Activism is the pursuit of change. For most of us, activism is specifically the pursuit of social, economic, political, or environmental reform. Activists fight for civil rights, for justice, for freedom. Activist movements are found in every country in the world and often focus on human rights. Throughout history, human rights activists have resisted slavery, oppression, patriarchy, and segregation. As long as there is injustice, there will be activists.
What are the different forms of human rights activism?
Activism is a grouping of efforts. The vast majority of the time, successful activism movements deploy multiple forms at once. Here are five examples:
Marches and protests
Marches and protests (which can include sit-ins, lie-ins, vigils, and concerts) raise awareness of issues, demand specific actions, and/or mark important anniversaries. Many people attend marches and protests as participants, but safe protests depend on organized, responsible leaders and team members. Supportive roles include marshals, who often wear brightly-colored vests. Marshals follow instructions from organizers, run messages, and help keep the demonstration safe and orderly. Organized events also need medics, who typically volunteer with basic first aid training and supplies to address dehydration, hot or cold exposure, injuries, and chemical agent attacks. Important supportive roles are generally filled by people with more experience in activism or firm commitments to the cause.
Boycotts
If a company engages in harmful or unethical practices, activist groups may call for a boycott of the company’s goods and/or services. In 1957, Johannesburg, South Africa increased its bus fare. In protest, people refused to ride the bus and chose to walk up to 20 miles a day. Around 60,000 people participated in the boycott over the next six months. Finally, the local Chamber of Commerce agreed to subsidize the bus fares. At their best, boycotts impact a business’ finances so significantly, the business is forced to change. Other times, a boycott serves to raise public awareness and encourage further action.
Petitions and letter-writing
Petitions and letter-writing campaigns hold politicians and companies accountable, call for specific actions, and support community outreach. Vote Forward, a nonprofit in the United States, runs letter-writing campaigns that encourage unregistered voters to sign up and vote. Using a nonpartisan approach, volunteers write letters by hand on a letter template. In 2020, more than 200,000 letter writers participated and sent out more than 17 million letters. Vote Forward estimates their Big Send campaign led to a gain of 126,00 votes. On an international scale, Amnesty International, which is based in the UK, operates a “Write For Rights” campaign, which provides participants with a letter-writing kit and other resources. The campaign focuses on political prisoners, victims of torture, and others experiencing injustice.
Strikes
Strikes have always been an important – and often risky – type of activism. In 1936, automaker GM made a fortune by paying low wages and demanding dangerously fast assembly lines. Just before Christmas, over 100,000 employees in Michigan sat down in their factories and refused to work. GM resisted. The company even shut off the heat and left strikers freezing. The men were only able to stay in the factories thanks to donated food, funds raised by their families, and a labor-friendly governor who refused to weaponize the National Guard against them. After 44 days, GM finally agreed to negotiate and the strikers won a huge victory. Because of the risks, strikes depend on excellent organization, communication, and outside support.
Are “social media activists” legitimate?
As social media continues to influence our society, many are unsure about its role in human rights activism. Is it “real activism” if anyone can do it from the comfort of their home? This accessibility is what makes social media such a valuable tool for human rights activism. Stating that activism is only “real” or important when it’s offline is ableist and elitist since many people – due to disabilities, their working hours, etc – are unable to engage in activities like protests. Social media can bring in huge groups of people once excluded from activism.
Its track record is another reason why social media activism counts as real activism. In 2011, activists in Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, and other Middle Eastern countries took to social media to raise awareness during the Arab Spring uprisings. Videos gained millions of views and very quickly, tweets referencing the movement swelled from 2,300 a day to 230,000. Experts concluded that social media played an essential role in raising awareness and organizing activities.
Who are the best-known human rights activists?
At any given time, there are millions of people participating in various forms of activism. Some become famous due to their significance in a movement, their organizing skills, and their ability to inspire others. Here are four examples:
Sitting Bull (1831-1890)
Sitting Bull was a Hunkpapa Lakota leader in the 19th century. During his lifetime, the USA engaged in an aggressive campaign to take Native lands and suppress Native culture. Sitting Bull was chosen as the leader of the Strong Heart Society and fought against American soldiers. Throughout his life, he defended his community and Native rights, becoming one of the most famous chiefs in the country. In 1890, the American government killed Sitting Bull, fearing that he would influence the Ghost Dance movement, a spiritual ceremony focused on a return to the days before colonialism.
Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968)
Dr. King was a pastor and the most famous leader in the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. He advocated for peaceful demonstrations and organized actions like sit-ins, bus boycotts, and marches. Voting rights and desegregation were key parts of his platform. Because of his oratory skills reflected in speeches like “I Have A Dream,” he’s still one of the most recognizable activists ever. In his day, Dr. King was very unpopular in America due to the prevalent racism in society and the threat King posed to the powerful. The FBI wiretapped his home and offices and he was frequently imprisoned. In 1968, James Earl Ray murdered King.
Dolores Huerta (1930-)
In 1962, Huerta co-founded the National Farm Workers Association with Cesar Chavez, which joined with another organization to become the United Farm Workers labor union. The organization fought for farmworker rights, which mattered to Huerta because she saw how farmworkers lived. Their wages were low, they slept on floors, and they didn’t have access to clean water, bathrooms, or work breaks. In 1956, Huerta directed the United Farm Workers national boycott during the Delano grape strike, which was driven by grassroots efforts like consumer boycotts and marches. Five years later, the strike was victorious when a collective bargaining agreement was reached. During her activist career, Huerta has earned many awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Greta Thunberg (2003-)
Proof that activists can be young, 15-year old Thunberg sat outside Swedish Parliament to protest climate change in 2018. Other students joined, and soon they organized a school climate strike called “Fridays for Future.” That same year, Thunberg addressed the United Nations Climate Change Conference. Her activism focuses on demanding immediate action from world leaders and highlighting how climate change will impact young people the most, especially those in the Global South. She’s been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019, 2020, and 2021 and is considered one of the most influential people in the world.
Human rights activists and self-care
Burnout among human rights activists is very high. Often, some of the very things they’re fighting against – racism, homophobia, sexism – taint the NGOs and nonprofits they work for. Then there’s the matter of safety, which can be nonexistent. In many parts of the world, activists face imprisonment, violence, and death for their work. Signs of burnout include frequent physical illness, exhaustion, disassociation, anxiety, depression, and hopelessness. It can be hard to find the time or energy to eat well, stay hydrated, exercise, or even sleep. The work of activism can seem meaningless, like heaving a boulder up a hill only to have it roll back down. Activists are exhausted in body, mind, and soul.
In the United States, the phrase “self-care” is everywhere these days. The most common framework is ill-equipped to handle the emotional hurricanes that activists must endure. Companies deploy “self-care” to justify the sale of expensive products and services, telling people (usually women) that caring for themselves means buying a $50 candle. Activists know more than anyone that pricey candles can’t protect them from burnout. This is why you’ll find many activists who prioritize the concept of “community care.” As Kathleen Newman-Bremang writes in “Reclaiming Audre Lorde’s Radical Self-Care” for Refinery29:
“Community care is about using our power and bandwidth to support and provide for our communities when the systems we exist in don’t. We need to ask ourselves what we can do politically, socially and in our relationships to offset the harm our governments and institutions are already doing to our communities.”
Final thoughts
No human rights activist works alone and no human rights movement is successful without a community behind it. All the forms of activism – protests, boycotts, letters, strikes, and social media campaigns – depend on groups organizing and working together. As the protest chant says: “Who takes care of us? We take care of us.”
