Our Solidarity was the Solution—Looking back on 2017: Rising and Resisting for Two Decades in NYC

Authors

  • Benjamin Heim Shepard

Keywords:

solidarity, ADAPT, Rise and Resist, Housing Works, Center for Popular Democracy, ACT UP, New Sanctuary Coalition, Erica Garner, Charles Shively, Gilbert Baker, James Lawson, civil disobedience, Charles King, Mark Milano, Eiryn Griest Schwartzman, Fighting for Our Lives AIDS Candlelight Vigil, Occupy Wall Street

Abstract

This first-person narrative reviews the resistance to the first year of the Trump Administration. The author recalls a trip to Washington DC to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power in Washington DC, as well as three other trips to fight the assault on social policy by the Trump Administration and the Republican controlled congress, getting arrested each time. Back in New York, the author worked with his union and and engaged in civil disobedience fighting for the homeless with Voices of Community Activists and Leaders (VOCAL). The author reviews debates about strategies and tactics, as well as the efforts of groups such as ADAPT, Rise and Resist, Housing Works, Center for Popular Democracy, ACT UP, New Sanctuary Coalition, and VOCAL. He considers the friendships which support such efforts to renew democracy from the bottom up, while fighting the war on the poor.

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Published

2018-03-08

How to Cite

Shepard, B. H. (2018). Our Solidarity was the Solution—Looking back on 2017: Rising and Resisting for Two Decades in NYC. Reflections: Narratives of Professional Helping, 23(2), 76–94. Retrieved from https://reflectionsnarrativesofprofessionalhelping.org/index.php/Reflections/article/view/1651

Issue

Section

The Aftermath of Historical Events