Activism Resources
On this page, you will find a collection of resources that support civic learning, engagement, and access to information.
Making Waves: An Otter’s Resource List for Navigating Activism
As Lewis & Clark fulfills its mission to prepare students with the knowledge and skills to address urgent societal challenges facing our communities and the world, we know many will choose to engage in a variety of social activism activities. While the College is not endorsing any particular kind of activism, this guide is meant to provide educational resources both on and off campus for students engaging in community organizing, so that they can practice safely, ethically, and meaningfully. Resources provided have been sourced from various departments and professionals across the three campuses, as they all offer different expertise and various community connections that could be helpful to students working towards social change.
If there are resources you feel are missing or if you are interested in learning about planned social change events or programs at our Center for Community Involvement and Social Change, please email leadserve@lclark.edu.
In this section, we look at basic tools and skill-sets for safely and ethically engaging in activism. These guides explain what activism has historically been, and how you can use these skill-sets to begin your journey.
Activist Handbook - Campaigning Guides for Activists - This wikipedia-like resource includes various information on activism and allows for contribution.
Act Up: Civil Disobedience Training
Community Tool Box: How do we begin taking action in the community? - A model to help guide those getting started in making community change.
These are resources that explore how identity can impact how we show up in activism, as well as how to avoid further harm to marginalized communities in your activism.
Community Tool Box: Justice Action Kit - Tools to support community members working towards racial justice and gender equity.
The Office of Inclusion & Multicultural Engagement (multicultural@lclark.edu) - This Office can support undergraduate students, particularly students who identify as students of color, first generation and/or LGBTQIA+, who wish to be conscious, inclusive agents for change.
This is a small list of resources and thoughts about how students can prepare to plan a protest, safely navigate protests, or find support should they be injured or detained.
HRC: Tips for Preparedness, Peaceful Protesting, and Safety
NYRA: Organizing a protest, walkout, or boycott - Explores pros and cons of protesting as well as practical steps to take when organizing.
21 Things To Know About Your Right To Protest And How To Do It Safely
This is a list of resources for helping students maintain physical safety during activism or to care for an injury/issue.
NAACP: Staying Safe During a Protest
Tips for Verbal De-Escalation - This document explores how to verbally de-escalate a situation where a potentially violent situation threatens to erupt.
Student Health Center (health@lclark.edu) - This office can support students in providing medical services for injuries and/or connecting them with other medical resources in the Portland area.
Campus Safety (safety@lclark.edu) - Call Campus Safety if you would like to report an injury or arrest of a friend. Campus Safety can connect students to other support resources on campus, such as the Area Director or Senior Administrator On-Call. Number is 503-768-7855
These are some resources for students engaging in online activism, including safety tips or examples of effective online movements.
Maryville University: A Guide to Activism in the Digital Age
Surveillance Self-Defense - A guide to keeping online communications safe when engaging in online activism.
This is a list of resources to support students’ mental and emotional health while engaging in activism or with societal concerns that feel larger than they can handle. This might include managing social pressure.
Rookie Magazine: Self-Care for Activists - Centers on prioritization and well-being.
The Commons: 10 Great Resources on Activist Wellbeing - A guide for self-care and sustainable activism.
The Commons: Impacts of Activism on Health & Wellbeing - An article on the positive and negative impacts of engaging in social activism.
Student Counseling Center (counsel@lclark.edu) - This office provides short-term free individual, couples, and group counseling for students. Students can email or call 503-768-7160 to schedule an appointment.
Health Promotion and Wellness (healthed@lclark.edu) - This office helps students to take a holistic approach to their physical and mental well-being. Students can schedule an individual meeting or attend health and wellness events.
This is an extensive list of resources geared specifically for community engagement that does not involve protesting.
Actionaid Artful Activism: A toolkit for creative activism - A toolkit/study on the use of art in activism.
Arts Activism Toolkit - An article containing workshop activities, case studies and discussion tasks in order to create arts activism campaigns.
Disability Visibility Project: 26 ways to be in the struggle, beyond the streets - A celebration of all of the ways to engage in liberation.
Oregon.gov Guide to Lobbying in Oregon - The Oregon Government Ethics Commission guide to becoming a lobbyist.
Student PIRGs Activist Toolkit - This document provides guidance on different student activism campaigns.
Together Lab: Sacred Organizing Lab Notes - A document developed by The Together Lab outlining practices co-developed by a collective of multifaith practitioners in the Pacific Northwest. In Sacred Organizing, people come together, out of isolation and into community, to name gaps between the world as it is and as it could be.
Interfaith Movement for Immigrant Justice (IMIrJ) Accompaniment Program - The Accompaniment Program exists to support community members who are forced to navigate the United States’ immigration proceedings. IMIrJ trains volunteers to walk side-by-side with individuals as they attend I.C.E. check-ins, immigration court hearings, Intensive Supervision Appearance Program appointments, and other mandatory dates during their immigration process.
This is a list of resources explaining legal rights or campus policies/expectations for engaging in activism.
ACLU Know Your Rights: Demonstrations and Protests - Provides general guidelines for free speech activity.
ACLU Protester’s Rights - Provides a brief overview of your rights in various scenarios at protests.
ACLU Recording and Documenting Police and Federal Agents - Provides general information and scenarios on best practices for recording.
ALA First Amendment and Censorship - Resources about the First Amendment, censorship, academic freedom, and freedom of information
NLG Know Your Risks - National Lawyer’s Guide guide to your rights during a protest.
Lewis & Clark College Policy Quicklinks:
The Office of Community Accountability & Conflict Education (cace@lclark.edu) - This Office can support undergraduate students who want to know their on-campus rights, and how policy may impact their ability to take part in community organizing on or off campus.
These are a few resources that help students answer questions about how engaging in activism might impact them down the road, whether in future career goals or other endeavors on or off campus.
Management Library: Does Getting Arrested at a Protest Show Up on an Employee Background Check?
Protesting Without US Citizenship: What You Need to Know
US EEOC Arrests and Conviction Records: Resources for Job Seekers, Workers and Employers - Explores how arrests and convictions can be legally considered in future job applications
Social Change and Community Involvement is located in room 321 of Fowler Student Center on the Undergraduate Campus.
email leadserve@lclark.edu
Social Change and Community Involvement
Lewis & Clark
615 S. Palatine Hill Road
Portland OR 97219