Resources For New Revolutionaries (AKA, CliffsNotes For Rabble-Rousing In Trump’s America)

December 10th, 2016 - filed under: Furthermore » Inspiration

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It’s been a month. It’s only been a month. It’s already been a month.

I know that a lot of us are still struggling to cope, feeling lost, feeling tired . . . feeling fired up!

Because we are on the precipice of a revolution, my friends. Make no mistake about it. The world is turning upside down.

So, I’ve compiled a list: Resources for the New Revolutionaries. It’s pretty extensive and it might take you a few weeks to work through it all. That’s okay. Now is the time for working.

It’ll be like the Monday Monthly Missions we used to do so long ago, remember those? Well, I’m thinking of bringing them back, but instead of green missions, they’ll be Lit Up, Radical Love missions! Missions to lift our spirits and do the real work to get us out of this mess. More on that in the coming weeks . . .

For now, here we go.


Resources For New Revolutionaries

Donate:

It’s quick and it matters. These organizations do important work and they need your support now more than ever. Make sure your donation has maximum impact! Post on social media and tell people where you donated, and why. I’ve seen posts along the lines of “I donated $10 for every one of my family members who voted for Trump.” That sort of thing. Urge your friends to do the same!

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a champion of individual rights and liberties guaranteed by the Constitution. You can donate to them here.

Planned Parenthood is a no-brainer, as our country’s largest sexual and reproductive healthcare provider. I have been using them as my primary form of women’s health care on and off for my entire teen and adult life (because that’s what happens when you’re a Professional Hustler with a piecemeal career of freelance and part-time gigs). They are invaluable. I like to donate to them whenever I come across someone especially abhorrent on social media. And I make sure to let that person know they’ve inspired me! You can donate to them here.

The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) is the nation’s leading Latino legal civil rights organization. And they’re really, really going to need our support. You can donate to them here.

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) is one that I wasn’t sure I would include on this list, three and a half weeks ago when I started compiling it. Since then, we’ve seen a resurgence in anti-Jewish sentiment, nazi-inspired crime, both violent (like assault) and nonviolent (like graffiti), and the frightening appointment of an antisemitic white supremacist as one of Trump’s closest advisors. I guess I was naive to think that Jews no longer had to fear overt discrimination and persecution in this country. But clearly they do, and the ADL will need our support. You can donate to them here.

This is just a short list, by no means comprehensive, basically just my favorite groups and ones I have personally donated to in the recent weeks. For a much more thorough list that offers excellent organizations covering every particular issue, Jezebel’s got you covered.

Educate:

No matter how progressive you think you are, there is still so, so much to learn. Especially for white people, there’s a lot to learn about race and racism in this country. And all of us, regardless of skin color, need to learn about feminism, about gender and sexuality, about class, about privilege, and about power structures. The following is a pretty comprehensive list of readings for the purpose of self-education. I strongly urge you to read through all of these over the course of the next few months. We are strongest when we truly understand one another.

This doc is ESSENTIAL reading for white folks. It’s very long, so you might need to spend a few weeks with it. But please, read it all. It will change your life. Syllabus For White People To Educate Themselves

Masha Gesson is an openly-gay Russian journalist who has spent much of her life living in, and writing about, autocracies. She understands what is about to happen to America better than most, and she’s written an amazing piece called Autocracy: Rules For Survival, which is required reading for those participating in the resistance.

Concrete Suggestions in Preparation for January 2017’s Change in American Government is an ever-evolving google doc that breaks down, and does a deep dive, into areas such as: Transgender rights, Disability issues, Reproductive rights, Criminal Justice, etc, with concrete examples of how to fight, and resources for education, outreach, allyship, and more. An especially relevant document if one of these issues is something you’d like to focus your activism on.

Lisa over at Organizing For Power put together an amazing Anti-Oppression Reading and Exercises page. It’s another comprehensive list that offers both readings and activities to familiarize yourself with the systems of oppression that are operating unseen all around us, at all times.

And finally, I think you should listen to Rachel Maddow’s podcast every single day. It’s just the audio from her show, and if you can watch the show that’s great too. But I’m an audio person, so podcasting is awesome for me. Plus it’s more portable. Anyway, Rachel’s show is the most intelligent critique of current events that you’ll get from the mainstream media, and I adore her. Daily podcast on Stitcher or on iTunes.


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Connect:

These are great organizations to align yourself with. Join their email lists, read their blogs. Stay connected!

INCITE! is a nation-wide network of radical feminists of color working to end violence against women, gender non-conforming, and trans people of color. They support each other through direct action, critical dialogue, and grassroots organizing. Get involved here, or at least sign up for their mailing list.

Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) is a national network of groups and individuals organizing white people for racial justice. Through community organizing, mobilizing, and education, SURJ moves white people to act as part of a multi-racial majority for justice with passion and accountability. Volunteer for them here, and make sure to sign up for their mailing list.

