Most Effective

Here are a few projects that the Actipedia staff believe show clear evidence of effectiveness. Feel free to write to us with any other suggestions!
GLITS 2020 Fundraiser
Practitioner:
Gays & Lesbians Living in a Transgender Society
Date:
Jun 15 2020

In 2020, GLITS raised over one million dollars in less than a month through a grassroots organizing campaign with a clear objective, a call to action, and an open source toolkit. The objective was to raise one million dollars to purchase a building that would permanently house and provide services for transgender peoples of color in New York City. They created a toolkit with coordinated and captivating imagery and made it available to everyone.

United States v. One Book Named Ulysses
Practitioner:
Bennet Cerf, Morris Ernst
Date:
Dec 6 1933

In 1932, Bennett Cerf, cofounder of Random House Publishing, acquired the rights to publish James Joyce’s Ulysses in the United States, believing that the book would be as successful as it had been throughout Europe. But Cerf had a problem. The book was banned in the United States and would be seized as soon as it came off the printing press, which would lose Cerf millions of dollars.

Vietnam comes to Washington
Practitioner:
Vietnam Veterans Against the War
Date:
Jun 15 1971

It’s the summer of 1971 and tourists flock around one of Washington DC’s most famous hotspots – the Capitol steps. Journalist Art Goldberg recalls ‘a squad of soldiers moving through the space. They are grubby-looking troopers, clad in jungle fatigues. Jumping a low fence, they begin shouting at a group of tourists. “All right! Hold it! Hold it! Nobody move. Nobody move!” Their voices full of tension and anger. A man runs from the crowd.

Stop Being Serious, This Protest is a Laughing Matter
Practitioner:
Farmers
Date:
Sep 1 1992
In Burma, dogs ridicule the regime
Practitioner:
Burmese dissidents
Date:
Sep 15 2007

Dogs featured in one ruse to ridicule the regime—pictures of dictator Than Shwe were hung around the necks of the stray dogs that roam the streets of Rangoon. The pictures, which rapidly found their way onto the Internet, are the work of an exiled Burmese satirist who goes by the name of Mr Creator. Downloaded copies of his pictures and cartoons are popular items among cyber dissidents.

Freedom riders
Practitioner:
Hundreds
Date:
May 4 1961

The first legislative victory of the Civil Rights era was obtained by hundreds of people going where they weren't invited. In 1961, Black and white Freedom Riders, well trained by SNCC in nonviolent action, rode Greyhound buses from Washington DC southwards primarily in order to wait, together, in waiting rooms that were still unconstitutionally segregated.

Minneapolis police station torched amid George Floyd protest
Practitioner:
activists
Date:
May 28 2020

(See also: approval rates for Black Lives Matter following the start of the protests over the murder of George Floyd by police.)

Humor to overthrow Mubarak
Practitioner:
Egyptian revolutionaries
Date:
Feb 23 2011

from "Laugh, O Revolution: Humor in the Egyptian Uprising" by Anna Louie Sussman, in 2011.

Revolutions can be messy. They can be tragic. As long as the Internet is working, they can be tweeted. And, as Egyptians demonstrated during their 18 days of protest, they can also be funny.

A small group forces PNC to stop financing mountaintop removal
Practitioner:
Earth Quaker Action Team
Date:
Mar 2 2015

Earth Quaker Action Team's five year struggle offers important lessons for those wanting to organize and win campaigns.

After five years of action by Earth Quaker Action Team, PNC Bank announced a shift in its policy on March 2 that will effectively cease its financing of mountaintop removal coal mining in Appalachia.

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