Rural Organizing Project

Our History and Successes

Rural Organizing Project (ROP) was born to contest the notion that rural Oregon was a readymade base for the Right. Rural activists created local groups that eventually defeated a 1992 anti-queer ballot measure using an analysis that affirmed human dignity and radically democratic principles. After the defeat of Measure 9, the rural communities who had formed local ‘human dignity groups’ met and decided that they wanted ROP to exist beyond this one campaign. ROP was commissioned with the mission of advancing democracy in rural and small town Oregon. We do this by supporting the leadership of local, autonomous groups around the state to create organizations that can build a broad base of progressive minded folks and take collective action in strategic ways that push back the Right while creating more just and democratic communities.

When ROP got started on a wet, spring day back in 1992, there was no progressive infrastructure in rural Oregon. Within a year of our founding, ROP leadership had crisscrossed the state so many times they were dizzy, but in their wake were 20 newly established human dignity groups that would soon grow to 53. Today, when a petition appears that would deny equal rights to queers or someone spray paints a swastika on a school building or the anti-immigrant movement takes a step forward, there are thousands of small town activists connected through the Rural Organizing Project who are actively building a movement for justice and human dignity and who will push back against these assaults on democracy. Our overarching successes of the past decade include:

· impacting politics in Oregon so that progressive organizing doesn’t happen without rural voices at the table;

· creating and sustaining a coordinated infrastructure for progressive organizing in rural Oregon that includes 60 groups and thousands of human dignity activists, and

· maintaining a broad analysis over the past decade that has expanded our issue work from our roots in the queer rights struggle to include immigrant rights, anti-war/anti-imperialism, tax fairness and funding for vital human needs, choice, and environmental justice.

Who is ROP?

ROP is not your typical organization. We work with an organized grassroots base, not just a passive dues paying membership. Our analysis is multi-issue, our activities are multi-tactic, and we strategically coordinate our statewide organizing with key partners that counter the Right on every front in rural Oregon. Our lean mean coordinating machine of three staff is backed by hundreds of volunteer leaders and thousands of supporters spanning the 10^th largest state in the nation. As Left Turn magazine reported in February 2006, this structure enables and requires ROP to focus on organizing and grassroots leadership development to maintain the depth and breadth of movement building work.

ROP demographics are reflective of our geography – predominately white, downwardly mobile, middle and working class. Our origins lie in a battle to defeat an anti-queer ballot measure in the early 90s that drew many LGBT members and allies to ROP early on in our history. Our staff and board leadership reflect our roots in the domestic violence movement with an emphasis on women and LGBT leadership. ROP has recently begun a series of intergenerational dialogues that have drawn youth leadership from six rural communities together with existing ROP leadership. Our base votes regularly and does not tend to belong to other social justice organizations. ROP is their organizing lifeline.

ROP is a predominately white organization that is committed to advancing racial justice and working in alliance with organizations of color. ROP has created a culture that supports the leadership of organizations of color within the state and individuals of color within human dignity groups. Ramon Ramirez, PCUN President, shared in a recent community meeting, "ROP doesn't have to make racial justice a priority, but they do. For PCUN, this is a strategic relationship that creates concrete victories in the legislature and in local communities."

Collaborations that Advance Justice

ROP and CAUSA rely on one another to advance a statewide strategy for immigrant rights. ROP’s role as a key solidarity ally is to mobilize support for legislation and to counter the anti-immigrant movement in rural Oregon.

One ROP group in rural Lane County recently coordinated with Latino leadership in Eugene, Oregon’s 3^rd largest city, in a town hall and subsequent letter to the editor campaign that targeted Rep. DeFazio for his poor record on immigrant rights and vote for the Sensenbrenner Bill. In Coos County, our group has prioritized racial justice in their internal leadership and in public education campaigns that have responded to hate crime activity in the 90s and the emergence of an anti-immigrant group, Coos County Citizens Caucus, in early 2006. In June of 2005, ROP and CAUSA, along with Oregon Action, joined forces to organize a sixty mile, week long march from Salem to Portland called the Walk for Truth, Justice, and Community. Over 3000 people took part in the Walk united for: ending the War in Iraq, immigrant rights, LGBT equality, and funding for human needs.

We partner in similar ways with other statewide organizations such as Basic Rights Oregon, Oregon Action, Western Prison Project, Our Oregon, ACLU, NARAL, Jobs with Justice, and AFL-CIO.

Our Challenges in 2006:

When we look at our plans – and thus the state of progressive organizing in rural Oregon, the US, and indeed the world, 2006 challenges ROP to break through the resignation and lack of vision that has crept into much of mainstream progressive organizing in the US today . We are locked out of all three branches of government and find ourselves falling back from a position that advances democracy to the defense of our communities against the rise of fascism and the utter de-funding of our community’s infrastructure. What’s a peace and justice loving person to do?

