Wholesome Practice: Civil Disobedience

The Change Agency

The Change Agency

Aug 14, 2019 |

“The Change Agency is an independent social movement education initiative. We work with community organisers and activists in the Australia Pacific region to help people win social and environmental change. We develop, collect and share tools to help activists and community organisers define and achieve their goals. We research social change to learn what works, and draw on action research to inform our facilitation and educational work. Our major projects currently are the Campaigners Toolkit, the Community Organising Fellowship and the People Power Manual.”

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Terrorists or Freedom Fighters

Terrorists or Freedom Fighters

Aug 14, 2019 |

Book: “The first anthology of writings on the history, ethics, politics and tactics of the Animal Liberation Front, Terrorists or Freedom Fighters? features both academic and activist perspectives and offers powerful insights into this international organization and its position within the animal rights movement. Calling on sources as venerable as Thomas Aquinas and as current as the Patriot Act—and, in some cases, personal experience—the contributors explore the history of civil disobedience and sabotage, and examine the philosophical and cultural meanings of words like “terrorism,” “democracy” and “freedom,” in a book that ultimately challenges the values and assumptions that pervade our culture. Contributors include Robin Webb, Rod Coronado, Ingrid Newkirk, Paul Watson, Karen Davis, Bruce Friedrich, pattrice jones and others.”

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Te Whiti o Rongomai: A Forerunner of Gandhi – by Helena Nielson

Te Whiti o Rongomai: A Forerunner of Gandhi – by Helena Nielson

Aug 14, 2019 |

“Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King and Gandhi are all well known as advocates of peace, but not many people, even in New Zealand, have heard of Te Whiti, a Maori leader who practised nonviolent resistance against the British Empire two generations before Gandhi. It is unclear whether Gandhi was inspired by Te Whiti’s philosophy and actions but there is evidence that he heard about him from two Irish visitors who had visited Parihaka, Te Whiti’s model community in New Zealand. This article is an attempt to acknowledge and honour Te Whiti’s life and achievements.”

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Tactical Media Files

Tactical Media Files

Aug 14, 2019 |

“Tactical Media emerged when the modest goals of media artists and media activists were transformed into a movement that challenged everyone to produce their own media in support of their own political struggles. This “new media” activism was based on the insight that the long-held distinction between the ‘street’ (reality) and the ‘media’ (representation) could no longer be upheld. On the contrary, the media had come to infuse all of society. To challenge dominant (strategic) structures in society, it was necessary develop new (tactical) means of producing and distributing media. Not a specialised task separate from the social movements, but a key activity around which social movements could coalesce. And of equal importance, the media environment characterised by a broadcast logic of geography was being supplemented with an environment characterised by a many-to-many logic of access…Tactical Media Files is a documentation resource under continuous development. We have begun the task of organising the infinite (and growing) amount of available data, with the aim of making it more easily accessible for new generations of activists and activist makers, scholars and curators to draw on.”

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Surveillance Self-Defense

Surveillance Self-Defense

Aug 14, 2019 |

“Surveillance Self-Defense (SSD) is a guide to protecting yourself from electronic surveillance for people all over the world. Some aspects of this guide will be useful to people with very little technical knowledge, while others are aimed at an audience with considerable technical expertise and privacy/security trainers. We believe that everyone’s threat model is unique—from activists in China to journalists in Europe to the LGBTQ community in Uganda. We believe that everyone has something to protect, whether it’s from the government or parents or prying employers, stalkers, data-mining corporations, or an abusive partner.”

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Students for a Free Tibet

Students for a Free Tibet

Aug 14, 2019 |

“Students for a Free Tibet (SFT) works in solidarity with the Tibetan people in their struggle for freedom and independence. We are a chapter-based network of young people and activists around the world. Through education, grassroots organizing, and nonviolent direct action, we campaign for Tibetans’ fundamental right to political freedom. Our role is to empower and train youth as leaders in the worldwide movement for social justice.”

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Strategy & Soul

Strategy & Soul

Aug 14, 2019 |

Book: “Strategy and soul: a campaigner’s tale of fighting billionaires, corrupt officials, and philadelphia casinos. When Daniel Hunter and Jethro Heiko began planning at a kitchen table, they knew that their movement would be outspent by hundreds of millions of dollars. They were up against powerful elected officials, private investigators, hired thugs, and the state supreme court. Even before they started, newspapers concluded the movement had no chance. This riveting David versus Goliath story is a rare first-person narrative, giving unparalled access to the behind-the-scenes of campaigns: the fervent worrying in late-night meetings, yelling matches behind church benches, and last-minute action planning outside judges’ chambers. It’s in the heat of these moments that the nuances of strategy come to life, showing what it takes to overpower billionaires for a cause you believe in. Written by an experienced and unusually self-reflective direct action organizer, this book might be the most enjoyable way you’ve ever empowered yourself to change the world.”

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Stop Nuclear Power Network

Stop Nuclear Power Network

Aug 14, 2019 |

“We are a UK-based non-hierarchical grassroots network of groups and individuals campaigning and taking nonviolent action against nuclear power and its expansion and supporting sustainable alternatives, so we can leave a nuclear-free, safe and healthy environment for future generations.”

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Still Relevant: What Makes an Action Nonviolent?

Still Relevant: What Makes an Action Nonviolent?

Aug 14, 2019 |

“”What makes an action nonviolent?” The question had acquired urgency among peace and justice activists in the wake of the November 1999 massive protests in Seattle against the World Trade Organization. I picked this issue to review because Iíd wished that discussion had gone on longer and gotten deeper, and because we are once again in a time of protest with a considerable urgency…We should not judge those who, for many reasons, do not embrace the term “nonviolent.” But we should not shy away from the use of the word. We must continue our exploration of the power of nonviolent actions, campaigns and movements. We must engage in this movement for racial justice. We are now witnessing empowering ways of engaging in conflict, resisting systems of violence and oppression, resisting the destruction of people without harming the perpetrators. That is what makes an action nonviolent and has the potential for revolutionary social change.”

