Ruckus Society
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The Ruckus Society is a nonprofit organization that sponsors skill-sharing and non-violent
direct action Direct action is a term for economic and political behavior in which participants use agency—for example economic or physical power—to achieve their goals. The aim of direct action is to either obstruct a certain practice (such as a governm ...
training, strategy & consultation for activists and organizers from frontline and impacted communities working on
social justice Social justice is justice in relation to the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society where individuals' rights are recognized and protected. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has of ...
,
human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...
, migrant rights,
workers rights Labor rights or workers' rights are both legal rights and human rights relating to labor relations between workers and employers. These rights are codified in national and international labor and employment law. In general, th ...
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 ...
. It was founded by
Mike Roselle Mike Roselle (born 1954) is an American Environmental movement, environmental activist and author who is a prominent member of the radical environmentalism movement. Roselle is one of the co-founders of the radical environmental organization Earth ...
and Twilly Cannon.


Background

In an interview with John Sellers, former executive director and current president of The Ruckus Society, stated that Roselle and
Cannon A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder during th ...
founded The Ruckus Society in the mid-1990s based on the "direct-action model" they learned from
Greenpeace Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by a group of Environmental movement, environmental activists. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth to nurture life in all its biod ...
. The name of the organization, explains Sellers, is not an acronym but refers to the term "ruckus", meaning "a loud, angry interruption, a hullabaloo, a disruption." The Ruckus Society's mission is to provide training in classic nonviolent direct action and
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 ...
tactics in the context of community-driven campaigns, including creative resistance, urban rappelling, media & communications, and blockades with and without gear. The organization consists of a small core group of staff members, and a larger team of volunteers in close contact with the leadership. In 2002, the organization had a staff of four full-time employees, roughly thirty volunteers, over 120 people acting as trainers, and over 2,000 graduates of their training opportunities. Volunteers designs custom trainings and camps based on the specific needs and campaigns of the activists, and use popular education techniques to allow participants to discover the direct action knowledge they already possess. According to leadership, The Ruckus Society provides, "non-violence training, media training, direct action planning and strategy, and scouting."


Services and collaborations

The Ruckus Society has co-sponsored projects including the Not Your Soldier Project (NYS), a counter-recruitment effort with the
War Resisters League The War Resisters League (WRL) is the oldest secular pacifist organization in the United States, having been founded in 1923. History Founded in 1923 by men and women who had opposed World War I, it is a section of the London-based War Resisters' ...
, and the Indigenous Peoples' Power Project (IP3), bringing together indigenous youth organizers from all over the country. In 2006, Ruckus teamed up with Working Assets for an Election Protection project. Together with
Global Exchange Global Exchange was founded in 1988 and is an advocacy group, human rights organization, and a 501(c)(3) organization, based in San Francisco, California, United States. The group defines its mission as, "to promote human rights and social, econom ...
and
Rainforest Action Network Rainforest Action Network (RAN) is an environmental organization based in San Francisco, California, United States. The organization was founded by Randy "Hurricane" Hayes and Mike Roselle in 1985, and first gained national prominence with a gra ...
, they worked against
Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational corporation, multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. T ...
and later other auto-manufacturers. The Ruckus Society is a member of numerous coalitions efforts, and have performed actions for Wal-Mart Watch and others. The group has provided training to
Greenpeace Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by a group of Environmental movement, environmental activists. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth to nurture life in all its biod ...
, Patagonia, Inc., the
California Faculty Association The California Faculty Association (CFA) is an American labor union that represents lecturers, professors, counselors, librarians and coaches from the 23 campuses of the California State University (CSU). It is the exclusive collective bargainin ...
, United Students Against Sweatshops, Students for Bhopal,
Student/Farmworker Alliance Student/Farmworker Alliance (SFA) is a network of students and youth formally organized in 2000 in the United States. SFA campaigns for the improvement of working conditions in the agricultural fields of the United States. The organization cooperat ...
, the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition,
Students for a Free Tibet Students For a Free Tibet (SFT) is a global grassroots network of students and activists working in solidarity with the Tibetan people for human rights and freedom. The group uses education, advocacy, and nonviolent direct action Direct act ...
and Detroit Summer. The Ruckus Society helped bottomline organizing for the US Social Forum in Detroit in 2010 and hosted a Migrant Rights Action Camp with NDLON at the Highlander Center in 2011.


Leadership

John Sellers was the executive director of the organization for 8 years, through 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 ...
protests in
Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
in 1999, the creation of IP3 and NYS and his own $2 million bail. Adrienne Maree Brown came on as executive director in 2006, the first woman of color to lead the organization. The organization created a co-directorship model in 2010 and in 2013 hired a third co-director. Leadership in the organization comes from the network of trainers and the many movements from which they come.


Impact

The Ruckus Society is made up of three staff and a network of over 150 action trainers and strategists located primarily in the United States but also distributed throughout the world. As a movement support organization, The Ruckus Society has trained thousands of organizers and activists throughout the years in non-violent direct action and creative resistance, including those in environmental justice, migrant rights, education justice, forest defense, indigenous rights, workers rights, youth and criminal justice, and eviction defense.


Funding

According to research conducted by social movement scholar Edouard Morena, "over 95 per cent of the Ruckus Society's revenues come from 'direct public support'" and private grants, not governmental grants. This type of funding includes donations for individuals, foundations, and other organizations. In 2000, the organization had a budget of $370,000. Major funders of The Ruckus Society have included the
Turner Foundation Robert Edward Turner III (born November 19, 1938) is an American entrepreneur, television producer, media proprietor, and philanthropist. He founded the Cable News Network (CNN), the first 24-hour cable news channel. In addition, he founded ...
, the Ben and Jerry's Foundation, and the Ecology Center Inc.


Criticism

In its early years, The Ruckus Society was criticized for being composed of largely privileged white activists, which has been acknowledged. This led the leadership to attempt to diversify its causes and leadership. Since the mid-2000s The Ruckus Society has collaborated with numerous groups representing Indigenous environmental concerns, migrant rights, and Detroit-based environmental groups. The organization has also been critiqued for its lack of transparency around funding sources. This has prompted attempts at investigating the sources of their funding. The Ruckus Society has been the target of conservative outlets who describe the group as violent anarchists, and as being responsible for training criminal activists who participate in vandalism and destruction of private property.


References


External links


The Ruckus Society
{{Authority control Advocacy groups in the United States Anarchism in California Anarchist organizations in the United States Organizations based in Oakland, California Protest tactics Social justice organizations