DEFENDING
DEMOCRACY
In this critical year for democracy, ROP and rural human dignity groups continue to lead in confronting antidemocratic violence. Extremist groups are testing strategies in rural communities, even as some of their leaders face jail time for the January 6th, 2021 insurrection. We are challenging narratives that promote fear and division by organizing for dignity and inclusion for all.
Oregon public schools and libraries received more complaints against books and materials this year than ever before. Rural students and their allies built power in 27 counties by advocating for inclusive curricula, welcoming hallway culture and gender-free bathrooms. Organizers in Redmond entered a banned books float in the 4th of July parade to joyfully resist. After the mayors of Newport and Baker City each made anti-queer and racist remarks, local organizers successfully won their resignations.
The Tillamook Democracy Project hosted its Campaign School for the third time to identify, recruit and work with pro-democracy community members to run for non-partisan local offices. They distributed voter pamphlets with the local newspaper to ensure easy access to information about candidates who would advocate for human dignity and welcoming communities.
GROWING THE
MOVEMENT
In Benton, Coos, Crook, Josephine, Lane and Linn counties, human dignity groups hosted ROP’s exhibit, “Bridging Divides, Defending Dignity.” By sharing stories of 30 years of rural Oregon organizing, events reached new people and inspired community conversations on today’s most pressing issues.
Visit the digital exhibit: rop.org/bridgingdivides
In 2021, human dignity leaders applied for permits for community radio stations to protect democracy, expand access to relevant information and build trust with their neighbors. This year both KRFR 90.7 FM in Malheur County and KBZR 89.9 FM in Baker County got approval to build stations!
Rural Oregonians from Curry to Wallowa County organized Pride and Juneteenth events. Rural Oregon declared and celebrated the importance of inclusion and equality for all with marches, drag shows, picnics and skate nights.
WINNING STATEWIDE VICTORIES
In this year’s legislative session, groups in every region of the state organized with their neighbors to pass powerful bills, including a rent cap reduction, expanded automatic voter registration, and new funding for rent assistance and Indigenous language interpretation. This was all in spite of the longest walkout in state history, where some Republican lawmakers abandoned their jobs for six weeks.
Rural Oregonians are holding those legislators accountable. In 2022, we organized in every rural county to pass Measure 113, which disqualifies them from re-election for unexcused absences. Measure 113 was one of four ROP-endorsed ballot measures that all passed in November of 2022, after more than 50 human dignity groups organized candidate forums and ballot parties, made calls and knocked on thousands of doors.
Hot off the May special district elections, more than 115 people from 23 counties and two tribal nations gathered in Albany for the Rural Caucus and Strategy Session. We debriefed the results of voter outreach and candidate recruitment efforts across counties and districts to inspire local strategies for the year ahead.
At the Caucus we honored our Human Dignity Award winners: Acompañar, Albany Peace Seekers, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation Youth Leadership Council, Linn Benton NAACP, Mid-Valley Solidarity Coalition, and Stop the Sweeps.
After packed strategy sessions with communications expert Robert Bray, human dignity leaders were hungry for more. We launched an ongoing series, “On Message, with Meaning,” to support groups in building communications and public speaking skills leading up to the next election season.
RURAL VICTORIES FOR SAFE & WELCOMING COMMUNITIES
In February, ROP and Community Alliance of Lane County sued the City of Cottage Grove and its police department for violating Oregon’s 2021 Sanctuary Promise Act. We are demanding the city stop illegally using local resources to assist federal immigration authorities. Groups around the state used this ongoing lawsuit to hold conversations with local law enforcement about compliance and distributed flyers about the new law to make sure every community member knows their rights.
ROP made a new Facebook page, “Proyecto de Organización Rural,” to share Know Your Rights information in Mam, an indigenous Guatemalan language. The Mam community is one of the most targeted for detention and deportation in the state. ROP also supported over 50 Mam-speaking Oregonians to access the Oregon Worker Relief Fund, which the state legislature set up to support migrant workers impacted by COVID and climate disasters.
What is the Rural Organizing Project?
Working together to advance human dignity and democracy
ROP’s mission is to strengthen the skills, resources, and vision of primary leadership in local autonomous human dignity groups with a goal of keeping such groups a vibrant source for a just democracy.
