Activists are calling for a nationwide economic blackout this Friday, as a way to use the power of the pocketbook to protest the Trump administration.
Participants are asked to refrain from going to work, attending school, or making purchases of any kind. In an interview with COURIER, Indivisible co-founder Ezra Levin explains what a movement like this hopes to achieve, and why his organization is throwing its weight behind it.
The following transcript has been edited for length and clarity.
Camaron Stevenson: This is Ezra Levin with Indivisible. You’ve probably heard of his organization. It’s had steady growth over the past eight years.
Ezra Levin: We’re going on 10 years, if you can believe it.
CS: Wow. That’s unbelievable. I’m from Phoenix, Arizona, and I remember when the Indivisible groups started popping up in some of the suburbs. Then the Phoenix one started growing, and now they are doing some really impressive work out there.
EL: The Arizona Indivisibles are really on fire. They’ve done a whole bunch of work in the past several years. I’ve been out there several times. I was out there before GGO ran for Senate, but we had GGO and Mondaire Jones trying to push Kyrsten Sinema to get on board with democracy reform before she stabbed us in the back.
I’ve also been out to Prescott, Arizona several times, which is a great area. It’s theoretically a very Republican area, but there is a very strong Indivisible group out there doing the Lord’s work. So yeah, I love our Arizona Indivisibles.
CS: I don’t know if this is your experience, but I feel like the places that are considered Republican strongholds or MAGA country sometimes have the most dedicated and ardent Indivisible groups. I imagine this is simply because they face the toll of the administration’s agenda more bluntly than some other areas.
EL: I think that’s right. Look, I’m from a rural and red area of Texas, and where I grew up, the word “Democrat” was a bad word. The local Democratic party was a joke; nobody volunteered for the Hays County Democratic Party, and there wasn’t a lot of organizing going on.
I do think after Trump was first elected, people were looking for community. People were looking to see if there were other folks who thought like them. It turns out even in these Republican plus-20 districts—even in places Donald Trump carried by double digits—there are a lot of people out there who don’t want that agenda and are willing to organize.
I think there’s power in that. That’s how you build power in a Democratic Republic; you have to do it locally. That’s how our power is distributed geographically across the country. It’s why you have state reps, city council members, and US senators. If you want to wield political power in this country, you can either be super rich and famous, or you can organize. Those are the options.
CS: I know I speak for myself when I say I feel we are in much better hands when it is groups of grassroots organizers, rather than a few of the world’s wealthiest, controlling our laws.
EL: That’s a big statement, but I’m going to go along with you on that one. I think I agree.
CS: Bringing out some hot takes! I do want to talk about something getting a lot of buzz lately, mainly because it’s the next big protest day coming up. I initially characterized it as a strike, but when I looked at Indivisible’s page regarding the Mayday action, I saw it isn’t technically a labor strike—it’s an economic blackout of sorts. Could you explain the distinction and let people know what the plan is?
EL: A strike is a technical term used in the labor community that comes with other requirements attached to it. The inspiration for this Friday’s Mayday action comes from the heroes who organized in the Twin Cities against ICE and a secret police force that was bringing the boot down on that community.
What they called for was a day of truth and freedom. In late January, thousands upon thousands of faith leaders, nurses, teachers, and everyday community members came out and said, “Look, we’re not going to go to school, work, or shop. We’re going to flex our economic power to bring the attention of the entire country to what this regime is doing to us.”
Only two days after that action, the regime ultimately had to back off because the PR hit they were taking was so intense. The public was turning against the Trump regime, ICE, CBP, and the broader deportation agenda because people saw Renee Goode’s murder, Alex Pretti’s murder, and the regime’s slander against normal Americans. In Alex Freddy’s case, he was a VA nurse simply showing up to exercise his First Amendment rights in defense of his community, and a secret police force murdered him in the streets.
In response, we saw this incredible on-the-ground organizing that was something more than just a Saturday protest. The way I view Mayday is as a structure test for our movement. Heading into the midterms, we know what Donald Trump is planning to do. He fears free and fair elections and plans to sabotage them to hold on to power. That’s what all authoritarians do.
The question for us is, what are we going to do when that happens? We think the folks in Minnesota showed us a way forward: flexing not just our people power in numbers, but also our economic strength.
That’s what we’re going to see on Friday. We’re going to see people across the country—in blue, red, and purple states, in rural, suburban, and urban areas—figuring out ways to flex that economic strength as a community. In some places, you’ll see schools close down. You’ll see workers off the job. You’ll see people out of stores. In other places, you’ll see community events and large protests. This is about figuring out where we are strong, where we are weak, and where we need to grow, so that come November, we’re not just crushing them electorally, but protecting the results with strategic organizing.
