Dear Friends of FAIR,
Two years ago, many of us exhaled. After years of challenging identity-based policies in our schools, workplaces, and public institutions, the tide seemed to be turning. Federal agencies were rolling back mandates built on race and gender identity. Courts were siding with common sense. And a lot of good people believed that FAIR’s work was mostly done.
But last week’s midterm elections made something painfully clear: the progress of the past two years was never guaranteed, and the people determined to reverse it have not gone anywhere.
Voters spoke — and elected officials are already looking for ways around them.
Colorado and Washington, two of the most progressive states in the country, both approved ballot measures protecting girls’ sports by tying eligibility to biological sex. Colorado’s Proposition 134, requiring sports teams to be designated male, female, or coed, passed with 52 percent. In Washington, Initiative 638, which bars transgender girls from competing in girls’ school sports, passed with 56 percent of the vote.
Within days, the backlash began. In Colorado, Governor-elect Phil Weiser held a press conference after his win and declared his intention to “take a look at these anti-trans measures and what adjustments are necessary and appropriate.”
In Washington, Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson issued a statement backing the Seattle School Board’s vote to authorize legal action over I-638. Rep. Pramila Jayapal pledged to “take our state back” and start planning to “overturn these bad initiatives.” On Monday, the ACLU, joined by the state’s largest teachers’ union, filed suit seeking an emergency injunction to block I-638 before it takes effect on December 3.
The message to voters is unmistakable: your vote counts, but only when you vote the way elected officials want.
Washington state shows both how far we’ve come and how fragile that progress is. The same week voters went to the polls, a federal jury delivered a very different message. A unanimous jury in Tacoma awarded $150,000 to Mozzy Clark, a former inmate at the Washington Corrections Center for Women (WCCW) in Gig Harbor. Clark alleged that the Department of Corrections housed her with a biologically male inmate previously denied transfer there because of his violence toward women. She said he stalked, threatened, and sexually assaulted her. When she complained, the only escape officers offered her was suicide watch.
This verdict represents meaningful progress on an issue FAIR is fighting directly. In April, FAIR and the America First Policy Institute filed suit on behalf of Faith Booher-Smith, a woman incarcerated at the same prison. Faith alleges that a convicted male sex offender, whose transfer an official at his prior facility had warned against, attacked her in a common area while a corrections officer stood by. Weeks after we filed, the U.S. Department of Justice opened an investigation into Washington’s practice of housing male inmates in the women’s prison.
Yet I-638 shows how quickly the gains made for women and girls can be clawed back.
FAIR’s mission flows from the principle that guides everything we do: every person deserves equal dignity and equal protection under the law. Girls deserve fair competition. Women in prison, among the most vulnerable and least visible people in America, deserve to be safe. Neither should be traded away for an ideology, and no woman should have to win a federal jury trial to get the protection she was owed.
I’ll be candid with you. When the pressure began to ease two years ago, so did our support. FAIR kept working, but we did so with fewer resources.
Last week, the landscape began to shift again. A new majority takes control of Congress in January, and lawsuits and elected officials are racing to undo voter-approved measures. The next two years will decide whether the gains of the last two endure or quietly disappear.
FAIR brings what this moment demands: a principled, nonpartisan commitment to equal treatment backed by grassroots policy advocacy, legal action when needed, and a national network of chapter leaders who show up when it matters.
But we cannot do this important work without you.
Please make a gift to FAIR today. Your donation will directly support:
Our advocacy for the safety and dignity of women in Washington’s prisons
Defending voter-approved protections for girls’ sports from being quietly gutted in courtrooms and statehouses
Equipping parents, educators, and chapter leaders with the tools and resources to push back when institutions override the public’s will
If you’ve stepped back over the last two years because you thought the need for FAIR’s work had subsided, I hope you’ll step back in now. If you never left, I hope you’ll consider giving a little more this year.
We thought the worst was behind us, but last week reminded us that the work of defending equal dignity is never finished. Donate today to help FAIR hold the line for girls and every woman at WCCW who is still waiting for the state to keep her safe.
With gratitude and resolve,
Monica Harris
Executive Director, FAIR
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Introducing: Arts After Hours
FAIR in the Arts is launching Arts After Hours, a monthly Zoom gathering for FAIR artists, members, and guests to meet one another, exchange ideas, share opportunities, and strengthen the courageous creative community we are building together.
This isn’t a webinar or a formal presentation. It’s a gathering.
Come tell us what you’re working on. Bring an idea you’d like to explore, an opportunity you’d like to share, a question or project for other artists, or simply come to meet writers, actors, filmmakers, musicians, visual artists, and other creative people who believe that art flourishes through curiosity, independence, open inquiry, and the courage to create authentically.
We’ll gather thereafter on the third Wednesday of every month.
FAIR in the Arts is becoming more than a place to defend artistic freedom. We want it to be a place where artists can use that freedom to create, connect, collaborate, and help shape the culture around us. I really hope you’ll join us.
Date: Wednesday, November 18, 2026
Time: 7:00 p.m. ET / 4:00 p.m. PT.
Every month on the third Wednesday.
White Guilt
After the 1960s Civil Rights victories, white America stood accused and were desperate to regain moral authority and escape the stain of racism. That frantic need birthed white guilt, a moral collapse that replaced merit with victimhood, standards with excuses, and individual responsibility with grievance power.
The result: failing schools, dependency programs, racial division, riots, defund-the-police chaos—and now a global wave where Hamas’s October 7 atrocities are called “resistance,” campus antisemitism is tolerated, and anti-Western tribalism gains ground.
But if white guilt has already inverted good and evil… can America finally break free before the fear wins?
Date: Tuesday, December 1, 2026
Time: 7:00 p.m. ET / 4:00 p.m. PT.
Educators Alliance
FAIR is continuing the Educators Alliance for the 2026-2027 school year to equip PK–12 educators with the knowledge, strategies, and community support they need to foster schools that are more enriching and free from bias for students and educators.
We are at a turning point for education—and with the relaunch of FAIR’s Educators Alliance, we have an opportunity to step beyond polarization and create classrooms rooted in curiosity, dignity, and respect.
Each monthly gathering will open with updates and presentations from FAIR staff, fellows, Chapter Leaders, and occasional guest speakers. Together, we’ll explore strategies for supporting educators, communities, and local chapters—and for advancing positive change at the local, regional, and national levels. Following presentations, participants will have space for open forum discussions to connect, seek advice, and coordinate on pressing issues in their schools. Breakout rooms will be divided into PK-6 and 7-12 grade levels with experienced teachers facilitating those conversations.
Educators will also be invited to contribute to a new FAIR in Education newsletter, showcasing stories, strategies, and resources from across the FAIR network.
Whether you are a teacher, paraprofessional, or administrator, join us as we continue the FAIR Educators Alliance and shape the future of education together.
There are 7 meetings to sign up for down below. Scroll to see all sessions!
Dec 3, 2026 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Every month on the First Thu, until Apr 1, 2027, 1 hr sessions, 7 occurrences
Note: Despite Zoom’s notice down below, FAIR maintains strict confidentiality of contact information provided.
Note to readers: We have paused the FAIR News podcast. If you prefer listening rather than reading these newsletters, an audio version is available directly on the Substack app. Thank you for tuning in!