“Not Going Quietly,” a New Documentary on the Battle for Health Care, Gets a Boost at the DNC

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.

One of the most powerful speeches at the Democratic National Convention last night was given by health care activist Ady Barkan, who in 2016 was diagnosed with the terminal disease ALS. His spotlight continues to grow—far beyond a single convention: He’s also in the upcoming documentary Not Going Quietly, and an excerpt was shown last night. In almost every speech and interview, he strikes notes of practicality and hope, all too aware of the challenges of revolutionizing a system of power but convinced that the movement for health care is gaining speed. “I look at the freedom fighters past and present,” he told the New York Times before his speech. “People have endured such tremendous suffering, overcome such enormous structural obstacles.”

Overcoming is a recurring theme of the convention, invoked on day one by Michelle Obama, who shouted out “all those folks who sacrificed and overcame so much.” “Hope is not a state of mind. It is a state of action,” Barkan told the Times. “It is in the praxis of resistance, solidarity, and love that we can find a path to” a world of accessible health care. For glimpses of Not Going Quietly, follow the film here and Barkan here. And if you have ALS or know someone who does and wants to share stories with Recharge, drop a line to recharge@motherjones.com.

WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

payment methods

WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate