Sustainable Activism: A Discussion

Sundays in North Fresno’s Riverpark are typically filled with shoppers bustling about, filling bags and stomachs at establishments, some local, most not. If this was your intention on January 12, 2025, your capitalist dream routine may have been disrupted, demanding that you wake up to the reality of thousands in our central valley.

The “Don’t Bite the Hands that Feed You” gathering was well documented by attendees and circulated widely on multiple social media platforms. There were upward of 2,000 community members at its height. The bright cheers and calls for reform and solidarity, consistent honking of car and toy horns, y las canciones populares que juegue la banda y mas tarde el DJ, echoed in ears well after departing the scene. 

A week after the monumental demonstration, a protest flyer circulated on social media announcing another protest for Monday, January 20th. Since 1986, the third Monday of January is reserved for the celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. This year it coincided with inauguration day, which, since 1986, has been the third Monday of January and has only happened one other time since. This has been an occurrence that won’t happen again until 2053 and seems particularly ironic considering many of the values of the new president Donald Trump and the late Dr. King.

The January 20th turnout was a fraction of the people that showed up the week before. Attendees reasoned that working class people don’t have the day off, folx are celebrating MLK day, the cold deterred people, there wasn’t enough notice, among other reasons. 

Whatever the case this is not an unusual trend, according to a member of Fresno4Palestine, a local organization that consistently shows up throughout the valley, and especially Riverpark, to protest the Genocide of Palestinian People and the occupation of their land. 

“It’s hit or miss with these things. One week there will be ten people and the next over a hundred. You just never know.”

This brought up the discussion of sustainable activism. What are the needs of community members that will help them and encourage them to actively participate regularly so that we can create something consistent and sustainable to create real change.

Social media activism is a way that many people have consistently shown up. This has been and will continue to be an important tool for access to information, sharing ideas, spreading awareness, and more.

We believe that people WANT to participate more and for various, valid reasons do not. In order to meet our community where they are at we need to know–what are barriers that you experience that keep you from participating in activism outside of social media? 

Is this something you have thought about? If not here are some examples of barriers:

• Information Access (You just don’t know where/when to show up)
• Fear
• Feeling like it isn’t worth it
• Physical ability limitations
• Mental Health
• Priorities
• Immuno-compromised and limiting exposure
• COVID
• Time/Schedule
• Transportation

These are just to name a few. I challenge folx to reflect on this and after, fill out this form so we can get a better picture of how we and other organizations can come together to help our community help each other.

We will help you along the way how we can and connect with other organizations to do the same. One way uSpark is doing this is through a series of informational articles, resource guides, and events called FresKNOW Your Rights.

So far we have done a deep dive on the Red Card including handing out over 10,000 red cards to community members. We have also laid the foundation for a Resource Guide with the intention that it be a collaborative effort by the community to centralize the influx of information that has become challenging to sift through and prioritize. 

See the guide here. If you would like to contribute to the guide, fill out this form.

“Contrary to common misconceptions about #KingianNonviolence, it is not passive and it does not cower before injustice and abusive power… I believe that, if a critical mass of people join together to move beyond quoting my father to embracing his teachings and comprehensive non-violent strategy, we can turn our world right side up. We can cultivate and protect freedom, justice, and democracy.” - Bernice King.