Last week, I began data collection for two projects that will help us understand Resistance in the age of COVID-19 (and leading up to the 2020 election). Although both of these projects were planned well before the pandemic basically shut-down the US, questions were added about how the pandemic has affected individual’s activism and political work. Luckily, both projects involve data collection through online surveys, which means I am still able to do the research while under stay-at-home orders in the state of Maryland:
- The Indivisible Census. This project tracks the Indivisible movement during the 6-months leading up to the 2020 elections. Over 400,000 people involved in the movement were asked to participate in the study to see what activists are doing and how it changes around the election (and due to the Coronavirus). Some preliminary findings based on the first 10,000 responses were posted as a thread on twitter on April 15th.
- Studying Hosts of Earth Day Live. This project involves a third wave of data collection with organizers in the youth climate movement. It specifically surveys the people who are working to host local efforts around the US to participate in the 3-day climate strike that was scheduled to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. The event has pivoted online due to COVID-19. Some preliminary findings from early data was posted as a thread on twitter on April 15th.
While I collect data from these groups of activists, the 2020 Election is heating up. Since Sanders dropped out of the race last week, endorsements for Biden have come in from many of the more progressive candidates in the race, including Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders himself. At this point, the Biden campaign continues to work to gain the support of the progressive wing of the Democratic Party. I am hopeful that these new data will help us track this process, as well as how Resistance shifts and endures during this pandemic.
Dana R Fisher 