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juliacsmith.bsky.social
Julia S
@juliacsmith.bsky.social
720 followers 570 following 200 posts
She/her. Recent transplant to NJ from Chicago.

My newsletter = short, energizing examples of community organizing, mutual aid, arts, & more. Subscribe at https://here-for-you.ghost.io/

"what we pay attention to grows." - adrienne maree brown
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juliacsmith.bsky.social
Thank you @jennyabamu.bsky.social for moderating tonight’s forum about data centers in PG County, and thanks to the panelists for sharing expertise. Really grateful to the organizers for the opportunity to join remotely!
Panelists from Sustainable Hyattsville, NRDC, South County Env Justice Coalition, and other orgs sit at a long table in front of a crowd in the town gym of Cheverly, MD. An ASL interpreter signs near them and reporter Jenny Adamu is at a mic to one side. Town, state, and US flags are in the background along with the town logo/seal.
November 7, 2025 at 12:48 AM
juliacsmith.bsky.social
Thought 1: THFPL (thank goodness for public libraries)

Thought 2: I hate this timeline so much
Fliers with bright red warnings about changes to food assistance that are coming to NJ in November, posted on and below a community bulletin board
October 29, 2025 at 8:21 PM
juliacsmith.bsky.social
Speaking of things I appreciate…I love our local School of Rock.
Bulletin board at SOR that includes sample t-shirts with their guitar logo in Pride flag colors, stickers and other swag, plus posters with the # for a crisis text hotline that has a headline reading “We Need You in the Band.”
October 19, 2025 at 4:25 PM
juliacsmith.bsky.social
A few more photos from #NoKings in Hightstown NJ today. 500+ people showed up! CC @njindivisible.bsky.social
Close-up of a handmade poster that reads NO KINGS NO A LOS REYES / YES NEIGHBORS SÍ A LOS VECINOS over a rainbow Long line of people with signs that spell out NO KINGS crowd onto a park bridge over a tiny waterfall in a Hightstown NJ park View from behind of a protester holding up a white posterboard on which is scrawled BAD BUNNY FOR PREZ Close up of a neon green poster on which a kid has scrawled “NO KINGS trump is mean and rude very very mean and rude I hate kings never want kings”
October 18, 2025 at 8:34 PM
juliacsmith.bsky.social
Introduced a new generation to @deepaiyer.bsky.social and We Are the Builders at #NoKings in Hightstown, NJ today. 🌞

Who needs monarchs or authoritarians when you’ve got Storytellers, Caregivers, Healers, and ppl who fit all the other roles on the Social Change Ecosystem Map?
A first grade student in a Jelly BellyXJustice hoodie with handmade badges reading VISIONARY and STORYTELLER holds up a We Are the Builders bingo activity sheet (face deliberately obscured) One part of the Kids & Families activity table. Behind it an easel holds up a poster with Deepa Iyer’s Social Change Ecosystem Map Close-up of a craft station where a kid is coloring a badge to wear. Safety pins, crayons, and a copy of We Are The Builders are strewn on the table. Close-up of someone’s hands adding sticky notes to a poster
October 18, 2025 at 8:22 PM
juliacsmith.bsky.social
The line to offer public comment at the #Princeton town mtg is now out the door. Every single one so far (except an unrelated comment from a firefighter about use of a town space) has been in support of the #ImmigrantTrustAct
Line of people stretches out of full room. Town seal appears above the door
July 15, 2025 at 12:08 AM
juliacsmith.bsky.social
Grad student speaking at Princeton town mtg:
“I sympathize with the concerns councilmembers have raised about additional targeting…there will be additional targeting regardless. The time for waiting for a better political moment may not come. There may have been a better time but the time is now.”
Panoramic photo showing the Princeton mayor and council on a dais, audience listening, and a line of ppl waiting to share public comments that stretches around the back of the room
July 14, 2025 at 11:50 PM
juliacsmith.bsky.social
“With rapid changes at the federal level, we need local leaders to take a stand. Be proactive, not reactive…Show the local immigrant community that you stand with them.”

