22 October 2024 – Reposted from StopCopNation.com
This toolkit is a resource guide for local formations organizing actions and campaigns to stop the construction of cop cities. The toolkit is a living document, so check back regularly for more updates and resources.
Site-Specific Guidance & Asks for Formations Participating in O22 National Day of Action
On October 22nd, the National Day Against Police Brutality, cities across the country will be executing direct actions in solidarity with the national mobilization call to Stop Cop Nation. This may look like hosting a low-stakes watch party for a virtual screening of the “Riotsville, U.S.A.” documentary to help build your base, or a more audacious route of screening the documentary yourself by projecting it onto the side of your local cop city or proposed cop city site. You may know of a council meeting scheduled for that day, and may be confident in your community’s ability to disrupt the proceedings from going forward via the guerrilla bird-dogging of public officials during session or by making a private meeting public information. It could be that your local Fraternal Order of Police is the biggest lobbyist in favor of a cop city, and you know bringing a rally or march to their doors will invite a kind of visibility that makes their work in the shadows obsolete.
This moment requires decisive and strategic action. Whatever the tactic and whatever the location, make sure you do your own research to isolate the decision-makers who will become targets for your local cop city site, critically assess how you can materially disrupt business as usual, and power map the resources and social power of relevant entities local to you, including the power of your own formation. The time to start resisting the local construction of these facilities, and the expansion of the police state nationally, is now.
In the spirit of Umoja and brandishing the might of our collective power, each city and/or site should ensure they take a picture during their respective action holding up a sign depicting the following:
1. the number “1,174” to commemorate each police killing to date this year in 2024 and,
2. the hashtag #stopcopnation.
Invite @stopcopnation to collaborate on your Instagram post or submit your photos and videos to our collective media archive at stopcopnation.com/. Use the map function on the website to check for direct actions nearby your locale or to add your own. If there are no actions in your area and you do not have the ability to pull an action together, consider joining Hip Hop Caucus’s Panel on October 22nd at 8pm ET at https://hiphopcaucus.org/story/national-stop-police-brutality-day-stop-cop-nation-october-22-2024/. If you are interested in learning more about the Stop Cop Nation campaign, we encourage everyone to fill out this jot form.
O22 Promotion Toolkit
Instagram graphic template – please create a copy before filling in the details for your local action
Printable flyer template – please create a copy before filling in the details for your local action
How to Add the @StopCopNation Account to Your Instagram Post:
1. Create your draft as usual and navigate to the final page before sharing.
2. Under the caption, click on “Tag People.”
3. Click on “Invite Collaborators.”
4. Search for the StopCopNation account (you must be following the account to add us) and any other accounts you want to invite as collaborators (i.e. local organizations, StopCopCity main, etc.).
5. Click “Done” to save your changes, and then click “Share”!
Defend the Atlanta Forest Media Kit
Ruckus Society Checklist for Effective Direct Action Media
What is Direct Action?
You’ve likely seen or heard of direct action at some point. Mass marches, rallies, banner drops, and meeting takeovers are all examples of direct action. But what is direct action and why do we use it?
Let’s start with a definition of direct action from The BlackOUT Collective:
Direct action as a tactic used to make an immediate intervention that stops business as usual. The purpose is to cause a crisis of conscience for the public, and a crisis for the state, the elite, and/or corporations. It is transformational in nature for those using the tactic, and aims to transform the practitioner, material conditions, target, and the relationship of the oppressed to power.
So we use direct action to amplify our demands, pressure decision makers, raise awareness around our issues, defend our communities, bring more people into our movements, and assert our visions for the world that we want to live in, among other things. Or, as Bayard Rustin put it, “The only weapon we have is our bodies, and we need to tuck them in places so the wheels don’t turn.”
Tips for Attending an Action
Here are some quick tips on what to bring and how to keep yourself and your comrades as safe as possible when attending an action:
- Go with a crew of people (or even one person!) you trust.
- Tell someone you trust where you will be and how long you expect to be out.
- Wear clothing and shoes that you can easily move around in.
- Bring the necessities! — Wear a face mask and any other protective equipment for COVID-19. Pack water, an extra mask, gloves, hand sanitizer, an ID, and any other necessities in a fanny pack or light backpack. (Remember that what you bring, you have to carry!)
- Don’t bring unnecessary technology.
- Have an exit plan. — Decide with your crew when you will leave and how (Where will you all meet before leaving? How will you get home?) before the action begins.
- Memorize 1-2 numbers of emergency contacts. — You never know when you may be separated from your group and without your phone.
- Keep an eye on your crew members and trust your gut! — If it doesn’t feel right, it likely isn’t.
Helpful Resources
Action Toolkits
Ruckus Society Direct Action Toolkits
Movement for Black Lives: I’m Going to Hit the Streets Toolkit
US Campaign for Palestinian Rights Action Event Disruption Organizing Toolkit
Digital Security
Surveillance Self-Defense Guide
Art and Visuals
Ruckus Society Creative Direct Action Visuals Guide
Crimethinc’s Field Guide to Wheatpasting