Rising This Week: Mobilizing on Mother's Day
The suffragist behind "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" created Mother's Day as an anti-war cry. This year, protesters carry its banner across the country.
When I told my parents that I was considering leaving the security of salaried work within a storied news outlet to start my own media company, their support was immediate.
Sure, they had concerns about the consequences of that decision, and they checked to see that I was making an informed choice. Still, they started from a position of confidence in my abilities and instincts because those are the parenting ideals that they embody. Even if they privately worry about the consequences of a less-certain path, they project faith and unqualified encouragement.
The originators of Mother’s Day were risk-takers — first among them, Julia Ward Howe, who penned the “Mother’s Day Proclamation” in 1870 and “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” in 1861. She was an abolitionist, a women’s rights advocate, and a peace activist, and her Proclamation was an anti-war outcry initially meant to inspire Mother’s Day for Peace. She’s also one of the suffragists depicted in the illustration above.
The Smithsonian credits mother and daughter Ann Jarvis and Anna Jarvis for turning the original concept into the modern holiday’s form. One fact that I’ve always appreciated about Mother’s Day is that the singular apostrophe signifies that it’s the celebration of your mother, not motherhood in the abstract.
Political movements are carrying the radical roots of the holiday forward. We just ran a story about a Florida vigil in support of Heidy Sánchez Tejeda, a deported mother separated from her husband and 1-year-old daughter. The Black Mothers March is now in its fourth year, heading to the White House, and a pro-Palestinian rally is carrying the Mother’s Day banner in Portland, Ore.
We’ll get to listings like those soon, but first, we have an announcement.
It’s often hard to measure the impact of journalism, but this week, our influence is extremely easy to quantify.
On May 5, All Rise News ran a story about the little-noticed rule in the Federal Register justifying the Trump administration’s purge of Biden appointees the Board of Immigration Appeals. When we ran the story, the public notice was three weeks old, and only six people had posted comments.
One day after the story’s publication, at least 131 people left formal comments, overwhelmingly in opposition to Trump’s purge. We brought the issue to the
’s massive audience a day later. Now, the number stands at a minimum of 1,035 comments received. (Roughly 339 of those comments have been publicly posted to date.) Our coverage drove more than 1,000 people to civic engagement on a regulation that otherwise would have gone nearly unnoticed.
What does that mean? Leading political scientist Norm Ornstein told us that posting comments on the Federal Register is an effective form of civic action. Officials must address the concerns posted, and if they don’t, their failure to do so could hurt their litigation position if a rule is challenged. That doesn’t mean that Trump’s purge will be reversed, but commenting could help lead to that outcome.
Even if it doesn’t, the government will know that they are being watched. No obscure regulation will slip by under cover of darkness, and that’s why we’re committed at All Rise News to shining a light on measures like these. Don’t ever let anyone tell you it doesn’t matter.
Support our work to keep it going!
Do you know of any upcoming protests, court cases, town halls or other actions we should know about? Tell me about it at adam@allrisenews.com. You can also reach me on Signal.
In the Courts
The long-anticipated sex trafficking trial of P. Diddy kicks off in Manhattan federal court on Monday, and it’s expected to last about eight weeks. We’ll be covering opening statements, but there are several other court proceedings deserving of your attention this week.
On Thursday, the Supreme Court considers the fate of injunctions blocking Trump’s ban on birthright citizenship. Other important courtroom battles ahead challenge Trump’s power grab over tariffs, seek to restore funding for the national emergency weather alert system, and fight to preserve records in the Signalgate scandal.
There’s also a preliminary hearing scheduled in the case of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, who was charged by Trump’s Justice Department last week for protesting at an immigration facility that he’s suing.
U.S. v. Combs (Mon, May 12): Opening statements begin in the sex trafficking trial of Sean “P. Diddy” Combs.
How to attend: 500 Pearl Street, New York, N.Y. (Courtroom 26A)
V.O.S. Selections Inc. v. Trump (Tues., May 13): Five businesses that rely on international imports sued the Trump administration in the United States Court of International Trade challenging his legal justification for tariffs.
How to listen: 1 Federal Plaza, New York, NY 10278; Live-stream will be available via YouTube.
When: 11 a.m. ET
Corporation for Public Broadcasting v. Trump (Weds., May 14): The public broadcasting non-profit seeks to block FEMA’s hold on congressionally appropriated funds intended for the national emergency weather alert system.
