International Season of REBELLION
(Or However Long It Takes To Obtain Systematic Change)
Extinction Rebellion International has called for all XR groups worldwide to take action this fall
Extinction Rebellion US (XR US) is answering this call to rebel
Extinction Rebellion Philadelphia (XRPhilly) Endorses:
#PeoplesStrike
Call to Action Fall 2020
Disruption and Solidarity
Disruption, Confrontation, and Shut Down - No Business as Usual
We invite everyone who hasn’t already to do the painful work of confronting that fact that we only have 11 years to make the necessary changes to avert an unimaginable climate disaster, and to act accordingly. This is a process that can include anger and deep grief. We join you in this anger and grief. Organizing is the antidote to despair.
Overall, many of us need more courage than hope. Action is our best hope. We invite everyone to join XR in asking: “How will we become the people we need to be in order to do what’s necessary to stop this destruction of all life while we can? “
We call on everyone who knows we are in a climate emergency to use nonviolent direct action to confront, disrupt or shut down:
local, city, state, federal government buildings
fossil fuel companies and infrastructure
local, city, state officials
who gain power and make money while protecting the fossil fuel industry
in their offices or in family friendly protests at their homes and communities
media outlets for lying to the people to protect the fossil fuel industry and to enrich themselves
We call on all who can not just target a location once,
but to return, day after day, in creative ways.
Get Involved
For any rebellion to have a chance to exist, or succeed, we need disruption that escalates over time. XR US local groups nationwide have gotten their start over the course of a year and are made up mostly of people with no activist experience. In January 2019 we successfully coordinated our first, small actions as a movement – now begins the work of growing our regional, national and international power.
Our goals for future actions are for all XR US local groups to escalate in scale from previous actions in January, April and October. We need support to make that happen. We need trainers and organizers to get involved at the local level to help local XR groups scale up. And we need people to join with XR local groups to plan actions.
Please contact us at xr@extinctionrebellion.us if you’d like to support.
Solidarity
For any rebellion on the scale we described in the long term strategy section above to have a chance to exist, or succeed, we need true solidarity. So rather than using actions to focus on building XR US and raising money for it, XR US will use rebellion weeks, in part, to do what rebellions need the most: build solidarity, especially with groups and movements who are fighting the fossil fuel industry using direct action, such as frontline resistance camps and urban and rural environmental justice groups.
True solidarity is the strongest, most important force we can create to see us through the hard times that will come when we collectively try to stop those who will stop at nothing in service to their greed. We don't think a rebellion on the scale that matches other civil resistance movements is possible without changing XR’s current heavily white, male composition. These solidarity actions are meant to be part of building relationships with communities and groups who are most directly impacted by the fossil fuel industry with the hopes of building strong alliances. We are also putting resources and time to increase outreach to traditionally underrepresented groups to build XR US from the ground up, to collectively make XR be what it needs to be, to be effective. We will also be launching a speaking tour that will, in part, be connecting with frontline communities of color and poor communities to do support work and listen and share.