Sunrise Movement

After taking control of the House of Representatives in the 2018 midterm elections, Democrats disagreed about the best way to address climate change with legislation.[15] Sunrise planned a sit-in in Pelosi's office and asked Representative-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to help them publicize the event, which she instead decided to join herself.[5][16] The sit-in demands were that all members of the Democratic leadership in the House would refuse donations from the fossil fuel industry, and that Pelosi work to build consensus in the House over Green New Deal legislation to be passed when Democrats regain control of government.[17] The latter would be accomplished by a "Committee on a Green New Deal". The sit-in took place on November 13. Over 250 protesters showed up to occupy Pelosi's office, with 51 being arrested by Capitol Police.[17][18] Representative Rashida Tlaib voiced support for the protest over social media.[17] Speaker Pelosi responded by welcoming the protest over Twitter, offering to reinstate the Committee on the Climate Crisis and noting that the already-promised infrastructure bill could address many of the Sunrise Movement's concerns.[18]

Rallies in Chicago for a Green New Deal (2019)

One major goal has been to create a select committee on the Green New Deal, a plan opposed by some in the Democratic House leadership.[19][20]

The Sunrise Movement continued to campaign for House members to sign onto the plan to create a select committee for the Green New Deal, as opposed to simply resurrecting the old committee. On December 10, they staged a second sit-in at the offices of Nancy Pelosi and Jim McGovern. Over 1000 protesters showed up.[21][22] By December 19, 40 members of Congress had signed on to support the creation of the committee.[5]

Instead, Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer decided to recreate the Committee on the Climate Crisis, appointing Representative Kathy Castor as chair.[5]

In February 2019, several San Francisco Bay Area children along with their adult sponsors met with Senator Dianne Feinstein to urge her to vote to support Green New Deal legislation. Feinstein told the children that she is working on an alternative bill, and that she could not support the proposed legislation which she believes is "unworkable" and has no chance of passing the Republican-controlled Senate. However, she allowed that she might vote for it as a symbolic gesture. The Sunrise Movement shared a video of the interaction, shortened so that it "focused on clips of the most tense moments" via social media and on its website. The shortened version has been viewed more than three million times.[23][24] Sunrise also later posted the longer, unedited video on Facebook, resulting in controversy over whether the short version emphasized scenes intended to make Feinstein appear less sympathetic to the viewer.[25] Senator Feinstein characterized the discussion as "spirited", while the executive director of the Sunrise movement said that Feinstein's treatment of the students was evidence that the Democratic Party required "fundamental change".[26]

In April 2019, the Sunrise Movement held their Road to a Green New Deal Tour.[27] The tour was intended to garner support for the Green New Deal resolution, introduced in Congress by Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Ed Markey in February 2019. The tour spanned 8 cities and over 200 town halls, featuring local politicians, activists, and leading figures in the climate movement speaking about the importance of a Green New Deal and how to achieve it. The Road to a Green New Deal Tour kicked off in Boston with the lineup of speakers including Senator Ed Markey, Representative Ayanna Pressley, Sunrise co-founder Varshini Prakash, Reverend Mariama White-Hammond, and more leaders from the community speaking at the Strand Theater in Dorchester. It concluded in Washington, DC, at Howard University. Speakers included Senator Bernie Sanders, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, journalist Naomi Klein, and Justice Democrats co-founder Alex Rojas.

Sunrise Movement banner dropped in front of a DNC meeting (2019)

In early 2019, the Sunrise Movement defined one of its major goals as pressuring the Democratic National Committee (DNC) to hold a single-issue presidential debate on climate change.[28] The DNC currently bars candidates from participating in outside debates (defined as multiple candidates on stage interacting with each other) but has no policy regarding participation in outside forums and town halls.[29]

On June 26, 2019, Sunrise Movement activists slept on the steps of the DNC office in Washington, DC, to protest the lack of focus of the Democratic primary debates on the climate crisis, and to call for a focused debate on climate change.[30] On July 25, CNN and MSNBC announced they would be hosting a climate change Town Hall and Forum, respectively.[31] On August 22, the DNC Resolutions Committee voted 8–17 against hosting a DNC presidential climate change debate.[32] During the session, a resolution was passed to allow multiple candidates to appear on a stage together at a climate change town hall or forum. However, in the breakout session on August 24, the resolution was voted down 222–137, with the DNC chair voting no.[33]

In the summer of 2020, the Sunrise Movement began performing Wide Awake demonstrations, in which a group of protestors would gather outside a politician's house and make noise early in the morning. The movement was inspired by the 1860 Wide Awakes, and is in protest of issues including police brutality and climate change.[34] Politicians who have been "woken up" during these demonstrations include Mitch McConnell, Ted Cruz, Larry Hogan, Bill Barr, and Betsy DeVos.[35][36]

In late 2020, the Sunrise Movement began their Climate Mandate campaign by putting pressure on Joe Biden to pick a "climate cabinet" that would work towards Sunrise's goals such as the Green New Deal, and pushing for Biden to establish the "Office of Climate Mobilization".[37][38][39]

The national organization of the Sunrise Movement functions as the guiding force of the movement. Sunrise National sets campaigns, priorities, and makes their own endorsements.

The National organization has 4 main divisions:

• Organizing Division – responsible for building people power to achieve Sunrise's goals and implement strategy.
• Communications Division – responsible for all external and internal communications.
• Partnerships & Political Division – works with politicians and other institutional figures to achieve the political goals of the movement.
• Operations Division – responsible for maintaining the infrastructure of the movement.

The national organization recently created a 'Movement Leaders Portal' to centralize information.[40] Sunrise members across the country can log in to this portal to access movement documents, strategy, and an events calendar.

The Sunrise Movement is organized into decentralized "hubs" that operate in cities and towns across the United States. While the National organization is the main public-facing front of the organization, there are over 400 hubs spread over all 50 states that conduct their own actions, endorsements, and more.[41][42]Hubs typically follow the campaigns set by the National team, such as the Wide Awake actions conducted over the summer of 2020, but also have the authority to decide their own structure and actions. This falls in line with Sunrise Principle 7: We Take Initiative, which states that any group of 3 can take action in the name of Sunrise.[43] In the past, hub actions have included participating in climate strikes, making their own endorsements, and staging direct actions.[44]

Members of Sunrise have created "movement houses", which are shared living spaces where activists work and live together. These houses have appeared in Philadelphia, Washington, DC, Michigan, and more cities across the country.[45]

The Movement opposes closing down existing nuclear power plants.[46]