Activism doesn’t always have to mean going on strikes or other escalated action. Elizabeth Yeampierre, director of the climate justice-focused Uprose, based in New York, points to volunteers who have cooked meals to support a protest or led learning circles to educate fellow members on issues like gender justice within the climate movement. She argues many climate groups tend to be siloed in how they think about building community power, but climate justice groups are “really more centered on community itself.”
“People show up in a lot of ways,” Yeampierre says. “They show up to support direct actions. They show up to testify at hearings. They show up to write letters and make phone calls and do that kind of stuff. They show up on social media, but they also show up with ideas of things to do.”