A
coalition of dozens of community organizations; unions; and civil rights, environmental, student, and activist groups is organizing the 99% Spring, with a goal of training 100,000 people in direct action the week of April 9-15. The trainings will:
- Tell the story of our economy: how we got here, who’s responsible, what a different future could look like, and what we can do about it
- Learn the history of non-violent direct action, and
- Get into action on our own campaigns to win change.
Trainings will be held across the country and are intended to
launch "a spring of nonviolent direct action."
The name "99% Spring" obviously owes itself to Occupy Wall Street, as in large part does the sense that there's enough interest in direct action to set such an ambitious goal, but the organizing statement cites a long history of direct action:
We inherit a history of everyday people standing up for their own dignity, freedom, and self-determination, shaping our direction as a country. The seamstress in Alabama who launched a bus boycott. The farmers in New England and Virginia who imagined we could be a free nation. The workers in Flint, Michigan who occupied their plant to win collective bargaining rights. The farmworkers in California who liberated our fields. The women in New York who dreamed they could one day speak with equal voice. The mother who stood up in Love Canal to stop the poisoning of her community. And the students who risked their lives during Freedom Summer to register voters.
In the last year alone we watched the teachers and fire fighters of Wisconsin stand for the rights of workers. And we joined those who Occupied Wall Street, inspiring us to stand with the 99%.
Knitting together the lessons of generations of activists and movement groups with the revitalization of an activist spirit spurred by the Wisconsin uprising and the Occupy movement and the new lessons learned through them is a major task. But this kind of locally based organization, beginning with training and then moving to widespread action, is a crucial part of movement-building.
Find a training near you.
For more, see TomP's diary.