{"id":356497,"date":"2026-07-09T12:01:07","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T12:01:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/activist\/defeating-authoritarianism-recap-the-center-for-artistic-activism\/"},"modified":"2026-07-09T12:01:07","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T12:01:07","slug":"defeating-authoritarianism-recap-the-center-for-artistic-activism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=356497","title":{"rendered":"Defeating Authoritarianism Recap – the Center for Artistic Activism"},"content":{"rendered":"


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On June 15, nearly two hundred people joined live to learn how we stop reacting to each new crisis and start dismantling the machine underneath them.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n

This session was organized around an appearance from Stacey Abrams. A last-minute emergency kept her from joining, but the 10 Steps Campaign\u2019s director, Robert Sills, stepped in. What he and Janelle delivered was the real substance of the work.<\/p>\n

The hidden gears<\/h2>\n

The gears that drive authoritarianism are built upon a narrative. Authoritarianism follows a narrative formula:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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  1. invent a threat<\/li>\n
  2. promise a glorious past-as-future<\/li>\n
  3. present a strongman savior who alone can deliver it<\/li>\n
  4. define an in-group and blame the out-group<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Once you can see the formula clearly, you see ways to\u00a0push back on each piece.<\/p>\n

    The good news is the formula has a counter. Janelle walked us through the Unrig the Future<\/strong> narrative cycle:<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n

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    1. reveal the real<\/em> threat<\/li>\n
    2. show a better<\/em> future<\/li>\n
    3. build collective<\/em> power in place of the strongman<\/li>\n
    4. show how everyone belongs and is included<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Janelle\u2019s example from the workshop made it clear. When the National Guard was deployed to D.C. because of \u201ccrime,\u201d people argued about crime statistics. But they were more effective when they named what was actually happening: an abuse of power. That reframe helped a\u00a0national pushback take shape. The problem was never crime. It was power.<\/p>\n

      The playbook, and the way out<\/h2>\n

      Robert Sills brought it home with the playbook itself \u2014 ten steps to autocracy, and ten steps to freedom and power. Not one of them asks you to be an expert or wait for permission. As the campaign puts it: start where you are, with what you have, among those you know.<\/em> <\/p>\n

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      You can read all twenty steps at 10stepscampaign.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

      Resources from the workshop<\/h3>\n

      The Defeating Authoritarianism Resource Pack<\/a> PDF<\/p>\n

      Center for Artistic Activism Campaign Kit<\/a> PDFs<\/p>\n

      Slides used in the Defeating Authoritarianism Presentation<\/a> PDF<\/p>\n

      The research Janelle cited:<\/strong><\/p>\n

      Harmony Labs report: Ultranationalism<\/a>
      Define American<\/a> report
      National Endowment for Democracy<\/a><\/p>\n

      Join the Action Challenge Summer Club<\/h4>\n

      Mondays at 4pm Eastern, this summer<\/em><\/p>\n

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      Go further with the material, get support as you create<\/p>\n