MANY ppl showed up in a serious storm to offer comment in support of Immigrant Trust Act at the Princeton town mtg tonight.
Line of ppl - multiracial, intergenerational - waiting in line to offer testimony to the Mayor and Town Council of Princeton, while others sit listening in the audience
July 14, 2025 at 11:27 PM
juliacsmith.bsky.social
Today’s nervous system soother: learning about and foraging wild wineberries! (They’re the red ones on top.) Anyone have recipes?
Bright red wineberries and wild blackberries, or maybe mulberries, in an old repurposed feta cheese container, gloriously juicy looking in the summer light Close-up of a wineberry bush that shows the small yellowish-orange cone surrounded by a star-shaped set of leaves that is left behind when you pluck a berry.
July 12, 2025 at 9:12 PM
juliacsmith.bsky.social
Union reps, CASA, Black Alliance for Immigrant Justice, electeds, neighbors, and family out in the rain for Kilmar Abrego Garcia this morning.
Crowd gathered outside courthouse in Greenbelt MD under a gray sky Press with cameras on tripods and cell phones under umbrellas recording a speaker from BAJI in front of a crowd of advocates with handmade signs and posters
July 7, 2025 at 2:26 PM
juliacsmith.bsky.social
Genuinely heartwarming and fortifying to wake up this morning and try to explain the sportsmanship and teamwork of the Mamdani and Lander campaigns to my 7yo. She added this to our summer wall collage.
A child viewed from behind writing the words “MAYOURS: Zohran Mamdani:Awesome! 1st” in purple marker on brown butcher paper with “likely to win in November…” in tinier letters underneath
June 25, 2025 at 12:31 PM
juliacsmith.bsky.social
+ a few more signs and photos @njindivisible.bsky.social
Someone holds a homemade poster that reads ONLY BUTTERFLIES SHOULD BE MONARCHS with two hand drawn butterflies; people stand shoulder-to-shoulder in a packed crowd under a gray sky Shiny orange Trump balloon bobs in front of a George Washington statue, among a crowd of thousands in the gray NJ drizzle Activists hold a banner that reads FREE FREE PALESTINE A person holds a homemade sign that reads THE WRONG ICE IS MELTING with pictures of the polar ice caps
June 15, 2025 at 12:36 AM
juliacsmith.bsky.social
Meanwhile, in Princeton, thousands showed up for #NoKings
Close-up of person holding a homemade NO HUMAN IS ILLEGAL ON STOLEN LAND sign in a crowd of 3-5k Person in a blue rain poncho holds a sign that reads IMMIGRANTS MAKE AMERICA GREAT Person stands on the wall below a George Washington statue and waves a trans pride flag amid a crowd of people holding protest signs and American flags
June 15, 2025 at 12:30 AM
juliacsmith.bsky.social
“This is the moment for Trenton to be Hands ON!” Pass the Immigrant Trust Act! @njaij.bsky.social at #HandsOff in Princeton #HandsOff2025
April 5, 2025 at 5:11 PM
juliacsmith.bsky.social
Beautiful energized crowd in #Princeton outside our public library for #HandsOff2025 @workingfamilies.org @njindivisible.bsky.social
April 5, 2025 at 4:44 PM
juliacsmith.bsky.social
Princeton #TeslaTakedown drew a big multigenerational crowd today! @njindivisible.bsky.social MANY supportive folks honking as they drive by
Two people in front of a Tesla protest. One sign: Honk if you ❤️ trans kids. Another: do not finance the end of democracy! With a Tesla logo Crowd in front of Tesla protest. One holds a sign with ARREST ELON MUSK in red white and blue Protestor holds a sign that reads Honk if you ❤️ public schools Protestors of many ages and races and abilities gathered with signs and flags under a cloudy sky near a mall
March 22, 2025 at 7:07 PM
juliacsmith.bsky.social
There are SO MANY resources in this new guide from my friend-collaborator @duchessofhazard.bsky.social, including but not limited to gems from:

@mskellymhayes.bsky.social
@theradr.bsky.social
@nonprofitaf.bsky.social
@miamingus.bsky.social
@newrepublic.com + more

