEASEFIRE AND AN END TO THE GENOCIDE.

And Hunger Was Given Dominion over Us

by Ezzideen Shehab

World Literature Today, August 15, 2025

Ezzideen Shehab returned to Gaza in 2023, following a decade of medical studies abroad. Five days after his return, the war began. Dr. Shehab founded the Alrahma Medical Center in Jabalia, a small clinic that provides free medical care for the injured and starving of north Gaza. To support Alrahma, visit Chuffed.org.

The Art of Peace: On Amichai, Darwish, and the Poetic Imagination

by Yahia Lababidi

Consequence Forum, August 6, 2025

Join the Democracy Theater Project in its newest production…

BAN THE BANS!

A Play in Defense of the Freedom to Read

In honor of

National Banned Books Week October 5 — 11, 2025

Stand with The Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights!

Shortly after midnight on August 31, the National Immigration Law Center (NILC) filed an emergency motion for a Temporary Restraining Order in the federal District Court in Washington, D.C., to prevent these unlawful returns. In the filing, the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights is serving as “Next Friend”, appearing in court as a representative for the child plaintiffs. Just hours later, a federal judge issued an order to stop the government’s unlawful actions. This success was not accidental; it was the result of dedicated advocates, litigators, and other compassionate individuals who believe that no child should face the system alone. 

However, our work is far from finished. For 48 hours over the weekend, before and after the lawsuit was filed, our Child Advocates raced to facilities to accompany and advocate for children.  Right now, more children need our protection. More families require our advocacy. More young lives hang in the balance, waiting for someone to stand up for them. We need your help today. 

Please consider donating. Your donation will:

  • Provide legal advocacy for children whose voices need to be heard in the system.

  • Fund emergency interventions to keep vulnerable children safe. 

  • Support programs that ensure every child has an adult advocate. 

  • Help us expand our efforts to protect even more children. 

Visit our NEWS page to see essays from Our Writers!

WDA STANDS WITH PUBLIC MEDIA!

Writers for Democratic Action staunchly opposes the demolition of public media in the United States under the current rescission bills put forward by the House and Senate.   National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service have, for decades, provided an essential conversation for all of America on radio and television both.  The news divisions of both enterprises have set the standard against which all broadcast journalism is measured.

NPR provides a free-flow of trusted information for over 30 million Americans weekly at pennies to American taxpayers. Many of those listeners are from rural and underserved communities. For over 50 years, beginning with the inception of rural land-based and university-based stations, NPR has provided the structure of true commonwealth, giving voice to the voiceless, and supplying vital knowledge about health, weather, elections, agriculture, literature and art. NPR informs, entertains, educates, and even saves lives.

For half a century, PBS has formed the heart of television at its best. PBS programming redefined what broadcast media could be for children. It remade the documentary form to center history, culture, and worthy entertainment. A nation needs a common language, common stories, and common images, and PBS has provided them. Public Broadcasting has kept the public good––not commerce––at the center of its commitment. 

Without the trustworthy values advanced and protected by NPR and PBS, propaganda can replace critical thinking, and democracy itself can shrivel. Autocracy cannot tolerate the free-ranging inquiry and counter-narratives that publicly supported media make possible. The Republicans in the House and the Senate are attacking this pillar of civic virtue at just the worst time, as journalism itself undergoes a crisis of survivability, with the epidemic of newsroom layoffs, take-overs by profit-obsessed corporations, and the destruction of community newspapers everywhere. 

Writers for Democratic Action calls for the renewal - not the demolition – of public media. NPR and PBS must be protected. Take one example of the stakes: In 2001, PBS featured Bob Marley on American Masters, and in 2025 honored what would have been his 80th birthday with a concert featuring his great – and ever more relevant – lyric: “Get up, stand up! Stand up for your right! Get up stand up, Don’t give up the fight!”

Our deep thanks to the 2,100 U.S. towns and cities AND the estimated 5 million people who participated in the NO KINGS DAY protests nationwide!

NO KINGS’ DAY

JUNE 14 — NATIONWIDE
Organized by 50501 Movement

Writers for Democratic Action mobilized on Saturdays, April 5th and 19th to stop the MAGA assault on our country and Constitution. Now, please join us and millions of other Americans across the nation on Saturday, June 14th, when we will take to the streets to peacefully defend our freedoms, our rights, and our future. When those in power try to silence us, we rise louder. When they attack our communities, we fight back—together. Join us on June14th!

Find a protest in your area HERE.

New York City

Chicago

North Carolina

Wisconsin

Consider writing an OpEd for one of our country’s prominent online or print publications!

See The OpEd Project guidelines here.

Oppose the Attack on Education!

Donald Trump and his administration have drafted an executive order to eliminate the US Department of Education, which was created in 1979 to coordinate most financial assistance to education. The Department's mission is to serve America's students by ensuring equal access. Make no mistake: this is an attack against the marginalized. This is an attack against literacy. This is an attack against our fundamental rights.

CALL NOW TO PROTECT EQUAL ACCESS TO EDUCATION.