Nonviolent Action Method #13: Deputations

After almost a decade of civil war, both Christian and Muslim women in Liberia, led by Leymah Gbowee, began to protest. When Liberian warlords met in the city of Accra, in Ghana, the women were optimistic for a solution. However, it soon became apparent that talks were not going anywhere. So the Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace sent a deputation to women of Accra, where they surrounded the meeting place and continued to protest until a solution was reached.

(To learn more about the Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace, watch the documentary Pray the Devil Back to Hell.)

(You can read more about the different methods of nonviolent protest in Gene Sharp’s book The Politics of Nonviolent Action. Access CSA’s catalogue of Sharp’s methods here, or download the full list of 198 methods here.)

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Nonviolent Action Method #7: Slogans, Caricatures, and Symbols

From Gene Sharp

“We are the 99%” was the rallying cry of the Occupy Wall Street movement—referring to the vast majority of Americans who are struggling to pay their mortgages, facing debilitating student loan debt, and living without health insurance…while the 1% grows ever wealthier.

Nonviolent Action Method #8: Banners, Posters, Displayed Communications

From Gene Sharp

The Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace was a movement of thousands of women who, among other efforts, bravely took to the streets united under a banner that said, “The women of Liberia want peace now.” The movement’s organizer, Leymah Gbowee said, “It was the first time in the history of Liberia that Muslim women and Christian women came together.”

(You can read more about the different methods of nonviolent protest in Gene Sharp’s book The Politics of Nonviolent Action.