•Defer to the wisdom of long time activists. Listen to them. There are many forms of protest, and not all of them are loud and bombastic. Not all people can protest on the streets. But there's room for all forms of resistance.
•Protest is disruptive. It doesn't work if you aren't stirring the pot. People will say, "Why are you doing this? It's just going to make 'ordinary people' mad." Explain that their inconvenience is nothing compared to the threats or violence others are facing.
2/2 One of the hardest steps is walking outside and figuring out what to do. Just pick who you want to help - immigrants, BIPOC, LGBTQ+, abuse survivors and find a local office and stop by to see what they need. If it doesn’t give for you, try another.
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•follow the news, but not pathologically
•pick one or two causes and focus your energy there. Fires are everywhere, but you can't fight them all at once.
https://wagingnonviolence.org/
Read it more than once. It levels harsh and valid criticism at the white moderate which people need to hear. https://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.html
In many cases they don’t need skills. Just bodies. Or maybe picking up unskilled work frees up a skilled one for other tasks.
Virginia has our state / local elections this year. We have flipped important offices in response to the presidential election. We can do it again.