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Will the Coronavirus Crush the Resistance?
The activists popped into frame a few at a time, the shadowy rectangles of the videoconferencing app Zoom opening grainy windows into their kitchens, bedrooms and livelihoods. A chat icon at the bottom of the screen glowed orange as they said hello.
Held on a recent Tuesday evening, the Zoom call resembled the teleconferences many Americans have grown accustomed to during the pandemic. But at the second online monthly meeting of a New York hub of the Sunrise Movement, a phalanx of young climate activists, something more consequential was on the agenda.
“This is a really scary and kind of catastrophic moment for many people, in this country and within our hub,” said Berenice Tompkins, who hosted the call. “Part of the intention of this meeting is for all of us to be here for each other and talk about some of the ways we can support each other. And in addition to that, we’re going to be talking about power-building.”
Ms. Tompkins is part of a vanguard of grass-roots activists who have boiled onto the streets, organized locally and put pressure on elected officials in the Trump era, reviving a tradition of widespread civic participation that lay dormant on the political left for decades.
This “resistance” of volunteer organizers, many of them new to activism, is ideologically and geographically diverse, spanning progressives, moderate liberals and even some anti-Trump conservatives. And while the resistance includes youth-led groups like Sunrise, many of its most committed and longest-active organizers are middle-aged or older. Many, also, are women.
Spurred by the shock of Donald Trump’s election, thousands of these citizens formed local groups around the country dedicated to resisting his agenda. Drawing on grass-roots tactics used by the Tea Party, they rallied in defense of the Affordable Care Act, flooded congressional phone lines and picketed Republican lawmakers. They also registered voters and canvassed for Democratic candidates, helping the party to retake the House of Representatives in the 2018 midterm elections. Much of this standing activist army has remained engaged since, eager to tap those same tactics to defeat Mr. Trump this November.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/21/opinion/coronavirus-trump-protests.html