How to Organize a Sit-in

To organize a sit-in requires a great deal of planning and an idea of how to keep your participants motivated. However, if a sit-in is carried out with these things in mind you will find it is an excellent way to make your voice heard in a larger dialog of social protest.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

1. Contact people who support your political agenda and propose the idea of a sit-in as a viable method of protest. You must involve others as early as possible in your efforts in order to pull together all your available resources.

2. Spend sufficient time discussing the plan of protest with participants who appear deeply committed to the cause. A sit-in demands a great deal of patience and determination and individuals who are part of a sit-in must demonstrate these qualities.

3. Provide your followers with sufficient drinks and food to sustain a sit-in over a prolonged period of time. These basic needs must be taken into account.

4. Prepare some chants to help rally your protest participants when the going gets tough. Never underestimate the value of a little song when the chips are down.

5. Bring signs that represent your protest spirit and which convey the larger concepts behind the sit-in. When you organize you must remember that the meaning must be clear or it is nothing more than a civil disturbance.

6. Organize so that allowances are made for bathroom breaks. A rotation of on and off duty allows you to make sure everyone's personal needs are taken care of.

Resources

• Tips on effectively organizing a protest.
• Do-it-yourself advice on making a protest come together.
• Analysis of how effective sit-ins can be