Lisa Fithian

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Lisa Fithian (born 1960 or 1961) is an American political activist and protest consultant.

Early life and education

Fithian was born in 1960 or 1961[1] and grew up in Hawthorne, New York. During high school, she founded the underground newspaper The Free Thinker. She began her work in the mid-1970s as a member of student government in her high school and at Skidmore College. She graduated from Skidmore in 1983.[2]

Activism

As a member and coordinator of the Washington Peace Center for seven years during the 1980s, Fithian organized hundreds of events and demonstrations on a range of issues, locally and nationally, and helped lead an extensive anti-racism process that transformed the Peace Center into a multicultural organization.[3]

In the early 1990s, Fithian joined the labor movement, bringing her experience to the Justice for Janitors campaigns in Washington, D.C., Denver, and Los Angeles.[4] She continued her work for social, economic, and environmental justice, providing training and organizing support to many of the global-justice mobilizations around the world since the shutdown of the World Trade Organization Ministerial in Seattle in 1999.[5]

After Hurricane Katrina, Fithian worked with the Common Ground Collective in New Orleans.[6]

Fithian previously served as a National Steering Committee member of United for Peace and Justice, a coalition of over 1,000 local and national groups working to end the war in Iraq.[7] She was also a member of the national team of Extinction Rebellion.[8][9]

In 2024, she worked with Columbia University students protesting for divestment from Israel, advising students who launched an occupation of Hamilton Hall on April 29.[10][11] The New York City Police Department labeled her a "professional agitator" in footage released during a press conference.[12]

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.[13] She wrote the 2019 book Shut It Down: Stories from a Fierce, Loving Resistance.[14]

References

  1. ^ Keh, Andrew; Rosman, Katherine (May 1, 2024). "The 63-Year-Old Career Activist Among the Protesters at Columbia". The New York Times.
  2. ^ Harkinson, Josh. "Meet Professor Occupy". Mother Jones. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  3. ^ "Who We Are". Washington Peace Center. Retrieved December 16, 2022.
  4. ^ French, Mary Ann (April 14, 1995). "TAKING IT TO THE STREETS". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved December 16, 2022.
  5. ^ "How We Shut Down the World Trade Organization". YES! Magazine. Retrieved December 16, 2022.
  6. ^ ""Shut It Down: Stories from a Fierce, Loving Resistance": Lisa Fithian Reflects on Decades of Protest". Democracy Now!. Retrieved December 16, 2022.
  7. ^ "Protesting Against War with Iraq". C-SPAN.org. Retrieved December 16, 2022.
  8. ^ "Shut It Down: Veteran Organizer Lisa Fithian Offers a Guide to Resistance in Era of Climate Crisis". Democracy Now. September 6, 2019.
  9. ^ Deaton, Jeremy (August 2, 2019). "The Radical Philosophy of Extinction Rebellion". PBS.
  10. ^ Keh, Andrew; Rosman, Katherine (May 1, 2024). "The 63-Year-Old Career Activist Among the Protesters at Columbia". The New York Times. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
  11. ^ "Columbia Threatens to Expel Students Who Took Over Building". Bloomberg.com. April 30, 2024. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
  12. ^ "Confirmed Professional Agitator Present At Columbia University". Vimeo. New York City Police Department. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
  13. ^ "What Lies Beneath: Katrina, Race, and the State of the Nation (publisher's overview)". February 15, 2007. Archived from the original on June 11, 2011. Retrieved December 17, 2007.
  14. ^ Publicist page at Net Galley for Shut It Down https://www.netgalley.com/catalog/book/166698

External links

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