Six Ways We Resist
Resistance is the work that people who are directly impacted by oppression do to bring more power to themselves.
In our work, we talk about some forms of resistance happening in the following ways:
Escape: Getting out of places or conditions shaped by perpetual oppression.
Revolt: Attempting to take power from those who have unchecked power and are using it to oppress. Can happen through takeovers or shutdowns.
Petition and Protest: Organized collective action to publicly demand change, such as civil disobedience or filing court cases. Often done outside of institutions or through agitation within institutions.
Achievement and Success: Using one’s own resources or positional power to help others in oppressed communities build or acquire power. Often done within institutions.
Community-Building: Oppressed communities intentionally connecting with one another. Can happen by creating or joining organizations, unions, houses of worship, healing circles, and other spaces that affirm and center the needs of the oppressed.
Defiance: Refusal to be defined by oppression. Can be seen when oppressed people refuse to succumb to conditions and when they envision and work toward a world where they are free. Also can be seen through archiving histories, teaching languages, maintaining traditions, visionary art, and in most all other forms of resistance.
Our list is inspired by the ways Black people resisted while enslaved in the United States, as demonstrated at the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel.
This history teaches us that people and communities are always resisting oppression.
For more examples and context, be sure to check out my article in The Emancipator: Six Ways To Resist.
The following individuals of Black resistance leaders are collaged clockwise starting with “escape”: Harriet Tubman, Ava Duvernay, Toussaint L'Ouverture, Frederick Douglass, Doris Petway Mosely, and Richard Allen.
IMAGE CREDIT: Sonny Kennedy
Celebrating Juneteenth?
Every year on Juneteenth, we, at Freedom Lifted, remember how Black Americans have always resisted enslavement and oppression before and after 1865. To honor these multiple ways of resistance, we have created a short dedication card that allows you to honor Black people you know who have resisted.
You can complete this Juneteenth dedication exercise with your family and friends. Fill in the blanks with the names of people or groups you know or admire.
Consider posting it near your workspace or keeping it in your journal. Let it always remind you of those who set the bar for freedom.