At 86 years old, a lifelong organizer reflects on decades of direct action — and keeps showing up. George Lakey founded the activist training institute Training for Change, which remains active today, and has written on nonviolent strategy, including his book How We Win: A Guide to Nonviolent Direct Action Campaigning. Citizen George follows his journey from a working-class upbringing through sit-ins in the U.S. civil rights movement, sailing a ship of medical supplies into Vietnam in defiance of the U.S. war, and serving as an unarmed bodyguard for human rights defenders at risk of assassination in Sri Lanka.

The film moves between past and present, pairing these actions with more personal moments — including what it meant to come out as gay during decades when that carried serious risk. The film shows how Quaker community, training networks, and multiracial coalitions have shaped his choices and kept him going through loss and burnout.