Frequently Asked
Questions
Who is SURJ?
Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) is the largest organization in the country that explicitly organizes white communities for justice. Instead of choosing racism, silence, or complicity, we help white communities choose justice. We have thousands of national members and 150+ chapters across the US and Canada and have been a part of campaigns to stop Trump in GA in 2020, strike down an abortion ban in KY, and mobilize millions of white people into the streets for racial justice. Learn more at SURJ.org.
Why White People?
Racism paved the way to Trump’s victory. White people, ruthlessly organized for decades by the far right, overwhelmingly voted for an authoritarian agenda that targets people of color and trans people– and that will be horrible for everyone except those at the very top.
What is the Gear Up Training and Action Program?
Overview - Gear Up is a 10-week training and action program coordinated by SURJ National to provide participants with a powerful opportunity to build skills, community and power in the lead up to 2025 and a second Trump administration.
How does it work?
Host or join a circle - We know that moving collectively will be the only way we can wield enough power to resist and build beyond Trump’s agenda, so for this program, we’re asking people to “circle up” or join with others to get trained and take action together. Local circles meet in person in groups of ~3-12 people, and the National Circle meets exclusively online.
Get trained - Once you join a circle, you’ll join bi-weekly online TRAINING CALL where we’ll learn from experts about things like: the rise of the far right in the US, white people’s role in social justice work, and how global social movements have resisted under authoritarian regimes. On the calls, we’ll also get trained in important skills for the years ahead: how to talk to other white people about racism, recruiting people into the work, planning public actions.
Meet in community - On the off-weeks from the online TRAINING CALLS, local circles will host a bi-weekly in-person circle MEETING where you’ll have the chance to connect, unpack what you learned on the previous call, practice new skills, and plan for the upcoming actions we’ll take as a full program. If you’re a member of the national online circle you’ll do something similar, just with one big group online.
Take action - At the end of the program, all participants will take collective action with their circles across the country to help shape the national narrative and build our power.
Come as you are - No previous experience needed, just a desire and commitment to show up and fight for change in this moment and about 3 hours/week. This program is highly structured and supportive, so you’ll be provided with guides, materials, resources and everything you need to succeed.
If you haven't signed up yet, you can go ahead and sign up here!
What are circles? What are the different ways I can participate in Gear Up?
Local Circles - Local Circles are relatively small groups of people (usually ~3-12 people) who join together to do this program! Local Circles are convened by a “Host” who receives support from a trained volunteer coach from SURJ National in addition to receiving materials for meeting content and facilitation. We only have capacity to support 200 circles with coaches in this round of the programming, so once we hit capacity, we’ll invite you to join via one of the options below.
National Online Circle - The National Online Circle is for individuals who aren’t easily able to host or join a local in-person circle. The National Online Circle meets via zoom biweekly on Wednesdays from 5:00 - 6:30 PM PT / 8:00 - 9:30 PM ET.
DIY Circles - These Circles work the same way as the “Local Circles” above, but will not receive a volunteer coach from SURJ national to support the “Host” during the program. These circles DO receive support in the form of online resources including meeting materials, action guides, and infrastructure to ask questions via slack (our online communication platform). This is a good option for people experienced convening and facilitating small groups.
What is the time commitment for the program?
We expect the time commitment to average around 3 hours/week for most participants, and a little more than that for the folks that anchor or “host” their local Circle.
What are the key dates and times for the program?
You can find the schedule on the home page of this program guide.
What types of support will I get as a Host OR Circle member?
Come as you are! You don’t need any prior experience to Host or join a Circle. Just a desire and commitment to show up and fight for change in this moment. All Circle members (hosts & circle members) will have a Program Guide that provides you with everything you need: topic overviews, optional readings, meeting agendas/materials, planning guides and more! Additionally, most Circle Hosts will be paired with a coach who will guide you on your journey and provide support.
What is the relationship between Circles and SURJ Chapters?
SURJ has a network of Chapters around the country that build power locally, execute local campaigns (often in coordination with partners) while participating in national campaigns, programs and initiatives at times.
