…whatever the outcome.
Note: This post is from 2022, but has been UPDATED FOR 2024. A few specific, time-sensitive links:
- Solidarity Beyond the Elections: 11/14/24 w/ the Building Movement Project’s Adaku Utah moderating a conversation with Rachel Cheek of the National Network of Abortion Funds; Margaret Faliano of Illuminative; and Mary Hooks of the Movement for Black Lives.
- We Are Generations: Building Endurance for Liberation: 11/15/24 w/ Autumn Brown, Ricardo Levins Morales, and Arianna Genis.
- Where Do We Go From Here? 11/21/24 w/ with Naomi Klein, Astra Taylor, Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, and Chenjerai Kumanyika.
- How Do I Take Action Where I Am? A Workshop Series for Grounding Ourselves in the Fight Ahead 12/3/24 – 1/8/25 (via Mariame Kaba)
I also want to be sure to sure Racket’s Mad? Sad? Motivated? 60+ MN Orgs Working to Make the Next 4 Years (and Then Some) Suck Less for friends here in MN looking for ways to plug in.
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This post is just sharing a handful of links and resources for people who might be hearing stuff like “we need to show up beyond election day!” and “it’s the all-the-time work that really matters!” but may not have a ton of experience with activism and organizing. I hope they can be useful.
For people looking for a starting point
10 ways to be prepared and grounded if Trump wins (Daniel Hunter)
The key to taking effective action in a Trump world is to avoid perpetuating the autocrat’s goals of fear, isolation, exhaustion and disorientation.
Of What Future Are These the Wild, Early, Days? Resources for Emerging Movement-Builders
I made this zine to share quotes and recommended readings for people looking to get into activism and organizing. A few related posts:
- My TEDx Talk on how the creative process mirrors how someone might get involved in activism for the first time.
- Hope Does Not Glimmer; It Burns: Quotes on Hope, Resistance & Possibility
adrienne maree brown on “finding your political home”
“political home, on the other hand [as opposed to just voting], is a place where we ideate, practice and build futures we believe in, finding alignment with those we are in accountable relationships with, and growing that alignment through organizing and education.”
Deepa Iyer’s Social Change Ecosystem Map
“The social change ecosystem framework is a tool to clarify values, identify roles, and support organizations, campaigns, and networks committed to solidarity, justice, and equity. It identifies ten roles that people and organizations often show up in (such as weaver, builder, and storyteller) when they are responding to crises, participating in social change movements, or organizing collectively to advance a campaign or a cause related to equity, justice, and solidarity.“
- Related: check out “The 2024 Elections and Beyond: Fortifying Ourselves, Our Organizations, and Our Ecosystems” and its version of Iyer’s map (p. 4-5)
This BlueSky Thread from Micah Herskind
“if your political work begins & ends with presidential elections, now’s the time to change that! join an org, find your lane, learn your local political landscape, figure out who’s fighting, make a plan. no matter who wins, there’s going to be so much work to do.”
Some Action Steps That Are Not Protesting or Voting (via Mariame Kaba’s newsletter)
Lots of links and ideas!
For people interested in mutual aid, direct action, and on-the-ground work
Get Up And Get Going: How To Form A Group (It’s Going Down)
“In today’s age, where the internet has taken up more and more of what social movements and struggles are based around, the need to have a presence on the streets and in our neighborhoods, is now greater than ever.“
26 ways to be in the struggle, beyond the streets (Disability Visibility Project)
“People seek justice and support liberation in an array of ways, yet their bodies, their spirits, and their lives may not allow them to be in the streets. We believe that we will win and we need everyone’s contributions to win. We affirm that all contributions are political, militant, and valued.“
Activists Are Building a Counterculture of Care in Apocalyptic Times (Kelly Hayes & Shane Burley)
“Borders, like prison cells, are modes of separation that give people permission to forget other human beings. Creating a counterculture of care means refusing to abandon people. Borders, cages, and other forms of incarceration and disposal are all anathema to that counterculture.” – Kelly Hayes
Choose Your Fighter: The Next Major Reproductive Freedom Movement Has Begun
Editor’s note: most of the links I’m sharing here are general, but this one is specific to reproductive justice. That’s because, first and foremost, it’s important, but also because this link is a great example of the galaxy of different ways “getting involved” can look. It’s also always a good practice to listen to organizers, not just talking heads and commentators.
After Election Day: Join the Labor Movement (Hamilton Nolan)
“I know that people want to join this fight. There is no question that the will exists among millions and millions of you. What I am saying is that the labor movement is the army to join. It is a weakened but still potent army that you can help to revive. And it has a power—labor power—that no other group does. Begin your resistance plotting with this in mind. The labor movement is waiting for you.“
Mia Mingus’ Pods and Pod Mapping Worksheet
“Asking people to organize their pod was much more concrete than asking people to organize their ‘community’.”
