What it Will Take to Turn the Tide?

We've protested. We've called. We've written. What's next?

Last year, many of us harbored a fear that in his second term, Trump would seek to usher in fascism, unchecked by the Supreme Court or Congress. Our fears were founded. We are marching towards authoritarianism led by a would-be dictator.

Despite this, there is hope. People are standing. District judges are protecting the Constitution. Many of our Democratic representatives are finding their voice. Much of the media is not caving, especially independent journalists. And one month ago, 4.1 to 5.2 million people marched.

However, in order to turn the tide, our movement must evolve.

According to research conducted by Peter Ackerman, in studying successful nonviolent revolutions three capabilities emerged:

1. Ability to unify people

2. Operational planning

3. Nonviolent discipline

As one who spends hours combing through protests and recording their stories, I have observed all three of these in our movement. As evidenced by No Kings and Good Trouble Lives On, organizers are unifying on a local and national level. Groups are growing in their commitment and knowledge of nonviolence. Planning is evolving, becoming more complex and diverse.

Nonetheless, our movement is still young. Though we have a good foundation, to rebuild a more just, equitable nation, we must grow. The hard truth is this—we will not succeed if our movement does not increase in numbers, train more leaders, and diversify the kind of dissent it takes. We could plateau and falter, and the cost will be catastrophic to our nation and our world.

So, as a record-keeper, former volunteer organizer, and amateur problem-solver, I offer next steps we can take to grow. LOUDLY, I need to state—this is not the end all, be all. Nor is it a comprehensive manual. It’s an assessment and launchpad. I hope it will start conversations and spur people to action

Please share this post. My hope is that each reader will incorporate one of these action steps into their routines or be inspired to explore and grow.

Let’s begin.

SKILLED LEADERSHIP

In order to succeed, not only must leaders emerge on the local to the national level, but these leaders must be studied in nonviolent resistance, de-escalation, civil resistance, and leadership. To do this we must be committed to learning every week.

🚨 ACTION STEP 🚨

Set aside 2 hours a week to reading articles or books or taking a course.

TAKE IT FURTHER

• Invite a friend to learn with you and discuss.

• Create a book/article group that reads and discusses titles that teach about nonviolent resistance

• Organizers!!! Ask your entire team to read an article or watch a training.

I will publish an article, a book suggestion, and course each week. Here are a few resources to get you started.

READING

A Checklist for Ending Tyranny by Peter Ackerman (condensed)
A Checklist for Ending Tyranny by Peter Ackerman (151 pages)

TRAININGS

Choose Democracy | They have several self-paced trainings, including: Mutual Aid, How to Talk to People you Might Disagree With, Action Security and De-escalation. TAKE ONE.

Indivisible | Indivisible has several excellent resources. Namely, they're One Million Rising training. It is “a national effort to train one million people in the strategic logic and practice of non-cooperation, as well as the basics of community organizing and campaign design. This is how we build people power that can’t be ignored. You’re invited to join us—and lead.” JOIN.

DIVERSE DISSENT

“Skillful civil resisters want to create disruption in order to maximize defections from their opponent, and optimally want to employ tactics where relatively small disruptions lead to large numbers of defections.” - The Checklist to End Tyranny

Our movement needs to disrupt the status quo. To do this, we need to assess our region and situation, and adjust our dissent to meet the moment.

On No Kings Day we have about 2,300 protest with 4.1 to 5.2 million protesters. Weekly, there are 550 to 670 protests. Though these have got the ball rolling, we must increase our numbers while dialing-in our tactics to disrupt daily life in a meaningful way. How do we do this?

First, we increase our weekly and national action numbers. To reach 11 million on a national protest day, I project that we will need at least 5,000 to 6,000 protest sites. Let’s make that the goal, then for this late-summer or early fall. Given that our growth between April 5 to June 14 was significant, it is achievable, but new leaders need to be recruited and trained today.

Yet, nationwide protest alone will not move the needle. We must organize weekly using an array of tactics that are intended to meet a moment or need.

If 550 to 670 weekly protests are not enough, what is? 1,200 weekly civil resistance actions would be a good start, though I suspect more will be necessary to tip the scales. And note, not every resistance action should be a protest; they can be office visits, coordinated boycotts, sit-in, leaflet campaigns, walkouts, and more. When coupled with a clear goal, many of these can be powerful tools to bring about change.

🚨 ACTION STEP 🚨 Ask…

Where in my area would a dissenting action have the most impact?
Who can we partner with?
How can we state our goal as poignantly as possible?
How will we know when we have reached our goal?

ORGANIZER IDEAS

Pair Boycotts or Strikes with Protests | Tesla Takedown has succeeded, in part, because it had clearly defined goals, consistent protests, and it paired with a boycott. Past movements have employed a similar strategy. Could these same tactics be used to protect immigrant communities, fight for healthcare reform on a local or state level, or sway the mind of representatives?

Use Imagery or Theater | To tip the scales we must begin to sway hearts. The 70+ million unengaged Harris voters, the independents, and regretful Republicans must be moved to action.

Visual imagery and theater can be a powerful tool to trigger action. What if bridge brigades or corner protests coordinated to display stats that passing cars could read? For example, could a team of protesters work together to create a series of signs about those who will lose healthcare. They could read “4,000 children in (State) will lose healthcare next year.” Pair them with a stat about cuts to research or impacts on specific populations.

A group of protesters in DC carried black caskets made of foam core. They bore statistics about the 51,000 who will die due to cuts to healthcare. Women have marched dressed as characters form “Handmaid’s Tale.” The possibilities are endless. This week, I will publish a second article with creative protest ideas.

Location, Location, Location | Protest locations can magnify or diminish impact. While it’s tempting to protest in front of City Hall, it may not be the most impactful location. In several cities, protesters have organized a series of protests on footbridges and overpasses, enabling them to reach hundreds or thousands in hours. Groups have marched in July 4th parades. In front of recognizable landmarks, on busy corners, and in front of health insurance offices all are possible locations.

A CLEAR DEMAND/GOAL

One criticism I hear time and time again is an iteration of this, “What is the goal?”

Oftentimes, naysayers believe we are salty about the election. Others think we hate Trump. While these statements may be true, they miss the core of our dissent.

It’s easy to dismiss such comments, but I don’t think we should. Can the average protester or organizer verbalize our goal in a few simple sentences? Would two organizers’ stated goals be similar? Unlikely.

The ability to unify people is essential to a successful nonviolent movement. And though individual protests can and should have specific, diverse goals, the overall movement should have a clear goal that is easy to articulate.

Is it removing Trump? I think many of us would agree that he is part of a larger system that favors the wealthy over the average person.

One statement rolled out by the 50501 movement early this year was Remove, Reclaim, Rebuild. This is an example of a clear, actionable goal. It’s easy to remember and is a wide umbrella under which several groups and goals can find a place.

As a movement, we must work together to create such a statement and goal. It needs to be wide enough to welcoming, yet clear enough to know when we have achieved it.

CLOSING

In summary, we must grow our leadership both in numbers and in knowledge. We must increase and diversify our dissenting actions. And we must define a unifying goal under which diverse groups can find a place.

Expect my article tomorrow with ways you can dissent this week. And happy dissenting!