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SNCC: The New Abolitionists (Radical 60s)

Aug 14, 2019 |

Book: “Howard Zinn tells the story of one of the most important political groups in American history. SNCC: The New Abolitionists influenced a generation of activists struggling for civil rights and seeking to learn from the successes and failures of those who built the fantastically influential Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. It is considered an indispensable study of the organization, of the 1960s, and of the process of social change. Includes a new introduction by the author.”

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SOA Watch

SOA Watch

Aug 14, 2019 |

“SOA Watch is a nonviolent grassroots movement working to close the SOA / WHINSEC and similar centers that train state actors such as military, law enforcement and border patrol. We strive to expose, denounce, and end US militarization, oppressive US policies and other forms of state violence in the Americas. We act in solidarity with organizations and movements working for justice and peace throughout the Americas.”

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Small Acts of Resistance: How Courage, Tenacity, and a Bit of Ingenuity Can Change the World

Aug 14, 2019 |

Book: “In a world of Goliaths, we need stories of Davids to sustain us. With its gutsy, creative and rousing tales of ordinary people creating extraordinary change, Small Acts of Resistance proves that it is possible – armed with a little ingenuity and a lot of passion – to bring down dictators, change unfair laws, fight injustice and raise ones voice in freedom by defying those who would deny it. Spanning the globe and history, this puts a pop culture spin on human rights with its accessible and inspiring approach to international activism. Moving from Albania to Zimbabwe, and throughout Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Europe, Small Acts offers an engaging collection of over 100 stories celebrating courage, perseverance and the resilience of the human spirit.”

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Sir! No Sir! – The GI Movement to End the Vietnam War (2005)

Sir! No Sir! – The GI Movement to End the Vietnam War (2005)

Aug 14, 2019 |

“This feature-length documentary focuses on the efforts by troops in the U.S. military during the Vietnam War to oppose the war effort by peaceful demonstration and subversion. It speaks mainly to veterans, but serves as a ready reminder to civilians that soldiers may oppose war as stridently as any civilian, and at greater personal peril.”

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Showing Animals Respect and Kindness (SHARK)

Showing Animals Respect and Kindness (SHARK)

Aug 14, 2019 |

“Showing Animals Respect and Kindness (SHARK) was founded in 1993 by former hunter Steve Hindi. As a “sportsman,” Steve hunted many species of animals both on land and in the sea. He killed for thirty years until the life-shattering day when, en route to shark hunting in the Atlantic Ocean, Steve attended the infamous Hegins pigeon shoot in Pennsylvania. The slaughter of thousands of nonhuman victims, and the involvement of children in the horrific killings, was too much for Steve to tolerate. He vowed to stop pigeon shoots, and went on to dedicate his life to ending the abuse of all animals…SHARK’s number one tool is video footage and photographs! And no one does it quite like SHARK. Using hidden cameras, long-range lens, and even night-vision cameras, SHARK leaves no place for animal abusers to hide. SHARK’s award-winning video footage and photos are supplied to local, national and international media, lawmakers, the general public, courts and other animal advocacy organizations. Instead of simply saying animal cruelty is bad, SHARK gets the documentation and presents it to the world so they can see it and decide for themselves.”

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Security in a Box – Digital Security Tools and Tactics

Security in a Box – Digital Security Tools and Tactics

Aug 14, 2019 |

“The Tactics Guides in this toolkit cover basic principles, including advice on how to use social media and mobile phones more safely. The Tool Guides offer step-by-step instructions to help you install, configure and use some essential digital security software and services. The Community Toolkits focus on specific groups of people — sometimes in specific regions — who face significant digital security threats. They include tailored advice on tools and tactics that are relevant to the needs of these particular groups. Security in-a-Box is jointly developed by Front Line Defenders and Tactical Technology Collective, along with a global network of thousands of activists, trainers and digital security experts.”

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Seeds of Peace Collective

Seeds of Peace Collective

Aug 14, 2019 |

“Since 1986, the Seeds of Peace Collective has provided logistical support and trainings to activists struggling on the front lines for social, environmental, and economic justice. We are a small but motivated group of individuals dedicated to furnishing the basics–namely, food, water, and skill sets–essential to the success of direct action campaigns and mass mobilizations. It is our intention to use our skills and equipment, not merely to provide a “service,” but rather to promote individual empowerment and community solidarity by providing an effective and adaptable framework. As a small collective, we cannot, by ourselves, cook for 5,000 people. But by providing kitchen equipment and a certain level of experience, we can work with and facilitate a group of people to cook , deliver, and serve a meal on such a scale. Seeds of Peace is dedicated to feeding, training, and in all ways supporting the practitioners of radical political change. We have a mobile kitchen that can serve thousands, we have the experience and determination to assist in organizing mass mobilizations and direct action campaigns, and we offer a wide variety of trainings, incuding: campaign strategizing, nonviolent direct action- and mass action tactics, community health and safety, guerilla kitchen basics, and action first aid. We also organize Direct Action Camps now and again.”

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Seacoast Peace Response

Aug 14, 2019 |

“Seacoast Peace Response is dedicated to promoting peace and justice worldwide. We oppose aggressive U.S foreign policy including threats and acts of war. We seek to foster dialogue within the Seacoast community through public programs and nonviolent action. We offer resources, organizing, and inspiration to replace the terror of war with global cooperation and equality.”

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Sea Shepherd

Sea Shepherd

Aug 14, 2019 | ,

“Sea Shepherd is an international, non-profit marine conservation organization that engages in direct action campaigns to defend wildlife, and conserve and protect the world’s oceans from illegal exploitation and environmental destruction.”

