One of the most stressful parts of any movement, curfews or otherwise, is running protests, rallies, and other gatherings.

We know what you're thinking: "What if nobody shows up? What if the press doesn't show up? What do we do when we get there?"

After about 10 minutes of walking in circles and waving signs, as nobody looks on, people start to feel stupid. At least if the press is there, there's somebody to look good for.

So, we'll take you through the steps of organizing & executing a good protest.

Do You Need One?
Not all battles against curfews requre a protest. Protests are perceived as a release, a spontaniousish physical gathering of people that are no longer content to sit back and take whatever inequity or injustice that they've been tolerating.

Of course, there's nothing spontanious about them. The roots of protests probably lie in lynchings and mob-riots. (For the record, Curfew.Org disrecommends lynchings.) But you see what it should resemble: dozens, hundreds of people, all seperately deciding that they're mad as hell, and they're not going to take it anymore.

Now, if there has only been a suggestion that perhaps there ought to be a curfew in your area, it's unlikely that dozens of people would be taking to the streets.

Wait until the energy is high, people are discussing the proposed curfew / removal of the curfew, and the press is starting to carry stories. Then, when the mood is right, you want to have a protest.

"What If They Threw A Protest And Nobody Came?
Don't worry, everybody fears this. No matter what you learn here or anywhere else, you'll be terrified right up until you see your protest on the 11:00 news. (And perhaps even then.) Recruiting is the most important thing when launching a protest.

You have to get people to commit to showing up. Make yourself a little handbill containing the basic information (who, what, when, where, why, how) regarding the time and location of the protest. Start with people that you already know are sympathetic to your cause, as well as the folks -- we all know them -- that show up at any protest, just to be there.

This is why you have friends and family. Parents, brothers, sisters, uncles, the weird guy that sits next to you in class, even your dog. All of them can come, at least to serve as warm bodies. You should really have at least a dozen or two folks there.

Remind your recruits that they don't actually have to do anything. They can just stand there. Or, if they're excited, they can pass out handbills, wave signs, or talk to the press.

Where To Hold It
The best place to hold a curfew protest is out front of the building that contains the law-making body that is interested in passing a curfew, or that passed it in the first place. Ideally, it should take place on a night that they meet. Be certain to hold it at least a few weeks in advance of a vote regarding the curfew. Usually, by the day of the vote, lawmakers have made up their minds.

Other good places include appropriate teenager gathering spots. With the cooperation of your favourite coffeehouse, for example, you could hold a poetry slam during the hours of the curfew, with poems about being a teenager, freedom, free speech, et cetera. The press loves this stuff. It shows how wonderful, intelligent, creative, not-bad, whatever that kids are. This is a good thing.

It's good to hold these during curfew hours, but remember that some members of the press may not care to be out at 12:30am to film kids walking in circles. Try to gauge your local press outlets to determine when is good. Be creative.

Assign Jobs
Assign your jobs to your core group. If you've gotten this far, you probably have a few friends with whom you're working with to fight this curfew. So, somebody will have to take the role of leader, for the night, and everybody else will have to divide up tasks.

Handbills are a good idea. One person can write these up and get a few dozen copies made. Two should fit on an 8.5"x11" sheet of paper. These will be handed out to passers-by, press, and on-lookers.

Somebody will have to write a press release. It should be sent out a day or two before the protest. Get it to all local magazines, newspapers, radio stations and TV stations. If the curfew has gained attention from larger media outlets, let them know, too.

The press release should say the same stuff that a handbill or poster would, only targeted to press, not to teenagers or parents. This means that you have to demonstrate that this is a topic of great public interest, something that this particular media outlet would be remiss in failing to cover. (Note "demonstrate" -- don't tell them in so many words.) This is an opportunity to feed them facts and statistics that refute what the law-making bodies are saying. They'll use it in their stories, which make the law-makers look like fools. This is a good thing.

Make signs. Just get some poster board, like for the science fair, and some wooden slats. Write messages, and made a dozen or so. Do it with a few friends. Make certain that you have a variety of protest messages. That way, each media outlet can pick to photograph or describe the one that best fits their story. Don't do everything in the same handwriting, or with the same color poster board -- it should look like everybody brought their own signs.

Have a few people that recruit, if possible. They don't have to worry about anything but getting people to come to this protest. They'll put up posters advertising the protest and wrangle friends and family into coming.

There should be a roster made of available spokesfolk. This should consist of a half-dozen to a dozen kids, all within curfew age, that can speak to the press. There needs to be a good representation of different sexes, races, ages and appearances. The roster will list their name, age, address, phone number, and, perhaps, school attended. That can be given to members of the press so that they have people to interview. You're making their job easier, since they don't have to hunt kids down, and you're controlling what's said to the press, by prepping these kids. Make certain that they all have absolutely clean criminal records, are good students, are well-spoken, friendly, personable and reasonbly well-dressed. If they're not well-dressed, then well-spoken will be good. This shows adults that these scary-looking teenagers are actually intelligent, nice people. It's helpful to have them at the protest. If they can make themselves available after the protest to go to the local TV station for interviews, that's even better. Remember that they have to get a ride there and back home, or wherever.

The leader will need to lead.

