Tactics of the sunrise movement

1. Making noise

One of the tactics most used by the Sunrise Movement are different forms of making noise, meaning they would shout, sing, chant, and make noises with anything they had. They have used this tactic in different occasions such as in their Wide Awake Campaigns and for Juneteenth 2020 - Wake Up, Mitch! Justice for Breonna Taylor.

Juneteenth 2020 - Wakeup, Mitch! Justice for Breonna Taylor – On the Juneteenth of 2020, a group of protestors from Sunrise Movement stood outside of Mitch McConnell's house, who is the Senator of Kentucky, in order to demand justice for Breonna Taylor and for McConnell to finally listen to the people of Kentucky. The Sunrise protestors had sang, shouted, and banged pots and pans to make as much noise as possible as they stood outside his home with signs reading "No Justice No Sleep", "Wake Up Mitch", and "Rise Up."

2. Strikes AND PROTESTS

By exercising their principle of engaging with local communities, the Sunrise Movement has managed to execute effective strikes and protests that put pressure on corrupt politicians by bringing together people with a common goal of expelling corruption and bringing about climate justice. These include:

Global Climate Strikes – Strikes composed of over a million strikers outside of the offices of politicians. They demand politicians to stop selling out the future of young generations. They aim towards achieving climate justice and usher in the Green New Deal.

The Nationwide #HeatWeek Protests – Youth from all over the nation gather and protest politicians that were influenced by the fossil fuel industry, such as Governor Cuomo who accepted over $450,000 from fossil fuel billionaires.

Sunrise Hubs – Inspired by a pre-civil war abolitionist movement, the Wide Awakes, this modern movement consists of independent centers, located nationwide, that combine and form a network that nurtures and grows the future envisioned by the Sunrise Movement by protesting the suppression of government enforcement, the crumbling school system, and the deteriorating democracy in the nation.

These are only a few to name. But there are still others developing and growing with similar grievances.

3. Sit-ins

Green New Deal Sit-In – On November 13, 2018, a sit-in was conducted at the office of congresswoman, Nancy Pelosi, to support the demand of the Green New Deal. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC), who was also in favor of the Green New Deal, accompanied the youth from the Sunrise Movement to execute the sit-in. The sit-in and AOC's support in the Green New Deal allowed the media to gain more awareness surrounding this proposal.

Climate Debate Sit-In – On June 2019, those who are in support of the Sunrise Movement conducted a sit-in for three days at the Democratic National Headquarters, for the Democratic National Committee to have a Climate Debate. They refused to leave until their demand have been made.

Picture via: https://www.sunrisemovement.org/actions/climate-debate/

4. Influencing President Biden's Climate Policy

Educating about and recognizing the climate crisis was not enough. Powerful, influential action was needed, and, therefore, the Sunrise Movement outlined a plan to reestablish the Presidential cabinet with the appropriate officials that would champion policymaking and change that would help bring about the goals of the Green New Deal. Teams of the Sunrise Movement have communicated with the chosen officials to ensure that their goals align. By revamping Biden's cabinet with these new officials, they can begin to influence policy in the right direction for our better future. The entire mandate and potential appointees can be found here.

5. The Green New deal

The Sunrise Movement, working with Justice Democrats, is working resolutely to support the Green New Deal. The Green New Deal is, generally, a plan to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2030, realize economic recovery, and invest in low-income communities and communities of color to eradicate poverty.

A timeline of the Sunrise Movement's support of the Green New Deal:

2017: Began its urgent support by outwardly recognizing the necessity of implementing the Green New Deal as a part of its mission.

2018: Informed the public, for the 2018 Midterm Elections, to elect government officials that also believe in the urgency of implementing the Green New Deal.

2019: Campaigned and educated the entire country of our climate crisis to induce the same sense of urgency and importance of the crisis.

2020: Established government power by bringing suitable officials into government positions through the 2020 General Election.

2021: Organize a mass noncooperation strike on businesses to demand the strict implementation of the Green New Deal.

Recent Successes:

Ilhan Omar and Ed Marky both won Congressional seats through the 2020 Election.

Ilhan Omar and Ed Markey both obtained Congressional seats by winning the 2020 Election.

Now in Congress, there are many representatives who are working for the Green New Deal:

6. WIDe Awake Campaign

The Wide Awake Campaign organized by teams of the Sunrise Movement aims to demand political action from politicians by literally keeping them awake during the night. Teams have organized nights where they stand outside the homes' of politicians and make loud noises to symbolize their urgent call to action. These tactics have been used almost a century ago and have proven effective.

Just in the past few years, the Sunrise Movement has organized a few Wide Awake demonstrations:

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