Democracy Spring was a progressive social movement organization based in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

that used campaigns of escalating nonviolent

civil disobedience Civil disobedience is the active and professed refusal of a citizenship, citizen to obey certain laws, demands, orders, or commands of a government (or any other authority). By some definitions, civil disobedience has to be nonviolent to be cal ...

to build active public support to "end the corruption of big money in politics and protect the right to vote for all Americans." The organization began as a coalition of "more than 100 progressive groups" with a common interest in US federal legislation intended to reduce "the influence of money in politics" and "expand and protect

voting rights Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise is the right to vote in representative democracy, public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in ...

." A ten-day non-violent protest march was held in April 2016 from

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Washington, DC Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

. Its demands included the passage of several bills such as those to improve voter rights and empowerment and require fair elections. During the course of the protest, 900 to 1,200 individuals were arrested. The group disbanded in 2019.

Actions

140-mile march to U.S. Capitol and sit-ins

A group of Democracy Spring participants began a ten-day march from

on April 2, 2016. The initial events received widespread coverage on social media, and outlets like NPR and

C-SPAN Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American Cable television in the United States, cable and Satellite television in the United States, satellite television network, created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a Non ...

, while cable news networks devoted little time to the protests. The protest began with a rally and participants included progressive political commentator Cenk Uygur, actress Rosario Dawson, educator and activist

Lawrence Lessig Lester Lawrence "Larry" Lessig III (born June 3, 1961) is an American legal scholar and political activist. He is the Roy L. Furman Professor of Law at Harvard Law School and the former director of the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvar ...

, author Frances Moore Lappé, Chris Hedges, filmmaker Annabel Park, Ben & Jerry's founders, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, and "many attendees sporting

Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician and activist who is the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from the state of Vermont. He is the longest-serving independ ...

clothing and signs." Demonstrators slept in local churches and at a tent set up near

Union Station A union station, union terminal, joint station, or joint-use station is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway company, railway companies, allowing passengers to connect conveniently bet ...

with a permit. The first day of nonviolent protest during the April mobilization drew over 600 people to the

United States Capitol The United States Capitol, often called the Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the Seat of government, seat of the United States Congress, the United States Congress, legislative branch of the Federal government of the United States, federal g ...

building, where over 400 were peaceably arrested. The group demanded a "Congress of conscience" pass laws related to voter representation that would encourage small political contributions, constrain large and undisclosed political contributions, end

gerrymandering Gerrymandering, ( , originally ) defined in the contexts of Representative democracy, representative electoral systems, is the political manipulation of Boundary delimitation, electoral district boundaries to advantage a Political party, pa ...

, and reinstate mechanisms from the Voting Rights Act. The group also demanded a hearing for

President Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. Ob ...

's Merrick Garland Supreme Court nomination, which was postponed by the legislature. NPR found the event to be "cheery and peaceful" and a Capitol Police officer said that unless the protesters had outstanding warrants, they would "merely be processed, cited with a fine, and released." Police arrested 85 activists on that second day, and organizers said it was the largest mass arrest at the Capitol building in history. The second protest held hundreds of participants, many of whom were elderly. More protests were planned daily throughout the week and over 3,500 people across 33 states pledged to participate. On the third day around 100 protesters were arrested. A dozen protesters were arrested inside the Capitol building's rotunda and 130 arrested outside on the fourth day. The dozen indoor protesters had zip tied themselves to scaffolding in an attempt to occupy the Capitol building. By Saturday, over 900 activists had been arrested in total over the week. The Independent Voter Project reported that by Monday over 1200 had been arrested in total. Democracy Awakening, which is closely aligned with Democracy Spring, followed up Democracy Spring's April protest with a protest of their own in a similar fashion at the U.S. Capitol. Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, Ben and Jerry's co founders, were among approximately 300 people arrested as part of the "Democracy Awakening" protests.

