A weekly protest at an intersection near you!

Start Your Own

Why this?

Imagine a protest on every corner in your city — on every corner in America.

It would be the biggest protest in history.

You and your neighbors could easily join it and see it, instead of traveling to the center of the city for an occasional protest. You can build community (the #1 way to fight fascism and build democracy).

Plus, it’s fun!

About Us

Freedom Fridays were started in January of 2025 by two friends, artist Julie Peppito and her fellow neighborhood organizer Kate Fermoile, in response to the reelection of Donald Trump, which heralded an avalanche of attacks on our democracy, and on our neighbors.

Julie and Kate recruited friends to help paint big, bold signs with messages like “PEOPLE OVER BILLIONAIRES,” “JUSTICE FOR ALL,” and “HONK FOR FREEDOM,” They invited neighbors and members of their Indivisible chapter, Brooklyn Resisters, to join them at the busy corner of Ocean Parkway and Church Avenue on Fridays from 5:30-6pm to hold up signs.

Since their inaugural event, the group has never missed a Friday, and the number of participants has grown immensely. In routinely exercising our First Amendment right to protest, we have formed new friendships, and found joy and fun in dark times. And many other regular Freedom Fridays and Rush Hour Resistance Protests have begun. Start your own! See below for how to do it.

How do you start your own?

Choose a time, e.g. Fridays from 5:30-6pm

Rush hour is best for maximum impact.
Evening is preferable, as commuters and participants are less groggy or focused on getting to work.

Choose a location

Location should be convenient for participants and well-trafficked, with space for participants to gather safely yet visibly on the side of the road.
This action has historically been directed at drivers, but parks, pedestrian malls, and other highly trafficked areas may also be suitable. Avoid densely commercial areas where you may be blocking store entrances or making it difficult for pedestrians to pass.

Name your action

Name your action. “Freedom Tuesdays, Resistance Wednesdays,” or whatever you want.

STEP 1: MAKE A PLAN

STEP 2: CHOOSE YOUR MESSAGES

Messages are more effective if they are short and easy to absorb

This is a broad “calling in” action, and messages ideally will not antagonize passersby who may not share your views.

Avoid insults and name calling
Avoid cursing (though we have been known to go with the occasional “WTF??”)
Seek out points of solidarity: “PEOPLE, NOT BILLIONAIRES,” “LOVE THY NEIGHBOR,” “ICE OUT,” “A BETTER WORLD IS POSSIBLE,” “JUSTICE 4 ALL,” “WE DESERVE BETTER,”
Direct passersby to honk for a cause: e.g. HONK FOR DEMOCRACY

Guidelines from JP (link to how-to video of flowers / make how-to for simple signs and lettering)
Supplies: Cardboard, No VOC indoor wall paint (flat or eggshell), brushes (½ in for lettering, 3 in for covering large surfaces, 1 in & 2 in also nice to have), box cutter, blades, cutting mat, pencil. For pole: card stock, hot glue or elmers, masking tape, dowels, craft paper

STEP 3: MAKE YOUR SIGNS

STEP 4: INVITE PARTICIPANTS

Sample weekly message:

After this exhausting week, come and find some hope and community this evening. As we know, action is the antidote to anxiety.
Join us to show that community, creativity, and solidarity are stronger than fear, cruelty, or authoritarianism.
Today 5:30 - 6:00 PM
Ocean Parkway & Church Ave
Bring a friend (or two). If you can’t make it to Ocean Parkway, head to a corner near you.
In solidarity,
Your Freedom Fridays team

STEP 5: HOLD YOUR FREEDOM FRIDAYS EVENT

Keep it light and welcoming: dance, wave, and hold your signs up high. You are out there making the resistance visible, and hopefully irresistible too..
Be aware of your surroundings: Don’t block pedestrian paths and be careful to stand back from the road
Spread out so that your signs are visible to drivers
Document for social media and posterity
- Get a head count of how many people came to the action.
- Take a group photo at the end of each action. Those who don’t want their participation to be public can hide their faces with their signs, or step away.
At the end, make sure all signs and materials are gathered and returned to storage.