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Ruckus Society – Trainings

Ruckus Society – Trainings

Aug 14, 2019 |

Training Topics: Nonviolent Direct Action, Direct Action Planning, Direct Action Support Skills, Blockades, Direct Action Climbing, Media and Messaging, Arts in Action…”The Ruckus Society is a multi-racial network of trainers dedicated to providing the necessary tools, preparation, and support to build direct action capacity for ecological justice and social change movements. We work with Indigenous communities and other communities of color working to preserve their homes and environments and for climate justice.”

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Rules for Radicals: A Practical Primer for Realistic Radicals

Rules for Radicals: A Practical Primer for Realistic Radicals

Aug 14, 2019 |

“What follows is for those who want to change the world from what it is to what they believe it should be. The Prince was written by Machiavelli for the Haves on how to hold power. Rules for Radicals is written for the Have-Nots on how to take it away. In this book we are concerned with how to create mass organizations to seize power and give it to the people; to realize the democratic dream of equality, justice, peace, cooperation, equal and full opportunities for education, full and useful employment, health, and the creation of those circumstances in which man can have the chance to live by values that give meaning to life.”

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Rising Tide North America – Training Resources

Rising Tide North America – Training Resources

Aug 14, 2019 |

“Below is a list of trainings and resources that we’ve been drawing from and using for many years. There are plenty more training and resources out there, but think of this as a list for getting ideas for your work. We drew pretty heavily upon the Midnight Special Law Collective’s resources as well as those of the ubiquitous Lisa Fithian. Both have contributed greatly to our work.” Categories: “Know Your Rights, Direct Action, Tactics Resources, Facilitation Resources, Some Anti-Oppression Resources, Other Trainings, Websites loaded with resources for organizers and trainers “

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Rising Tide

Rising Tide

Aug 14, 2019 |

“Rising Tide is an international, all-volunteer, grassroots network of groups and individuals who organize locally, promote community-based solutions to the climate crisis and take direct action to confront the root causes of climate change. Rising Tide was born out of the conviction that corporate-friendly “solutions” to climate change will not save us and that most government efforts are half-measures at best. We organize through decentralized local groups that support one another with shared resources, ideas, fundraising, training and collaborations. Our activities include grassroots community organizing, publishing educational materials, organizing creative direct actions and protests, and holding public education events in order to further the struggle for climate justice.”

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Reveille for Radicals

Reveille for Radicals

Aug 14, 2019 |

Book: “Legendary community organizer Saul Alinsky inspired a generation of activists and politicians with Reveille for Radicals, the original handbook for social change. Alinsky writes both practically and philosophically, never wavering from his belief that the American dream can only be achieved by an active democratic citizenship. First published in 1946 and updated in 1969 with a new introduction and afterword, this classic volume is a bold call to action that still resonates today.”

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Resource Center for Nonviolence

Resource Center for Nonviolence

Aug 14, 2019 |

“The Resource Center for Nonviolence, founded in 1976, is a peace and justice organization promoting the practice of nonviolent social change. Located in Santa Cruz, California, we cultivate relationships with allies around California, across the United States, in Latin America, the Middle East and elsewhere. Our primary mission is to support the growth of nonviolent activists. The Center hosts activists and analysts from nonviolent struggles around the world.”

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Resource Manual for a Living Revolution

Resource Manual for a Living Revolution

Aug 14, 2019 |

Book: “An all time favourite of activist educators. Nicknamed ‘the Monster Manual’ this trainers’ manual made a big impact in Australian social change movements during the 1970s when it was used by trainers during the Franklin dam blockade. Coover and her co-authors were active members of the Quaker network Movement for a New Society. It remains one of the best sources for trainers working around facilitation, decision making and group maintenance. Out of print, but generally available from second hand through online bookstores.”

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Recipes for Disaster: An Anarchist Cookbook, a Moveable Feast

Aug 14, 2019 |

Book: “Beautifully designed A-Z of the totality of revolutionary politics. This brand new Crimethinc book is the action guide – the direct action guide. From affinity groups to wheatpasting, coalition building, hijacking events, mental health, pie-throwing, shoplifting, stenciling, supporting survivors of domestic violence, surviving a felony trial, torches, and whole bunch more. Incredible design, and lots of graphics give it that hip situ feel. Loads to read, to think about, and to do. At 650 pages, you could always throw the damn book at a suitable target. What are you waiting for?”

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Re:Imagining Change: How to Use Story-based Strategy to Win Campaigns, Build Movements, and Change the World

Re:Imagining Change: How to Use Story-based Strategy to Win Campaigns, Build Movements, and Change the World

Aug 14, 2019 |

Book: “An inspirational inside look at the trailblazing methodology developed by the nonprofit strategy and training organization, smartMeme, this unique exploration provides progressive activists with the tools to get stories into the media, build successful campaigns, and connect with other organizations the world over. Providing resources, theories, hands-on tools, and illuminating case studies for the next generation of activists, this resource shows how culture, media, memes, and narrative intertwine with social-change strategies and offers practical methods to amplify progressive causes in popular culture. A summation of the smartMeme approach, this study in memetics provides practical exercises to augment movements for justice, ecological sanity, and transformative social change.”

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Radical Street Performance: An International Anthology

Radical Street Performance: An International Anthology

Aug 14, 2019 |

Book: “Street performance has long been a staple of radical and visionary political movements. Typically, theater transports an audience to a reality apart from the everyday. Radical street performance strives to transport everyday reality to something more ideal. Because the spectators are not necessarily predisposed to theater-going, it takes place in public spaces and is usually free of charge. Potentially, street performance creates a bridge between imagined and real actions, often facilitated by staging the event at the very sites of power the performers seek to transform. Radical Street Performance is the first volume to collect the fascinating array of writings by activists, directors, performers, critics, scholars and journalists who have documented political performance in streets around the world. These essays look at performance in Europe, Africa, China, India and both of the Americas, and describe engagements with issues as diverse as abortion, colonialism, the environment and homophobia, to name only a sampling. Including coverage of the highly performative political activities of organizations such as ACT-UP and Greenpeace, the public spectacle of Abbie Hoffman’s political radicalism, and the writings of Tolstoy, this is truly a new kind of primer for the study of politics and performance. Radical Street Performance is an inspirational testimony to this international performance tradition, and a valuable record of a form of theater that continues to flourish in an increasingly apolitical and televisual age [Publisher description].”

