NONVIOLENCE TOOLKIT

Allies

Almost anyone can be an ally or a potential ally 

Building the beloved community is the goal of nonviolent social change. While direct action is often a catalyst to focus and resolve injustice, the end result is a broad community of people who respect each other, listen and learn from each other, and come together to lend support. Allies come in many forms, from sympathetic neighbors, supportive city council, state or federal representatives, to friends joining in a march or serving as legal observers. Everyone can learn to listen, support or actively contribute.


EDUCATE THE COMMUNITY

  1. Know your local press contacts, bloggers, and social media influencers who can give an honest voice to your struggle

  2. Find forums like libraries, schools, and public town gathering places to have events and share new insights, new alliances, or rallies.

  3. Don’t forget to form bonds of friendship through celebrations, picnics, or religious communities. Plan events that both educate and create common experiences.

  4. Find new allies at events or online by identifying common ground.

NEGOTIATION/DIRECT ACTION

  1. Cultivate support networks, from elected officials to local civic, religious, educational and community groups. These groups can help reinforce your message. They can also interface with hostile factions in the police or government in the midst of an action, to help bring light to the injustice.

  2. Supporters behind the scenes can raise bail money, call family, or feed pets for someone stuck in jail. If you are joining a march or plan to go to jail, make sure that someone not going knows your plans.

  3. Legal observers. Connect with organizations like the ACLU, or sympathetic legal communities who will give free services and observe.

WARNING SIGNS

The reality of disrupters, provocateurs, and infiltrators is a hard truth.  How to deal with them is covered in RESPONDING TO VIOLENCE FROM WITHIN OUR RANKS


THE SPECTRUM OF ALLIES

The Spectrum of Allies is an excellent tool created by Martin Oppenheimer and George Lakey to represents the five levels of agreement by the general population to your position.  We have added the “WHAT TO DO” suggestions.

centers-applied-nonviolence-toolkit-allies-graph.png

Most people are either passive allies, neutrals or passive opponents. Most successful campaigns rarely change the minds of your active opponents but do shift popular support away from them to you.  And, you never know, you just might reach the heart of a George Wallace, as did John Lewis. READ MORE

WINNING OVER ALLIES is a step-by-step process. Your goal is to move each group closer to your position: to move passive allies, neutrals and passive opponents in your direction. If it sometimes feels as if only a small group is really committed and doing all the work, take heart in knowing that you don’t have to convince everyone to become active allies to achieve your goals.

The Spectrum of Allies is also a useful tool at meetings to assess where people and groups are on an issue. There’s more about the Spectrum of Allies on the Training for Change website. See also, Oppenheimer and Lakey, A Manual for Direct Action and Lakey, How We Win.