🌱 Returning from Scorched Earth
A poem about nature's destruction and resilience
Table of Contents
Welcome Back! 👋🏼
We have a short newsletter for you this week before we kick off our July series on AI's impact on society next week. I recently resurfaced an old poem I wrote while camping after the gnarly Caldor wildfire impacted Tahoe in the fall of 2021. We also release our first ever annual survey to help improve our resources for you. Read on for more...
In Case You Missed It: Decolonizing Hope | Responding to Doom & Gloom
Returning from Scorched Earth
Fallen Leaf Lake - August 2022
I mourn for the Earth.
I celebrate the Earth.
The Earth is resilient. She can rebuild and regrow when all is lost.
When the ash blankets the hills, shards of bark jutting out of the barren landscape, with no place for little critters to hide.
But the critters are gone. The silence.
How?
How can we rebuild from destruction?
As the Earth does.
Through resilience, dedication, and trust.
Trust in an ecosystem of rebirth.
🌱 Help Us Grow! Take Our Annual Survey
Hi y'all! 👋🏼 Thank you so much for supporting the roots of change newsletter through the years. To get a pulse on what you want and need for your activism and communications, we are introducing our first annual newsletter survey!
This is your chance to shape future newsletter topics, communications resources, bonus content, and future events! Plus, if you complete this 5-10 minute survey, you’ll get a free 1-month Flowering subscription complete with behind the scenes tips, resources, and content.
We say "let's grow together," because our mission is rooted in helping you grow. Your answers will help us shape our content tailored for you and get a free month of tech deep dives, digital strategy resources, expert advice, and bonus podcasts. Thank you in advance!
In Solidarity,
Sam Chavez
Enjoying our newsletter? Subscribe for the full monthly series, learn how to navigate 🧭 social change activism in our digital world, and support our 100% reader-supported work.
- 🗞️ SCOTUS and Trump Reigned Supreme - The Federalist Society‘s decade-long campaign to corrupt the court has been exposed again this year as it rules courts are experts and Trump is king.
- 🤓 The Root 🌱 - These decisions are blatant power grabs that are setting up their ability to restrict more rights and further expand the wealth gap in a Trump presidency. They’ve already interfered in this election but we can vote them out from the local to national level.
- 📚 D.C Suburb Leading on Green Transportation - In some hopeful climate news, Montgomery County, MD near Washington D.C. is investing in clean, sustainable local transportation. They will be installing its own self-sustaining energy microgrid and a fleet of 200 zero-emissions buses.
- 🤓 The Root 🌱 - What I loved most about this is they are focused on both affordability and sustainability. By keeping their power supply local, they have more control over energy prices and removes the pricey middleman. You love to see it. 🚌 🥲
- 🎬 Gendered Algorithms Lead to Different Realities - This video from creator @Eli illustrates how vastly different our social media experiences can be. She shows how different her boyfriend’s comments are on the exact same video.
- 🤓 The Root 🌱 - In many cases, the differences in our online experience are gendered because of how AI and algorithms create siloed environments of group think. Young men are getting more radicalized because algorithms point them to more extreme content where everyone agrees.
- 🎬 FedEx Driver Reports on Sundown Towns - A black FedEx driver talks about her experience being told not to deliver to certain places. While she’s never told explicitly, it’s very clear that these areas are all-white and it’s dangerous for a Black person to deliver to that area. Sundown towns were all-white areas in mid-twentieth century U.S. that were so racist, Black people were advised not to enter the down after the sunset or they could be lynched without consequences.
- 🤓 The Root 🌱 - It’s 2024, we are more segregated than ever and this woman is describing sundown towns. We must be clear eyed about our realities today. Despite the narrative, the Civil Rights of the 1960s has eroded. Despite the lead actor’s problematic history, Lovecraft Country on HBO is a fantastic show that illustrates real Black history like Emmett Till through a lens of sci-fi and fantasy.
When Should I Post on TikTok?
TikTok’s algorithm values immediacy, which means it really matters when you post. Introducing Influencer Marketing Hub’s TikTok scheduling tool! I use this free calculator as a guide when I am bulk scheduling my TikTok videos each week.
- Their free calculator will tell you the best times to post each depending on where your audience is geographically.
- They have a calculator tool that gives you a map of recommended times based on the platform and your audience’s location.
- If you are new to TikTok, I recommend following these suggestions and checking your performance on an ongoing basis to validate the best timing for yourself.
- The more you post, the more your analytics will help you decide the ideal times for posting. You can adjust your timing based on your recent analytics and this cheatsheet to get to the sweet spot for your audience.
Nadica Naceva
What's better for demcoracy: Primaries or ranked choice voting? Find our latest videos on our 🎬 Quick Bites page.
And that's a wrap on this week’s newsletter! We hope you found this helpful in your work. Forward this to a friend and help democratize communications! If you have any topics you want covered or have any questions, please reach out and let me know.
In Solidarity,
Sam Chavez
Roots of Change Founder
🌱 the roots of change newsletter 📚 Newsletter
Join the newsletter to receive the latest updates in your inbox.
