Education and Trainings to support action for effective political opposition.
Upcoming Local
and Online Events
Getting context for what we are facing and how to most effectively fight the challenges at hand will give us the tools and knowledge to defend, protect and build the structures needed for a future we can believe in.
Current Trainings
Color of Change – We Are Better Together – May National Squad Call
Thursday, May 15, 5 – 6pm PDT – Join the Movement: Monthly National Squad Call!
Tap in every month with Color Of Change for their National Squad Call—where strategy meets action. These calls are your frontline access to their latest campaigns, critical organizing updates, and direct ways to show up in the fight for Black liberation.
"We’re living in a time where attacks on Black communities are intensifying—from DEIA rollbacks and book bans to voter suppression and economic injustice. These aren’t isolated incidents—they’re part of a coordinated effort to silence our voices, erase our history, and strip away our power. But together, we fight back. This isn’t just a call—it’s a gathering space for our people. A space to sharpen our tactics, build collective power, and mobilize with purpose. Whether you’re new to the movement or a longtime Squad member, your presence helps us push back against rising threats and build a future where Black freedom and joy are non-negotiable. Pull up. Stay ready. Let’s move. Allies are welcomed."
Sign up HERE on mobilize
Rise for Freedom Training Series
Join Rise for Democracy Training for a series of live online trainings intended for in-person groups nationwide on Thursday evenings over 7 weeks. The goal of the training series is to bring people together, grow & strengthen their local networks, and get ready to mobilize to demand democracy in this new challenging environment.
Sign up here on mobilize
Training content will be presented live and breakouts will take place in-person in people’s living rooms and other activist organized spaces.
Follow up asks deemed the most important to the moment will be shared at the end of trainings as appropriate.
Training is a flexible tool that can help build for specific events as well as build existing and new local groups of people who can take action together.
Rise for Freedom Training Timeline - Thursdays, 8-10pm ET/7-9CT/ 6-8pm MT/5-7pm PT:
May 8 - De-escalation & Advanced Strategic organizing skills
Thurs. May 15 - Mutual Aid & Structures for Stronger Local Organizing
Thursday May 22 - Advanced Organizing Skills: Choosing your Tactics
Thursday May 29 - Digital Hygeine for Activists
Thursday June 5 - Media Storytelling with a Focus on Broadcast and Social Media
Partners include:
Public Citizen, Women’s March, League of Women Voters US, Declaration for American Democracy Coalition, Center for Common Ground, Clean Elections Minnesota, Corporate Accountability, Generation Common Good, Lift Our Vote, No Voice Unheard, Peace Action, Unitarian Universalists for Social Justice, AFGE Local 704, DC Peace Team, Fourth Branch Action, Indivisible Hill Country, Indivisible Portola Valley, Media and Democracy Project, Citizen Action/Illinois, Peace, Justice, Sustainability NOW!, People For the American Way, Speaking the Key of WE/Charlotte Clergy Coalition for Justice, Task Force for Democracy, Texans Against Gerrymandering, This Land, The Workers Circle, #ResistTrump Campaign, Our Revolution
See the previous trainings recordings here:
Session 1 – March 20th Launch Call
Session 2 – March 27th Intro to organizing under creeping autocracy
Session 3 – April 3rd Building to a critical mass locally
Session 4 – April 10th Harnessing Our Power to End Political Violence and Repression
We at NELA Alliance for Democracy may host in-person trainings, so stay posted for times.
Humanist Alternatives: A Six-Part Training Course - Hosted by NELA Alliance for Democracy
This course has ended but the syllabus and class materials are linked below.
One of the pillars of the rise of fascism in the 21st century has been the void in the articulation of a humanist alternative in the face of the deepening economic, social, political and environmental crises of our time. In order to develop conceptual and practical frameworks for humanist alternatives and constructive collective action, it is necessary to address and discuss the fundamental transformations needed in economic, social, political, and environmental relations on a national and global scale. It is also necessary to be aware of the long history of anti-humanist discourse and to respond to some of those critiques.
Each session in this course will focus on one of the aspects of the effort to develop humanist alternatives: Labor: Economy, Gender, Sexuality & Family, Education: Critical Thinking, Environment, Health Care, International Relations and solidarity. Instructor: Frieda Afary, Philosophy M.A., M.L.I.S. is a librarian and author of Socialist Feminism: A New Approach
Class I: Labor and Economy, March 26, Class II. Gender, Sexuality and the Family, April 2, Class III. Education and Critical Thinking, April 9, Class IV. Environment, April 16, Class V. Health Care, April 23, Class VI. International Relations and Solidarity, April 30
Access the Syllabus
Access Previous Classes:
I Labor & Economy: Class slides Recording from March 26th, 2025
II Gender, Sexuality and the Family: Class slides Recording from April 2nd, 2025
III Education & Critical Thinking: Class slides Recording from April 9th, 2025
IV Environment: Class slides Recording from April 16th, 2025
V Health Care: Class slides Recording from April 23th, 2025
Training Materials
We recommend starting with these:
Explore videos, articles, training slides, and the interactive guide.
Public Citizen: Rise for Freedom Training Series
Join Rise for Democracy Training for a series of live online trainings intended for in-person groups nationwide on Thursday evenings over 7 weeks. The goal of the training series is to bring people together, grow & strengthen their local networks, and get ready to mobilize to demand democracy in this new challenging environment.
Training content will be presented live and breakouts will take place in-person in people’s living rooms and other activist organized spaces.
Follow up asks deemed the most important to the moment will be shared at the end of trainings as appropriate.
Training is a flexible tool that can help build for specific events as well as build existing and new local groups of people who can take action together.
Session 1 – March 20th Launch Call: https://youtu.be/vd49Ln4l3do
Session 2 – March 27th Training: https://youtu.be/2OvacUXysTI
Session 3 –April 3rd Training: https://youtu.be/sfv4J0yyF80
Session 4 – April 10th Training: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RZ4eT7dv6s
Read or listen.
This great article shares global success stories and detailed steps for how-to organize under authoritarian creep.
Here are some other options:
AOC: What's Happening and How You Can Take Action
A 90-minute Youtube video that puts our current situation in perspective.
How to Build a Movement: Preparing for Rapid Growth
Training video for organizers.
How to Build a Movement with Momentum
Training video for organizers.
Talking to Business Leaders: DEI as Resistance
Information for Government Workers and Law Enforcement
International Center for Nonviolent Conflict
Resources for activists and organizers.