A is for Action #AtoZChallenge
My 2025 A to Z Challenge theme is activism. I’ve been a Black Lives Matter activist for over a decade. I’m not an expert. I do have experience to share and I’m hoping to learn from your experiences, too. We’re all in this together.
I’ve delivered a couple of presentations (my virtual handout) in recent weeks with the title “Now What? Steps for Sustainable Action from a Community Activist.”
In my model, Action is the third and top step, built on a firm foundation of the first two steps — Community and Self-Care. But A comes before C and S, so I’ll have to build the model backwards to make it fit in the A to Z framework.
On the other hand, the timing works well since I hope to encourage people to attend this Saturday’s mass protest. Check this list for a Hands Off! event near you on April 5. There are two in the St. Louis area. I stopped counting when I reached 20 in Missouri. If there are 20 events in Missouri, you know that there are some in your state.
Attending a mass protest like a Hands Off! event will cover all three of the steps to sustainable action. When I’m feeling despair, nothing helps more than being in a crowd of like-minded people. Getting myself there is an act of self-care. Of course, being there means participating in my community. Finally, at the top step, a mass protest is the pinnacle of action in large numbers.
Action can mean lots of things, though. So, if crowds and signs don’t work for you, there are plenty of other possibilities. I’ll write other posts this month that talk about making calls, reading books, sharing humor, and more.
Where will you be on April 5? I’ll attend our weekly Black Lives Matter vigil, because some of us need to keep that going even on big protest days, then I’ll join the Hands Off! event in progress near my US Representative’s local office.