Kitchen Table ActivismBackground: Kitchen Table Activism (KTA) is a monthly project of the Rural Organizing Project. Often building on quarterly themes, short actions are described in each KTA. The theory is that basic steps and tasks can lead to powerful collective results as small groups of people gather to complete the same action throughout the state of Oregon. ROP works to keep the basic tasks easily achievable so that groups with other projects or groups with limited immediate energy can still manage to complete the KTA each month.
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April 2006 ActivityA Chance to Re-Energize
WHAT IS THE ACTIVITY? On May 6th and 7th ROP is holding a People’s Convention that will build the people power behind our 4 point Rebuild America vision (Create Real Economic Security, Withdraw from Iraq, Protect Everyone’s Civil Liberties and Civil Rights, and Conserve Energy). We will come together from across small town Oregon to strategize around the policies and the organizing that will advance these values. And we’ll take time to look at the next big human dignity wedge the Right is throwing at us: immigration. As small town peace and justice activists we’ll address the two movements that are taking off right now: one that criminalizes immigrants and one driven by immigrants themselves that demands justice and human dignity. We will discuss how we, as small town Oregon progressives, will respond to this historical moment. On our final day together, Sunday morning, we will spend some time building organizing skills to take home with us as we continue with our work. (And of course, we will have fun - a party on Cinco de Mayo weekend in the PCUN Union Hall complete with cultural events, good music and dancing, great food, and the best people in the state!) WHY THIS ACTIVITY? Last week I woke up each day feeling the exhaustion of doing movement building work. It would be nice if movements succeeded over night. If it only took a few phone calls to Congress and asking a friend or two to do the same. But in Election 2004 we learned (or were reminded) that creating change actually takes years and years of work. Movements can’t happen in 1 election cycle. The Extreme Right has been building for decades to reach this moment: when they have total control of all 3 branches of government and a grassroots support base that expands from coast to coast. A grassroots support base that sometimes makes us feel tired and overwhelmed: do I have to run into that neighbor or local candidate for city council again when I know they have a “support our troops” sticker on their car (and not the way we mean support our troops and bring them home)? This week I woke up being reminded that the movement for justice and human dignity is alive and strong. A 500,000 person march for immigrant rights in LA demonstrated just how strong the movement is. This movement didn’t happen overnight or because one Catholic Bishop called upon us to take the streets. It happened because thousands of people have been building support over decades of time, taking to friends, neighbors, acquaintances, calling congress, and doing the every day work that allowed a march of ½ million people to happen in what seemed like a short period of time. This year at ROP’s annual Rural Caucus & Strategy Session, we won’t be offering up gift wrapped solutions to stop the train of the neo-conservative agenda, but together we will strategize how to continue building that movement (like we saw in LA) that is challenging it while building the people power we need to see change globally, nationally, and in our own backyards. And we might just take home a sense of revitalization that will help us move through our tired moments as justice organizers. Space is very limited (due to location and goals), so we need to hear from you and your group today on who will be a part of your team. STEPS TO COMPLETE THE ACTIVITY:
Registration Form: CLICK HERE Registration Form in PDF: CLICK HERE
Previous KTAs are now located in the
KTA Archive. |
