The Resistance Needs Rent Money – BlackPressUSA

By Jasmyne A. Cannick | Our Weekly News

“F— Trump” has become cultural currency. YG made it a hook.

Timelines on fire.
Group chats activated.
Think pieces flying.
Boycotts declared between brunch reservations.

But here’s the part nobody wants to talk about:

If you really want to hit back at Trump and his administration, you’re going to have to open your wallet.

Yes. Your wallet.

The right understands something the left keeps pretending not to: Power requires infrastructure, and infrastructure requires money. MAGA treats funding as a duty, not a debate. That’s how movements survive.

While we’re busy tweeting clever drags, this administration is busy strangling the very institutions that keep marginalized communities informed, organized, and sane.

The non-profits.
The community radio stations.
The grassroots advocacy groups.
The arts organizations.
The “DEI” programs corporations have suddenly decided are “too political.”

The same spaces people claim to love? They’re bleeding.

Funding cut.
Corporate sponsors spooked.
Foundations nervous.
Boards scared to be seen as “too aligned.”

And a lot of folks who claim to be in the resistance are watching it happen like it’s a documentary.

Let’s be clear about something.

When Trump and his people attack “DEI,” they aren’t attacking an HR training slideshow.

They’re attacking infrastructure.
They’re attacking the pipelines that create leadership.
The community outlets that tell the truth.
The organizations that train young activists.
The legal funds that fight voter suppression.
The local stations that broadcast information when mainstream outlets won’t.

They’re going after the ecosystem.

And if that ecosystem collapses because we were too comfortable to sustain it? That’s not just unfortunate.

That’s a win for them.

And before someone says, “Well, I’m not wealthy.”

Nobody asked you to be.

This isn’t about writing six-figure checks with your name engraved on a plaque. This is about participation.

Five dollars.
Ten dollars.
Twenty-five if you can swing it.
Recurring if you’re serious.

The same way people find money for streaming services, concert tickets, sneakers, brunch, and DoorDash convenience fees — you can find a small, consistent amount to keep the institutions you claim to care about alive.

Movements are not funded by billionaires alone. They’re sustained by ordinary people deciding something matters enough to contribute to it.

You don’t have to be rich.
You just have to be invested.

And if enough regular people decide to show up financially — even modestly — it replaces what corporations pulled back in fear.

Collective power isn’t theoretical. It’s arithmetic.

You cannot claim you’re fighting authoritarianism while letting the last independent platforms standing quietly suffocate.

You cannot say you care about democracy while refusing to financially support the institutions that defend it.

You cannot shout “resistance” and then treat community organizations like optional subscriptions.

Trump doesn’t need to shut these places down if we let them starve.

That’s the part that should make people uncomfortable.

Because outrage is free.

Infrastructure is not.

If you’re furious about corporations backing away from DEI, then replace the funding.

If you’re angry about grants disappearing, then become the grant.

If you care about independent Black media, immigrant advocacy, LGBTQ youth spaces, women-led nonprofits — then treat them like the essential services they are.

Set up recurring donations.
Sponsor an event.
Buy the membership.
Underwrite the program.
Share the fundraising links.
Actually show up.
Not just when it’s trending.

Sustained support is what keeps movements alive. Not hashtags.

And let’s be honest — some of these organizations are the last places holding the line. They’re preserving culture. Protecting voting rights. Fighting book bans. Providing legal help. Training young leaders. Giving people somewhere to land when the news cycle feels like psychological warfare.

Letting them fold because corporations got scared is not resistance.

It’s surrender dressed up as inconvenience.

If Trump and his allies want to weaken communities by choking off resources, and we shrug because it’s not personally convenient to give $25 a month?

That’s not sticking it to anyone.

That’s letting them win quietly.

You want to fight?

Fund the fight.

Because the loudest statement you can make in this moment isn’t another post.

It’s keeping the lights on where it matters.