June 23rd action toolkit

June 23rd Solidarity Action Toolkit

Background — Plan — Interactive Map — Register an action

Before June 23rd

1. Find the Federal Courthouse in your area by using this.
2. Check out our event map and make sure the information displayed when you click on your event is accurate by filling out this form.
3. Create a Facebook event and invite all your friends to it. Here is an example. After you create it, post the link to the wall of Peaceful Uprising’s page. Plan your event for the morning if possible. We’ll be projecting the photos you send to us on an outdoor screen across the street from the Courthouse in Salt Lake City!
4. Important: Media advisory and release: Tim refused plea bargains–knowing that meant that he would likely go to prison–for the opportunity to make the American public aware of the corrupt relationship between our Government and the industries that are destroying our planet. The powers that be don’t want Tim’s story to appear in the media, because national actions prove that interest in his case is spreading. That’s why they delayed his sentencing hearing at the last minute. Since there will be no sentence given on June 23rd, we’ll need to do a little extra work to make sure that the national media picks up on our day of action. Scroll down or click here for a ready-made template and instructions on how to do this. This is a crucial step in your action.
5. Consider writing an Op-Ed for your local paper about Tim’s case and the need for a peaceful uprising. Talking points abound on our website. Start here and read around!
6. Get some people together to practice some revolution songs. It’s way more fun than you might assume…
7. Want to paint banners and signs? Want them to convey solidarity? Check out the look and feel of the rally in SLC during the trial. Browse the photos and note the colors, words, and sashes. We have some resources for making bidder 70 paddle signs here.

On June 23rd

1. Arrive at your courthouse in the morning if at all possible. If it isn’t possible, no worries.
2. Take a few photos and send them to us. Composition is key: To maximize the effectiveness of the live photo collage we are trying to create, please make sure the streamer is readable, goes out of the frame on each side, and is positioned about one-third of the way up the frame. Make sure the courthouse is in the background. Of course, we want to see your smiling faces in there too! And feel free to make your own banners/posters to display the name of your organization and the city you’re rallying in.
3. Email your photo right away if possible, to info@peacefuluprising.org
4. If you are planning on doing more at your action, please, by all means, upload photos and videos and tag them with #bidder70 so we can find and link to them. That’s how this gem found its way to us. If you want your photo to appear in a slideshow on our website, send it as an attachment, enter your caption as the subject, and mail it to peacefuluprising.bidder70@picasaweb.com.
5. Tweeters: hashtag is #bidder70 and make sure to follow @Peace_UP_

Action guidelines
Below are PeaceUp’s standard guidelines for actions. We hope that you embrace them and encourage others at your action to do the same:

• We will promote a tone of respect, honesty, transparency, and accountability in our actions.

• We will use no violence (physical or verbal) towards any person.

• We will not destroy or damage property.

• We will not carry anything that can be construed as a weapon, nor possess (or consume) any alcohol or drugs.

• We will all hold each other accountable to respecting these agreements.

More information:

• Peaceful Uprising mission statement
• Core Principles of a Peaceful Uprising.

Photo Credit: David NewKirk

“Tim DeChristopher risked his future for the sake of our children’s. Courage like his can help us win the battle to preserve a livable planet, by bringing the focus onto the polluters and their well-oiled coal-fired supporters, who are the ones that should be on trial.” ~Dr. James Hansen, June 2011

“The postponement of Tim DeChristopher’s sentencing hearing is a further postponement of justice, an ongoing breach of public trust. Cowardice and corruption are siblings in a dysfunctional and decadent society. This decision cinches the verdict: DeChristopher is not guilty, America’s judicial system is guilty. Here is a true sentence: expose this trial for what it is: fraudulent.” – Terry Tempest Williams, June 2011

“Once our actions are deemed to be violent then that justifies repressive tactics on the part of the government,” [Tim] said. “With a nonviolent movement we are still inviting a strong reaction from the government or ruling authorities…But it undermines the moral legitimacy of our current government. That is the path we need to pursue. Rather than reinforcing their legitimacy we need to undermine their legitimacy.” – Tim DeChristopher in Truthdig, by Chris Hedges June 20, 2011