organizing principles
#ShutDownDC came together during the summer of 2019 to respond to the Youth Climate Strikers’ Call to Action.
It is an organizing space where individuals and groups can come together to organize direct action.
We recognize the urgency of this moment.
Our collective future is at stake and we are committed to taking bold direct action, to facing our fears, and to pushing ourselves and each other to make transformative change in this moment.
We are committed to working together to create the world that we want to live in.
We do not want to reproduce the same violences we are committed to dismantling; thus, we are committed to anti-oppressive principles, transformative justice, and sustainable organizing.
We recognize that many of the challenges that we are facing are not new.
We are not seeking a ‘return to normalcy,’ because we know that returning to ‘normal’ means returning to a system that was built on oppression. Rather, we see this as the time to rise up against the current crisis and move forward to dismantle the interlocking systems of oppression that have plagued this land for centuries.
We oppose all forms of repression of dissent and commit to acting in solidarity with the people and organizations facing retaliation and criminalization.
We will work together to take appropriate measures to assess risks and keep each other safe. But we also recognize that we are in a moment of crisis, so we will act with the urgency that the situation requires.
While we respect everyone's right to defend themselves and the people they love, we recognize that the police and military forces have a far greater capacity for violence than we could ever imagine.
Without making value judgments about the tactical approaches other people and organizations may choose to embrace, we plan to use the tools and tactical approaches that we have the capacity and expertise to implement, including disruptive direct action, mass mobilization, coordinated non-compliance, mutual aid, and other forms of civil resistance.