Worried about Trump’s attacks, fellow Kansans? Here’s how your voice will be heard | Opinion

President Donald Trump had a long night after his (second) first day in office. He stayed up late signing executive orders ranging from laughable to terrifying. The real fever dream set in the next day when Trump released additional orders, many targeting the most marginalized among us. An executive order entitled Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity was released, prohibiting federal dollars from supporting diversity, equity and inclusion work.

This explicit attack on DEI shows a completely nonexistent understanding of the intersection of DEI and civil rights. If the administration understood DEI, they would know it is not a temporary endeavor. It is not a program with a finite lifespan. Diversity, equity and inclusion is not complete after a number of boxes are checked. It is the embodiment of the spirit of justice interwoven into an organization’s lifeblood.

DEI is in stair lifts, automatic doors and motion sensor lights. It’s in closed captions and multilingual workers. It’s the way organizations meet clients in their own neighborhoods and homes to deliver services. It’s in how we welcome new hires onto our teams. It’s reflected in our strategic plans and our dreams for the future. In short, we can’t survive without diversity, equity and inclusion.

So how do we save ourselves from this administration (again)? How do we make an impact when the attacks come from all sides and we’re unsure where to focus? You probably guessed it: We have to call our elected officials.

I had the pleasure of hearing Sharon McMahon, America’s Government Teacher, speak at the 2025 Elizabeth Dole Women in Leadership Lecture. Sharon told a story of her son, a Capitol Hill staffer, asking his colleagues how many phone calls it would take in one day to warrant an office emergency, to indicate a serious problem within their constituency. And you know what they said? It would take 300 phone calls. That’s it. Only 300 phone calls would send an office into a tailspin. And as Sharon pointed out, there were far more than 300 attendants at her lecture.

Last year, I made phone calls to my congressional representatives on behalf of Harvesters - The Community Food Network in response to a proposal to significantly cut SNAP from the farm bill. Though I’m not her constituent, I also called Rep. Sharice Davids’ office, as much of her district is in Harvesters’ service area and she’s on the House Agriculture Committee.

I talked to an aide who thanked me for calling and said: “Don’t cut SNAP. We hear you guys loud and clear.” He paused for a second and then asked, “Hey, just real quick, can I ask you something? What’s going on over there? Our phone is ringing off the hook.” I told him The Kansas City Star had published a guest commentary the day before by Harvesters then-board chair urging constituents to contact their representatives. And then I asked, “How many people have you heard from so far?” You know what he told me? Ten. Ten people had called by 12:00 p.m. Eastern time. Only 10 people equaled the “phone ringing off the hook.”

The number of callers by end of day may have been small, but it worked. You got their attention, Kansas City.

Contacting your representatives does matter. Your voice does count. I’m willing to bet you have something to say right now about the livelihood of your loved ones, the livelihood of your neighbors, of your nation. Unfortunately, we can expect hits from this administration to keep coming. We must have a strategy to defend our civil liberties and protect each other.

Call your representatives. You can still find your members of Congress and their contact information at congress.gov/members/find-your-member