signed a pledge<\/a> that they\u2019ll use their own power to meet the demands in November. Councilmember Katherine Gilmore Richardson did not sign the pledge but sent a personal letter of support to the activists.<\/p>\nBrown said that building people power has also been a success. Activists hosted two civil disobedience trainings, held three rallies, and participated in four acts of civil disobedience throughout Brown\u2019s 21-day hunger strike. Brown and other activists were physically removed from a public town hall event and handcuffed as they were removed from a sit-in at City Hall during their advocacy efforts.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll of this is just a springboard,\u201d she underlined. \u201cWe have so much momentum to carry into the summer and fall and next year as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brown noted that many supporters have been following the movement online \u2014 liking and commenting on Instagram posts, for instance. This is still the best way to keep tabs on the coalition right now, she said, but she also wants more people to come out to events because physical numbers at in-person gatherings can make a stronger difference in spreading the message.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe only way our public servants will serve us is if we make them, and that\u2019s what civil disobedience is for\u2026 this is our most powerful tool,\u201d Brown said.<\/p>\n
\u201cChanging the world means changing your life too \u2014 and if you\u2019re not someone who has ever brought their physical body to a location for community organizing or direct action, then it\u2019s going to be a change in your life to do that,\u201d she said. \u201cBut that\u2019s a change we have to make in our lives to get any decision makers to change or any systems to change or any money in the budget to change.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brown joined the Sunrise Movement when she was 16 after recognizing that the decisions of leaders affect whether or not people\u2019s basic needs get met.<\/p>\n
People have more in common than the billionaire class wants them to believe, she explained \u2014 underlining that they introduce controversies to divide and pit communities against each other as a distraction from the true obstacles that prevent wellbeing and progress. This new movement is about bringing together neighbors to create access to the lives she believes they deserve.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re all human beings,\u201d Brown said. \u201cWe all need food to live, and that includes the mayor. She\u2019s a human being. She knows what it\u2019s like to be hungry. She loves her family, her kids. But that\u2019s the love and that\u2019s the attitude she and every public servant has to apply to everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for Mayor Parker did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n
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