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Privacy International

Privacy International

Aug 14, 2019 |

“PI is a charity that challenges the governments and companies that want to know everything about individuals, groups, and whole societies. The future PI wants is one where people are in control of their data and the technology they use, and governments and companies are no longer able to use technology to monitor, track, analyse, profile, and ultimately, manipulate and control us. But we have to fight for that future. Privacy International is a fiercely independent charity and all our campaigns against companies and governments are driven solely by our charitable aims: to promote the human right of privacy throughout the world. This is why we do not accept any funding from industry. We also have a strict policy about the circumstances under which we would accept any grants so that it never gags our ability to criticise state actors and others who abuse your privacy and freedom. “

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PRISM Break

PRISM Break

Aug 14, 2019 |

“Help make mass surveillance of entire populations uneconomical! We all have a right to privacy, which you can exercise today by encrypting your communications and ending your reliance on proprietary services.”

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Pray the Devil Back to Hell

Aug 14, 2019 |

Film: “Pray the Devil Back to Hell chronicles the remarkable story of the Liberian women who came together to end a bloody civil war and bring peace to their shattered country. Thousands of women – ordinary mothers, grandmothers, aunts and daughters, both Christian and Muslim – came together to pray for peace and then staged a silent protest outside of the Presidential Palace. Armed only with white T-shirts and the courage of their convictions, they demanded a resolution to the country’s civil war. Their actions were a critical element in bringing about a agreement during the stalled peace talks. A story of sacrifice, unity and transcendence, Pray the Devil Back to Hell honors the strength and perseverance of the women of Liberia. Inspiring, uplifting, and most of all motivating, it is a compelling testimony of how grassroots activism can alter the history of nations.”

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Power and Diversity Sequence

Power and Diversity Sequence

Aug 14, 2019 |

A training exercise “My goal was to create something short that could be integrated into a regular direct action training to provide some consciousness raising.” 20-30 minutes

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Popular Resistance

Popular Resistance

Aug 14, 2019 | ,

“With the corporate takeover of federal and state governments, growing state violence and oppression, a widening wealth gap and the climate crisis, more people are becoming politically active in new and creative ways. A growing culture of resistance is utilizing nonviolent direct action and civil disobedience as primary tactics, and is forming real democratic organizations to empower local communities—as opposed to working within the corrupt government dominated by a two-corporate party system and within an unfair, big finance, capitalist economy. PopularResistance.org is a resource and information clearinghouse for this movement of movements. We provide a daily stream of resistance news from the United States and around the world, and a national events calendar. “

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POGO

POGO

Aug 14, 2019 |

The Project On Government Oversight (POGO) is a nonpartisan independent watchdog that investigates and exposes waste, corruption, abuse of power, and when the government fails to serve the public or silences those who report wrongdoing.

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Politics of Nonviolent Action, Part Two: The Methods of Nonviolent Action

Aug 14, 2019 |

Book: “A detailed examination of 198 specific methods of the technique – illustrated with actual cases – within the broad classes of nonviolent protest and persuasion, non-cooperation (social, economic and political) and nonviolent intervention. This book examines revolutionary events including the American Revolution, through common sense and analysis.”

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Peoples’ Global Action

Peoples’ Global Action

Aug 14, 2019 |

“From the 23rd to the 26th of February of 1998, grassroots movements of all continents met in Geneva to launch a worldwide coordination network of resistance to the global market, a new alliance of struggle and solidarity called Peoples’ Global Action against ‘free’ trade and the WTO (PGA). That was the birth of this global tool for communication and coordination for all those who fight the destruction of humanity and the planet by capitalism and build local alternatives to globalisation. “

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People Power Manual

People Power Manual

Aug 14, 2019 |

“The People Power Manual has been created to support facilitators and educators working to help local action groups and social movements win environmental and social justice goals…The manual has been written primarily for educators, trainers and facilitators who are looking for processes to use in their activist education work. We don’t expect people will read the guides cover to cover like a book. Instead, we imagine most people will dip in and out of these pages. We’ve written the guides for readers who already understand the concepts and theory that the processes and handouts are based on. For those interested in further reading, each guide recommends our favourite books, manuals and online resources. Each guide also includes detailed workshop schedules.”

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Papers on Nonviolent Action and Cooperative Decision-Making

Papers on Nonviolent Action and Cooperative Decision-Making

Aug 14, 2019 |

“Collected here are papers about progressive social change… In 1980, I began facilitating workshops to prepare people for nonviolent direct action. I found it useful to prepare sample agendas which I could then easily modify to suit the occasion. I also developed notes and handouts that included everything I had learned about these subjects. I freely distribute these papers and encourage other people to use them to facilitate workshops for progressive activists. Please spread the word!.”

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Organizing Cools the Planet: Tools and Reflections on Navigating the Climate Crisis

Organizing Cools the Planet: Tools and Reflections on Navigating the Climate Crisis

Aug 14, 2019 |

Pamphlet: “Organizing Cools The Planet weaves together stories, analysis, organizing tools, and provocative questions, to offer a snapshot of U.S. climate activism and provide pathways for readers to participate in it. Authors share hard lessons learned, reflect on strategy, and grapple with the challenges of their roles as organizers who do not come from “frontline” communities, but work to amplify and build a climate justice movement led by low-income people, communities of color, Indigenous, youth and other constituencies most directly impacted by the crisis. Rooted in the authors’ experiences organizing in local, national, and international arenas, this pamphlet grapples with the challenges and overwhelming odds young activists face today. Organizing Cools the Planet challenges readers to look at the scale of ecological collapse with open eyes, without falling prey to disempowering doomsday narratives. It asks key pressing questions for those who wish to take our generational challenge seriously. This pamphlet is for anyone who wants to build a movement with the resiliency to navigate one of the most rapid transitions in human history.”

