A big part of news coverage is protests. Activists take to the streets to show support for causes from civil rights to labor. Many of KPBS’ viewers, listeners, and readers contact us asking how they can get involved.
This is not new.
Activism has a long history in our region. According to the San Diego History Center, at the turn of the century, the corner of 5th and E Street in downtown San Diego was known as “Soapbox Corner."
From atop literal soap boxes, activists with groups like the International Workers of the World, known as the "Wobblies," would give speeches and debate with other activists. In January of 1912, city authorities shut it down and banned free speech for six blocks with the corner of 5th and E Streets at the center.
Today, this corner is full of bars and restaurants, and life is very different. While history may not repeat itself, it sure seems to rhyme.
Frances Yasmeen Motiwalla is a board member and lead organizer with Activist San Diego.
“There's a long, long history of protest, here in San Diego,” Motiwalla said.
Activist San Diego has been around since 1999. They started as a small scrappy group and have grown into a certified nonprofit. Motiwalla describes the group as the connective tissue of San Diego’s social justice organizations.
“It's a moment where I think people are freaking out, and rightfully so, because in America, we've never seen this kind of radical shift from democracy to dictatorship,” Motiwalla said. “We are being flooded with a ton of people who want to get involved, which is very exciting.”
Every activist has their own origin story. Motiwalla credits education for opening her eyes.
“It was actually high school government and democracy accelerated thanks to Mrs. Dean who told us stories like what the different political parties were,” Motiwalla said.
Political science professor Ric Epps says his family is what got him interested in politics.
“My mother was very, you know, very strong, involved and engaged politically … and my grandparents, who lived through the Tulsa riots, ... so I've always had an awareness, and I think it started from that point,” Epps said.
He says no matter the catalyst, the causality is the same.
“You're looking at there's inequity and there's an inequity in the system that requires a response, and you're trying to, you know, to take action in some way,” he said.
But what does activism look like? First, Epps says you need to pick your cause.
“In order to make change, you have to decide what it is you want to attack."
How you choose to express your activism can take many forms. Motiwalla says it can be subtle.
“Whether it's wearing a pin or a sweatshirt that says, you know, feminist, anti-racist, regenerative economy, or whether it's wearing a shirt that says demilitarize, and has your favorite organizations' logos on it.”
It can also be overt and targeted according to Epps.
“For example, in the civil rights movement, where the Alabama government, the blacks didn't ride the buses for almost 188 days and so literally almost put the bussing industry out of business.”
According to research, it doesn’t require all of us to be involved.
Professor Erica Chenoweth from Harvard Kennedy School of Public Policy and says research shows that for nonviolent movements to be successful, just three and a half percent of the population need to be activists.
"Three and a half percent may not seem like a lot, but in the city of San Diego, that’s nearly 50,000 people," Chenoweth said.
Chenoweth's research also shows that nonviolent civil actions are far more successful than violent ones.
For Epps persistence is key to a movement's success.
“The question is, can they survive the long's the long term,“ he said.
And life gets in the way.
“You're caught up in the rat race of survival ... so you're not really paying attention to the things that are causing you to struggle,” Epps said.
Both Motiwalla and Epps say do what you can because for them, activism is a spectrum.
“There are a lot of ways people can as, just one human on their own, literally by just grabbing a megaphone and grabbing a sign, you can actually start your own protest wherever you're at,” Motiwalla said.