For people looking for some perspective and/or guiding stars
Ricardo Levins Morales’ Tending The Soil–Lessons For Organizing series
“In the wake of the 2020 election, social justice activists and organizers have a little more breathing room to push for systemic, transformative change. At this critical time, what questions do we need to ask, and what principles must we keep in mind, to make our movements for justice fruitful? This 24 page zine/pamphlet featuring Ricardo’s works and artwork contains 8 short lessons, drawing on his his over five decades of organizing.“
Mariame Kaba: Everything Worthwhile Is Done With Other People
“It’s not humanly possible for you to just be your Lone Ranger self out there in the world. Ella Baker’s question, ‘Who are your people?’ when she would meet you is so important. Who are you accountable to in this world? Because that will tell me a lot about who you are. And how much hubris must we have to think that us individual persons are going to have all the answers for generations worth of harm built by multi-millions of people? It’s like, I’m on a 500-year clock right now. I’m right here knowing that we’ve got a hell of a long time before we’re going to see the end. Right now, all we’re doing is building the conditions that will allow the thing to happen.“
- Also via Mariame Kaba, though multiple voices are involved: the zine, “Letters to Young Organizers.”
Astra Taylor: Against Activism (on the difference between “activism” and “organizing”)
“While there are notable exceptions, many strands of contemporary activism risk emphasizing the self over the collective. By contrast, organizing is cooperative by definition: it aims to bring others into the fold, to build and exercise shared power. Organizing, as Smucker smartly defines it, involves turning ‘a social bloc into a political force.’”
“Zooming In” Even Further: Specific, Concrete Calls to Action
Those links are full of good insight, but people might still be asking “yeah but what do I actually DO? What specific, concrete actions should I take?”
Some people get really straightforward answers: If you’re already part of a union, for example, it might be about getting more deeply involved. If you have a friend who is already doing movement work; it might be about meeting up with that friend and getting plugged in. For most of us, however, I think it’s important to remember that there isn’t just one magic answer to these questions. It depends on who we are, where we live, what work is going on around us, and our interests, strengths, and capacity. But a few examples of actions:
- CONNECT: Do some research to find out where/how your community shares events and information. Find organizations (not just influencers, online activists, and talking heads, but *groups* of human beings) doing cool stuff where you live, subscribe to their email lists, and follow them on social media. Being part of the “web” of information and calls-to-action can be a useful early step.
- JOIN AN EXISTING GROUP: Don’t put all the pressure on yourself as an individual, or try to reinvent the wheel. If you can find an organization in your community doing work you’d like to support, attend an open meeting (if they have those), and/or email to set up a “one-to-one,” a meeting to talk more about what they’re doing, and how you might plug in.
- There are many different kinds of groups doing many different things: a local DSA chapter might have ways to plug in right away (around labor stuff, tenant’s rights, environmental justice, or whatever other campaigns are going); a local abortion rights group might be looking for volunteers who can be clinic escorts, or offering abortion doula trainings; a local immigrant rights group might need to raise money for legal fees; a neighborhood mutual aid collective might need people to drive supplies around; a school might need afterschool volunteers/mentors; your community library might need support; the list goes on—there is good stuff happening, and there are ways to plug in; it is okay if it takes some time and effort to figure out where to go.
- Remember that not every group is set up to onboard a bunch of a new people. Some groups may not need more people, but may need other kinds of support: social media signal-boosting, organizing fundraiser events for them, etc.
- Of course, the other side of this point is that, depending on where you are and what is or isn’t already going on there, it might make sense to start something new. It doesn’t have to be a big nonprofit: try a book club/discussion group, or a regular meetup for a group of neighbors to do some volunteering. Be creative. Some of the links in the previous sections may be useful for that.
- CULTIVATE COMMUNITY: While we’re connecting to activist groups, remember that *connection* itself really matters. Let’s also join up in groups centered on our hobbies, our pets, sports, faith communities, the art we make/like, and beyond. Some groups will be explicitly political, some won’t, and some might find subversive/creative ways to *do* political work even when they themselves aren’t activist groups. Resist isolation, build community.
- FIND WAYS TO “SHOW UP” THAT MAKE SENSE TO YOU: Not everyone can show up in the same ways, and that’s okay. But whether it’s in-person or virtual, another specific action is to show up to something you maybe normally wouldn’t, whether that’s a protest, teach-in, virtual panel discussion, or something else. There is no road map—but showing up might open doors to something else.
- DONATE, IF THAT MAKES SENSE FOR YOU: Specifically, consider setting up monthly donations to groups you support; that kind of consistent support often matters more than big one-time donations. It also plugs you in, to some extent, to what those groups are doing, in case there are other ways to get down in the future.
- THINK LONGER-TERM: For example, if you’re a college student, email your adviser to set up an appointment to explore class possibilities that might put you on a *path* to a movement-oriented career. If you’re an adult with a job, connect to other people in your field about different possibilities for “pivoting” your work toward justice.
- …and a million other possibilities. These are just examples of what “doing something” can look like.
Of course, if you’re reading this *literally* the day after the election, it’s okay to take a moment to breathe, to rest, to celebrate, and/or to mourn. The bigger takeaway is that movement work is a year-round endeavor; voting can help “shape the terrain of battle” (to quote that poem again), but there’s still the actual battle to fight.