CS: I want to talk about the buildup to this moment. The major penultimate moment is the midterm elections, but I feel like people have come a really long way since January 2025. When the Trump administration came in, they acted as if they had an irrefutable mandate and that any opposition was futile. I personally saw a wave of hopelessness.
Now, a year and change later, there have been multiple cabinet resignations and historic protests. People who had never attended a protest before are showing up and creating Indivisible groups. What’s it like seeing that from your bird’s-eye view?
EL: It’s the best of times and the worst of times. You could say that about the Twin Cities, where you have the most horrific acts of cruelty exercised on Americans alongside the most beautiful, inspiring acts of neighborliness and courage on the ground. That’s what I’ve seen across the country since Trump won re-election.
The broader political system didn’t respond the way the grassroots organizers responded. People organizing Indivisible groups didn’t wait several months to realize this guy was a threat; it was immediate. We started seeing a surge of engagement on the ground right away.
It’s going to be important to tell the story of what happened in 2025 and 2026. The story is one where an authoritarian won power, controlled the White House, Senate, and House, and attempted to concentrate power in his hands. In response, elites in media, universities, business, and the national Democratic Party essentially said, “He’s in power now, I guess we’ll just go along with it.”
The other part of the story was normal, everyday Americans saying, “No, I’m going to organize. I’m going to exercise my constitutional rights, connect with my community, and figure out how we protect ourselves.” That is what transformed Trump from an inevitable, unstoppable force into an unpopular, lame-duck president with a fracturing coalition.
It doesn’t mean we’re completely safe. When authoritarians are cornered, they lash out, which we are seeing now with the Iran war, Venezuela, and threats to Cuba or Greenland. But he is undeniably weakened. The direct connection between everyday people standing up for their rights and the country’s political trajectory is undeniable.
CS: I completely agree. The mentality of people across the country is drastically different than it was in January 2025. The best example I have is from Phoenix. In early 2025, a Northwest Valley Indivisible group formed. Initially, it was just a handful of people protesting outside local Tesla dealerships.
They kept getting bigger, eventually protesting outside Republican Representative Abe Hamadeh’s office, and evolved into a well-oiled machine of unpaid volunteers who know how to make noise effectively. Recently, they successfully organized against an industrial warehouse that ICE was going to use in Surprise, Arizona. They packed the city council, held daily protests, and now the use of that facility is on hold. These are people who felt hopeless in 2024, weren’t politically active, saw a need, and activated.
EL: I am so moved by that. The level of horror driven by this regime is intended to drive people into hiding. What we’re seeing in places like Surprise is folks coming together to demonstrate courage. There is reason to be scared, there is danger, and yet they are standing up in defense of their neighbors and communities anyway.
It’s enough to make you believe in democracy. If big corporations, big donors, and politicos keep making all the decisions, we’ll just get more of the same. The encouraging thing right now is that the organizing force on the ground is charting a different direction for the country once Donald Trump leaves the White House.
If we’re doing our job, we are empowering people to become the powerhouses you’re describing in Surprise. It’s not me leading this movement. Fundamentally, it comes down to normal people deciding to play a role in their democracy. We can provide training and tools, but local people are smart about where their leverage is. The opportunities in Surprise are different than those in San Francisco or Austin.
A one-size-fits-all program leaves so much brilliance and creativity on the table. Nobody is going to ride in to save the day for you. You actually develop political power by organizing and demanding it. The good news is that in America in 2026, this is still a constitutional republic, and you still have First Amendment rights to organize. That might not be true forever, but it is true right now.
CS: Building on that, organizing in a way that matches your community is crucial. A lot of localities have developed a reflexive opposition muscle where they know who to reach out to when they hear a call for a protest or, in the case of this Friday, a nationwide economic blackout.
This might be a new tactic for some, but I think it’s especially important in a time when billionaires and the richest people in our society essentially own politicians. An economic blackout can do the most damage because, at the end of the day, all these guys really care about is their bottom line.
EL: Economic pressure tactics have been bright spots during a very dark time. When Jimmy Kimmel was threatened by the regime, millions of people canceled their Disney subscriptions, and he was back on the air in hours. When Spotify ran ICE recruitment ads, tons of people canceled, and they removed the ads. When an airline made a business model out of deporting Americans, they faced massive protests and stopped doing it.
This is a nonviolent, effective organizing tool we can use to apply direct pressure to the system so it has to listen. It’s not our only tool, but if we aren’t using our economic power when someone tries to sabotage our elections, we aren’t running the full campaign we need to. Millions of people showing up on a Saturday won’t save democracy on its own. We have to marry the breadth of our protests with the depth of economic pressure tactics.
