How do rebels respond to a pandemic and other contingencies? Resiliently, of course!

Extinction Rebellion Chicago has been adapting its Non-Violent Direct Action training to respond to the pivotal moment we are in.  Putting the training online in response to COVID opened up possibilities for national/international collaborations, coalition building, and guest speakers, creating dynamic interactions not possible before. The recent actions in protest of racist injustice, which our June training followed closely, have demonstrated the imperative to imagine and take part in solidarity actions and also showed that a wider range of COVID-safe actions is possible. Thus the July training will focus on many different types of NVDA, as well as planning for future possibilities.

• Learn about Extinction Rebellion and other local activist groups, as well as about the use of affinity groups and coalitions to mass mobilize climate/social justice activism.
• Explore NVDA possibilities in the categories of social media messaging/actions, hybrid actions (real-world and social media), vehicle actions (e.g. car caravans, kayaktivism), traditional NVDA (e.g. blockades), solidarity actions, and resilience actions such as planting trees and creating community gardens, as well as other categories that you come up with!
• Work with a provisional affinity group to plan an action, propose it to the larger group, revise it in accord with feedback, and possibly figure out how to collaborate or coordinate with other affinity groups or local environmental/social justice organizations.
• Participate in an action planned by an XR chapter or another environmental/social justice group, as a form of hands-on learning, team-building, and solidarity.
• Consult with XR Working Groups, National Lawyers Guild lawyers, and other experts about the kinds of support your action might require.

And following the action, you will debrief with the larger group, provide feedback to other affinity groups, and make plans for how you will continue as a climate change/climate justice activist with your provisional affinity group, a different affinity group, an XR Working Group, or another environmental/social justice organization.

If this sounds like something you would be interested in, please register here, but if you have any questions at all, please don't hesitate to contact us at contact@xrchicago.org.