How to organize a protest clean-up, wherever you live

A few days after protests started in Washington D.C. against systemic racism and the police killing of George Floyd, Diego Garces joined in.

But after seeing empty water bottles, face masks, hand sanitizer packets, and gloves littering the streets, he wanted to do more than just march. Since then, Garces has cleaned up trash left behind by protesters on the newly-named Black Lives Matter Plaza, located in front of the White House, and surrounding blocks. He's also recruited other people to help him. He supports those calling for justice for Floyd, who died after an officer kneeled on his neck for nearly 9 minutes, and cleaning up is just another way to show how much he cares.

"I started picking up trash from the [Lafayette] park, just to show solidarity to Washington, D.C. and to also give those protesters who are there peacefully a positive image... and to leave this area clean also speaks volumes," says Garces. While he doesn't normally protest, the Black Lives Matter movement encouraged him to take action.

"I said, I'm going to support this cause; I've experienced racism myself. I'm Latino... and I'm also openly gay, so I know a little bit about discrimination," says Garces.

Protest clean-ups have been been springing up around the country for weeks. While the clean-ups follow the protests, they're not in opposition to them. Instead, the efforts support the protesters' right to be heard, ensuring destruction doesn't define the larger movement.

Indeed, while the early days of the protests saw images of non-violent marching and chanting swirled with vandalism, looting, and violence, protesters say this obscures the largely peaceful demonstrations taking place. Protesters have also been seen protecting buildings from vandalism. Meanwhile, some even argue looting can be interpreted as another form of protest. Police, too, have been perpetrators of a lot of the violence at protests.

Mass protests have several moving parts, sometimes in opposition to one another. You can't lump all of the mess left behind into one, but that doesn't matter for those cleaning up the aftermath. It's about caring for your community and showing up to help.

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Garces, for his part, views his mission as two-fold: to clean up after protesters and, when not cleaning, to protest racial injustice.

Usually, Garces is out cleaning up from 3 p.m. until 1 a.m. or 2 a.m. He recently lost his two jobs because of the coronavirus pandemic and, therefore, has the time.

Michael Johnson, the president and CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Dane County, Wisconsin, is also organizing clean-ups in Madison. Johnson says his immediate reaction was to mobilize. For him, the demonstrations are warranted.

"For a number of years African Americans have been marginalized. When you look at the racial disparities in our country, there's a lot of built-up anger from African American families being over-policed," he says.

Mashable spoke with Garces and Johnson for advice on steps you can take to organize a protest clean-up, no matter where you live.

1. Mobilize through social media

Both Garces and Johnson put out a call on social media to get volunteers to join their clean-up efforts. Johnson has a large network to draw from, because of his association with the Boys and Girls Clubs, and was able to corral about 1,500 to 1,700 volunteers by posting on a Facebook "neighbors helping neighbors" page. Johnson, who condemns looting, also recommends reaching out to social influencers to get them to raise awareness about a clean-up to attract more volunteers.

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Garces, on the other hand, moved to D.C. two years ago and says he doesn't have many friends in the area. So far, he's gotten 20 to 25 people to help him clean up, both through posting on his personal Twitter page and on a Facebook group for people new to D.C. Though the majority of helpers, have been passersby who saw him on the street and stopped to join.

"Sometimes people would show up, sometimes they wouldn't. That wouldn't stop me," says Garces.

Garces also posts his clean-up photos on social media. He's not doing this to brag about his good deeds but to spread the word and get more volunteers.

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2. Link up with other volunteers for community and supplies

Garces became friends with the volunteers who hand out face masks, snacks, water, hand sanitizer, and other supplies so he can be around other people and have a place to hang out while not picking up trash. But these friendships go beyond companionship. Often, Garces only eats one meal a day while cleaning so snacks can be essential. He says he and the other volunteers all share supplies to try to prevent anyone from running out.

Garces also introduced himself to the volunteer medics helping hurt or dehydrated protesters, in case he had a medical emergency or even just a cut on his hand. This connection came in use when Garces and other protesters were tear gassed on June 1, as police forcibly cleared them all so Trump could snag a photo-op. He was cleaning up trash right before this happened and turned on Facebook Live to document it. He was on the church property and ran toward a medic tent where medics threw water in his face.

Outside of personal medical issues, Garces says getting to know medics is also useful since they now know to direct people to him if there's a trash problem. This can be anything from a garbage overflow to trash bins destroyed by the weather to volunteers who need more trash bags.

3. Crowdfund money

The Boys and Girls Clubs of Dane County has been incredibly successful at raising money for George Floyd's family and for businesses that were damaged during the protests. They ultimately raised over $200,000 through a GoFundMe campaign and checks. Floyd's family will receive $5,000, and the the Boys and Girls Clubs of Dane County will also send an additional $15,000 to Ahmaud Arbery's family, says Johnson. Arbery, a 25-year-old black man, was out for a run in February when he was chased by two armed white men and then fatally shot by one.

"While we support the Black Lives Matter Movement, we also support the businesses that were harmed in the aftermath of the protesting," explains Johnson.

Johnson says the fundraisers' successes are due to his personal connections and the reputation of the Boys and Girls Clubs. He suggests utilizing social media to raise money, especially if you don't already have an established network.

You don't need nearly that amount to make a difference. Garces, with the help of his friends and family, has raised $500. He says posting photos on social media of his clean-up efforts worked best, and people around the country asked if they could donate. The funds go to necessary supplies such as gloves, hand sanitizer, and trash bags.

He's also encouraged people to drop off supplies if they don't feel comfortable donating money. It comes in handy: On a typical day, he usually goes through 90 industrial contractor bags. Each bag can hold up to 55 gallons of trash, so that's almost 5,000 gallons a day. On weekends, he brings extra supplies to account for larger crowds.

4. Coordinate with the city

Let your city know what you're doing so they can help.

Johnson says he contacted the executive director of the downtown business district to request that large garbage bags be placed downtown.

"The city had to move quickly to adjust to the number of volunteers we had coming down," says Johnson.

Similarly, Garces has tried to inform D.C. of his efforts. He says he tried to contact Mayor Muriel Bowser's office and the D.C. Department of Public Works (DCDPW), which among other things collects trash, but hasn't gotten through. So instead, he's tagged the mayor and DCDPW in social media posts to try to get their attention.