The Franklin Project
The Franklin Project
For Young americans to take our future into our own hands.
America is becoming an authoritarian country.
With ICE detaining, and disappearing legal US citizens, the government sending troops to LA, DC, Portland and Chicago to squash peaceful protests, and political violence being normalized and even encouraged, we are rapidly losing our democracy.
This doesn’t just mean our generation will have less safety, worse politicians, and fewer opportunities than those who came before us- it means we will be victim to the unpredictable and dangerous whims of a dictator. Our educations, our careers, and our chance at building the life that we dream of are all at stake.
But even though these threats are overwhelming, young people in particular have the power to meet the moment, defend our democracy, and build the future we want to live in. A future safe from climate change. A future with economic opportunity and mobility for all. A future where children everywhere can grow up with food to eat and a roof over their head. This future is possible- but only if we fight for it.
How will The Franklin Project fight for our future?
We will form a network of young Mainers who engage non-violently in eye catching and effective protest around our state to protect our democracy and our future.
This network will run a series of protest campaigns to draw Mainers attention towards the effects of our governments authoritarian actions on everyday people. We will organize to show public support for lawmakers who fight ICE and BP, and put pressure on the ones who stay quiet. We will create a legislative friend group of Maine State Legislators who will introduce and fight for bills that protect democracy in Maine. And we will work with local immigrant rights groups to form a human rights rapid response team to defend those targeted by ICE and Border Patrol in our state.
From Serbia to the Philippines, history tells us that authoritarian regimes topple when young people get involved- and especially when they use tactics that go beyond rallies and marches towards more disruptive acts of peaceful non-cooperation. While marches are important for showing public outrage and creating community, speeches don’t matter much when the right people aren’t listening. The Franklin Project will make them listen, by using tactics of past successful non-violent movements, which you can read about on our “information and inspiration” page.
We can’t sugarcoat it anymore.
What can you do about it?
Look, we know that being a young person right now means you are busy. Busy with coursework, busy with college applications, busy paying your rent, busier than older people were at your age. But this movement is made for and run by young people. We wouldn’t ask for your involvement if it wasn’t important.
Right now, we need people to volunteer their time to help organize our movement and to lead campaigns, but most importantly we just need you to show up and stand up for your rights alongside us. To learn more about what that will look like, you can can come to our first in-person meeting!
our first in-person meeting is coming up!
You can help us kick off this movement by being there!
Our first in-person meeting is coming up on Sunday, November 30th at 6PM. Young Mainers from across the state will gather to meet each other and hear from TFP’s organizers about the movement we are creating. We will talk about the details of our first campaign, as well as about past resistance movements and organizers who guide us. If you want to meet other young people passionate about creating a better future for us all, this meeting is for you!
To let us know you are interested in attending, please fill out the form below with your name, email, and hometown- this will help us decide where to hold our first meeting!
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Being young means you often feel overlooked- but history tells us that young people have particular power in taking down autocrats. The Soweto Uprising of students in apartheid South Africa revived a democratic movement whose adult leaders had long felt discouraged. Seeing the courage of their children pushed these leaders to fight for the democracy South Africa has today. In Serbia after the falling of Serbian President and dictator Slobadan Milosevic, a soldier was asked why he didn’t shoot a crowd of protestors like Milosevic had ordered. He replied, “I didn’t shoot because my kids might have been in the crowd”.
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At a time when 30% of Americans believe that they “may have to resort to violence in order to get the country back on track”, having a strong resistance movement that is non-violent has never been more important.
Studies conducted by political scientists Erica Chenoweth and Maria Stephan found that between 1900 and 2006, non-violent movements were twice as likely to succeed in dismantling authoritarian regimes than violent ones. Simply put, non-violence doesn’t work. But most importantly, violence only begets more violence. To live in a peaceful world, we must create it peacefully too.
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In America we have a two-party system, and both the Republican and Democratic parties are responsible for the authoritarian threats we face today. Furthermore, the attacks of an autocrat are not selective, one day they might be focused on just immigrants and the next on the entire working class. This means that this cause is not just for immigrants, not just for queer Americans, and definitely not just for democrats- it is for all of us.