Syllabus 2
Organizer
You’re building a movement and want to skill up! This section covers the tough stuff: nuts and bolts of vetting (building your org or action squad), creating security and de-escalation teams for protests, and planning non-violent direct actions. It also covers permitting, organizing protests, and tips on how to successfully grow a group or organization. Our hub focuses on opsec, security, and resilience against state repression, rather than, say, creating comms or honing protest demands, so we encourage you to also seek out other resources! And remember - in-person trainings will always be the best bet to get engaged and increase your knowledge. (Note: This work requires digital security know-how. Check out Syllabus 4 to brush up your skills!)
We’re pointing you towards some online resources to get you started. There’s also likely already a wealth of protest know-how in your community. Ask around, and seek out in person trainings!
Search “Español” for resources in Spanish. Searches are limited to this page’s content.
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Here are six principles for building a movement resilient against government repression.
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Preparation reduces risk! This Know Your Rights guide covers what to bring/not bring to a protest, how to make a safety plan, and how to recognize and respond to common police tactics. This document helps protest organizers make sense of the risks of protesting in different contexts, and is a useful primer for new protesters and veteran activists alike.
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Note: We intend this hub to be useful to all people organizing for liberation. Some actions enjoy a high degree of constitutional protection, but other non-violent direct action tactics may not be protected because they take place on private property, shut down public spaces, or involve other illegal activity. The higher your risk, the more strongly we encourage you to invest in digital security (Syllabus 4).
Do I need a permit for my protest? Where do I have the strongest protections for protesting?
You’ll find activists with varying philosophies surrounding acquiring permits for protests. Some activists view permits as a safety strategy, while others view them as a concession to the state. The section of this site for protest organizers gives pointers about where your First Amendment protections are strongest and which types of events require* a permit. *Many protests reject the permitting system! Your risks may be higher.
This guide was created for the state of Washington, but provides legal information about what stipulations the government is allowed to attach to the permitting process.
My organization is planning civil disobedience. What should we be thinking about?
If your organization is planning a civil disobedience (intentional arrest) action, you have a duty to secure the consent of your participants, provide appropriate training, and support dissenters throughout their interactions with the legal system. Here’s a guide to choosing strategic targets for civil disobedience and providing support to the activists participating.
What if I’m planning non-violent direct action with a high risk of unplanned arrest?
Here is a curriculum for trainers/action organizers that will help you gauge your participants’ tolerance for risk, create shared agreements, prepare for actions, map threats, and build situational awareness.
If you’re planning non-violent direct action, you’ll need to lock down your devices for the action (or leave them behind if possible!), learn to use digital privacy/anonymizing tools, and use good digital hygiene to protect yourself and your comrades. (And, on action day, consider leaving your phone at home or with an offsite member of your team!) Here’s a checklist to bring your digsec up to speed:
Getting involved with a movement can take many forms. Planning a protest involving planned civil disobedience or the risk of unplanned arrest? Here are some roles to think about:
Looking for guidance on how your team can keep each other safe without involving police? This handbook covers how to research and put together a security team for protests and other events. Here’s how to select your security team, vet prospects, create an event plan, and de-escalate conflict. Includes worksheets!
Common protest-related scenarios
This training slide deck runs through common protest-related de-escalation scenarios, providing fodder for brainstorming and tactical planning. Whatever the situation, you always have options!
Have you experienced political violence, doxxing, threats, or other safety concerns? Vision Change Win provides rapid response training and community safety solutions outside of the policing framework. Here’s their rapid response intake form:
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This resource has ideas for campaign tactics, advice on ramping up communications strategies, and building campaign infrastructure, like managing volunteers and choosing who should take on leadership roles
Opsec and community building - vetting, trust, and security
Building a movement requires building community. In a movement, different people and different actions will have varying security needs, but we also can’t build a movement of strangers. Here’s a guide to relationship-based security:
Everyone worries about infiltrators. Ultimately, anxiety about hunting down infiltrators can be both ineffective and corrosive to your movement. Here’s how to harden your movement - interpersonally and technologically. Managing who receives access, creating policies around data retention, and managing offboarding are critical considerations:
Toolkit (worksheets) for mapping risks to your organization
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