Welcome to The White Pages
Thanks for being here. This is a newsletter about how we build a decent world for all of us. That means politics and organizing, sure, but also how we strengthen those community-building and neighborliness muscles that we’ve long allowed to atrophy. Back when I first started this space, I wrote mostly about race and whiteness. I called it The White Pages, locking me into a lifelong battle for name recognition with the literal phone book. While I’m still interested in race (also: gender, class, and a host of other power dynamics), I’ve stretched out a bit over the years. I’ve kept the name, though (take that, phone book!). What’s a white page, after all? Another chance to get it right. Together, I hope.
If you’re a free subscriber, you get emails from me about all of that. Once a week, typically on Tuesdays.
Paid subscribers get a few more things:
The ability to financially support an earnest attempt at a Good Thing In The World (the other half of my professional life is training thousands of organizers and community builders through the Barnraisers Project— I am able to offer all those trainings for free because people support my work here).
Another essay/discussion (usually on Thursday) that is looser and full of good nonsense. Thursdays are where we practice community building together. We talk to each other. We make dumb jokes. We learn about each other’s passions. It’s a highlight of my week.
Access to the Flyover Politics Discord, the Internet’s premier spot to commiserate about the state of the world and talk about the joys that get us through (mostly breakfast pizza, if I’m being honest). It’s a shared space for our community and the cool crew that has coalesced around Lyz Lenz’s Men Yell At Me newsletter. There’s a Midwestern soul to the place, but you’ll feel welcome even if you don’t know your Casey’s General Store from your Kwik-Trip. I promise.
Occasional bonus essays! Often about movies, but not always (culture! it shapes politics!). Not too many, though, I promise.
Discounted and/or free access to other projects I’ve got in the works. Is it cliche that there will be a podcast soon? Yes, but it’s also accurate.
Oh, and there’s a whole “pledge drive” membership level (because I also run a nonprofit called the Barnraisers Project, which trains organizers across the country and we have cool merchandise- sweatshirts and tote bags and such). For folks who can chip in more, I’ll send you some of that stuff.
Also: If any of that stuff above about “occasional additional newsletters” and “access to weekly discussion threads” is of interest to you but you don’t have the cash for a subscription, just toss me an email and I’m happy to help you out.
Oh, and about me: I’m Garrett. This is my day job, writing and training organizers across the world. I’m from Montana but live in Milwaukee. I have two kids, a decent collection of baseball hats and a CPAP machine. Oh, and I wrote a book! It’s called The Right Kind of White and Simon and Schuster was kind enough to put it out in 2024. I think you’ll like it.
If you want to find me elsewhere, I sort of know how to use Instagram and Bluesky and occasionally remember that I have aTikTok account.
Thanks for being here.
