Bridging Divides, Defending Dignity: Digital Exhibit Now Live!
Why this Activity?
We are winning in our struggle in so many different ways. Earlier this year we won our lawsuit against the City of Cottage Grove for breaking the law by illegally collaborating with multi-billion dollar federal immigration agencies! College students and community members alike are saying loud and clear that we must not fund genocide in Gaza. The attacks we’re facing today are a backlash against victories our movement for human dignity has won over the past 30 years and beyond. We are called to persevere, recommit, and dedicate ourselves to advancing democracy and human dignity here in Oregon today and long into the future.
By interacting with and reflecting on organizing history as human dignity leaders, we can better address the issues of today with the full context and strength that our movement forebearers have to share with us, both today and for decades to come.
What is the Activity?
This month’s Kitchen Table Activism is to review ROP’s digital 30th Anniversary exhibit and plan for the year to come grounded in our movement history. Bridging Divides, Defending Dignity: How rural Oregonians have moved democracy forward since 1992! shares a road map from the past through the present to the future and allows each of us to put ourselves into the context of an enduring narrative of justice.
Many communities are feeling isolated. When neighbors aren’t there for each other, individuals get disconnected, weakening our collective power. With headlines constantly flashing across our screens, it can be challenging to find the time to reflect on lessons learned in the past 30 years and connect (or reconnect) with the folks who organized in our communities decades ago.
How to Complete the Activity:
- Check out the digital version of Bridging Divides, Defending Dignity, which includes audio and video additions to the physical exhibit!
- Discuss what stood out to you at your next group meeting. Here’s an example conversation guide you can adapt to a public or private meeting.
- Plan out your year with inspiration from the stories highlighted in the exhibit
- Want more details on a particular campaign? Want support in crafting your team’s plan? Email your county organizer or sidra@rop.org
- Want to do more? Your group can host the physical exhibit to open the conversation to the broader community. It could be an opportunity to bring in new members!
- Talk with your local group and partner organizations about ways the exhibit and related events could tie into local work, and about new or future campaigns to build power for at an exhibit event. Contact sidra@rop.org for support in making an action plan with these or other ideas. Check out more examples of what hosting the exhibit could build toward here.
- Let us know how your conversation goes: Reach out to your friendly ROP organizer or email sidra@rop.org. Tell us what you’re planning for 2024 and what support your team needs!
Background: Kitchen Table Activism (KTA) is a monthly activity by the Rural Organizing Project. The idea is that small actions can lead to powerful collective results when groups of people gather to complete the same action across the state of Oregon. ROP works to keep each KTA easily achievable so that groups with other projects or groups with limited immediate energy can still manage to complete the KTA each month.
