Last February, Molly Walker posted an Instagram photo of herself holding a protest sign in the desert. The text read: "...
if you want to organize, DM me."
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Born and raised in Big Bend, Texas, Walker had no idea that post would spark a bipartisan grassroots campaign.
"The five people who responded to that photo," says Walker, founder of No Big Bend Wall (NBBW), "with their various skill sets, I thought, 'Wait … we can actually do something.'"
Walker and others have since paused their careers to fight the proposed border wall, which they say threatens their home, livelihoods, and the Rio Grande corridor.
"I've walked away from all of my sources of income," Walker says.
The sacrifice has reshaped their daily lives as they confront the federal apparatus driving the project.
"We've tried to put our energy back into our other work, but it doesn't feel right," she adds.
The emotional weight took a toll. "At first, I wasn't even eating or sleeping.
I didn't expect my Instagram post to become the foundational block. I felt responsible," Walker says.
An Unlikely Bipartisan Alliance
Media attention has focused on the unlikely bipartisanship.
Border agents, sheriffs, progressive activists, and politicians from both sides have coalesced, drawing up lawsuits and mobilizing landowners.
"I've never worked with so many conservatives," says activist Clara Bensen.
However, the picture is more nuanced. Some locals have cooperated with contractors.
A pecan farmer sold water to a construction camp. A landowner leased space to wall contractors.
