XRDC Neighborhood Group Overview
Currently, the DMV area has one large Extinction Rebellion chapter made up of different Working Groups and Affinity Groups. Although we have been able to pull off successful actions and see our volunteer numbers grow, our current structure is limiting our potential for exponential growth. A fractal structure is crucial to building our movement as our numbers reach into the hundreds and thousands, and more localized organizing will be critical to sustained growth and the continued success of the movement.
Neighborhood Groups are our solution to fill the gaps in our current structure and provide the space for exponential, fractal growth. We envision a Neighborhood Group as a group of rebels that gather to create an Extinction Rebellion community presence in a local area by building participation and taking action towards XR’s four demands. The central XRDC chapter will offer resources and support to Neighborhood Groups, but they will be autonomous structures within their area, consistent with our principle of decentralization.
We envision Neighborhood Groups following the same growth pattern as all XR chapters. They will most likely start out with a small group of active members (at least 3) in a particular neighborhood. Initially, a neighborhood group will be focused primarily on outreach to find other potential new members in their community. As they gather more volunteers, they will begin dividing into specific work areas and building capacity in more areas.
Once the Neighborhood Groups are up and running, we will be able to bring in many new members and empower them to take action, rapidly increasing our overall capacity. Starting Neighborhood Groups is our way of ensuring that the Rebellion will thrive in and around the nation’s capital. Our long term vision is to have many autonomous and active XR chapters around the DMV that can coordinate on major actions together.
Check out this page to join an info session and get started with neighborhood-level XR organizing!
Starting a Neighborhood Group
We are currently seeking rebels who are interested and willing to start up a Neighborhood Group in their area. Our vision of a robust, decentralized, highly localized Metro DC XR group cannot come about without dedicated volunteers stepping up to help us grow. Starting a Neighborhood Group will not only help XRDC reach its next phase of growth, it will also give you an opportunity to find and build a local community of climate-concerned people and take concrete steps toward local climate action.
The group of people who step up to start a neighborhood group will be filling a role we’re calling “stewards”. Their main goal will be to help get the neighborhood group up and running. We encourage XRDC rebels who have been involved with XRDC, have connections in their local area, and/or have capacity to devote time to organizing, as well as new members who are passionate about XR’s vision and theory of change, to consider becoming Neighborhood Group Stewards. Once the Neighborhood Group has some momentum, the stewarding role will end and the stewards can take on other roles within the group.
Before forming a Neighborhood Group, stewards must commit to the following:
Go through basic XR member training: Attend a “Heading for Extinction Talk”, an XR DNA training, and a Self-Organizing System training
Attend a Neighborhood Group steward information session
Join the “Neighborhood Groups” subgroup within the Outreach & Onboarding working group. This subgroup will meet biweekly, allowing Stewards to stay up to date on chapter developments and coordinate/collaborate with one another
Hold an initial gathering for interested people in your neighborhood, with a goal of establishing regular, biweekly meetings and events
Once the Stewards are trained and the Neighborhood Group has started meeting consistently, Stewards should encourage their groups to focus on the following activities:
Start doing outreach to the neighborhood, primarily through the following activities:
Heading for Extinction Talks
Nonviolent Direct Action Trainings (XRDC Action Working Group can provide trainers)
Climate grief circles (XRDC Regenerative Culture Working Group can provide facilitators)
Tabling/collecting signups at local events (e.g. farmers markets)
Gardening/Planting events
Get as many Neighborhood Group members as possible to join basic XR member trainings
Identify local issues around which actions can be planned
Once the group is large enough, support group members as they move toward more specialized roles and responsibilities
Every neighborhood group that forms will have access to the following resources:
The XRDC Neighborhood Group Startup Guide, which includes resources on giving the talk, action planning, guerrilla gardening, and much more
A dedicated email list using our email platform, Action Network
An XR Facebook page for their local area
A Library of XR Resources collected from chapters across the globe
If you are interested in starting an XRDC Neighborhood Group in your area, please join one of our information sessions to find out more! You can see a list of upcoming NHG Info Sessions here:
If you have any questions or need help with anything, don’t hesitate to contact us at extinctionrebelliondc@protonmail.com