White Noise Collective is an intersectional organization that encourages exploration of what it means to navigate white supremacy, patriarchy, cisnormativity, heteronormativity, and other oppressive ideologies through the experience of both gendered oppression and white or light skin privilege. Check them out, follow their blog, and join their Action list, too.

Activate!

All of this reading and learning and connecting is important, but these dire times call for radical, revolutionary measures. It’s time to put on your activist pants! 2017 is going to be all about Direct Action, in the form of strikes, protests, and organized campaigns. Rowdy nonviolent opposition is fun, it’s functional, and most importantly, it’s the way that real change is made! Here are some tools to get you started:

This is a step by step guide called Opportunities for White People in the Fight for Racial Justice: Moving from Actor –> Ally –> Accomplice, which everyone should work through. It’s an amazing resource.

Put your dollar where your politics are! Boycotts and Procotts are a wonderful way of sending a message to companies (best if you follow up with an email letting them know why you did — or why you didn’t — spend your money with them). Here’s an Ethical Purchasing Guide, based on political contributions.

Reaching out to elected officials is a crucial component of the work we’ll need to do in the next four years. The DNC has completely lost touch with its base, and we need to let them hear our radical, left-of-left voices. This is something that I personally have been pretty bad about in the past, but I am resolved to change that as I move forward. Calling and writing is totally intimidating, but I’ve been making a lot of calls over the past month, and it’s actually pretty easy and it takes almost no time. We all need to do it!

Here’s a great article full of tips on how to effectively reach out to your elected officials: How To Make Your Congressman Listen To You

And if you suffer from social anxiety, the kind that makes cold-calling seem like a certain kind of hell, here’s an awesome cartoon infographic for that: How To Call Your Reps When You Have Social Anxiety

And through all of this, dear open-hearted people, remember to please take care of yourselves. Now more than ever, please practice self care. You need to keep yourself healthy so that you’ll be strong enough to fight. We need you healthy and strong! We need you to fight! I’ll be writing my own essay on Self Care For New Revolutionaries, coming soon. But in the meantime, this article is a good start. ♥

Alright, we’ll stop there for now. Stay strong my friends, and stay vigilant. I love you.

♥ ♥ ♥

  • Carole

    Thank you!

  • Sarah C.

    Thanks for this and your continuing action. I’ve been doing several of these things – reading, donating, boycotting/procotting, and even writing to my reps and senators (who are actively working to oppose cabinet appointments, etc).

    Could I make one suggestion for the list of agencies that need our donations? One of the most-targeted groups in the present and future will be Muslims, and so I’d love to see you suggest one of the many groups actively working to promote the rights of Muslim-Americans. I’ve chosen the Council of American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) because they’re the largest group, but there are a number of smaller or local agencies that work on this issue. They are going to be on the frontlines of the attacks going forward (though by no means alone there, sadly).

    I personally have set up monthly donations to ACLU, Southern Poverty Law Center (tracks and prosecutes hate crimes of all types), and CAIR, along with a one-time donation to Standing Rock camp (victory there, and woo-hoo to that!) and I’m searching for the best environment-related group to support monthly.

  • Leigh

    This is so great, thank you!

  • http://bonzaiaphrodite.com/ Sayward Rebhal

    Thanks Leigh! Glad you found it helpful.

  • http://bonzaiaphrodite.com/ Sayward Rebhal

    Yes! Thank you, definitely an oversight, mostly because I’m not familiar with any particular organizations. Thanks for the rec and I’ll look into it for sure!

  • http://bonzaiaphrodite.com/ Sayward Rebhal

    Of course Carole! Hope you found it useful. ♥

  • Sarah C.

    Here’s the note a Muslim friend sent me from her sister, a lawyer: “CAIR is the largest Muslim civil right organization in the nation and a
    good choice because it’s grassroots. Muslim Advocates, Constitutional
    Law Center for Muslims in America is small but focused, Muslim ARC, and
    Muslim Justice League (East Coast presence)”

    I also found this link with suggestions: http://www.soundvision.com/article/a-review-of-some-existing-muslim-civil-rights-organziations

  • Judith

    Thank you Sayward! Even though I live in Europe, I still can relate to your country’s issues, because we have the same issues around here, too (though our president is female and a bit less of a jerk than your next one ;-) ) Demagogues are on the rise, people are more and more openly racist and neo-liberalism is still ruining us. Your blogpost gave me hope and inspiration to organize and act against those who are trying to ruin our society. Thank you.

  • http://angieeatspeace.com/ Angie

    This is an amazing compilation. Thank you.

  • Jayne(tripocket)

    I wasn’t sure if you saw this yet https://www.indivisibleguide.com I’ve only read a bit but it looks promising. I figured I bring it up on this post since this isn’t awesome garden news!

  • http://bonzaiaphrodite.com/ Sayward Rebhal

    Hi had heard about this on Rachel Maddow, but hadn’t checked it out yet. Thank you Jayne!