So, You Want to get Arrested?
Change will come only at the hands of unflagging creativity, standing up, never backing down, making yourself heard, accepting risk, and embracing direct non-violent action. Lisa Fithian’s Shut It Down offers a first-person look into some of the most significant social movements over the past four decades and how they have been powered by people coming together.
Justice comes with a lot of hard work, courage, and even jail time. Sometimes protests don’t go as planned and you might find yourself about to be arrested. The best course of action is to be prepared for anything.
The following is an excerpt from Shut It Down by Lisa Fithian. It has been adapted for the web.
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Listen to the following excerpt of the audiobook for Shut It Down:
If you have made the decision to risk arrest, you’ll want to plan ahead. Here are some tips for a safe stay in jail:
Justice for Janitors Week of Rage, 1995. Photo Courtesy of Rick Reinhart.
Get a good night’s sleep and eat a good meal beforehand.
Put a protein bar in your pocket and eat just before arrest. You may not see food for a while, and it will not be good!
Start hydrating the night before.
Leave all jewelry behind.
Depending on the plan, either have an ID or not.
Wear comfortable clothes and dress in layers.
Know that you will be searched and your property will be taken from you.
Make sure you have nothing on you that could be construed as a weapon.
Have no drugs on you unless it’s medicine. Bring medicine in a prescription bottle.
Don’t take your phone, but if you do, make sure your passcode lock is on.
Have a legal support number written on your body with a permanent marker. I tend to write it on my belly or leg.
Have a little bit of money on you for transportation just in case.
Make friends in jail. Stretch, sing, cry, meditate, play games, or sleep—it might be a long time!
Advocate for yourself and your group. Once a woman needed a tampon and they wouldn’t give her one, so we started chanting “No Tampons, No Peace!”
Don’t let them criminalize you. Remember that you are fighter for justice, and for that you can be proud!
“You don’t go to Fithian when you want to carry a placard. You go to her to make sure there are enough bolt cutters to go around.”—New York Times
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