More than 75 human dignity groups and thousands of community leaders worked together to advance democracy in small-town and rural Oregon.
Human Dignity Group
BAKER
- Baker Radio: KBZR
- Baker Community Justice Project
BENTON
- Coast Range Association
- Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism
- Corvallis Daytime Drop-in Center Street Outreach Response Team (SORT)
- Corvallis Latin America Solidarity Committee
- Linn-Benton Greens
- Linn Benton NAACP
- Linn-Benton Rapid Response Team
- Mid-Valley Health Care Advocates
- Mid-Valley Solidarity Coalition
- Race Matters, First Congregational UCC
- Stop the Sweeps
- Sunrise Corvallis
- Veterans For Peace, Linus Pauling Chapter 132
CLACKAMAS
- Bridging Cultures
- Clackamas DSA
- Indivisible Clackamas
CLATSOP
- Columbia Pacific Alliance for Social Justice
- Indivisible North Coast Oregon
COLUMBIA
- Columbia County Coalition for Human Dignity
- Vernonia Equality & Racial Justice
CONFEDERATED TRIBES OF THE UMATILLA INDIAN RESERVATION
- Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation Youth Leadership Council
COOS
- Human Rights Advocates of Coos County
- South Coast Equity Coalition
- Southern Oregon Coast Pride
CROOK
- Human Dignity Advocates of Crook County
- Latino Community Association
- PFLAG Prineville
CURRY
- Indivisible North Curry County
- South Coast Equity Coalition
- Southern Oregon Coast Pride
DESCHUTES
- Bend Equity Project
- Indivisible Sisters
- Latino Community Association
- Peace and Social Justice Team of First Presbyterian Church
- PFLAG Central Oregon
- Redmond Collective Action
- Vocal Seniority
DOUGLAS
- Support for Asylum-Seekers and Immigrants
GILLIAM
- NORCOR Community Resource Coalition
- Rural Voices
GRANT
- Grant County Positive Action
HARNEY
- Rural Alliance for Diversity
HOOD RIVER
- Columbia Gorge Women’s Action Network
- Gorge Ecumenical Ministries/Somos Uno
- Hood River Latino Network
- NORCOR Community Resource Coalition
JACKSON
- Ashland Together
- Peace House
- Southern Oregon Jobs with Justice
- Truth to Power
JEFFERSON
- Jefferson Positive Action Group
- Latino Community Association
- PFLAG Central Oregon
JOSEPHINE
- Unitarian Universalists of Grants Pass Social Action Team
KLAMATH
- Klamath Peace Readers
LAKE
- Indivisible Lake County
- Outback Voices
LANE
- Blackberry Pie Society
- Church Women United
- Community Alliance of Lane County
- Deadwood Resists
- Florence Indivisible
- Springfield-Eugene Showing Up For Racial Justice
- Support for Asylum-Seekers and Immigrants
LINCOLN
- Acompañar
- Coastal Network
- PFLAG of the Oregon Central Coast
LINN
- Albany Peace Seekers
- Linn-Benton Greens
- Linn-Benton NAACP
- Linn-Benton Rapid Response Team
- Mid-Valley Solidarity Coalition
MARION
- Silverton Progressives
MORROW
- Oregon Rural Action
- Rural Voices
POLK
- Polk Folks for Human Dignity
- Unidos Club at WOU
SHERMAN
- Rural Voices
TILLAMOOK
- Tillamook Democracy Project
UMATILLA
- Oregon Rural Action
- Pendleton Community Action Coalition
UNION
- Oregon Rural Action
- Union County Progressives
WALLOWA
- Postcardia
WASCO
- NORCOR Community Resource Coalition
- Protect Oregon’s Progress / The Dalles Indivisible
- Wasco County Rapid Response Team
WASHINGTON
- Adelante Mujeres
- Western WashCo For Racial Justice
WHEELER
- Rural Voices
YAMHILL
- Progressive Yamhill
- Unidos Bridging Community
See all our annual reports here.
Let’s connect!
Give us a call, check out our website and follow us on social media!
www.rop.org
503-543-8417
PO Box 664
Cottage Grove, OR 97424
