In Action #1
“Drop Everything and Just Act”
Those were my sister’s words when she recently explained to me why she’s working to get prisoners released from the COVID hotbed of prison. We were discussing the solace we both felt in taking action – me in climate, she in criminal justice – at a time of chaos and crisis.
Solace? Yes. Since I joined Extinction Rebellion a year ago I’ve found that there is less time for despair when I am focused on concrete actions: closing down “Wall Street West” in San Francisco to bring attention to banks’ funding of the fossil fuel industry; singing to support protesters doing a Die-In inside Chase Bank (the largest funder of fossil fuels); walking in a procession with 15 others in the Rebel Brigade outside a local city hearing on coal.
Action is the best antidote to despair. Action has also led me to create a performance work called Dispatches from the Great Upheaval which I performed pre-COVID and hope to translate into a zoom-able video. And it has inspired this blog, “In Action”, which will focus on people, events, and resources that might propel us from inaction to action.
At the risk of sounding like my mother, uncles, grandfather and half my cousins – all preachers – I offer my sister’s words as a suggestion for this extraordinary moment we find ourselves in, a moment our grand-nieces and great-grandchildren may ask us about someday. To quote my sister more fully: “We are in unusual times. Drop everything and just act.” And I would add: it’s not about taking action alone. The work is too big to do alone. It’s about “we”, not “I.” So join a group.
In Action at my neighborhood bank, May 2020
So step out if you haven’t yet. Show up. Start small. Stalk a group online. Visit one. (Everyone is having zoom meetings these days). Join it. Volunteer. You don’t have to go out on the streets. Or break the law. You don’t even have to do meetings (unless you want to). Grab a mug of coffee and sit by your computer while you: email others about a virtual action, design a brochure, revise a website, edit a letter, or update a mailing list. Email one of the groups listed below and ask what they need. Or follow the links on their website about actions and events you can attend (mostly virtual these days). Offer something you do well. Persist if you don’t hear back. They are mostly volunteers, underfunded, and overwhelmed like you. Donating to organizations is always an option and deeply appreciated. And did I mention fun? I am starting a “Break Up With Chase Bank” Action Group at my Mennonite church (yes, Mennonites are rebels!) and we plan to bring our favorite “break-up” songs to our zoom work meetings. May I suggest the 1966 hit, ”Breaking Up Is Hard To Do” By Neil Sedaka???? None of us would continue to show up for serious work if we didn’t have a good time.
To get you started, I’ve included a few suggestions of groups to check out. While I am obviously focused on the climate crisis, the movements for racial justice, economic equity, and environmental regeneration are all inextricably connected. If COVID has taught us anything, it is that siloing our concerns helps no one and that the urgent issues we face cannot be solved in isolation. Fossil fuel kills black and indigenous people first and foremost and if we fight it we save everybody’s life: black, brown, and white, rich or poor.
If you’re already stepping out, share what you’re doing and why it feeds you in the comments below. Add the organization or group you’re working with.
My list of groups is partial and subjective. I’ve listed black organizations which I recommend educating yourself about, especially if you’re white.
(Note: this is a partial, mostly subjective partial list - not meant to be exhaustive)
Climate Groups:
Sunrise Movement (for under 35)
Stop the Money Pipeline @ Chase
Voting Actions
Racial justice: (I am just learning about groups fighting racial injustice. The following is a list for you to check out yourself – not an endorsement of any one group).
Standing Up For Racial Justice (for whites)
M4BL (Movement for Black Lives)
9 Bay Area Organizations Fighting for Racial Justice
For explanations of “Defund the Police”:
Detailed Explanation & Messaging Guidance of Defund the Police
Multiple Issues: Racism, Poverty, Ecological Devastation, Militarism, National Morality
And stay tuned. More “In Action” to follow!
In Rebellion,
Helen
Email us at swan@blackswanarts.org