WTO Resources

Community Alliance for Global Justice was founded by some of the organizers of the 1999 protests against the World Trade Organization (WTO). We offer these resources in hopes that people will be inspired by what this people’s movement accomplished, and carry on the spirit of resistance to build today’s social movements for global justice.

Resources : 1999 WTO Protests

Websites

WTO History Project  A collection of electronic resources, interviews and research compiled through the University of Washington (NB. the WTO History Project site is no longer being maintained but is still available for its historical value).

The city of Seattle municipal archives on the 1999 WTO protests Official letters, memos, photographs, correspondence, audio and video files.

WTO Accountability Review Committee Document Catalog More than 60% of the 13500 documents and audio files assembled by the Committee available online.

1999: WTO — HistoryLink webcam of protests and a slideshow of each day (November 30-December 3) Includes webcam and slideshow of the protests

Co-intelligence thoughts on Seattle WTO demonstrations A selection of analyses gathered by the Co-Intelligence Institute, Eugene, Oregon

Books

The Battle of the Story of the “Battle of Seattle”. By David Solnit and Rebecca Solnit, with the contribution of Chris Borte and Stephanie Guilloud, and introduction by Anuradha Mittal. AK Press, 2009.

5 Days that Shook the World: Seattle and Beyond. By Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St. Clair, photography by Allan Sekula, Verso, 2000.

Films

This is What Democracy Looks Like A co-production of the Independent Media Center and Big Noise films, follows the 1999 WTO protests in Seattle through the footage of over 100 videographers, Co-edited by CAGJ Member Jill Friedberg, 2000.

Battle of Seattle 10 Years Later: Organizers reflect on 1999 Shutdown of WTO Democracy Now!, November 2009.

Articles

Black Flag Over Seattle by Paul de Armond, Albion Monitor, February 29, 2000

5 Days in Seattle that Shook the World, by Alex Girma, Rachel Solomon, Connor Guy, as told to Eric Scigliano, Seattle Met, October 19, 2009. Testimonies by those who fought the battle, 10 years after.

WTO Meeting and Protests in Seattle (1999) — Part 1 and Part 2, by Kit Oldham, HistoryLink.org, October 13 and November 13, 2009.

The Battle of Seattle 10 Years Later: Organizers Reflect on 1999 Shutdown of WTO Talks and the Birth of a Movement Interview of the organizers David Solnit and Ananda Tan, by Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzales, Democracy Now!, November 30, 2009

7 Ways the Battle of Seattle Changed the World, by Fran Korten, Yes! Magazine, December 1st , 2009. The impact of the 1999 protests, 10 years later.

Behind the Scenes of Seattle, by Susan Gleason, Yes! Magazine, December 2, 2009.

“I Made Major Mistakes”–Ex-Seattle Police Chief Admits Response to 1999 WTO Protests Was Too Heavy-Handed Transcript of the interview of Norm Stamper, former police chief of Seattle, by Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzales, Democracy Now!, March 30, 2009.

‘Battle of Seattle’ and the WTO Legacy, by Jon Talton, Seattle Times, November 23, 2014.

The Dark Side of Globalization: Why Seattle’s 1999 protesters Were Right, by Noah Smith, The Atlantic, January 6, 2014.

Throwback Thursday: A History of Protests in Seattle, by Jaclyn Norton, Seattle Magazine, November 27, 2018.

 

Direct Action Resources

Beautiful Trouble: Direct Action as Tactic

Why Direct Action? by 350 Seattle

A Manual for a New Era of Direct Action, George Lakey

The Ruckus Action Strategy Guide