Sign of the times

When Donald Trump became the United States’ 45th president, Liz Michelena found her political calling.

“I woke up the morning after Election Day with the dread of having to face my children and tell them the news,” she said. “I had to show them when things go wrong, you stand up and you act.”

She joined like-minded citizens who formed Mobilize Chico, dedicating themselves to the mission of defending human rights and dignity and preserving democratic values through political engagement.

At the same moment, nearly 500 miles away, Nasty Women Get Shit Done PDX launched in Portland, Ore., with a similar goal. Collaborating with Portland artists, the group created an American flag image that has since been emblazoned on tens of thousands of yard signs, stickers and posters.

One of those signs rests in Michelena’s yard. It reads: “In our America all people are equal, love wins, black lives matter, immigrants & refugees are welcome, disabilities are respected, women are in charge of their bodies, people & planet are valued over profit, diversity is celebrated.”

Proceeds of the flag sales have gone to organizations supporting those values. As of August, the Portland group has donated $110,350.

Michelena has had her sign up for more than a year and enjoys spotting dog walkers in her California Park neighborhood who stop to read it and offer a thumbs up. Recently, however, she received an angry letter in the mail.

Signed by an Edward Stevens from “Maini” Street, the letter says that the Michelena family’s sign is offensive to neighbors because it is hate speech supporting Black Lives Matter. Though BLM is a global activist movement—with members who protest police killings of black people, police brutality, racial profiling and racial inequality—the writer argues that it is a “terrorist group” that supports the killing of America’s police officers. Stevens—though the name is potentially an alias—continues by asking the Michelenas to leave the country. Beneath his signature are the initials of 13 supposed neighbors.

Upon reading, Michelena felt mixed emotions of amusement, anger and disbelief. The writer bought into what she calls a “Fox News cult” mentality, fueled by misinformation and propaganda.

Michelena supports BLM and police officers, and advocates for more police training when it comes to racial bias and use of nonlethal force.

“It’s not an either/or,” she said. “The sign is standing up for so many threatened communities.”

Michelena reported the letter to the FBI tip line, in case it is part of a larger hate campaign; bought 25 more “In Our America” signs to give to her neighbors and friends; then returned to her activist duties with Mobilize.

Deborah Pruitt had a chance meeting with Michelena at a recent Mobilize Chico event, in which members stood in solidarity with survivors of sexual assault and protested Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation as Supreme Court justice.

The pair were discussing this year’s election and found out they both received the same letter criticizing their “In Our America” signs, despite living in different neighborhoods.

The day Pruitt received the letter in the mail, from an Edward Stevens on “Coit Tower Way,” it hit her like a slap in the face, she told the CN&R. She had been through an exhausting week with her husband, Larry Jenson, who was seeking medical care in the Bay Area.

She worried that her family had been targeted and called the police, speaking with an officer who said there were no other complaints made or reports of vandalism in the area, and that the letter writer likely just wanted to be heard.

When Pruitt found out there was another person impacted by this, she felt less alone. The women suspect that there are other letter recipients across the city.

It’s no question that the cultural norms for acceptable behavior have changed since 2016, Pruitt said. She was a longtime professor of anthropology in the Bay Area before moving to Chico with her husband last year.

“I am very sad to see how things are going in our society right now. These are core American values, and we still stand for that … I think the sign expresses confidence and openness, and then people react out of fear. That says to me they feel insecure.”

Before the 2016 election, Michelena was content voting and sharing articles online, and now she has a laundry list of ways she has become politically engaged, including canvassing for a friend running for Chico City Council, participating in protests and marches, serving as a Democratic Party delegate and attending council meetings.

“The country has become so polarized, and civil discourse about why we believe the way we believe is so difficult, because we’re all in our own echo chambers,” she told the CN&R. “I want to live in a country where diversity is celebrated, women are valued and nobody feels under threat because of who they are, and all of that has tumbled so far downhill over the past two years that it feels like I’m baling out the ocean one teaspoon at a time.

“Democracy takes work, and we’ve been lazy and complacent,” she added. “And that time is over.”