Obama‑linked activists have a training manual for protesting Trump (nypost.com)

🧭 Overview & Context

This 2017 New York Post article highlights an early guide for protesting the Trump administration, co-authored by activists with ties to Organizing for Action (OFA)—a community organizing group that evolved from President Obama’s movement.

The piece reveals how this so-called “training manual,” published in partnership with the Indivisible Project, provides strategic advice for effective citizen action:

• 🔇 Maintain silence and discretion: Protesters are advised to stay quiet and inconspicuous during meetings or public forums.
• 🪑 Strategic seating: It suggests finding seats close to speakers to improve visibility and influence.
• 🤝 Localized organization: Encourages activists to build grassroots networks within congressional districts.

These tactics underscore the broader Indivisible movement’s approach: combining peaceful civil resistance with targeted, organized action to hold elected officials accountable.

⚠️ Significance

• Marks an early, structured effort to build sustained grassroots opposition to the Trump presidency.
• Shows how Obama-era activists shifted into a new phase of resistance, formalizing protest into actionable strategies.
• Reflects the mainstreaming of tactical civil engagement, influencing local organizing and national campaigns.

📌 Citation

New York Post. (2017, February 18). Obama‑linked activists have a training manual for protesting Trump. Retrieved from https://nypost.com/2017/02/18/obama-linked-activists-have-a-training-manual-for-protesting-trump/
(Summary generated by ChatGPT, GPT‑4‑turbo, July 2025)