Welcome to Dispatch #28! This week’s issue is all about how to keep ourselves and each other safer. We explore what OpSec (”Operational Security”) is, Mississippi Freedom Schools, and practical steps we can take to prepare our communities for attack.
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Easy Actions to Take
Why: AI has been a critical feature of Israel’s targeting and bombing in Gaza, allowing it to accelerate the creation of kill lists and launch airstrikes with minimal human oversight, and Vercel’s (an AI company) founder just posted a selfie with Netanyahu two years into a genocide. Vercel is hosting a high-profile AI event and we must pressure invited speaker to cancel their appearance and appear to tacitly endorse genocide-supporters. Organized by MPower For Change
Why: The labor movement can play a critical role in stopping Israel’s assault on Gaza by refusing to load bombs onto ships, drive ammunition, or otherwise enable Israel’s military supply chain. As seen in Italy, pressure from labor can have a huge impact. As of now, the American labor leader AFL-CIO has not made any declaration against Israel.
Why: Major streaming platforms such as Spotify, Peacock, HBO, and ESPN are airing recruitment advertisements for ICE, the immigration agency carrying out kidnappings across the United States. This document provides 3 easy actions we can collectively take to apply pressure on these companies. PS - Qobuz is a great alternative to Spotify that pays artists the most and you can use a tool like Soundiiz to transfer your playlists.
Little (Movement) Wins
How Mississippi Turned Education into Liberation
Activist History
In 1954, the US Supreme Court struck down segregated school systems in the case “Brown v Board of Education.” However, by the mid-1960s, some paces in the South, such as Mississippi, still had segregated school systems and taught curriculum that often left out the Black experience. The Mississippi Freedom Schools were developed in 1964 as part of a massive Freedom Summer campaign focused on voter registration drives and educating Mississippi students for change, organized by COFO (the Council of Federated Organizations, a coalition of civil rights groups). The idea was that if education is the indoctrination of the young into an ideological system, then the Freedom School must reeducate Black children to reject the dominant ideology and construct a new system.
Thousands of university students in the north traveled south to help organize the Freedom Schools and set up shop in donated church basements, homes, and community centers. Classes emphasized critical thinking, Black American history, and how to challenge systemic oppression. In contrast to the authoritarian and segregated public schools, Freedom Schools used a student-centered approach where students could participate in the forming of the curriculum, and teachers were encouraged to base their lessons on the lived experiences of the students. Overtly political, Freedom Schools served as a tool to spread liberatory education and train future potential activists while filling in the gaps left by the government. Freedom Schools were a fantastic success with over 40 schools created and over 3000 students in attendance in the summer of 1964.
The legacy of the Schools has been long-lasting. At the end of the summer, Freedom School students formed a conference to create a youth platform for the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party. Teachers and students remained committed to the model and took the lessons from the summer back with them when they returned home. Today many “Freedom Schools” exist across the nation, modeled after the schools from 1964, in order to harness education as a tool for liberation.
📗 Learn More
- The Freedom Schools: Concept And Organization by Staughton Lynd
- The 1964 Mississippi Freedom Schools by Dr. William Sturkey
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OpSec
The Conscious Citizens Dictionary
OpSec is shorthand for “Operations Security” and refers to practices that are designed to prevent critical information or actions from being observed by enemies. Coined by the US Military in 1966 during the Vietnam War when Admiral Ulysses Sharp ordered investigations into the failure of certain combat operations. The resulting report was called “Operations Security” and has since become the general word for protecting sensitive information from prying eyes.
In activist spaces, OpSec typically focuses on surveillance or infiltration by the state or police. Recommendations to using secure digital tools like Signal, anonymous usernames, signal-blocking faraday bags, wearing black-bloc, and "Security Culture" are all various OpSec tactics commonly employed by activists.
What to Do When Facing State Repression
Connecting the Dots
As authoritarianism takes hold, and popular anger grows, our movements will inevitably grow in size and strength; but with that, repression from the government will also increase.
- In the United States (where we write from), President Trump has issued a Presidential memo equating leftist thought with terrorism, and a government shut down threatens the food-security of millions, while ICE (federal immigration enforcement officers) spend over $70 million on guns, armor, and munitions to terrorize local communities.
- In the UK, the British government is pushing to introduce mandatory digital IDs to satisfy right-wing demands, sparking concerns over privacy and an ever-growing surveillance state.
- In March 2025, protests erupted across Turkiye after the arrest of Ekrem İmamoğlu, Istanbul’s mayor and opposition-party leader, by Turkish government forces. Months of demonstrations left over 2000 arrested, including journalists, and led to a harsh social media crackdown where hundreds of anti-government accounts were banned and censored on Meta, X, and other platforms.