Circles are a separate structure from chapters designed to support folks newer to organizing to plug in and take action in this moment.
Where circles and chapters overlap, we will be taking steps to connect these two structures so there can be coordination as it makes sense.
Chapters are also welcome and encouraged to participate directly in the Circle program if it makes sense for your context and strategy as a means of skilling up Chapter members and absorbing new people.
Can I just sign up for the Gear Up National Training Calls and not do a circle?
While it will be possible to join the Gear Up National Training Call Series in a one-off way, we highly encourage people to commit to the full program by either hosting/joining a local circle or the national online circle. Either way, you can go ahead and sign up here to get the National Training Call links.
Will calls be recorded?
Yes! All Gear Up National Training Calls will be recorded and uploaded into the Program Guide by the following day for folks to watch on their own time. They will be available under each week’s module on the National Training Calls page.
What if I can’t make every meeting?
We understand that this is a reasonably big time commitment and you have a lot of work and life things to juggle. We’d love for you to be as present in the program as possible AND understand if you need to miss some of the National Training Calls and Circle Meetings. We’d rather have you with us partially than not at all, but again, want to emphasize that we’ll be able to do more powerful things when we commit and prioritize participating in this program together. So please do your best to be with us when you can!
Does my Local Circle have to meet on Wednesdays from 5:00 - 6:30 PM PT / 8:00 - 9:30 PM ET? Can we meet at a time that works better for us?
We would love for as many Circles to join us live on Wednesdays for the National Training Calls as possible, but understand that this might not work logistically for your Circle. The National Training Calls will be recorded and available the morning following each call. You are welcome to meet whenever is most convenient for your Circle and watch the recording rather than watching it live.
Should Local Circles gather in-person to watch the biweekly program-wide National Training Calls together?
We recommend gathering to watch the program-wide National Training Calls together as a Circle when possible, but you can do whatever works best for your group. We recommend gathering so you can build deeper relationships and have more time to process the content informally as a group.
What types of actions will we be taking?
We are currently coordinating with national movement partners to determine which actions will be most strategic for us to take and will keep Circle participants up-to-date as we gain clarity. In general, we’re planning to have a menu of actions and tactics that Circles will be able to select based on what makes sense for their context (locationally, capacity/experience-wise, etc.)
Can my Local Circles just meet online?
We STRONGLY encourage local circles to meet in-person – as we believe being in in-person formation will set us up to build the most power for our current era and organizing conditions.
I’m willing to Host a Local Circle, but I don’t know anyone to invite to join my Circle. Will SURJ National recruit people to join my Circle?
In general, we’ll be providing support for Local Circle Hosts to use their existing relationships and network to recruit people into their Circle. SURJ National will never invite people to join your Circle without your permission to do so. In scenarios where we know there are people who want to join a Circle in your area (who aren’t willing to host) we’ll be in touch for you to decide where you’d like to absorb them.
Can people form/join a Circle halfway through the program?
Yes. People can form a circle at any time. However, late joiners won’t be fully supported. They will be given the program guide and invited to catch up on their own time while joining in where we are at the present.
Does SURJ have all the answers and a perfect strategy and program design?
No! We certainly do not! We are normal humans just like you trying our best. We’re launching this large and complex program quickly to meet this post-election moment, and anticipate that there may be a few logistical and programmatic bumps along the way. Thank you for bearing with us as we work to stand up this program as quickly and intentionally as we’re able. We’re hoping to launch future iterations of this program if it goes well, and are considering this an organizing experiment. We’re excited to hear your feedback and input to help us build the strongest program possible.
Our circle is interested in staring a SURJ Chapter
We’re thrilled that the Gear Up program has spurred interest in staying in formation and potentially starting a SURJ Chapter. At this time, we are not onboarding new chapters. SURJ’s National Organizing Department will be engaging in a much-needed planning process over the coming months to figure out how we balance immediate defensive work with longer-term base building that moves us toward’s SURJ’s vision. We will share next steps regarding chapter formation and support in Spring ’25. Until then, we will be offering ongoing support for circles to continue organizing.