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Organising for Power, Organising for Change – Links

Organising for Power, Organising for Change – Links

Aug 14, 2019 |

Resource directory divided into categories. “I am so glad you found this website. It’s full of information, resources, photos, stories and more from past movements, campaigns and actions. I hope it will be useful to you as an organizer, student, activist, journalist or researcher.”

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On the Duty of Civil Disobedience

Aug 14, 2019 |

Book: “As relevant today as when it was first written, Thoreau’s lucidly and passionately argued essay is a blow against the petty tyrannies of government and those who would seek to control us, manipulate us and monitor our e-mails and tweets. This is a classic text for all those concerned with the increasing power of the multi-national corporations and the shady dealings justified by neo-liberalism.”

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Nukewatch – Workshops

Aug 14, 2019 |

“Nukewatch trainers are available to lead workshops in Nonviolent Action and Action Planning. Our reimbursement rates are very reasonable and we’re willing to travel! If your group is ready to take a struggle for social justice or environmental protection to the next level, or if you are just looking for more information on what we have to offer, please contact us.”

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Nukewatch

Nukewatch

Aug 14, 2019 |

“News & Information on Nuclear Weapons, Power, Waste & Nonviolent Resistance…Nukewatch brings critical attention to the locations, movements, dangers, and the politics of nuclear weapons and radioactive wastes. Join our staff and volunteers in raising awareness and taking nonviolent action to address the nuclear dangers that threaten current and future generations.”

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Nuclear Information Service

Nuclear Information Service

Aug 14, 2019 |

“NIS is a not-for-profit, independent information service, which works to promote public awareness and foster debate on nuclear disarmament and related safety and environmental issues”

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Nonviolence 101

Nonviolence 101

Aug 14, 2019 |

Brochure: “WRL’s new, updated brochure on nonviolence – what it is and how to use it – and deeper information on its impact, including: -Basics of Nonviolence. -Strengthening Campaigns. -Why use Nonviolence? -What is Nonviolence? -WRL’s Nonviolent Struggle History. -What is nonviolence? Revolutionary nonviolence is an active form of resistance to systems of privilege and domination. It’s not simply the absence of violence, and it’s certainly not passive. Nonviolence is a philosophy for liberation, an approach to movement building, a tactic of non-cooperation, and defense. It is a willingness to break unjust laws and take action. It’s a powerful practice we employ to resist and transform our world. People all over the world have effectively used nonviolence in their work for peace and justice.”

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New England Nonviolence Trainers Network

New England Nonviolence Trainers Network

Aug 14, 2019 |

“Over 50 activists throughout New England who have experience facilitating nonviolence training sessions are part of the Nonviolence Trainers Network. The purpose of the Network is to make nonviolence training widely available and to provide trainers with a variety of resources. The Network, through the support of the New England War Resisters League, provides opportunities for nonviolence trainers to share skills and resources, and learn new methods of training. Trainings for those wishing to become nonviolence trainers are also organized.”

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National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee

National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee

Aug 14, 2019 |

“The National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee supports individuals who refuse to pay for war, and promotes war tax resistance in the context of a broad range of nonviolent strategies for social change. Through the redirection of our tax dollars, war tax resisters contribute directly to the struggle for peace and justice for all. NWTRCC is a coalition of local, regional, and national groups and individuals from across the United States. For everyone interested in or actively refusing to pay taxes for war, NWTRCC offers information, referral, support, resources, publicity, campaign sponsorship, and connection to an international network of conscientious objectors to war taxes.”

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My Soul Is Rested: Movement Days in the Deep South Remembered

Aug 14, 2019 |

Book: “The almost unfathomable courage and the undying faith that propelled the Civil Rights Movement are brilliantly captured in these moving personal recollections. Here are the voices of leaders and followers, of ordinary people who became extraordinary in the face of turmoil and violence. From the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1956 to the death of Martin Luther King, Jr., in 1968, these are the people who fought the epic battle: Rosa Parks, Andrew Young, Ralph Abernathy, Hosea Williams, Fannie Lou Hamer, and others, both black and white, who participated in sit-ins, Freedom Rides, voter drives, and campaigns for school and university integration. Here, too, are voices from the “Down-Home Resistance” that supported George Wallace, Bull Connor, and the “traditions” of the Old South—voices that conjure up the frightening terrain on which the battle was fought. My Soul is Rested is a powerful document of social and political history, as well as a magnificent tribute to those who made history happen.”

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Movement Building for Allies

Movement Building for Allies

Aug 14, 2019 |

Manual: “Members and organizations of the traditional peace movement have been increasingly coming to recognize the importance not only of partnering and “joining forces” with groups and organizations led primarily by poor people and people of color, but also of taking leadership from those groups and learning how to be effective allies to them through our organizing efforts. Movement Building for Allies is a facilitators’ manual for a workshop intended for white activists working in groups within the peace movement and other anti-militarist movements who want to deepen their understanding of how to do strategic organizing using an anti-oppression and cross-movement approach. This includes a focus on how to be strong allies to directly impacted communities (i.e. those whose immediate survival-level needs are impeded by U.S. militarism) through relationship-building and a clear understanding of the root causes of war and militarism.”

