'Beyond the March' training urges strategic use of nonviolent tactics and safety planning

Beth, the session presenter, led a League training titled “Beyond the March, Other Ways to Resist,” offering Colorado activists a tactical primer on nonviolent direct action and strategic campaign design. The hourlong session reviewed categories of action, practical considerations, safety protocols and resources for further study.

The presenter said movements should “think strategically about which tactic fits which moment,” citing Gene Sharp’s taxonomy of nonviolent methods and urging groups to choose a limited set of complementary tactics rather than trying to do everything at once. She defined key tactic types — economic pressure (boycotts, divestment), labor actions (strikes, sick‑outs), creative disruption (banner drops, parody), sit‑ins and occupations, constituency pressure (office visits, bird‑dogging), and broader non‑cooperation (sanctuary practices, tax resistance) — and gave historical examples for each.

On boycotts, the presenter described the demand structure needed for effectiveness — a clear, achievable ask, publicity and solidarity with workers — and noted the League does not currently have a position authorizing league‑wide demands of corporations, so such actions fall to individuals or non‑league coalitions. On strikes she emphasized that success requires organizing capacity and strike funds and warned that nonunion actions can lead to firings.

The session covered safety and planning: have legal observers, know Colorado use‑of‑force and arrest laws, plan roles (legal observers, spokespeople, support teams) and secure digital communications (consider encrypted apps such as Signal). The presenter also cautioned about morale and burnout, calling emotional sustainability "the movement’s biggest enemy."

Participants worked through scenarios. For a hypothetical city council vote to close a community center, attendees suggested flooding a town hall, letters to the editor, social media outreach and building allies before escalating to more disruptive tactics. For repeated employer wage theft, the group discussed boycotts, public protests in solidarity with workers and possible sit‑ins at employer sites. When a legislator avoids town halls, the recommended options included bird‑dogging at campaign events and holding alternative public forums.

Attendees raised questions about whether the League or its affiliates would endorse specific national actions; the presenter said such decisions require local context and should be evaluated case‑by‑case. A question about the May 1 national action elicited a discussion that the day had been described to attendees as a coordinated boycott/worker action; specific demands and whether local Leagues would formally support it were described as “not specified” and left to local discretion.

The presenter listed resources for continued learning — including Gene Sharp’s work, Beautiful Trouble and Bill Moyer’s Movement Action Plan — and said slides and a recording would be shared with registrants. She announced an April 15 session on outreach to disengaged and underrepresented voters with partners including Mi Familia Vota and the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition.

The session mixed practical advice with repeated reminders to match tactics to goals and to plan around legal and safety implications. The presenter said Colorado organizers should weigh risks, identify clear wins and build sustained campaigns rather than relying on one‑off disruptive events. The training closed with a reminder that “democracy is not a spectator sport.”