- A year ago, in Oct 2024, anti-government protests that left hundreds of demonstrators killed and thousands imprisoned for their activism rocked Mozambique after accusations of election fraud. According to a recent report, out of ~7200 “arbitrarily arrested” by the government for protesting, 2790 still have not been released.
These are just a few examples, but we’re sure there are many more out there. It's natural to hear all this and feel scared, hopeless, or apathetic. That is, of course, the entire purpose of repressive policies. Scared and hopeless people don't resist.
Instead of falling into that trap - we can instead look at how people around the world have effectively protected themselves in the past and apply those lessons to our own lives. A common saying among mutual aid and leftist circles in the US is, “we keep each other safe” (or a great alternative from Mozambique: “we are the solution”) both of which become more true as authoritarians tighten their grip. The ruling classes have sent a clear message that when times get tough, we really are on our own. And though that might be intimidating, thank goodness we are not alone. Many before us have figured out effective ways we can organize ourselves and our communities to keep each other safer as we fight for better futures.
Here are two starting points we’ve found valuable:
- Safeguarding Our Movements against Repression: How to Respond to Donald Trump’s Threats by Crimethinc
Trump has declared “Antifa” a terrorist organization, far-right prosecutors already have a track record of groundlessly pressing false terrorism charges as a means of intimidating activists, and Trump has explicitly called for the use of racketeering laws to suppress his critics. What does this all mean, and how should we prepare? This guide provides some very practical and actionable advice about how to respond to these fascist tactics that is useful to people even outside of the United States. Also available in Spanish and French! - Lessons in courage, care and collective action from the international accompaniment movement by Waging Non-Violence
International accompaniment is a community defense strategy developed in Central America during the 80s to protect local human rights defenders, communities, and activists by having international volunteers provide a protective presence. This strategy takes advantage of the global power dynamics that lead to a “higher-status” for some groups over others, and has been shown to lower the risk of attack for human rights activists. This strategy is actively employed today in places like Palestine. This article covers many lessons from core organizers from this movement that can be applied in our local communities.
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Conscious Creatives: Olly Costello
Olly Costello is a non-binary, queer illustrator, prison abolitionist, urban gardener, and community seed saver based in Chicago, IL, USA. Their artistic practice explores themes of interconnectedness, queer ecology, accountability, transformative justice, community, and belonging. They also honor their Sicilian and Irish ancestry through seed saving while supporting the Indigenous people’s movement to return seeds from settler seed banks, university collections, and museum shelves back to Native communities. Costello's work engages deeply with grief and loss while promoting resilience and healing, believing that art is essential for understanding our interdependence and inspiring communities to honor the Earth and show up for each other's struggles. Olly hopes their work can be a small part of creating a new culture that’s grounded in honoring the inherent sacredness of all beings while pushing us beyond violent cultures of imperialism, white supremacy and capitalism.
Follow Olly on Instagram | Check Out Olly's Store
Resources & Tools
Please share these links with anyone that might find them helpful:
- 🔌 Digital Privacy Tools | An incredible list of recommended privacy tools by Privacy Guides chosen to help protect you against global mass surveillance programs and avoiding big tech companies to mitigating attacks. Only you can determine what will work best for your needs.
- 💝 How to: Start a Food Rescue Program | A step-by-step guide by Boulder Food Rescue (who was inspired by Food Not Bombs) to start redistributing fresh food to your community that would otherwise go to waste through local bike groups.
- 💝 Freedge | Find a free fridge near you, wherever you are in the world. Together, we can combat food insecurity!
- ⛑️ How to Start a Community Defense Center | A guide to help you mobilize your neighborhood to better protect each other against harm (ie. authoritarian attacks, state repression) through a community center pop-up and community patrols.
- 🤝 Find Help | (US Only) A web tool to find free or reduced-cost resources like food, housing, financial assistance, health care, and more.
- 🚨 Respond Crisis Translation | (US Only) 24/7 professional, trauma-informed interpretation and translation to migrants, refugees, and all for whom language is a barrier to accessing safety and dignity.
- 🏥 US Abortion Resources | (US Only) A collection of trusted websites and helplines to help you find clinics and resources, ask legal questions, and get judgement-free all options counseling and emotional support throughout your abortion process.
- 📓 The Protest Playbook | A practical and tactical guide to help citizens win real change, not just headlines, because we don't have time for marches that lead to nowhere.
- 📓 The Ground-Zero Guide for Building Community | (NEW UPDATES in "Boost Your Community Resilience" section!) This practical and tactical guide will help you find the clarity, confidence, and support needed to turn a disconnected neighborhood into a resilient one.
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Know of a great helpful resource you think others should know about? SUBMIT IT HERE.
Till next time, do your best and take it one day at a time. Care for yourself and the people around you. Believe that the world can be better than it is now. Never give up. And remember, you're not alone. We always have each other.
Onward to the World We Deserve,
Elisa & Ray
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