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Move the Message: Your Guide to Making a Difference and Changing the World

Aug 14, 2019 |

Book: “Many of us—without the money to contract special media consultants or expensive public relations firms—want to create change in the world, but find communicating our vision difficult, whether our audience is one individual, small groups, large audiences, or the media. Take action and empower others to act with this strategic approach. Target your message to the appropriate power holders. Design and pitch a compelling, persuasive presentation with visual impact. Field questions and comments to energize your audience to take action and move the message to others. With confidence, negotiate for progressive outcomes, construct captivating soundbites to the media, deflect personal attacks, and take the message to the streets to get winning results. In Move the Message, communications consultant and activist Josephine Bellaccomo delivers a step-by-step process, complete with tips, tactics, strategies examples and exercises, to ensure that your message is focused, powerful and unstoppable. Whether the difference you want is local or global, this guide is essential for activists and concerned individuals working to create lasting change. “

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Mohandas K. Gandhi, Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments with Truth

Aug 14, 2019 |

Book: “Clearly, Gandhi never renounced the world; he was neither pacifist nor cult guru. Who was Gandhi? In the midst of resurging interest in the man who freed India, inspired the American Civil Rights Movement, and is revered, respected, and misunderstood all over the world, the time is proper to listen to Gandhi himself — in his own words, his own “confessions,” his autobiography. Gandhi made scrupulous truth-telling a religion and his Autobiography inevitably reminds one of other saints who have suffered and burned for their lapses. His simply narrated account of boyhood in Gujarat, marriage at age 13, legal studies in England, and growing desire for purity and reform has the force of a man extreme in all things. He details his gradual conversion to vegetarianism and ahimsa (non-violence) and the state of celibacy (brahmacharya, self-restraint) that became one of his more arduous spiritual trials. In the political realm he outlines the beginning of Satyagraha in South Africa and India, with accounts of the first Indian fasts and protests, his initial errors and misgivings, his jailings, and continued cordial dealings with the British overlords. Gandhi was a fascinating, complex man, a brilliant leader and guide, a seeker of truth who died for his beliefs but had no use for martyrdom or sainthood. His story, the path to his vision of Satyagraha and human dignity, is a critical work of the twentieth century, and timeless in its courage and inspiration. “

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Minnesota Peacebuilding Leadership Institute

Minnesota Peacebuilding Leadership Institute

Aug 14, 2019 |

“Mission: Minnesota Peacebuilding Leadership Institute instigates, trains, and supports racially, sexually, culturally, ethnically, religiously, and economically diverse individuals and organizations to become trauma-informed, resilience-oriented, and restorative justice-focused empowering communities in Minnesota, the USA, and around the world.”

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Merdeka and the Morning Star: Civil Resistance in West Papua

Merdeka and the Morning Star: Civil Resistance in West Papua

Aug 14, 2019 |

Book: “Jason Macleod is a member of the Change Agency team: a dedicated activist educator, mentor and strategist. Having dropped out of university in 1991, Jason hitched to northern Queensland then made his way to Papua New Guinea. Hiking and paddling the Sepik, he made his way into a remote part of West Papua where he contracted malaria. He collapsed into a coma and was cared for by local health workers. Jason’s initial experiences in West Papua led him to form an enduring commitment to justice for the West Papuan people: a 25 year commitment that has involved spending time with leaders of the self-determination movement each year, training hundreds of West Papuan activists and completing a PhD to deepen and articulate his emerging understandings. Jason’s analysis of the West Papuan struggle for self-determination is powerful and compelling. He draws on his 25 years of lived experience as an ally and his deep understanding of social movement theory. Merdeka and the Morning Star speaks equally to academics and activists. Jason applies his deep understanding of theoretical frameworks and political history to analyse strategic options, looking at the West Papuan self-determination struggle in its historical and contemporary forms, and looking forward to its future success. This is a precious example of activist research. Jason writes with the clarity that comes from decades of action and reflection and the commitment of a genuine ally.”

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Meditation for Peacemakers

Meditation for Peacemakers

Aug 14, 2019 |

Book: “Images of Nonviolent activism can be striking: protesters beaten with clubs in India, Civil Rights Activists subjected to firehoses in the south, Occupy students sprayed with neon orange chemicals. How to remain nonviolent, preserve inner calm, in the face of such severe violence? Gandhi maintained that the answer was in a sustained discipline of calming the mind, and in this eShort, lauded nonviolence theorist and meditation practitioner Michael Nagler shows you how.”

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Media Alliance

Media Alliance

Aug 14, 2019 |

“Media Alliance was formed in 1976 by a group of media workers to unite the professional media community with the public interest communities of the Bay Area. MA was founded with the belief that in order to ensure the free and unfettered flow of information and ideas necessary to maintain a truly democratic society, media must be accessible, accountable, decentralized, representative of society’s diversity and free from covert or overt government control and corporate dominance. MA dedicates itself to fostering a genuine diversity of media voices and perspectives, holding the media accountable for their impact on society and protecting freedom of speech. Media Alliance is a media resource and advocacy center for media workers, non-profit organizations, and social justice activists.”

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Martin Luther King, Jr.: A Life

Aug 14, 2019 |

Book: “Marshall Frady, the reporter who became the unofficial chronicler of the civil rights movement, here re-creates the life and turbulent times of its inspirational leader. Deftly interweaving the story of King’s quest with a history of the African American struggle for equality, Frady offers fascinating insights into his subject’s magnetic character, with its mixture of piety and ambition. He explores the complexities of King’s relationships with other civil rights leaders, the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, and the FBI’s J. Edgar Hoover, who conducted a relentless vendetta against him. The result is a biography that conveys not just the facts of King’s life but the power of his legacy.”

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Matrix Exercise

Matrix Exercise

Aug 14, 2019 |

“This exercise helps a group match tactics (specific actions) and the objectives to reach the campaign’s goals. This exercise is helpful when a group has not fully decided on action plans.” (2 page pdf)

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Mahatma: Life of Gandhi, 1869-1948

Mahatma: Life of Gandhi, 1869-1948

Aug 14, 2019 |

“This is a film which seeks to tell the life-story of Gandhi the Man and his incessant search for Truth. In this world so full of hatred and violence, this man of peace and goodwill fought all evil and injustice with Soul-Force. He stands out as a challenge giving the message of truth and non-violence, of love supreme and unbounded. He is the Mahatma – the Great Soul – the name given to him by the people of India. Gandhi has left an indelible mark on human history. His thought is ever relevant for all those who aspire for a better and fuller life. The Gandhi National Memorial Trust has made a humble attempt to perpetuate Gandhi’s memory by presenting the first complete biographical documentary film of his life which, in a large measure, reflects the history of India’s struggle for freedom.”

