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.

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. 

Protect & Resist: The First 100 Days is a program designed to bring people together for action, education, and community-building. The program offers weekly Zoom calls on Wednesdays from 8-9 PM ET, including:

• • • • Political education webinars to deepen our analysis and strategy

      • Action hours where we take real-time collective action

      • Circle support calls to build relationships and share updates (please send 1 circle member to each of these)

You can participate individually by attending the webinars and action hours, or as a Circle (3-10 people) by:

1. Attending the webinar series, action hours, and Circle support calls, and recruiting new people to attend these calls. 

2. Continuing to organize for the Pledge to Protect and Resist by asking individuals, and community leaders and Organizations to sign.

3. Mobilizing for a May 1st Day of Action in your community

For more information about Circles, visit this page. You can also read the Circle Organizing Guide for further guidance on how to participate, plan Circle meetings, and accomplish our goals.

Rising Majority—a coalition including groups like Movement for Black Lives, United We Dream, and Right to the City—has co-sponsored the Pledge. 

Additionally, we’re partnering with other organizations to take action during our bi-monthly Action Hour. We have already taken part in actions organized by 10+ movement partners, including Indivisible, Detention Watch Network, National Campaign for Justice, Jewish Voice for Peace, Native Organizers Alliance Action Fund, and more! You can check out information from these calls and take action on your own time here!

Yes, we’d like to make sure that we are aware of both continuing Circles and new Circles forming during Protect & Resist. Please ensure that only one Host from each Circle fills out this form.

It’s also important for us and you to track who all of your circle participants are, and we want to make sure your new and existing participants are connected to SURJ. Circle hosts: Can you have your circle participants sign up here?

There are multiple Mobilize event pages for Protect & Resist programming: one for people participating in a Circle, which includes the Circle Support Calls, one for those not participating in a Circle, which only includes the Webinars and Action Hours, and one just for the Action Hours. This setup ensures that everyone can sign up for all calls that are most relevant to them in one place. 

If you're participating in a Circle, use the event page with the Circle Support Calls. Don’t worry if you’ve signed up with both event pages—links from either page will direct you to the same webinars and action hours.

While National Calls happen weekly, attendance for webinars and Action Hours is encouraged but not required for Circle members. The only required call is the Circle Support Call, where at least one member from your Circle must attend to receive key updates and stay on track with our goals.

To plan your Circle meetings:

• Check out the calendar of events.

• Use this template calendar to help with scheduling.

• If possible, consider meeting right before or after a National Call to maximize your time together

• If you need additional time for a dedicated Circle meeting, you may choose to skip one of the two monthly Action Hours.

Find what works best for your Circle’s needs!

Yes! While Action Hours are not recorded, you and your Circle can complete the activities on your own time if you’re unable to attend live. Find the instructions and resources you need here: https://linktr.ee/surjactionhour. 

Yes! In places where both Chapters and Circles exist, we encourage collaboration, as they can complement each other in powerful ways. Chapters provide experience and local knowledge, while Circles expand capacity and leadership. The key is balancing collaboration with autonomy. The spirit of this program is to empower more people to take action, develop their skills, and step into their identities as organizers, so we want circles to feel empowered to take initiative and make decisions!

Ways to Collaborate:

• Chapters host meetings where all local Circle members and general Chapter members can gather to watch the remaining webinars together.

• Circles collaborate with Chapters to create a plan for engaging people who participated in the February Day of Action.

• Chapters and Circles coordinate efforts to publicize the May 1st Action.

• Chapters dedicate part of their meeting time for members to send texts, emails, and make calls to recruit pledge signers, working in coordination with Circles.

• Chapters invite Circles to present at Chapter meetings to share updates on their Protect & Resist plans, and recruit new members. In turn, Chapters can present their current local work and invite Circle members to get involved.

Chapters are welcome and encouraged to participate directly in the Circle program as a way to skill up members and bring in new people. 

Looking for a local Chapter? Find one here!

We’re thrilled that organizing in local circles 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.

It depends—there’s no one-size-fits-all answer. With so many protests and direct actions happening, you might feel like you should show up for everything. But our strength comes from intentional, strategic organizing.

Right now, organizing for the pledge is our unique and powerful contribution. It’s how we bring large numbers of everyday people into formation with us. No single protest will make or break our movement—but growing our numbers, building structure, and sustaining momentum will.

Before attending a local action, ask yourself:

• Why do I feel like I should go?

• Will this help strengthen relationships in my Circle or develop key skills?

• Will it connect us with new people to invite into our Circle?

• Will it add to or take away from our ability to organize powerfully for the Pledge?

Prioritize actions that strengthen our movement and align with our long-term goal!

• Bring a buddy – Stay connected and look out for each other.

• Follow the lead of the primary organizers – Respect their strategy and guidance.

• Align messaging – Ask organizers about the primary message and use it to make posters! Having similar phrases on our signs is an important way to show discipline and organization, plus to make it clear to the public what you're actually protesting for or against!

• Engage with others – Ask why they attended, share your reasons, and use the opportunity to set up a 1:1, invite them to a Circle meeting, or ask them to sign the pledge.

• Stay de-escalated – Don't engage with any agitators or escalate. It can be frustrating and infuriating to see protestors on the other side. They want to get under our skin. As white people in particular, it's our role to be disciplined, stay de-escalated, and if we're feeling comfortable - work to de-escalate others around us. Often it's our own people who get riled up the most!

At this time, we cannot officially endorse or lend the SURJ name to events or programs we are not directly involved in. 

We ask that Circles be intentional when presenting and publicizing actions, clearly stating that the event is locally organized and not an official SURJ-sponsored event. Please avoid using the SURJ name or logo in your materials. Chapters, which have their own logos, typically differentiate from SURJ National in this way. Nationally coordinated events like the May 1st Day of Action and Gear Up Day of Action are exceptions, as we are directly involved in the planning, messaging, and fully aware of those events.

• Guides & Resources – Find organizing materials like the Circle Organizing Guide and Pledge Guide here.

• Monthly Circle Support Calls – Coaches will facilitate breakout discussions during the Monthly Circle Support Calls, allowing participants to learn from each other. 

• Coaching Directory – Access to a list of available coaches for ad-hoc support via Signal, 1:1 calls, or office hours (link will be sent to Hosts via email and Slack). If you have not received the link to the directory and would like access, reach out to gearup@surjaction.org.

• Continued 1:1 Coaching Support – Some Gear Up coaches may continue supporting their assigned circles, but this is optional. If you had a coach in Gear Up and haven't discussed this, reach out to see what support they can offer! If you did not have a coach assigned to you in Gear Up, the Coaching Directory is your opportunity to connect with one. 

• Slack Channels – Connect with other participants, ask questions, and receive updates:

  • #protectandresist_all – General program questions, updates, and sharing successes.

  • #protectandresist_hosts – Host-specific support and updates (staff will add you within a week of signing the Host commitment form).

If you’ve never made an account for SURJ National’s Slack for the first time, click here to make an account. 

Reimbursements of up to $50 per circle are available:

Please use this on an “as-needed” basis. If your circle needs it, please use it! 

If your circle is able to afford costs independently, we appreciate you investing in our movement.If you are seeking reimbursement and haven’t yet, please fill out this one-time form. Next - please fill out this Google Form with your receipts, and the totals needed to be reimbursed for. If needed you can email the receipts to afrench@surjaction.org or request a check be mailed.