By Sue Edwards, with input from David Calloway
The Sunrise Movement is pressing the Democratic National Committee to make at least one presidential debate focus entirely on our most dire existential emergency, climate change. This played out in July in a six hour training session, followed the next day by a march and rally, bringing this message directly into the Philadelphia offices of the DNC.
The required training session was surely a test of one’s dedication to taking on the climate crisis. I attended with my friend David, not knowing quite what to expect. We were very heartened to find it well-planned, well-led, and energizing. In the march itself, David said he felt much better prepared to participate more fully and with a higher degree of responsibility for the event's success than in past marches. We were just about the only two people in the room who were over the age of about 35. (Quite a bit over!) Later, in an email about a future action, I noticed that it specifically requested that participants be under the age of 35. So I realized we had been honored to be allowed to stick out this training and action.
It was billed as a demonstration that would meet at City Hall in Philly and would end up at an undisclosed location nearby, to raise the imperative that at least one of the debates in the Democratic Party Presidential election cycle be focused solely on climate change. (Up until that point, only a few minutes of each of the debates had addressed the essential question of the candidates’ plans for addressing climate degradation.) Self-selected demonstration participants would be risking arrest by attempting to enter the offices of the Democratic National Committee in Philadelphia while the rest of us would raise our voices outside on the sidewalk. On this occasion, both of us chose to be on the sidewalk.
Photo by Josh Barwick on Unsplash
The training was launched by several energetic, powerful young women. One introduced herself as a high school senior, the others just slightly older. All were confident, and their body language expressed that--pacing and stomping, smiling and self-assured. They asked us all to share with one other person near us how climate change affects us and how we were feeling at that moment about the coming demonstration. That was an excellent ingredient in the training, since it appeared that many of the 50 to 75 participants were new to activism. We had an opportunity in small groups to look at photos of signage from past demonstrations all over the country and rate them on their effectiveness in communicating a message, in order to learn from past movement mistakes and successes. Again in small groups we were encouraged to generate creative action ideas, which were shared.
Having taken part in quite a few such trainings over the years, this one struck me as mature and wise. Feelings were lifted up, not glossed over. Songs were shared that carried our spirits aloft. Women were in the lead! Teams were formed for every part of the next day’s process, including the standard crowd marshalls but also art marshalls (a concept new to me but very helpful in making sure the signs & banners could be seen by passersby). There were individuals tasked with police interface, engagement with the press, etc. There was also a speaker there to go over legal issues and answer questions so people would be clear what risk was involved. It seemed that nothing had been forgotten.
On the day of the action, leaders were available to gather folks and orient those who showed up without having attended the training. We each took our assigned places and knew what we needed to do and to whom to direct the press or others who had questions. We sang the songs we had shared the day before as we marched across the street to the DNC headquarters, where a line-up of speakers addressed the crowd with a bullhorn. Bicycle police and plainclothes people watched it all. Those risking arrest had already gone ahead unannounced into the building and attempted to head up the elevators to the DNC office, and they were about to be arrested. Then the word went out that we would all attempt to enter the building; however, only part of the crowd was able to get in before the police stopped the rest of us and threatened to arrest anyone who persisted. In the end, the 9 who had intended to risk arrest--plus one more person who was moved at the last moment to join them--were handcuffed and led out to a waiting police van and transported to a police building not far away. Others from the march proceeded to that site to embrace them when they were released.
Will there be a climate debate? As of this writing, the DNC hasn’t committed to that. Only CNN has planned one. But the determination of young people, and Sunrise in particular, will be a powerful force leading up to 2020, that seems clear.
This blog was included as part of the 2019 Fall Sylvanian newsletter. Please click here to check out more articles from this edition!