A is for Action #AtoZChallenge
My 2025 A to Z Challenge theme is activism. I’ve been a Black Lives Matter activist for over a decade. I’m not an expert. I do have experience to share and I’m hoping to learn from your experiences, too. We’re all in this together.
I’ve delivered a couple of presentations (my virtual handout) in recent weeks with the title “Now What? Steps for Sustainable Action from a Community Activist.”
In my model, Action is the third and top step, built on a firm foundation of the first two steps — Community and Self-Care. But A comes before C and S, so I’ll have to build the model backwards to make it fit in the A to Z framework.
On the other hand, the timing works well since I hope to encourage people to attend this Saturday’s mass protest. Check this list for a Hands Off! event near you on April 5. There are two in the St. Louis area. I stopped counting when I reached 20 in Missouri. If there are 20 events in Missouri, you know that there are some in your state.
Attending a mass protest like a Hands Off! event will cover all three of the steps to sustainable action. When I’m feeling despair, nothing helps more than being in a crowd of like-minded people. Getting myself there is an act of self-care. Of course, being there means participating in my community. Finally, at the top step, a mass protest is the pinnacle of action in large numbers.
Action can mean lots of things, though. So, if crowds and signs don’t work for you, there are plenty of other possibilities. I’ll write other posts this month that talk about making calls, reading books, sharing humor, and more.
Where will you be on April 5? I’ll attend our weekly Black Lives Matter vigil, because some of us need to keep that going even on big protest days, then I’ll join the Hands Off! event in progress near my US Representative’s local office.
Watching from another part of the world as events unfold in the USA. Fingers crossed!
Welcome back to A to Z! Great theme!
The Multicolored Diary
I grew up in an activist family and in my younger days lived my life that way. At 78 I do not go to protests any more because if the worst happens, I could not escape. I wish you the best in your demonstrations.
Thanks for all you have done and are doing! The former chair of our local Democrats tells me that interest in the April 5th event in Rolla, MO, is off the charts–something she’s never experienced in this solid red part of a solid red state. As one journalist expressed it–I’m nauseously optimistic which accurately describes the mixed hopefulness and gut-wrenching fear I am feeling now.
I definitely get that feeling! I’m so excited for Saturday, too. I’m hoping that we stretch for miles along Manchester.
We really are tackling the same theme. One of the reasons I’m doing this is to discover the things I can do. I look forward to learning from you.
Watching from another part of the world and I’m so grateful for that. I did attend protests a few times when I was a teen, but back then, things weren’t nearly as pressing as they are now in the United States.
Yes, it is time for us all to be active in whatever ways we can. I have sent out over 100 postcards during the past election cycle and even some to old dumpy in the WH. Haven’t quite gotten to the protests but that may be coming. Great start to the A to Z.