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Creating Grassroots Movements for Change: A Field Manual

Chapter 5: Taking Action

Now that you have a committed online membership, it’s time to act offline. Transform your movement from a virtual phenomenon to a real-world presence by staging a march, protest, rally, sit-in, sleep-in, or other political act, such as circulating a petition and presenting it to lawmakers. Remember, sometimes actions speak louder than words.

Warning: Know the law in your area. If public gatherings or demonstrations are forbidden, planning and participating in one can put you and your group members at risk of imprisonment or worse. Even peaceful civil disobedience in the most liberal democracies can result in detainment by the authorities.

Before you can take action, you will need:

• A computer with internet access
• An online platform for your movement
• Time to plan and organize

Take the following steps to organize an offline political event:

Step 1. Choose an action. Decide what kind of political act your movement should undertake. Think about what will make the most impact given the cause you're supporting. If you’re unsure, you can always put the question to the group: Are they interested in holding a march, rally, protest, sit-in, or sleep-in? Use your online platforms, such as message boards and blogs, to test out ideas. Whatever the decision, it’s crucial that you harness the support of the group.

Tip 1: Once you’ve settled on an act, continue to solicit feedback and ideas on how to carry it out. Keep the group engaged—you never know where good ideas might come from, and a real-world activity may encourage new members.

Step 2. Pick a place, date, and time. Choose your location. Whether it's a city park or a government building's plaza, make sure it suits the type of demonstration you're planning. If possible, find a spot with historical or cultural resonance. When picking a date, see if your event can coincide with a significant anniversary. As for timing, figure out when the most number of people will be able to participate: a weekend? During their lunch hour? In the evening?

Step 3. Appoint local organizers. Think beyond your online audience. Every member of your group is linked to a large number of people who aren’t in your group. To leverage these connections, you’ll need to appoint local organizers who can canvass their particular community for support. Send an invitation via your online platform asking for volunteers. Collect their email addresses, and track what communities they will be reaching out to.

Tip 2: Give this role a title, such as “ambassador,” “community organizer,” or “municipal leader,” so that the volunteers feel empowered and involved.

Step 4. Congratulate the organizers. Send a mass email to the community organizers congratulating them on being chosen and expressing your enthusiasm for their commitment to the cause. You'll convey your appreciation, get everybody on the same email chain, and energize your team.

Step 5. Distribute guidelines. Come up with broad guidelines for the event, both philosophical (such as the purpose and goals) and practical (such as dates, times, geographic boundaries of the event, and directions to the location). Distribute them to your local organizers.

Tip 3: Make sure that your event complies with all legal rules and regulations. If you need to apply for any permits, do so well in advance.

Step 6. Announce your event. Announce your event on all your online platforms, and use digital notices, such as event invitations on Facebook, to increase awareness. Publicize the event offline, too, with flyers, posters, and simple word of mouth.

Step 7. Distribute the specifics. Draft a logistical plan for your event. For example, if you’re planning a protest, come up with slogans, tactics, timelines, specific objectives, and potential challenges. Think about potential presenters and speeches. Send the plan to your organizers and ask for their feedback. Make it clear that this is only a draft.

Tip 4: Think beyond just having a catchy slogan or chant. You can use costumes, specific colors, props, or stunt-like performances to make your point. Just be careful not to undermine your message by veering into the realm of bad taste.

Step 8. Revise and redistribute. Revise your plan based on the input from your organizers, and redistribute an updated plan. Ask for volunteers to take on all tasks that need to be accomplished at the event, like distributing literature or setting up a loudspeaker. Discuss emergency procedures and be sure to have contact information on hand for legal and medical assistance should the need arise.

Step 9. Keep up communication. Keep up constant communication with your organizers as the day of your action draws near. That way you’ll be aware of any confusion, last-minute problems, and changes to the plan that might have to be made.

Tip 5: If you need to mobilize your followers in real time, alert them via Twitter. Sending out the time and location for a meeting or protest can be an effective way to gather a large number of people on short notice.

Step 10. Enjoy. Enjoy your event! Keep presentations brief and to the point, and refrain from any incendiary language. Be provocative, but peaceful. As it’s unfolding, be sure to take note of anything that might be improved upon next time, and take plenty of video and photos for future use and inspiration.

Step 11. Follow up. Engage in any follow-up action that might help further your cause, such as presenting lawmakers and media outlets with any petitions, resolutions, or multimedia that came out of your event.

Step 12. Thank the participants. Thank all your participants on your online platforms, and provide an outlet for their photos, videos, or comments from the day of the event.

Step 13. Thank the organizers. Send a special email singling out and thanking your organizers. Ask them for any suggestions for how the event could have been improved.

Did you know: Just one month after starting as a group on Facebook, One Million Voices Against the FARC mobilized protests attended by 12 million people in over 40 countries around the world. Visit One Million Voices Against the FARC at http://www.millonesdevoces.org/

Case study: In 2001, a mass demonstration in Manila helped topple the corrupt government of Filipino President Joseph Estrada. Fifteen years before, protesters gathered in the same spot to bring down the authoritarian regime of Ferdinand Marcos.

Case study: When allegations of voter fraud and political corruption swirled around the 2004 Ukranian presidential election, supporters of the opposition candidate Viktor Yushchenko conducted mass protests, strikes, and sit-ins swathed in orange, the color of Yushchenko’s campaign. Their efforts became known as the Orange Revolution, which succeeded in Ukraine’s parliament implementing political reform, the Supreme Court declaring a revote, and Yushchenko ultimately securing the presidency.

Case study: When young people in Moldova believed the country's Communist leadership had rigged an election in April 2009, the hashtag #pman, short for the name of the capital city's largest square, was spontaneously created to mobilize a flash mob there.

Case study: Three days after the disputed Iranian election in June of 2009, Twitter users were posting about 30 new election-related tweets a minute, many issuing calls to action and offering real-time reporting on the massive protests that were taking place across Tehran. When a scheduled maintenance threatened to disable Twitter that evening, thousands of tweets directed at the company helped convince it to postpone its service interruption.

“We tell people to turn off their computers and go spend time with other people or get the help they need.” Jamie Tworkowski, To Write Love on Her Arms. Visit To Write Love on Her Arms at http://www.twloha.com/

“We learned early on that, at a national level, the best use of the online organizing was an entry point for people to connect, then meet offline. You cannot have just an online community. It’s not real. It can disappear at the click of a button. You have to combine the two.” Janessa Goldbeck, Genocide Intervention Network

For the Howcast video "How To Smart Mob," visit http://www.howcast.com/videos/88587-How-To-Smart-Mob

For the Howcast video "How To Protest Without Violence," visit http://www.howcast.com/videos/88725-How-To-Protest-Without-Violence

For the Howcast video "How To Be an Effective Dissident," visit http://www.howcast.com/videos/88612-How-To-Be-an-Effective-Dissident

To edit this chapter, visit the Howcast wiki guide at http://www.howcast.com/guides/2452-How-To-Create-Grassroots-Movements-For-Change-5-Taking-Action

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