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Legal Issues / Risking Arrest

Legal Issues / Risking Arrest

Aug 14, 2019 |

2 page pdf with practical tips and information. “The decisions that we make are political, not legal. The reaction of the government to what we are doing, to what we stand for, will also be political. We can have quite an impact on what happens to us in jail, in court and during processing, if we are prepared. It can be an important part of our nonviolent opposition as anything that comes before the arrest. “

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Learning and Mobilising for Community Development: A Radical Tradition of Community-Based Education and Training

Learning and Mobilising for Community Development: A Radical Tradition of Community-Based Education and Training

Aug 14, 2019 |

Book: “Learning and Mobilising for Community Development introduces the reader to different ways of thinking about, and organising community-based education and training within different settings. Stories from the global south and north illustrate approaches to collective learning and collective action. The book provides not only an insight into the how-to of community-based education and training, but through a range of applications, demonstrates the often unspoken shadow side of the developmental work we undertake. The first section of the book outlines the key elements that underpin effective community-based education and training. It then locates community-based education and training within a broader pedagogical project, by tracing the tradition of transformative learning and education. The second half of the book focuses on stories and practice, distilling the application of theory and frameworks. The practitioners within this book emerge from unique and challenging contexts. From civil resistance in West Papua and youth empowerment in South Africa to financial freedom in Australia, these diverse experiences speak to a common quest for social change and justice.”

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Learning Activism: The Intellectual Life of Contemporary Social Movements

Learning Activism: The Intellectual Life of Contemporary Social Movements

Aug 14, 2019 |

Book: “What do activists know? Learning Activism is designed to encourage a deeper engagement with the intellectual life of activists who organize for social, political, and ecological justice. Combining experiential knowledge from his own activism and a variety of social movements, Choudry suggests that such organizations are best understood if we engage with the learning, knowledge, debates, and theorizing that goes on within them. Drawing on Marxist, feminist, anti-racist, and anti-colonial perspectives on knowledge and power, the book highlights how activists and organizers learn through doing, and fills the gap between social movement practice as it occurs on the ground, critical adult education scholarship, and social movement theorizing. Examples include anti-colonial currents within global justice organizing in the Asia-Pacific, activist research and education in social movements and people?s organizations in the Philippines, Migrant and immigrant worker struggles in Canada, and the Quebec student strike. The result is a book that carves out a new space for intellectual life in activist practice.”

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Last Chance For Animals

Last Chance For Animals

Aug 14, 2019 |

“Founded in 1984 by Hollywood actor Chris DeRose, Last Chance For Animals (LCA) has its roots in fighting and exposing the inherent cruelty of vivisection. In the organization’s early years, DeRose led teams of dedicated activists employing non-violent strategies modeled after social movements led by such leaders as Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr….With an increased budget and staff, LCA expanded its focus beyond vivisection. In the 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s, LCA has worked on virtually every animal rights issue, including farming, fur, and animals in entertainment. LCA’s primary focuses are vivisection, pet theft, fur, and circuses.”

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Know Your Rights Sample Training Agenda and Guide

Aug 14, 2019 |

19 page pdf: Intro to our Trainings, Explanation of Role Play Format, Sample Training Agenda and Role Plays, Sample Confession, Role Play Cards. (“The Midnight Special Law Collective is an independent non-profit organization dedicated to providing legal trainings and accessible, relevant, democratic and accountable legal support to a wide range of activists participating in the struggle for social change.”)

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King’s Work

King’s Work

Aug 14, 2019 |

“a list of some of Dr. King’s most well known writings, speeches and sermons, as well as books by and about him.” (Martin Luther King Jr)

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Justice Ignited: The Dynamics of Backfire

Justice Ignited: The Dynamics of Backfire

Aug 14, 2019 |

“Brian is well known to Australian activists for his extensive work around whistle-blowing and resisting repression. His new text deals with tactics against injustice. Case studies include the massacres at Sharpeville and Dili, the 1930 salt march in India, the beating of Rodney King, treatment of whistleblowers, environmental disasters, the invasion of Iraq, Abu Ghraib, torture technology, and terrorism. (ps The publishers offer a discount.)”

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Joshua Kahn Russell

Joshua Kahn Russell

Aug 14, 2019 |

“Joshua Kahn is a social movement facilitator and has trained thousands of activists across the globe. He is a core trainer with The Wildfire Project, and facilitator/action-coordinator with the Ruckus Society. Most recently, Joshua managed the Global Training Program at 350.org. He has helped campaigns win against banks, oil companies, logging corporations, and coal barons; worked with a wide variety of groups in a breadth of arenas, from local resiliency projects, to national coalitions, to the United Nations Climate Negotiations. He has spent the last 17 years as an organizer, campaign strategist, and non-violent direct action coordinator.” Webiste includes a blog and resources for change agents.

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Jail Support & Solidarity

Jail Support & Solidarity

Aug 14, 2019 |

“Jail/court solidarity is the name for a variety of tactics we use to take care of each other while we’re in the legal system. Jail/court solidarity involves a combination of non-cooperation techniques and collective bargaining. Although jails and courts are designed to make us feel powerless, through solidarity we can gain better control over what happens to us, by making decisions as a group; by acting in unity with each other; and by committing ourselves to safeguard each other’s well being. Jail/court solidarity has been used effectively in the civil rights, peace, environmental, and other movements to protect activists who were arrested. ” Article provides techniques and practical information.

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James Lawson Institute

James Lawson Institute

Aug 14, 2019 |

“The James Lawson Institute (JLI) was established in 2013 by the International Center for Nonviolent Conflict, Washington, DC. It is now independent. The institute offers periodic assemblies for individuals to have an intensive learning experience in the basic theories and practice of the historic technique of nonviolent action. The institute stands in the tradition of Mohandas K. Gandhi, Alice Paul, Rosa Parks, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Ella Baker, Cesar Chavez and Delores Huerta, the anti-apartheid United Democratic Front of South Africa, and other individuals and struggles that have helped to improve nonviolent resistance as a method for social change.”

