How to be an Effective Activist 2018: A Training on Nonviolent Action

Issues surrounding civil rights continue to spark intense debate and protests around the globe—driving people to mobilize and push for meaningful change. But being an effective activist takes more than passion and guts. Activists need to channel and focus their protests in nonviolent ways to leverage change, because violence plays into the hands of those with power, while nonviolence catches power off-guard. Effective activism requires strategic planning, engagement, discipline, and training.

Drawing on the deep expertise of leading practitioners, this four-session, 100-minute speed course on nonviolent organizing, advocacy, and action will teach you the skills needed to be an effective, informed, and prepared activist.

Session 1—Developing a Strategy of Protest: Target, Demand, and Power
Daniel Altschuler, NYU Wagner Adjunct Assistant Professor of Public Service and Managing Director of the Make the Road Action

Session 2—Into the Streets in Civil Resistance: Engagement, Mobilization, and Action
Rev. Noelle Damico, NYU Wagner Adjunct Assistant Professor of Public Service and Senior Fellow at the National Economic and Social Rights Initiative

Session 3—Telling the Story and Massaging the Message: How to Communicate an Unarmed Struggle
Jamila Brown, NYU Wagner Adjunct Assistant Professor of Public Service and Digital Communications Strategist at The Opportunity Agenda

Session 4—Talking Across the Divide
Linda Lausell-Bryant, Clinical Assistant Professor, NYU Silver School of Social Work