Lisa Fithian (born ) is an American political activist and protest consultant.

Early life and education

Fithian was born in and grew up in

Hawthorne, New York Hawthorne is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) located in the town of Mount Pleasant in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. Its population was 4,586 at the 2010 census. History The ...

. During high school, Fithian launched an underground newspaper called ''The Free Thinker,'' which focused on topics such as social justice and free speech, reflecting her early interest in activism. She began her work in the mid-1970s as a member of her high school's student government, where she served as president. She continued advocacy work as president of the

Skidmore College Skidmore College is a Private school, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Saratoga Springs, New York. Approximately 2,700 students are enrolled at Skidmore pursuing a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Scien ...

Student Government Association. She graduated from Skidmore in 1983. Her brother David Fithian is the 10th president of

Clark University Clark University is a private research university in Worcester, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1887 with a large endowment from its namesake Jonas Gilman Clark, a prominent businessman, Clark was one of the first modern research uni ...

in Worcester, MA.

Activism

Fithian served from 1980 to 1987 as a member and coordinator of the

Washington Peace Center The Washington Peace Center was a nonprofit organization founded and located in Washington, D.C., focusing on peace and social justice. It officially closed ceased operating in 2020. The organization sought to provide education, support, and res ...

. During her tenure, she led and organized hundreds of events and demonstrations on a range of issues, locally and nationally. She led an organizational extensive

anti-racism Anti-racism encompasses a range of ideas and political actions which are meant to counter racial prejudice, systemic racism, and the oppression of specific racial groups. Anti-racism is usually structured around conscious efforts and deliberate ...

initiative, facilitated educational workshops, and supported campaigns addressing issues such as nuclear disarmament and racial justice. This helped transform the Peace Center into a multicultural organization. In the early 1990s, Fithian joined the labor movement, bringing her experience to the

Justice for Janitors In its broadest sense, justice is the idea that individuals should be treated fairly. According to the ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', the most plausible candidate for a core definition comes from the ''Institutes'' of Justinian, a ...

campaigns in

Washington, D.C. 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. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

, and

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. She continued her work for

social Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives fro ...

economic An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...

, and

environmental justice Environmental justice is a social movement that addresses injustice that occurs when poor or marginalized communities are harmed by hazardous waste, resource extraction, and other land uses from which they do not benefit. The movement has gene ...

, providing training and organizing support to many of the global-justice mobilizations around the world since the shutdown of the

World Trade Organization The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland that regulates and facilitates international trade. Governments use the organization to establish, revise, and enforce the rules that g ...

Ministerial in Seattle in 1999. After

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...

, Fithian worked with the

Common Ground Collective The Common Ground Collective is a decentralized network of non-profit organizations offering support to the residents of New Orleans. It was formed in the fall of 2005 in the Algiers neighborhood of the city in the days after Hurricane Katrina res ...

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

. Fithian previously served as a National Steering Committee member of

United for Peace and Justice United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

, a coalition of over 1,000 local and national groups working to end the

war in Iraq This is a list of wars involving the Republic of Iraq and its predecessor states. , style="background:#F88" , Coalition of Gulf War, Coalition victory * Kuwait, State of Kuwait resumes self-governance over all Kuwaiti sovereign territory * Esta ...

. She was also a member of the national team of

Extinction Rebellion Extinction Rebellion (abbreviated as XR) is a UK-founded global environmental movement, with the stated aim of using nonviolent civil disobedience to compel government action to avoid tipping points in the climate system, biodiversity loss, and ...

. In April 2024, she reportedly played a significant role in the pro Palestinian protests at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

. She was observed providing guidance to the students protesting for

divestment from Israel Disinvestment from Israel is a campaign that aims to use disinvestment to pressure the government of Israel to put "an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories captured during the 1967 military campaign." The disinvestment campai ...

, who launched an occupation of Hamilton Hall on April 29. She instructed them on barricading techniques and crowd management. The

New York City Police Department The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...

labeled her a "professional agitator" in footage released during a press conference, highlighting her influence in escalating the protests.

Writings

Fithian has written throughout the years, including the 2007 book anthology '' What Lies Beneath: Katrina, Race, and the State of the Nation'' by

South End Press South End Press was a non-profit book publisher run on a model of participatory economics. It was founded in 1977 in Boston's South End. It published books written by political activists, notably Arundhati Roy, Noam Chomsky, bell hooks, Win ...

. She wrote the 2019 book ''Shut It Down: Stories from a Fierce, Loving Resistance''.

In Popular Culture

* Lisa Fithian is mentioned in the 2015

Canibus Germaine Williams (born December 9, 1974), better known by his stage name Canibus, is a Jamaican-American rapper. First having gained recognition for his freestyling abilities, he signed with Universal Records to release his debut studio al ...

song "Mr. Montana... Thank You"Canibus. “TIME FLYS LIFE DIES... PHOENIX RISE.” ''Canibus'', Rbc Records, 2015. CD.

References

External links

United For Peace and Justice
* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fithian, Lisa Year of birth missing (living people) 1960s births Living people Skidmore College alumni American activists