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In the Tiger’s Mouth: An Empowerment Guide for Social Action

In the Tiger’s Mouth: An Empowerment Guide for Social Action

Aug 14, 2019 |

Book: “Katrina Shields guides you through the big issues that show up in activism: how to avoid burn-out, network, create stable groups, as well as how to approach listeners with bad news that they may not want to hear. The guide includes exercises that encourage discovery and growth, both for individuals and groups.”

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Humor and Nonviolent Struggle in Serbia (Syracuse Studies on Peace and Conflict Resolution)

Aug 14, 2019 |

Book: ““If I had no sense of humor, I should long ago have committed suicide,” wrote the late Mahatma Gandhi, expressing the potent power of humor to sustain and uplift. Less obvious is humor’s ability to operate as a cunning weapon in nonviolent protest movements. Over the last few decades, activists are increasingly incorporating subversive laughter in their protest repertoires, realizing the ways in which it challenges the ruling elite’s propaganda, defuses antagonism, and inspires both participants and the greater population. In this highly original and engaging work, Sombatpoonsiri explores the nexus between humor and nonviolent protest, aiming to enhance our understanding of the growing popularity of humor in protest movements around the world. Drawing on insights from the pioneering Otpor activists in Serbia, she provides a detailed account of the protesters’ systematic use of humor to topple Slobadan Miloševic’ in 2000. Interviews with activists, protest newsletters, and documentaries of the movement combine to illustrate how humor played a pivotal role by reflecting the absurdity of the regime’s propaganda and, in turn, by delegitimizing its authority. Sombatpoonsiri highlights the Otpor activists’ ability to internationalize their nonviolent crusade, influencing youth movements in the Ukraine, Georgia, Iran, and Egypt. Globally, Otpor’s successful use of humor became an inspiration for a later generation of protest movements.”

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Humour in Political Activism: Creative Nonviolent Resistance

Aug 14, 2019 |

“This book analyses how humour in political activism contributes to facilitating outreach, mobilisation and the sustaining of cultures of resistance. Drawing on examples of attention-grabbing stunts from around the world, Humour in Political Activism demonstrates how they succeed in turning relations of power upside down. The ambiguity and unpredictability of humour, Sørensen argues, makes it difficult to respond to this form of political activism when it is performed in public. Humorous political stunts can therefore challenge state power, help influence changes in law and make significant contributions to the conversations about how societies should be organised. The book also investigates the potential risks and limitations of using humour in nonviolent action and what makes humour unique compared with other forms of non-humorous political activism.”

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Howard Zinn: You Can’t Be Neutral On a Moving Train (2004)

Howard Zinn: You Can’t Be Neutral On a Moving Train (2004)

Aug 14, 2019 |

“In these turbulent times, Howard Zinn is inspiring a new generation. This acclaimed film looks at the amazing life of the renowned historian, activist and author. Following his early days as a shipyard labor organizer and bombardier in World War II, Zinn became an academic rebel and leader of civil disobedience in a time of institutionalized racism and war. His influential writings shine light on and bring voice to factory workers, immigrant laborers, African Americans, Native Americans and the working poor. Featuring rare archival materials and interviews with Zinn and colleagues such as Noam Chomsky, You Can’t Be Neutral captures the essence of this extraordinary man who has been a catalyst for progressive change for more than 60 years.”

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Hope or Terror? Gandhi and the Other 9/11

Hope or Terror? Gandhi and the Other 9/11

Aug 14, 2019 |

Book: “Almost a century before September 11, 2001, on September 11, 1906, M.K. Gandhi officially launched the world’s first Satyagraha, or strategic, nonviolent resistance campaign. Noted peace scholar Michael Nagler tells the story of the birth of Satyagraha (literally “clinging to truth”) in South Africa.”

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Handbook for Nonviolent Campaigns

Handbook for Nonviolent Campaigns

Aug 14, 2019 |

“The War Resisters’ International’s ‘Handbook for Nonviolent Campaigns’ is a 232 page toolbox of ideas and resources to support activists to run more effective campaigns. The original edition, published in 2009, was translated into over ten languages, including Spanish, German, Nepalese, Turkish, Russian, Ukrainian, Korean, and Arabic, and has been used by activists all over the world. The 2014 edition added 50 pages. There is no definitive recipe for successful nonviolent actions and campaigns. This handbook, however, is a series of resources that can inspire and support your own work, especially if you adapt the resources to your own needs and context.”

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GreenIsTheNewRed.com (GNR)

GreenIsTheNewRed.com (GNR)

Aug 14, 2019 |

“GreenIsTheNewRed.com (GNR) is an independent news service that publishes original, investigative journalism and breaking news about civil liberties in the post-9/11 era.”

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Green Is the New Red: An Insider’s Account of a Social Movement Under Siege

Green Is the New Red: An Insider’s Account of a Social Movement Under Siege

Aug 14, 2019 |

Book: “At a time when everyone is going green, most people are unaware that the FBI is using anti-terrorism resources to target environmentalists and animal rights activists. The courts are being used to push conventional boundaries of what constitutes “terrorism” and to hit nonviolent activists with disproportionate sentences. Some have faced terrorism charges for simply chalking slogans on the sidewalk. Like the Red Scare, this “Green Scare” is about fear and intimidation, using a word—”eco-terrorist”—to push a political agenda, instill fear and silence dissent. The animal rights and environmental movements directly threaten corporate profits every time activists encourage people to go vegan, to stop driving, to consume fewer resources and live simply. Their boycotts are damaging, and corporations and the politicians who represent them know it. In many ways, the Green Scare, like the Red Scare, can be seen as a culture war, a war of values.”

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