50501: Decentralized grassroots organizing mobilizes tens of thousands across all 50 states at once
Over the course of 12 days, grassroots organizers—without any budget, centralized structure, or official backing—pulled off over 80 protests in all 50 states on 1 day. The protests were covered by every major media outlet, showing the world that the American working class will not sit idly by as plutocrats rip apart our democratic institutions and civil liberties while undermining the rule of law.
After weeks of watching a constitutional crisis unfold, tens of thousands reclaimed their power, transforming their love for their communities and country into unified action. 50501 was an enormous win for the growing movement to resist the Trump administration’s anti-democratic, destructive, and illegal actions and policies. But how did it come to be?
On the 25th of January, Reddit user u/Evolved_Fungi posted on social media proposing a nationwide protest to resist the Trump’s administration’s actions and policies taken in the first 5 days of his presidency. “I was seeing so many people feeling lost and struggling to find their community. People were struggling with what to do, and when to do it, and how to find the people to do it with.”
They tapped into a feeling many of us share today: overwhelmed by endless content and choices, leaving us uncertain about how to effectively resist the changes Trump is pushing in our lives. People are ready to be active in building the world they want, but with too much negative press and too few examples of real wins, it’s hard to know where to start.
So u/Evolved_Fungi had a simple idea: 50 protests in 50 states on 1 day. “I felt like the idea behind 50501 would solve all of those struggles I was seeing and we all were feeling. Just pick a time and a date and where to be, and let the people do it from there.” Originally they proposed May 5, but one commenter added that “that’s too far out, let’s make it sooner.” Fungi responded without hesitation, moving up the date up to February 5, 2025.
It rapidly went viral, gaining traction through Tiktok and a dedicated subreddit, r/50501. The reason it gained so much traction so quickly was not just because of the world-wide outrage at the “shock-and-awe”, ultra-conservative, Christian-nationalist campaign being rolled out at light speed by the White House. It went viral in large part because no one tried to claim it and take control. As Fungi said from the beginning, “it wasn't my thing, it was just an idea I had.”
In their reddit post from the night of February 5, they continue, “It wasn't an organization. It was just people organizing. That's what 50501 was all about.”
Of course, not having organizational backing had downsides. Many thought 50501 was a Russian or Elon-backed psy-op, perhaps being set up to provide grounds for Trump to institute Martial law. In the words of several movement elders that we talked to in the lead-up, “No local or national organizations know what this is. I wouldn’t touch it with a ten-foot pole.”
But for the people who weren’t organized— that is, who are not affiliated with any activist or advocacy organization– the opportunity to build something so simple and direct from scratch is part of the reason why hundreds hopped in.
Strangers joined the subreddit and started acting autonomously and with no direction or guidelines from above. A Discord group formed, and then a group on Signal. From that central signal group erupted a constellation of over 50 groupchats, at least one for each state. Volunteers from NoVoiceUnheard spent sleepless nights rigorously ensuring that every single protest had a permit. Political Revolution, a PAC dedicated to progressive politics, gave their backing to assuage fears that the protests were being faked.
People across the country eagerly leapt into action, using their unique strengths without being asked or told. Some made posters for every state, some took on outreach to local organizations, and others organized resources and important information on protest times and locations, first on an excel sheet and later on sites including ours. It was a truly organic groundswell of grassroots, non-hierarchical organizing.
Meanwhile, around the same day that U/Evolved_Fungi made their reddit post, someone else in a different part of the country was building the tools that a movement could use to address that urgent need of helping people resist, build, and win.
#BuildTheResistance was born from a desire to help people see themselves as part of the larger fight against Trump’s policies—one that is strategic, organized, and takes many forms. It serves as a movement megaphone, amplifying actions (resist), resources (build), and victories (win) that block and build: Block the Trump-led plutocracy from dismantling our government and rule of law, and build the world that our communities deserve. By highlighting everyday resistance and the resulting wins (that are often not readily apparent), #BuildTheResistance aims to empower people who might not otherwise take action to step up in this critical moment.
When we came across the r/50501 subreddit a few weeks after we started creating this website, we recognized that this was the exact type of moment BuildTheResistance.org was being built for. Through Signal, Discord, and Reddit, we offered our open-source digital infrastructure, burgeoning resource hub, catchy call-to-action and accompanying hashtag. We joined forces and spent the next week working with hundreds of strangers to make February 5th a success and #BuildTheResistance a nationwide call to action.
If we can get hundreds of thousands in the streets in just days, imagine what we could achieve if each person who attended a 50501 protest spent time learning, training, and volunteering with established organizations who understand different levers of change and how to pull them. Protesting is just one tool; resistance takes many forms. Let’s #BuildTheResistance together.
