Challenging Government

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Civil disobedience has been an important part of the fabric of this country and a key to social change from the earliest days of the country’s development, through the Vietnam War protests, to the work of the civil rights movement and beyond.

As a new administration is set to begin its work within a divided country, acts of civil disobedience are on the horizon – some being organized now to be held before, during and after the inauguration of President Trump.

In a large country with a clutter of messages and a widening mix of media, are acts of civil disobedience even more relevant today? Will civil disobedience be used to disrupt a new administration that sees itself as disruptive? When is civil disobedience morally justified?
Does the means justify the ends? Can it go too far?

A panel of activists at a National Press Club Newsmaker news conference will discuss these and other issues at 10 a.m., Fri., Jan. 6, in the club’s Zenger Room.

Speakers at this news conference include panelists who have been directly involved in acts of civil disobedience, including the co-founder of Occupy Wall Street, Micah White; Attorney Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, executive director of the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund, a non-profit constitutional rights legal organization that has litigated landmark free speech matters, works towards the elimination of discrimination and prejudice, and challenges government and police misconduct; and Adam Eidinger, local D.C. activist who has led civil disobedience acts related to the International Monetary Fund, genetically modified food and the legalization of marijuana.

The National Press Club is located on the 13th Floor of the National Press Building at 529 14th St., NW, Washington, D.C. Like all Newsmakers events, this news conference is open to credentialed media and NPC members, free of charge. No advance registration is required.