By the Resistance School Team
Resistance School provides training for communities to make sustained issue and electoral change that advances values of fairness, equality, and inclusivity.
Mission: Resistance School aims to deepen community-based organizing infrastructure nationwide to secure issue and electoral victories at the local, state, and national level and advance progressive values of fairness, equality, and inclusivity. Through high-quality training for both those new to organizing and those who want to deepen their skills, we strive to amplify communities’ capacity to lead and make the sustained change they seek. We believe that the power of collective action can break through barriers that undermine the people’s access to our democracy.
Response: We have received an overwhelming response since we launched on March 28. Over 140,000 people from all 50 states tuned in for our first three sessions. Our participants represent individuals, small groups, and organizing chapters of a few hundred. From book clubs to campus watch parties, Resistance School is collective to its core and creates a way for a diverse range of people and communities to take strategic action on the issues and values that matter to them.
Resistance School has been covered in CNN, Time, USA Today, the Boston Globe, and several other news outlets. Nick Kristof wrote about Resistance School in the New York Times, calling us a “savvy” resistance effort with “excellent online resources.” This recognition, and the enthusiasm of Resistance School participants, affirms to us the need for purposeful and accessible training for a wide range of organizers. The first four sessions have generated more interest than we could have imagined, and we are inspired and humbled by the nationwide (and global) momentum behind Resistance School.
About Us: The founders of Resistance School are a group of progressive graduate students at Harvard. We came together after the presidential election because we wanted to find an impactful way to contribute to the upsurge in political engagement across the country. Our team includes community and labor organizers; advocates for human rights, campaign finance reform, and veterans’ affairs; former staffers for Obama, Sanders and Clinton presidential election campaigns; and journalists.
For our inaugural four sessions, we identified key tools that activists need to take collective action, and invited experts in organizing who led the following sessions:
- Session 1: How to Communicate our Values in Political Advocacy with Tim McCarthy, April 5th, 7:00-8:30 p.m. ET.
- Session 2: How to Mobilize and Organize our Communities with Sara El-Amine, April 12th, 7:00-8:30 p.m. ET.
- Session 3:How to Structure and Build Capacity for Action with Marshall Ganz, April 20th, 7:00-8:30 p.m. ET.
- Session 4: How to Sustain the Resistance Long-Term with Michael Blake, April 27th, 7:00-8:30 p.m. ET.
For more information, please visit us on:
Website: https://www.resistanceschool.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ResistSchool/
Twitter: @Resist_School