STEP 6: DEBRIEF AND WRAP-UP

Go celebrate! Piggyback off the energy of your action with an informal gathering to share stories and lessons learned, eat snacks, fold zines, and get to know each other.
Spread the word! After each event, share what you’ve done for maximum visibility (with permission from participants)

BEST PRACTICES

Communication Hub

Create an email list/WhatsApp/Signal chat
Make a Facebook or other webpage to share pictures and updates

Schleppers

Recruit a small group of schleppers to help transport signs, speakers, and other materials to the site, and to bring it all back to a storage spot afterwards.

Welcomers & Welcome Ambassadors

Designate one or two people to welcome new participants, and to add them to your Signal chat, listserv, or other communication hub.

Music

Bring a speaker and play music! This adds great energy to the action. That said, there are laws against noise disturbance. Be aware of local laws, and of enforcement. (We have never had any problems.)

Safety Protocols

Peaceful protest is 100% legal, and is protected by the First Amendment. In our more than a year and a half of gathering, Freedom Fridays has never had any interactions with police or other law enforcement. Nevertheless, in expressing political views in a public space, it is always important to be aware of your surroundings, and have strategies for responding to negative feedback. Keep in mind that negative reactions are to be expected; if everyone agreed with us, we wouldn’t be out here!
- Offer participants opportunities for deescalation and marshal training.
- Have a designated deescalation person or people in case of confrontation.
- Risk assessment: Each participant should assess their own level of risk in participating in a public facing activity like this.
- Remind participants to stay mindful of their proximity to all passing traffic - cars, trucks, bikes, mopeds, and pedestrians. You want to be visible, but in no way obstructive.

At Freedom Fridays, we hand out Know Your Rights and How to Report ICE zines, whistles (for ICE sightings), and sometimes holiday-related items (anti-fascist valentines, candy for Halloween).
- Set up a table with different types of information for passersby
- For those who feel safe doing so, and if you are at an intersection where cars are stopped at a traffic light, participants may approach cars and offer zines, whistles, etc. This is a higher-risk activity, and should be done in a calm, respectful way. Do not engage drivers who do not want to be engaged.

Handouts

OUR PURPOSE

The goal of Freedom Fridays and the larger Signs of Freedom movement is to state, consistently, in a highly visible way, that we are not okay with what is happening in our country. Our actions are founded on the idea of “social proof,” a psychological phenomenon whereby people look to the actions of others to determine how to behave, especially in uncertain situations.
In standing up and saying, “We oppose this” and “we want something better,” we show others who may be feeling the same way that they are not alone, and, what’s more, that it is possible to publicly express those views. We can see this at Freedom Fridays as drivers give us the thumbs up, honk their horns, flash their headlights, or roll down their windows and say “thank you.” These acts of solidarity are of course rewarding for us. But more importantly, they do the work of amplifying our actions. And that amplification is contagious. Once one car starts honking, typically many others follow suit.
These actions serve another vital function: they foster community building. In these harrowing times, people are hungry to be in the company of others who share their feelings and beliefs. Signs of Freedom actions seed the growth of a political home—an outlet for participants to express their anger, along with their hopes and fears, and to take action, in community with others. Forging these connections is essential to building strong, lasting networks of resistance to the deeply-rooted corruption, cruelty and injustice we face.
What’s more, these weekly gatherings have the potential to spawn other kinds of engagement. After Freedom Friday, participants often gather to fold zines, or assemble whistle kits, or just to hang out. Together, they plan mutual-aid activities, hatch lyrics to new protest songs, extend rapid response networks, or provide points of entry for immigration court accompaniment.
In sum, this consistent, collective ritual has become a cornerstone of resistance for many of us.