ROP believes that we kick our resignation in the butt – and move a few steps closer to building a movement for justice and radical democracy in rural Oregon – when we do a couple of things:

1. Connect real people to collective struggles inspired by our vision of the world that we want.

2. Advance strategic alliances that reach to the root of the right’s neo-conservative agenda that attempts to wedge our communities on issues such as immigrant rights and LGBT equality.

3. Build skills among local leadership to translate the array of injustices we face into a more genuine frame that will stir the passions of overwhelmed and distracted community members.

4. Develop self-sustaining grassroots groups and leadership who can advance the movement in rural Oregon by expanding their base and deepening relationships within the community in a measurable/systematic manner.

5. Use opportunities, like elections, to build our grassroots base, advance our strategic thinking, build local group capacity, and develop our collective and individual skills for struggles ahead.

Our Plans for 2006 and Beyond

The following activities and timeline will allow us to advance our goals under the heading of Rebuild America: The Gulf Coast, The Country, and Our Communities. Hurricane Katrina provided devastating evidence of the national disaster in priorities and leadership that the US is experiencing while affirming the existence of chasms in power and resources that classism/capitalism and racism/white supremacy perpetuate in our midst. Like 9/11, this disaster is a defining moment in our national psyche that created clarity on important notions of class, race, national identity, and the role of government. The frame of reference provides us with an opportunity to move dialogue and advance progressive base building. In 2006, we will use this consensus to frame our vision for a progressive rebuilding effort, not only of the Gulf Coast, but of our local communities, our nation, and world as a whole. This vision includes real economic security in the form of class equality, a withdrawal of troops from Iraq and international rebuilding effort, protection of civil rights and civil liberties for all, and the emergence of sustainable and renewable energy resources. This vision is a direct offensive on the Right’s de-funding of government and vital human services, attacks on immigrants and queers, international imperialism and war-mongering, and eroding civil liberties and human rights in the US and globally. We will use this vision, outlined in a Rebuild America People’s Pledge, to rekindle hope; to frame discussions of these important issues and their impact on election year ballot initiatives and campaigns; to create individualized election plans with local groups that include candidate and community education, signature gathering and ads in local papers, and door-to-door voter education; and to build local group capacity, leadership, skills, and analysis beyond this election year.

**May through Sept.: Getting Up to Speed**	Outcomes: Consensus on relative importance of elections, tactic options & tools review, group plans, signature gathering & capacity goals set, team at caucus. Anticipating wedges. Measurable benchmarks will include: # of groups engaged, # of ROP folks involved, # of new contacts, # of repeat contacts, # of welcome wagons completed
	ROP’s Annual Caucus and Strategy Session: People’s Convention on Rebuild America, May 6-7, at PCUN Union Hall. 200 people from key teams from each region will participate.
	Rebuild America work sessions on vision and issues in no less than 30 communities.
	Issue specific forums on ‘06 (and ‘08 election) and legislative topics. Immigrant rights prioritized with no less than 20 teach-ins in ‘06. (Ongoing in 07 – 08.)
	Community specific election ’06 plans designed that incorporate Rebuild America vision & demands. Volunteer recruitment, signature gathering, voter education, voter identification, door knocking, database expansion, and follow up contacts with new leadership identified through election work. Candidate check-list. Plans set for no less than 25 groups.
	Human Dignity Groups make ‘welcome wagon’/networking visits to other community and service groups to expand progressive database and relationships. Each participating HDG asked to report on no less than 5.
Sept-Dec: Outreach	Use Rebuild America as a primary community outreach tool to advance platform and build local group capacity. Ask community members to pledge their vote to support initiatives, candidates and policies that advance RA..
	Rebuild America town halls on vision, issues & ballot in no less than 30 communities
	Produce/distribute Small Town Actions for a New Democracy (STAND) Voter Guide hand delivered to 20,000 in 30 communities across the state. 15 Rebuild America signature ads in local papers.
	25 Community specific election ’06 plans worked to meet established objectives.
	Approach candidates to educate about Rebuild America framework
	Document and Evaluate work for meeting of internal and external goals and objectives.
2007-2008	Long Range Plan 2007-2012: Organizational wide process to engage all member groups (60) - evaluate program, analyze capacity needs, strengths and weaknesses and next steps.
	Integrate new hot/warm contacts into HDG to document growth over time & projects.
	Develop next stage of funding maturity by attracting new foundations, expand number of ROP supporters into paid members by 15% and increase number of major donors by 10%. Ask each group to do 50/50 fundraiser once/year – goal 10 in 07, 20 in 08.
	Analyze and select bold, relevant, and base building actions that notches up our demands.
	Ritualize cycle for election and legislative mobilizations that incorporate successes in transforming process from serving candidates/issues to accountability and long haul vision.