Ripple Effect at RNC in Minnesota: War Isn't Nice

On September 2nd, thousands of people gathered at the state capitol lawn in St. Paul, Minnesota to engage in trainings, educational workshops, community building activities, music, and art in the name of positive social and environmental change. Featured artists and speakers included Michael Franti, Anti-Flag, Dead Prez, Winona LaDuke, and Medea Benjamin.

Organized by a local nonprofit led by three motivated young progressives, Ripple Effect was Substance’s (the organization behind the event) first step in a series of efforts to manifest a united intergenerational front. These events are aimed at embracing the core values of the environmental and social justice movements, with a collective understanding that the solutions to these problems will require us to break down issue and generational barriers.

Ripple Effect - a daylong festival propelling a new wave of progressive action outside the RNC - went beyond the convention and beyond partisanship to empower and unite a diverse range of people with varying backgrounds and interests. ((i)) | more