On Wednesday September 30th, PSE Director Dr. Dana Fisher presented her research on participation in large-scale climate protest at the Workshop for Society and the Environment. Her talk, titled “The People’s Climate March as an Example of Social Movement Accretion,” focused on preliminary findings from a paper in progress with PSE Fellow Anya Galli that explores the multiple processes by which social movements expand their reach by mobilizing large numbers of participants.
The People’s Climate March took place on September 21, 2014 in New York City. Billed as the “Largest Climate March in History,” the event (led by 350.org) mobilized unprecedented numbers of people to call for “climate justice for all” and action on climate change legislation and hosted a coalition of more than 1500 unique organizations. Organizers estimated that the total turnout was around 400,000 people (although other estimates are closer to 150,000) and it took more than five hours for protesters to cross the official starting point of the march. Conversely, the recent #FollowFrancis rally for climate justice during the Pope’s visit to Washington, D.C. on September 24th2015, mobilized only a few thousand participants. Despite expectations for a large turnout for the event, people attending the rally filled only the front portion of the first of five blocks portioned off for the event on the National Mall.
The People’s Climate March took place on September 21, 2014 in New York City. Billed as the “Largest Climate March in History,” the event (led by 350.org) mobilized unprecedented numbers of people to call for “climate justice for all” and action on climate change legislation and hosted a coalition of more than 1500 unique organizations. Organizers estimated that the total turnout was around 400,000 people (although other estimates are closer to 150,000) and it took more than five hours for protesters to cross the official starting point of the march. Conversely, the recent #FollowFrancis rally for climate justice during the Pope’s visit to Washington, D.C. on September 24th2015, mobilized only a few thousand participants. Despite expectations for a large turnout for the event, people attending the rally filled only the front portion of the first of five blocks portioned off for the event on the National Mall.
So what made the People’s Climate March such a successful event? How was the climate movement able to reach out to a wide range of activists, everyday citizens, and organizations? Existing research has addressed the expansion of social movements through various lenses including social networks, organizational coalitions, and computer-mediated channels. We propose that movements use multiple, complimentary processes to attract and mobilize participants to build and magnify their cause.
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