Less than 12 days after election day, we rapidly convened young civil & voting rights leaders to DC to chart our path forward as a democracy movement.
Together, we laid the groundwork for our plans to organize for our freedoms, resist autocratic attacks like Project 2025, fight to protect DC’s autonomy, and envision an inclusive democracy for a post-Trump era.
Our conclusion for 2025 was clear — to successfully organize under autocracy, we require a student movement that transcends person and party.
Below is a timeline of what we accomplished over the past year. We met the moment. Our team grew stronger. And we showed that students have the courage to take on some of the most powerful institutions & interests in the country!
We plan to keep fighting — and winning — in 2026.
Nov 17, 2024 — Immediately after the election, we jumped into action. We brought together 50+ students & young leaders in the democracy movement in DC to chart our path forward to resisting authoritarianism under Trump.
Jan 25, 2025 — Just days after Trump’s inauguration, we organized Rise for Democracy with almost 50 partners. The 11-hour teach-in brought 500+ students & community members together to train (across 22 workshops) on how to organize under autocracy, resist Project 2025, and defend DC’s autonomy!
Apr 4, 2025 — When Trump’s admin ramped up its assault on higher education, we punched back — mobilizing at the Department of Education to demand an education system & democracy that works for our generation!
Apr 10, 2025 — When the far-right launched its biggest assault on voting rights since Jim Crow, we mobilized on Capitol Hill to stop the SAVE Act. In under an hour we reached 26 House members’ offices and flipped 2 members.
Jun 24, 2025 — We kicked off Democracy in Action, a 6-week anti-authoritarian training series that trained 50+ students on lessons from past student movements, mechanisms of campus organizing, and built plans to resist in the fall.
Jul 17, 2025 — 5 years since Rep. John Lewis’ passing, we marched for Good Trouble Lives On to demand a democracy that works for our generation.
Aug 5, 2025 — During the last Democracy in Action training, we launched Frontline for Freedom, a national anti-authoritarian network to resist attacks on student rights, college funding, and our democracy.
Aug 11, 2025 — When the Trump regime sent in ICE & the National Guard to occupy DC (and federalized DC’s police department), we held calls, trainings, and teach-ins for students to protect their rights, and organize against the occupation!
Sep 6, 2025 — We turned out over 150 students for the We Are All DC march to reject ICE, the National Guard, and the occupation of DC!
Sep 9, 2025 — With Free DC & Sunrise, we got 2,000+ students and faculty members to walk out of class at American, Georgetown, George Washington, and Howard Universities to demand an end to Trump’s occupation of DC!
Sep 10, 2025 — The next day we rallied with partners against the SAVE Act in the Senate.
Sep 15, 2025 — With GenVote, we dropped banners across the country to stop the Senate from passing the SAVE Act (and almost got arrested in DC).
Nov 7, 2025 — Thousands of students & workers across 115+ campuses took action as part of Students Rise Up to defeat Trump’s authoritarian campus compact and win affordability, security & freedom for our generation.
Dec 3, 2025 — We organized a workshop to expose billionaires & corporations trying to take away our constitutional rights and increase their power through an Article V Convention. Dozens of attendees joined and took action!