Mayday is an opportunity to test our strength. Where are we strong? Where do we need to build up more? Which tactics work on the ground? I encourage everybody to participate in some way. Take off from work or school, skip shopping, or attend a protest. Most importantly: don’t be alone on Mayday. Be part of a community committed to protecting democracy and non-violent tactics.
CS: My plan for Friday is to go through all my subscriptions and cancel the ones that don’t align with my vision for our country. However, that doesn’t feel like a communal experience. When you’re staying home, not working, and not buying anything, it can feel isolating compared to the inspiration of a massive protest. Is there anything people can do to feel connected and recognize they are part of a bigger movement?
EL: I don’t want to put down your individual efforts—everybody doing something is good. But you’re hitting on something really important. Experts in authoritarianism will tell you that authoritarians want you to feel isolated and alone. Organized, nonviolent people power is their biggest threat, which is why they saber-rattle at people exercising their First Amendment rights so much.
The most effective opposition tactic is refusing to be alone. Find a community. Find your local Indivisible group; there is likely one near 95% of the people watching this. If Indivisible isn’t your home, join the Working Families Party, 5051, a local immigrant rights group, or a mutual aid circle.
If you happen to be in an organizing desert with no organizations near you, start your own. Every single one of the 2,700 local Indivisible groups was started by someone who just raised their hand and decided to step up. People want to be part of something real right now, and you aren’t going to find that by doomscrolling. You’re going to find it by actually connecting with a community.
CS: You mentioned earlier that this is a good opportunity to test the strength of different communities’ economic blackout tactics. Is there a way you will be measuring the success of participation in Mayday?
EL: I want to see an unexpected number of actions in an unexpected number of places. I want to see different types of actions—some will be successful, and some will not. What they do in North Carolina is going to be different than San Francisco or Surprise, Arizona. We will learn from these activities and glean best practices for the entire country come November.
We’ll see entire school systems close, large numbers of workers staying off the job, and boycotts of specific stores or industries. It’s on us as national organizers to evaluate what went well and what didn’t so we can scale up over the next six months. This is a tactical escalation. It’s one thing to show up on a Saturday; it’s a bigger lift to take a sick day, keep your kids out of school, or refuse to shop. But it’s the kind of lift we need. We’re asking people to take responsibility for their democracy into their own hands.
CS: I really like that approach because it allows people to be creative. If you just give someone a box to check, they only think about showing up where they are told.
I’m thinking of an economic protest at Home Depot this past winter where people bought 55-cent ice scrapers and immediately got back in line to return them. It clogged up the return lines and let the company know they didn’t want ICE agents at their stores. It was incredibly creative, slowed down Home Depot, and was something I never would have thought of on my own. Giving people the opportunity to be creative shows what we’re made of.
EL: That’s exactly where the strength of the current pro-democracy movement lies. Even the phrase “No Kings” didn’t come from Indivisible cooking up poll-tested messaging in a room. It organically spread from protests earlier last year.
The best ideas come from people on the ground. Think of the Portland protesters who showed up in frog and unicorn costumes. It was a hilarious response to accusations that we were violent protesters. Making fun of the situation was a brilliant way to defang the regime. That caught on like wildfire. When the National Guard was called out against us in Texas and Virginia, it made no sense. Seeing fully armed guards facing off against kids dancing in funny costumes couldn’t have happened if this was just some corporate campaign. It grew organically out of the movement itself.
CS: I couldn’t imagine that getting pitched in a boardroom, but it worked. Authoritarians hate being turned into a joke. They are narcissists with fragile egos, and sending military guards to arrest an inflatable frog reveals the joke that they are.
EL: Oh my god, yes. There was an arrest at No Kings 2 in Alabama where a woman dressed up as a giant dictator, complete with the visual pun you can imagine. She was accused of destroying the peace, though she was later exonerated.
It’s important to understand there is no rule book written for this. Anyone at the national level who says this is exactly how you have to protest isn’t connected to reality. I encourage people to get creative on the ground, work with their local communities to capture attention, and then let everyone know about it. Take pictures, get press coverage, write op-eds, and elevate these tactics so other communities can replicate them.
CS: Thank you so much. I know we have to wrap up. Thanks for taking the time to talk with me, Ezra. Movements like this only need about 3.5% of the population participating to make a massive impact. We’ve already seen millions of people at recent protests, so I expect Mayday is going to be quite a force to be reckoned with.
EL: I believe so. I think we’re going to see a lot, learn a lot, and keep building from there.
Advertise in this newsletter
Do you or your company want to support COURIER’s mission and showcase your products or services to an aligned audience of 190,000+ subscribers at the same time? Contact advertising@couriernewsroom.com for more information.
Support our journalism at COURIER
Democracy dies behind a paywall, which is why our journalism is — and always will be — free.
But to keep our commitment to the free access to information, we need support from those who have the means, believe in our mission, and support our unique model.
