Seattle’s future is below assault — not by earthquakes or storms, however by finances cuts dismantling our school rooms, clinics and tradition. From the closure of Seattle’s Head Begin workplace to threatened slashing of the College of Washington and Fred Hutch, the cracks are widening beneath our ft.
Our protests should rise to satisfy this second, with not simply presence, however goal.
Selections from the presidential administration are like a slow-motion landslide, eroding Seattle’s basis. The Head Start office closed — 200 jobs, gone. Washington faces a $160 million hit to public health funding, jeopardizing vaccinations and illness monitoring. In the meantime, $845 million might be slashed from our schools and over $1 billion in well being analysis funding for UW and Fred Hutch is on the chopping block. Arts organizations could lose $10 million.
Seattle has responded, because it typically does, with protest. I’ve stood within the chilly wind at rallies. I’ve seen indicators that made me snort, cry and assume. The creativity is actual. However one thing is lacking. It’s not sufficient to point out up with a intelligent pun and a Sharpie.
Witty indicators don’t change coverage. Organized actions do. Now could be the time for course.
Seattle has by no means been a metropolis to be silent within the face of injustice. Our legacy is carved from braveness and conviction.
In 1970, Native activists led by Bernie Whitebear occupied Fort Lawton to demand land for a cultural heart. They confronted down bureaucracies and received. Right this moment, the Dawn Star Indian Cultural Middle stands as proof.
In 1972, Chicano activists led by Roberto Maestas took over an deserted college on Beacon Hill, demanding an area for schooling and tradition. Right this moment, that constructing is El Centro de la Raza.
In 1968, Franklin Excessive Faculty college students organized in opposition to racism, demanding equitable schooling.
In 2020, Black Lives Matter protests stuffed our streets and compelled public conversations about police accountability.
These actions weren’t highly effective as a result of they had been massive. They had been highly effective as a result of they had been daring, strategic and chronic.
Right here’s a framework I consider ought to information protest — when planning, taking part, assessing or reporting:
● Calls for: What do we wish? Are objectives clear, particular and written?
● Management: Who’s main? Are they organized, trusted, passionate, charismatic and visual?
● Organizers: What teams are behind the protest? Have they got a transparent imaginative and prescient? Are they rooted locally?
● Messaging: Are we telling a compelling, human-centered story? Are we guarding in opposition to disinformation, as UW professor Kate Starbird, co-founder of the Middle for an Knowledgeable Public, has warned?
● Ways: Are actions constructing pleasure and momentum? Are policymakers paying consideration and engaged?
● Assets: Do folks, time and funding match the motion’s ambitions?
Seattle is a metropolis of visionaries. We don’t simply dream of justice — we demand it. However even the boldest imaginative and prescient wants a blueprint. Even the loudest cry wants course.
Actions aren’t outlined by ingenious indicators, sound bites or trending hashtags. The readability of their calls for measures them, the effectiveness of their management, the power of their organizations, the precision of their messaging and the real-world impression of their actions.
Let’s use this framework to plan protests, report on them and assess their energy. Organizers can use it to form a wiser motion, media can use it to inform the total story, folks can use it to determine the place to face — and find out how to present up. After we perceive what makes a motion highly effective, we play a extra intentional position in constructing it.
This second calls for greater than presence. It calls for goal. Let’s protest like we imply it — as a result of after we manage with intention, we don’t simply survive the landslide. We construct increased floor.