--> bit.ly/resist-guide
Thumbnail of Kate Barrow's new Resistance & Resilience-Building Guide for 2025, which features 5 blocks of text and links (How to Start Taking Action, How to Resist, How to Build Community & Find Your People, How to Fortify for the Long Haul, and How to Manage Difficult Moments)
March 20, 2025 at 4:52 PM
juliacsmith.bsky.social
A beautiful crowd out protesting horrific immigration detention at Delaney Hall in Chemical Corridor with @maketheroadnj.bsky.social @njaij.bsky.social @32bjseiu.bsky.social Ironworks CC, First Friends, and many others
Large crowd with signs, Palestinian flags, and banners + press with cameras and tripods in front of the fence at Delaney Hall Behind protestors, a stack of posters including one in multicolor marker that reads NO NOS MOVERAN Back of protestors’ heads. Signs read NJ SAYS NO DICE TO ICE! and other anti-ICE slogans and symbols
March 11, 2025 at 4:56 PM
juliacsmith.bsky.social
“dont teach your children to wither

or delight in enemies”

- @adriennemareebrown.bsky.social adriennemareebrown.net/2025/02/22/a...

via UU Congregation of Princeton (on Zoom) this morning
An iPad propped on a coffee table, displaying a Zoom livestream of the Princeton UU Congregation’s Sunday service. On screen the speaker reads at a podium, a candle lit beside her.
February 23, 2025 at 3:52 PM
juliacsmith.bsky.social
This loud @indivisible.org crew outside your Newark office at lunch today is counting on you to block every single nominee, Senator — and so are the many drivers who honked to show their support!
Protestors marching in Newark, including one holding a sign that reads MUSK: HANDS OFF OUR MONEY Marchers of all ages at a rally bundled in jackets and warm hats holding signs with words like BLOCK KASH, TULSI, RUSSELL Partial large group shot of scores of protestors in Newark
February 4, 2025 at 6:02 PM
juliacsmith.bsky.social
Volunteered at the Lunar New Year table at school this morning. Turns out watching fifth graders teach each other the calligraphy for “snake” was the best possible start to a weekend.
Close-up of two elementary schoolers’ hands as they hold Chinese calligraphy brushes and practice the strokes to form the character “snake.” On the red tablecloth are a bottle of ink and some gold and red paper.
January 25, 2025 at 4:20 PM
juliacsmith.bsky.social
I am waking up my long-dormant newsletter to share a couple of BRIEF offerings every day. Action items, art, examples of mutual aid/community building, etc.

TBD if I stay on Substack; it's what I've got for now. All of my posts are free: julia.substack.com
Screenshot of a shareable social media graphic from Substack. The cover photo for my post today is of a disco ball casting sparkles against a white wall where an Anisa Makhoul poster reading GOOD ENOUGH is hanging. Three tired-but-trying plants sit in the foreground. The title of the post reads Today's two things and the subtitle is Spice drive + birth certificates.
January 23, 2025 at 4:58 PM
juliacsmith.bsky.social
A shiny, plastic-covered library copy of the picture book The Youngest Marcher near the tie dye-clad knees of a child. The book cover shows Audrey Faye Hendricks as an elementary schooler, gaze hopefully up, holding a small American flag. She has her ribbons in her hair and wears a pink cardigan and a pinafore for her arrest that would help fill the jails in Birmingham during the civil rights movement, and her parents appear in the lower corner of the cover.
January 18, 2025 at 2:38 PM
juliacsmith.bsky.social
@houseplant-keepers.bsky.social I am a total novice about #gardening. Can anyone tell me if these holes in this otherwise happy (ish) plant are a problem? Do I need to take it out of the soil and put it just in water or do anything else?
Close-up of a small plant in a white pot with fairly wet soil, whose green stem holds two otherwise healthy seeming leaves. Each leaf has a few medium-sized oval holes.
January 3, 2025 at 4:55 PM
juliacsmith.bsky.social
guys do you think we’ll remember the ham?
Screenshot of just four of the many alarms I have set on my phone so my MIL and I remember to prep, cook, and pack up a ham today
November 28, 2024 at 2:40 PM