Democratic National Convention

In the lead up to the

2016 Democratic National Convention The 2016 Democratic National Convention was a presidential nominating convention, held at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from July 25 to 28, 2016. The convention gathered delegates of the Democratic Party, the maj ...

, the strategic leadership of Democracy Spring issued four demands to the

Democratic National Committee The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the principal executive leadership board of the United States's Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party. According to the party charter, it has "general responsibility for the affairs of the ...

. The demands were that the party commit, within the first 100 days of a new Congress and presidential administration, to reverse '' Citizens United v. FEC'', ensure publicly funded elections, and restore the preclearance provisions Voting Rights Act, which were made effectively unenforceable by '' Shelby County v. Holder.'' The fourth demand, reflecting that the first three looked forward to January 2017, was that the Democratic Party immediately abolish the superdelegate system as a show of good faith. Democracy Spring promised civil disobedience outside the convention if the demands were not met. Democracy Spring activists were barred from entry to the DNC's Rules Committee meeting where changes to the superdelegate system were being discussed. Activists claimed victory after the committee voted for a 2/3rds reduction in the role of superdelegates. The first day of sit-ins outside the

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 18 ...

resulted in more than 50 arrests. On the third day of the convention, Democracy Spring staged another sit-in, this time inside the convention perimeter, by "diverting and distracting" police. This second action resulted in dozens more arrests.

Demands

According to its website, Democracy Spring has identified the following measures whose adoption would "restore the people's voice in government": * Pass the Voting Rights Advancement Act (H. R. 2867, S. 1659) * Pass the Voter Empowerment Act (H. R. 12) * Pass the Democracy For All amendment (H. J. Res. 22, S. J. Res. 5) * Pass the Government by the People & Fair Elections Now acts (H. R. 20 and S. 1538)

Media

Notable participants and endorsers

The following individuals attended at least part of the April 2016 mobilization: * Rosario Dawson, actress *

Sam Waterston Samuel Atkinson Waterston (born November 15, 1940) is an American actor. Waterston is known for his work in theater, television, and film. He has received numerous accolades including a Primetime Emmy Award, Golden Globe Award, and Screen Actor ...

, actor *

, educator and activist *

Gaby Hoffmann Gabrielle Mary Antonia HoffmannStated on ''Finding Your Roots'', November 21, 2017 (born January 8, 1982) is an American actress. She made her film debut in ''Field of Dreams'' (1989) and found success as a child actress in ''Uncle Buck'' (1989 ...

, actress * Frances Moore Lappé, author * Chris Hedges, author * John Pudner, conservative political figure and founder of Take Back Our Republic * Annabel Park, filmmaker * Jodie Evans, political activist, author, and documentary film producer * Umi Selah, co-founder and mission director of the Dream Defenders * Ben Cohen, Ben & Jerry's co-founder * Jerry Greenfield, Ben & Jerry's co-founder * Cenk Uygur, political commentator * Medea Benjamin, activist and author * Joan Mandle, executive director of Democracy Matters * Adam Eichen, author The following individuals did not attend the April 2016 mobilization but offered an endorsement: *

Mark Ruffalo Mark Alan Ruffalo (; born November 22, 1967) is an American actor. He began acting in the late 1980s and first gained recognition for his work in Kenneth Lonergan's play ''This Is Our Youth'' (1996) and drama film ''You Can Count on Me'' (2000) ...

, actor *

Noam Chomsky Avram Noam Chomsky (born December 7, 1928) is an American professor and public intellectual known for his work in linguistics, political activism, and social criticism. Sometimes called "the father of modern linguistics", Chomsky is also a ...

, public intellectual * Frances Fox Piven, public intellectual * Zephyr Teachout, Law Professor and former candidate for Congress

References

External links

* * {{Portal bar, Politics, United States 2016 protests 2016 in American politics Nonviolent occupation Nonviolent resistance movements Progressivism in the United States Protests in the United States Social movement organizations Political funding Democracy movements