Read the powerful foreword to We Will Not Be Ruled, connecting the spirit of civil rights movements to today’s fight for democracy. A call to collective resistance and strategic action.
In the sanctuary of Clayborn Temple in Memphis, 1968, sanitation workers gathered wearing placards that read “I AM A MAN.” On the front lines in Selma, marchers stood immovable before state troopers. In church pews and on picket lines across America, communities raised their voices to sing “We Shall Not Be Moved,” an anthem that traveled from plantation fields to union halls to the frontlines of the civil rights movement.
This declaration—that ordinary people refuse to surrender their dignity and rights in the face of overwhelming force—runs like a bright thread through our democratic history. It is this same tradition that We Will Not Be Ruled deliberately invokes.
The language of collective refusal has always belonged to those who understood that democracy is not merely a system of government but a daily practice of resistance against the forces that would diminish human freedom. “We Shall Not Be Moved” wasn’t just a song; it was a statement of moral certainty that together, rooted in solidarity, people could withstand the fiercest storms of oppression.
When we chose the title We Will Not Be Ruled, we placed ourselves consciously within this lineage. The echoes are intentional. The resolve is the same. What the civil rights movement understood—what every successful democratic movement has understood—is that authoritarianism prevails only when we accept its inevitability. The most powerful act of resistance begins with a simple, collective declaration: we refuse.
But refusal alone is not enough. The civil rights movement succeeded not just through moral clarity but through strategic brilliance, organizational discipline, and the painstaking work of building democratic alternatives. Their triumph came not just from what they opposed, but from what they created together.
This handbook aims to honor that tradition by moving beyond symbolism to strategy, beyond momentary protest to sustained power-building. The methods have evolved, but the fundamental challenge remains: how ordinary people, standing together, can effectively resist those who would transform democracy into tyranny.
The great liberation movements of the past understood something essential—that the most effective resistance creates bonds of solidarity so strong that no force can break them. “Like a tree that’s planted by the water, we shall not be moved.” This image, drawn from the spiritual tradition and immortalized in song, speaks to both steadfastness and rootedness—the twin requirements for democratic defense.
In the pages that follow, you will find practical tools for modern resistance, but they are animated by an ancient spirit. The struggle for democracy has never been easy, and it has never been finished. Each generation must renew it, reinterpret it, and defend it anew.
Today, as authoritarianism gains ground across the globe, we add our own verse to this enduring chorus: We Will Not Be Ruled. Not because resistance is simple, but because together, it is possible.
The tree stands. The waters rise. We shall not be moved.
[This is an excerpt from the upcoming book “We Will Not Be Ruled: The People’s Handbook to Defeat Tyranny.” Subscribe to be notified of publication and to receive our tactical democratic defense guides.]