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99 Percent Spring/Challenging Corporate Power Kicks Off Teach-Ins

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Are you in?

This week, 99 Percent Spring/Challenging Corporate Power — a large coalition of progressive organizations, from Greenpeace to Occupiers to CWA — began training 100,000 people across the country to tell the story of how America's economy collapsed and the history of non-violent direct action. These teach-ins will give participants the tools to launch their own progressive actions and campaigns for change.

"We totally oppose Citizens United and that Supreme Court decision," CWA President Larry Cohen told The Ed Show on Monday. "We need to get the money out of politics. We need to restore democracy to where every vote counts, not every billionaire counts. So that's the root of the problem and the problem can be fixed. And we support Constitutional amendments that would do that. Again, that democracy is critical to why we're seeing the 99 Percent Spring training now."

Hollywood stars Olivia Wilde, Penn Badgley, and Zoe Kravitz also began promoting the trainings in a new MoveOn.org video. "Let's all make this a Spring to remember," encourages Wilde.

Activists are meeting at 978 gatherings around the country in homes, community centers, houses of worship, campuses, and public spaces. More than 2,000 CWAers are expected to be a part of the 99 Percent Spring training and join in Shareholder Spring actions, including on May 3, the date of the Verizon annual shareholder meeting. To participate in a training this weekend, sign up here.

Cohen told The Huffington Post that the trainings are focusing on direct, non-violent actions — not anger. "We want to take action in a way that inspires a nation rather than be based on anger," he asked. "The anger is understandable. Our goal is to be part of building a coalition of 50 million or more — not 5,000. We're not going to build something that will win primarily on anger."