Direct action

Direct action is a form of protesting / civil resistance characterized by actions that place pressure on those in positions of power to respond to fulfill a set of demands; die-ins, strikes, sit-ins, blockades, vigils, boycotts, teach-ins, lobbying, etc. - George Lakey & the Global Nonviolent Action Database, adapted by Michelle Xie

"Direct action is a category of activism in which participants act directly, ignoring established (or institutionalized) political and social procedure." -The Direct Action Movement

Direct action "interrupts business-as-usual, seizes leadership, and introduces an alternative narrative." -Beautiful Trouble

The ideas and knowledge shared on this page come from:

1) An instagram live with Stu Basden, moderated by Kenzie Harris (HUB team member). Ideas coming from Stu are highlighted throughout.

2) Knowledge compiled by HUB anglo librarian Kenzie Harris.

Instagram live speaker

Stu Basden (he/him): Stu is one of the ten co-founders of Extinction Rebellion, a globe-spanning social movement. Stu was one of the initiators of Toronto350.org, and was elected as President twice. He is a founding member of the Defend the Sacred Alliance and the Being The Change Affinity Network. He has facilitated hundreds of workshops, retreats and training courses around Europe and Turtle Island.

Examples of direct actions

Example from Stu

2019 London XR (Extinction Rebellion) action

[Paraphrased] We went with thousands of people to 5 different sites in the centre of London and took over those spaces, occupied those spaces, and sat down in the roads and blocked the roads. Gradually over those 2 weeks people were arresting people for obstructing the highway, for blocking the roads, and people would be taken away, put in jail overnight and then they would come back the next day and often many of them would sit in the streets again. We didn't hold all of them for the whole 2 weeks but he held some of the 5 spaces for the whole 2 weeks. All 5 of them we held for a week. It was the most magical time. It was a time when everything felt possible. We didn't know what the future would hold, and there were so many people who were showing up with such energy and enthusiasm. The amount of excitement and joy that 'wow we're doing something', such creativity. It was unlike any other space I've ever been in. That sense of 'we're changing something here', and there is something else that's possible.

In so-called Canada

Blockades	The Fairy Creek blockades to protect the old growth trees in so-called British Columbia, on Pacheedaht Nation territory (also employed 'tree-sits' in their direct action) Human or structural blockades between police and houseless people in encampments, to protest the encampment eviction, lack of shelter space and housing for all. Kanien’kéhaka (Mohawk) lands defense blockades in so-called Quebec, to protect a sacred burial ground and a sacred area.   For more on blockades, including tips, risks and more examples, see Beautiful Trouble's write up.
Sit-ins	University student sit-ins, whether in university centres, board member's offices, meeting spaces etc., to pressure their universities to divest from fossil fuels.
Strikes/Marches	Student strikes which often target municipal, provincial and/or the federal government, are raising the alarm for climate action. Occupy marches were held across so-called Canada to protest corporate greed and financial inequality 2012 Quebec student strikes to protest increasing tuition fees For more on strikes, in particular general strikes including tips, risks and examples, see Beautiful Trouble's write up.

For those unable to engage in direct action, support is critical for the success of those that participate in direct action. Support can look like fundraising, technical support, media engagement, social media presence, upskilling and so much more. 

Is direct action the same as civil disobedience?

Direct actions may sometimes fall into a form of civil disobedience, which may involve a degree of intentional law-breaking (peaceful or not) where persons, often in masses, place themselves in arrestable situations to make a political statement. Direct action can be nonviolent and/or violent, and individuals participating may have different ideas of what is considered 'violent' (i.e. some may consider intentionally damaging private property to be violent, while others may conclude this cannot be compared to the violence faced by those protesting). Direct action has historically been an effective tactic employed by social movements (i.e. the Civil rights movement, LGBTQIAS+ right movement etc).

Direct action at its core is about power. "One way of thinking about power is that there are two kinds: organized money and organized people. We don’t have billions of dollars to buy politicians and governments, but with direct action, organized people spend a different currency: we leverage risk. We leverage our freedom, our comfort, our privilege or our safety." -Beautiful Trouble

Stu on differentiating civil disobedience from direct action: Mass civil disobedience is a form of direct action, but I would also say direct action encompasses a much broader range. There are people shutting down oil rigs, just 3 of them, which is not civil disobedience but it is a form of direct action. Even writing a letter to your MP is a form of direct action, it is directly taking some action, but it's not disobedient. So, some direct action is in mass, some is not. Some is disobedient, some is not.



If you have any suggested revisions or additional resources to share related to the above content, please email them to kenzie@lehub.ca.

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