How to listen: In-person: E. Barrett Prettyman Courthouse (Courtroom 8); dial-in: 833-990-9400; Meeting ID: 043781081.
When: 2 p.m. ET
Trump v. CASA (Thurs., May 15): The Supreme Court hears oral arguments over the fate of injuntions blocking Trump’s birthright citizenship executive order.
How to listen: C-Span asked permission to televise the proceedings; either way, the court will stream audio of oral arguments on its website.
United States v. Ras Baraka (Thurs., May 15): Newark Mayor Ras Baraka has a preliminary hearing in the federal trespassing case the Trump administration filed against him after he tried to visit a private immigration facility that denied access to city inspectors.
How to attend: Federal Court in Newark (50 Walnut St., Newark, NJ 07102)
(Time and courtroom not yet announced)
American Oversight v. Hegseth (Fri., May 16): A watchdog group seeks a preliminary injunction forcing the Trump administration to preserve information related to Signalgate.
How to tune in: In-person: E. Barrett Prettyman Courthouse (Courtroom 22A), located at 333 Constitution Ave. NW in Washington, D.C. Dial-in: 833-990-9400. Meeting ID: 049550816.
When: 2 p.m. ET
Finding the most important court hearings and protests requires knowledge, sources and labor. If you don’t already, support us to keep it going.
In the Streets
Mother’s Day inspired demonstrations from coast to coast. See the “Big List of Protests” (The BLOP) for other actions in your area in the coming week:
“Black Mothers March”: Organizers of the march, now in its 4th year, say that they “unite as a collective to condemn the policies that target and separate Black families,” starting at Lafayette Park in the nation’s capitol.
Place: Lafayette Park, 16th Street Northwest, Washington, D.C. 20001
Time: Sun., May 11 at 11 a.m. ET
“Mother's Day Rally & Vigil”: Pro-Palestinian activists say they will mark Mother’s Day by saying “no” to mass deportations, family separations and denials of due process.
Place: ICE building at 4310 S Macadam Ave, Portland, Ore.
Time: Sun., May 11 from 4:30 p.m. p.m. PT
On the Federal Register
Immigration judge purge: The public’s last chance to comment on Trump’s ouster of Biden immigration judges is Weds., May 14. You can comment here.
Endangered grizzly bears: A Biden-era proposal to continue listing grizzly bears as “protected” received a lot of feedback: nearly 64,000 comments to date. Public comment closes on Fri., May 16. You can add your reaction here.
On the Phones
As part of our ongoing coverage of civic engagement, All Rise News takes a look at the 5 Calls app’s internal data, which they shared with us for the seven days leading up to May 9.
Hottest Topics
Public Broadcasting: 5 Calls users leapt to the defense of NPR and PBS in big numbers. They placed 27,505 calls, making it the biggest topic in most of the 50 states.
The rest of the Top 5 topics this week are defending CDC funding (13,133 calls); defending Medicaid (12,147 calls); ending the war and humanitarian crisis in Gaza (11,816 calls); and opposing the sale of public lands (10,757 calls).
This map by 5 Calls data and visualization expert Katie Dektar casts the public’s love for NPR and PBS into stark relief.
Save the date!
The first All Rise News live-stream that we’re hosting is a big one.
Our guest will be Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., a champion of reforming Supreme Court ethics, exposing dark money, combating the climate crisis and more. We plan to discuss his inquiry into threats against federal judges and how it relates to Trump’s broader intimidation campaign against the judiciary, including in the case of arrested Wisconsin judge Hannah Dugan.
He joins us on Thurs., May 15 at 3 p.m., barring any conflicts on the floor of the Senate. We’ll send out detailed information about how to connect to Substack Live later in the week. Make sure to subscribe, download the Substack app and set your notifications to make sure you don’t miss it.
Happy Mother’s Day!
This is a top quality newsletter filled with the most useful information.
First of all, I am almost seventy years old and never picked up on the apostrophe on Mother's Day ! That is unbelievable.
I heard that CSPAN requested the Supreme Court to view the hearing on birthright citizenship. I hope they do. I would find it more thrilling than just listening to the audio.
I hope I can tune in to Senator Whitehouse's show. My dream is that the Democrats control the Senate and he becomes chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Thanks Adam. Besides your good reporting, I joined especially because you collect and publish listen links to many important cases in the lower courts. Please continue e this valuable service . Neil