Democracy cannot thrive where power remains unchecked and justice is reserved for a select few. Peace cannot exist where justice is not served.
This morning I was in a room with over 2,000 people. Advocates. Educators. Survivors. The National Sexual Assault Conference, right here in Washington DC. And I want to tell you something. I walked in there as an ally and I walked out feeling like I had been plugged into something. You could feel the resilience. You could feel the hope. From every single person there, whether they were a survivor, an advocate, or someone like me who showed up to stand alongside them.
I recently joined the advisory board of Women’s HQ. Please check out their website at womenshq.org. They are here for victims and survivors of violence and they offer helping hands to those who need it. I am honored to be part of that work.
I was also there because someone I have come to call a friend was going to be there. And I want to talk about her.
GOOD TROUBLEMAKER: ELIZABETH STEIN
If you know the name Elizabeth Stein, you know why she matters. She is a survivor of Jeffrey Epstein. And she has been loud, and public, and relentless about what she is demanding: accountability. Transparency. Specifically around the Epstein Transparency Act. She has been on the front lines. Standing up for other survivors. Being there for them. Supporting them.
I saw her testify before the Democratic Judiciary Committee in the Senate. That was the first time I got to be in the same room with her. Today I got to see her again. And I have to say, in the months I have been getting to know her, Elizabeth Stein has inspired me.
I am tabbing her as a Good Troublemaker. She is empowering other women. She is being loud when she could be quiet and choosing that path every single day. She is choosing courage when silence would be so much easier.
Elizabeth, keep up the good fight.
GOOD TROUBLEMAKER: SUNITA DODDAMANI
The second person I want to highlight today is a former federal prosecutor. An Assistant US Attorney out of the Eastern District of Michigan. Her name is Sunita Doddamani.
She was fired by the Justice Department. She says it was retaliation, and I believe her. She is suing the Trump administration saying she was unlawfully dismissed for political reasons tied to her work prosecuting cases under the FACE Act. That is the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrants, a federal law that makes it a crime to use force or obstruction to interfere with people seeking or providing reproductive health care.
There have been so many people illegally fired by this administration. FBI agents. Lawyers. DOJ employees. People terminated for nothing other than doing their jobs in ways Donald Trump did not like.
Sunita Doddamani is not taking it lying down.
She is taking a huge risk. When you go after this administration at the legal level, they come back at you. This Justice Department has unlimited resources. And she is not letting that stop her. She is a career prosecutor. She was following the law. She believed in doing her job right. And they fired her for it.
I am giving her special kudos today. Good luck with your lawsuit, Sunita. Keep fighting.
Courage is contagious.
I felt it in that room this morning at the NSAC. I felt it watching Elizabeth Stein walk to the front and speak. I felt it reading about what Sunita Doddamani is doing.
Courage is contagious, y’all. When you see somebody standing up, it makes you want to stand up too. Let’s keep getting in good trouble. Necessary trouble.
-Harry
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"courage is contagious" YES! thank you