Nothing to lose but our chains, with Biola Jeje
Donald Trump’s inauguration was attended by low crowds; they got some help from protesters, who, as we discussed with Legba Carrefour, used direct action techniques to successfully blockade several entrances to the event. Biola Jeje of BYP 100 was one of them, and she discusses what it takes for people to get over their fears and take the risk of direct action.
I think the fear is that you are going to put yourself out there and then whatever happens you are then on your own. The state is a very isolating place. We need to figure out how to more broadly move past that, to really create the sense of ‘We are actually the majority here and we are in solidarity with each other and we will be there to support each other as we take these braver steps to create a society where our values are reflected.’ I think especially with the mainstream media which still benefits from the system and really isn’t, for the most part, there to reflect the facts that more people than not agree with us. Building that culture and community and helping it to proliferate is going to super important.
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Interviews for Resistance is a syndicated series of interviews with organizers, agitators and troublemakers, available twice weekly as text and podcast. Previous interviews here.