Join the Movement to Create People-Powered Communities in Indiana!
As Organized People, We Must:
Mobilize Around Issues > Align Across Shared Values > Build Mutual Aid > Train Volunteers > Equip Leaders > Create Electoral Strategies > Support Candidates > GOTV > Win Elections > Change Policy > Transform Indiana!
How Do We Do This? By Building A 3.5% Movement!
In a Ted Talk called “The Success of Nonviolent Civil Resistance”, Erica Chenoweth, a political scientist at Harvard University describes how she came to understand the sustaining, transformative power of nonviolent movements. Her studies showed that just 3.5% of any given population, committed to sustained nonviolent participation become transformative. So much so, that she calls it the 3.5% rule.
According to a BBC interview, Chenoweth argues that nonviolent campaigns are more likely to succeed because they can recruit many more participants from a much broader demographic. Nonviolent protest seems to be the best way to get that widespread support. “Numbers really matter for building power in ways that can really pose a serious challenge…to entrenched authorities…There weren’t any campaigns that had failed after they had achieved 3.5% participation,” she explains.
If indeed movements that have mobilized 3.5% of their population in sustained, nonviolent, active participation achieve their aims, then this transformative vision should give us all a renewed imagination for change.
Organizing Indiana is all about building our 3.5%!
What does 3.5% look like in practice at a county level? Here's a sampling of counties across South Central Indiana:
Bartholomew County:
- Total Population (2020): 82,208
- Adult Population (18 and over): Approximately 62,400
- 3.5% of Adult Population: Approximately 2,184 individuals (62,400 * 0.035)
Brown County:
- Total Population (2020): 15,475
- Adult Population (18 and over): Approximately 12,897
- 3.5% of Adult Population: Approximately 452 individuals (17,100 * 0.035)
Greene County:
- Total Population (2020): 30,803
- Adult Population (18 and over): Approximately 24,080
- 3.5% of Adult Population: Approximately 843 individuals (24,080 * 0.035)
Jackson County:
- Total Population (2020): 46,428
- Adult Population (18 and over): Approximately 34,548
- 3.5% of Adult Population: Approximately 1,209 individuals (34,548 * 0.035)
Johnson County:
- Total Population (2020): 161,765
- Adult Population (18 and over): Approximately 122,730
- 3.5% of Adult Population: Approximately 4,296 individuals (122,730 * 0.035)
Lawrence County:
- Total Population (2020): 45,011
- Adult Population (18 and over): Approximately 35,500
- 3.5% of Adult Population:** Approximately 1,243 individuals (35,500 * 0.035)
Marion County:
- Total Population (2020): 977,203
- Adult Population (18 and over): Approximately 738,860
- 3.5% of Adult Population: Approximately 25,860 individuals (738,860 * 0.035)
Monroe County:
- Total Population (2020): 139,718
- Adult Population (18 and over): Approximately 117,646
- 3.5% of Adult Population: Approximately 4,118 individuals (117,646 * 0.035)
- That’s just 412 people bringing 10 people each!
Morgan County:
- Total Population (2020): 71,780
- Adult Population (18 and over): Approximately 54,850
- 3.5% of Adult Population:** Approximately 1,920 individuals (54,850 * 0.035)
Owen County:
- Total Population (2020): 21,321
- Adult Population (18 and over): Approximately 17,100
- 3.5% of Adult Population: Approximately 599 individuals (17,100 * 0.035)
Scott County:
- Total Population (2020): 24,385
- Adult Population (18 and over): Approximately 18,960
- 3.5% of Adult Population: Approximately 664 individuals (18,960 * 0.035)
These figures are based on the most recent census data (2020) and provide an estimate of the adult populations in each county and what 3.5% of those populations would be.
COURAGE IS CONTAGIOUS: BUILDING YOUR 3.5% NETWORK
Let's break these numbers down further. What does it mean if we each bring 10 people into the 3.5% Movement? For urban counties like Marion County, that would be 2,586 people bringing in 10 people each. And for rural counties like Brown, that looks like 45 people bringing 10 people with them! Imagine what we can do when ALL 92 COUNTIES organize!
Think about the different communities you are part of. Use this list below to guide you. Adding just 2 people you know from each category gives you 14 people in your network. You've already exceeded your 10 person goal!
- Immediate Family and Relatives
- Friends and Neighbors
- Co-workers and Professional Contacts
- School and Alumni Networks
- Religious or Community Groups
- Sports, Hobbies, and Social Clubs
- Online and Social Media Connections
MAHATMA GANDHI'S TRUTH-FORCE PRINCIPLES
Quoting Mahatma Gandhi: “Whatever is done for me, but not done with me, is done to me.” It feels right that we center these transformative principles that, in English, are called “Truth-force”.
- Nonviolence – Nonviolence is not just avoiding physical harm but also refraining from hatred, anger, and harmful thoughts. It is an active force for love and truth.
- Truth – Truth is the ultimate guiding principle. Seeking and standing by the truth requires honesty, integrity, and openness to self-correction.
- Self-Suffering – Willingness to endure suffering, rather than inflict it on others, is a powerful way to awaken moral consciousness in both the oppressor and the oppressed.
- Self-Discipline and Control – Nonviolence requires self-discipline in thoughts, words, and actions, including control over desires and material attachments.
- Fearlessness – True nonviolence requires courage. One must not fear persecution, suffering, or even death in the pursuit of justice.
- Welfare of All – The goal is the upliftment of all people, not just one group or nation. This includes economic and social justice.
- Self-Reliance – Relying on one’s own resources and promoting local economies prevents exploitation and dependency, aligning with nonviolent resistance.
- Trusteeship – Wealth and power should be held in trust for the well-being of society rather than for personal gain.
