Kitchen Table Activism
Background: 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.
Rural Organizing Project
PO Box 1350,
Scappoose, OR 97056
(503) 543-8417
Fax: (503) 543-8419
office@rop.org
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March 2008 Activity
ROP’s Rural Caucus & Strategy Session:
Kicking Off the Year of the Patriot on April 26th!
WHAT IS THE ACTIVITY?
On April 26th ROP is
holding our annual Rural Caucus and Strategy Session in Hood River,
Oregon on the banks of the beautiful Columbia River. The tradition of
the ROP Caucus began in the early 1990s. Each year ROP brings together
delegations from the human dignity groups of rural Oregon for a day of
strategizing, networking, skill building, and fun. After a year
slogging away for justice and human dignity in rural and small town
Oregon, this is our day to both celebrate and refuel!
We draw from the biggest challenges
of the past year and the brightest opportunities in the coming year and
design a day that will move our organizing forward and leave us with a
stronger human dignity movement. This year’s Caucus will feature
sessions on strategizing and planning for the difference we want to make
in and beyond elections 2008, defeating anti-immigrant and prison
expansion ballot initiatives, and ways to keep our demand for peace in
the headlines, break out discussions by Congressional District and for
Latino community organizers, workshops on growing our local groups and
building stronger alliances with the immigrant community, and highlights
and successes from the past year in rural and small town organizing.
WHY
THIS ACTIVITY? March 19th
marks the 5th anniversary of the war in Iraq. Hopefully you
are planning to join local peace activities on and around the 19th
whether it is the Keep Them Home procession in Cottage Grove, local
vigils from Pendleton to Coquille, or the statewide gathering in
Portland on Saturday, March 15th (www.pdxpeace.org).
Our resistance to this war is important. But our resistance to the long
war against democracy is vital. This long war is not only raging in
Iraq and around the globe, but in our very own backyards as we take one
step after another further away from the promised liberties and freedoms
of the founders.
At a federal
level, this administration condones torture, warrant less wiretapping,
and detention of anyone, citizen or not, at any time without due
process. Here in Oregon, we are facing anti-immigrant ballot measures
at the local and state levels that would overturn our hard fought civil
liberties protections of ORS 181. All of this while the poverty gap
grows, our national debt climbs, and corporation's profits swell from
building fences and prisons on the border, in Iraq, and right here in
Oregon. Another approximately 3500 Oregon National Guard have been
given notice of deployment for the summer of 2009. The war at home and
abroad is raging.
This can be
overwhelming – trying to put out a million fires all at the same time.
This is why once a year we take the time to travel to a central location
(this year for the first time in years in Oregon’s 2nd
Congressional District!) and lay it all out on the table. But not so
that we leave with a list a mile long of things to do, but so that we
can get the most bang for our buck by thinking strategically about where
we need to focus our energy and how. At ROP, we think that 2008 is
going to be the year of the Patriot. The year that all of us who
believe in our constitutionally guaranteed rights and protections stand
up to keep democracy alive and take a step towards ending this long
war. We are kicking it off in Hood River on April 26th and
we need you there to stand with us!
STEPS TO
COMPLETE THE ACTIVITY:
1. Gather
your leadership team, pull out your calendars, and mark the date of
Saturday, April 26th.
2. Decide who will be a
part of your group’s team of 3-5 people to attend the Rural Caucus and
Strategy Session. Who from your group should be a part of collective
discussion on these topics: What local justice issues is your group
facing? How will we engage in the 2008 elections in a way that defeats
the bad stuff and builds our movement? What steps can we take to help
turn the tide on authoritarianism in this country? What tactics make
sense at this stage in the peace movement? How are we pushing back on
anti-immigrant backlash? What ways can our local groups map community
power and best use our own people power to create change?
3. Fill out the attached
registration form and return it to ROP as soon as possible.
(Registration forms that are turned in early help us eliminate
administrative time and effort; please consider getting the form into
ROP ASAP. And remember, early bird registration is by April 5th).
Reg Form In Word Format
Reg Form in PDF Format
4. See you in Hood River on
April 26th! Registrants will receive a confirmation packet
that includes directions and details.
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