Develop an Agenda
Plan the protest, and break things down into 10- to 15-minute segments. ie:

7:45 Everybody convenes. Handbills begin to be distributed.
8:00 Press arrives. Leader meets them, explains what's going on, and asks if they have a particular angle on the story that they could use help with. They should be given a copy of the handbill, the speech, along with any other available literature.
8:10 Protesting begins. Handbills are given to passersby, people walk in circles, waving signs.
8:25 Leader gives impassioned speech, protesters assembled behind leader, press filming from front.
8:30 At end of speech, protesters cheer, being protesting anew, and march down Main Street to have tea and cookies.

You get the idea.

Checklist
You really ought to have most of this stuff. It's useful.

Podium
Protest Signs
Anti-Curfew T-Shirts
Handbills
Press Contact Sheets
Press Release
Speech
Mobile Phone
Duct Tape

D-Day Preparations
The big day is here. Are you ready?

A few hours before the protest, call news stations and confirm that they'll be sending somebody. Call people that said that they'd attend and get them to confirm. Call your sign-makers, and make sure that they made them. Go over your speech, read it to yourself in the mirror. Read it to your cat. Read it to your socks.

An hour before the protest, get together with your core group. Discuss last-minute worries, problems and glitches. Have a beer; relax. (That was a joke.) Read the speech to them and get criticisms. Go to the copy shop and make a few dozen copies of the handbills, and a half-dozen or so of the press contact sheets.

At 15 minutes before the press is supposed to show up, it's time to assemble. Only half of the people that said that they'd absolutely be there will show up. Whip out your mobile phone and call them. Re-read your speech. Now, panic, re-write it, scribbing all over it. You'll feel better. Tell the modest-sized assembly what the plan is, schedule- wise. Get a couple of aggressive people to start putting those handbills in the hands (hence the name) of on-lookers. This is a good time to take a few minutes to discuss why the curfew makes you mad, which will get you in a little frenzy. You could use it.

If you have t-shirts, start to distribute them. Suggest a place to change, for those that don't want to put them over what they're wearing. T-Shirts on dogs and babies make good press.

The Press
The press starts to show up. They're late. Don't bother protesting until they show up -- you're only putting on a show for them, anyhow. Introduce yourself as they start to show up. If you can find out their stance on the curfew, do so. Give them another copy of the press release. Give them a copy of the handbill, and also the contact sheet. Tell them that some of those kids are at the protest, and that they'd be available for interviews after the protest, in just a little bit.

Marching
When all the press that's going to show up is there, it's time to start. Begin by handing out the signs, pacing about, and come up with some sort of a stupid chant. Yes, it's embarassing, but it's just how protests work. Don't walk in too tight of a circle, or you'll get dizzy. Let the press photograph this, and keep it up for 10 minutes or so. Have fun. Really, just laugh at yourself.

Speechifying
Now you have to break off, as leader, and go over to the podium. (Should you have one.) The protesters should, oddly, stand behind you. So you're giving a speech to approximately 5 people. But, this way, the photos of the event show you speaking with a huge amount of people standing behind you.

You'll be terrified, hands shaking, and barely remember actually giving the speech. It will be hard to read, because you'll be shaking so much. If the press sets up microphones, don't speak into them. Just speak as you normally would; they'll get the sound just fine. You have to be passionate. If you just read it, this whole event is a flop.

Be certain to pause for cheering. (You should have somebody leading the cheering section.) Acknowledge it, and continue. Those key sentences, the ones that you're so proud of? Don't slur those in with other sentences. Speak them as their own entities, so that they can become sound bites.

At the end of your speech, the crowd should break into extended cheering, and "spontaniously" begin protesting again. Like a movie, you've gotten to the climax. The bad guy is dead, the good guy has won. Now you have to ride off into the sunset. How is this best accomplished? There's a few ways.

Ending
You could march away to some pre-determined spot. A few blocks away to some statue of Thomas Jefferson or something. But then you leave the press in the dust. But at least it ends things.

Or, if you've arranged it beforehand, interviews could begin. So the protesters quiet down their protesting, and form a wall, at least a few people deep. In front of this, position the people to be interviewed. (Remember, during this transition into forming the wall, you're talking to the press, distracting them.) This way, like when you gave your speech, it makes it look like the place is packed.

Pick whichever method you prefer, or make your own.

Post-Protest Interviews
Ignore the questions that you're asked. Example:

Reporter: Well, little Mindy, this has been quite a protest. Tell me, what school do you go to?
Mindy: Yeah, this has been a great protest. And I think that it goes to show that MLK Jr. Middle School students don't take these racist, un-Constitutional laws lightly. Why, did you know... [etc.]

Usually, the press doesn't know what to ask, so they just say the first ridiculous thing that comes into their head. You know this issue better than they do, so you need to run the show. If you can toss them a bone, like in the answer above, all the better.

There needs to be some sort of an action recommended. Simply being against the curfew, in interviews, isn't good enough. Everybody interviewed needs to conclude with the same thing, such as "Everybody needs to go out to the City Council meeting on the 24th and voice their concerns!"

If conditions permit, suggest to the television station(s) that a few of the kids on the contact list go back to the TV station for in-studio interviews. Though not all reporters are looking for this (say, if they want a gritty urban look), some may jump at the chance.

At the station, be friendly, even childlike, asking for a little tour, where the bathroom is, whatever. Then, when interviewed, it's time to be serious and adult. (Note: If you're 18 years old, don't act like a 10-year-old. Use some sense.) This shows the reporter that these are just average kids, like any others, not some serious, straight-laced intellectual freaks. (Which, in fact, they should be.)

Done
Congratulations, you just ran a protest. Wipe your brow, and tell yourself that you'll never do that again.