GAR Statement on November 2024 Elections: The Fight for Democracy Goes Beyond Ballots

For Immediate Release: 
November 1, 2024

Next week, Americans will vote for the 47th President of the United States. Across the nation, grassroots organizations are tirelessly organizing, mobilizing and advocating for working-class communities as we approach election day. 

Grassroots Asians Rising (GAR) is a national network of organizations that are committed to grassroots organizing in working-class, pan-Asian communities. Our members have always worked diligently to make sure our world is one where our working-class communities have dignity, safety, and justice. As we approach election day, we reaffirm our commitment to organizing working-class communities. The fight for a multiracial democracy must extend beyond just elections; it requires sustained grassroots organizing, coalition-building, and community engagement to create a better world for us all. 

It will take more than a single election to change the status quo. Voting is just one of many tools we must use to bring about meaningful change across the country. Our ability to leverage the power of our votes requires that we have effective grassroots organizing so that we have the people power to hold our elected officials accountable. We cannot just focus on electoral fights; we need strong bases of working class people in order to win and preserve progressive policy wins. 

Various right-wing forces have grown in recent years, and we must remain vigilant against these threats. As GAR co-Directors outlined in an op-ed released earlier this year, Asian right-wing forces like the Chinese American Right and South Asian Hindutva have become more effective in how they organize and mobilize Asian communities and more strategic in how they create powerful alliances with white supremacist, Christian nationalist, and Zionist agendas. We have seen the growth of dangerous ideas in our communities through in-language content on social media, local ethnic media, and community spaces. When we don’t organize our own communities, that void is filled by the conservative forces peddling divisive narratives that undermine our democracy and harm our communities.  

What has and will remain constant regardless of election outcomes is the expansion of US imperialism and militarism, as well as the harsh conditions faced by working-class individuals and families: economic inequality, lack of healthcare access, and systemic injustice. These realities underscore the urgency of grassroots organizing. It is imperative that we address the material conditions of people to prevent the rise of extremist movements. Fascism is on the rise because right-wing forces are able to exploit our communities when they are vulnerable and disillusioned. It is our duty to build a stronger movement against all forms of fascism. 

It has been over a year since Israel began its genocide and military invasion of Gaza and now Lebanon, Iran, and Syria. We have witnessed relentless violence rooted in over 76 years of Zionist settler colonialism against the Palestinian people. Our elected officials have done little to stop sending military aid and weapons to Israel or see through an immediate and permanent ceasefire plan. The US should invest in domestic spending and foreign aid–instead of giving billions of dollars in military spending to greedy corporations that profit off of war and destruction. Our pan-Asian communities know intimately the devastating and lasting impacts of war, colonization, and forced removal from our own homelands. Our struggles are deeply connected to Palestinian liberation. 

We know that working-class people can and have played frontline roles in various critical efforts. GAR’s member organizations have mass mobilized in the streets in solidarity with Palestine, fought for safety and justice in the workplace, and organized incarcerated individuals facing deportation in detention centers. Young people in our organizations are leading fights for gender justice, police accountability, environmental justice, and against the displacement of our communities. Our people have what we need in our communities to build power to fight for democracy.

GAR is committed to building up our movement’s commitment to working-class base building and organizing. We have done this by growing the capacity of base-building organizations to more effectively organize the working-class, pan-Asian communities. This includes developing resources for in-language political education; building up strong, local organizations; and establishing political and strategic alignment. 

Together, we will forge a movement rooted in solidarity, resilience, and the belief that we can create a better future for all. If we want to build a multiracial democracy, which is needed now more than ever, our movements must support base building that addresses working-class, pan-Asian issues.