Rural communities and human dignity leaders have organized for decades to build safe and welcoming communities for all. We won a huge victory in 2021 when we passed the Sanctuary Promise Act (SPA) through the Oregon legislature to expand our decades-old Sanctuary Law. Oregon now has the strongest sanctuary policies in the entire country. They […]
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Taking Legal Action for the Promise of Sanctuary
Today the Rural Organizing Project and Community Alliance of Lane County (CALC) filed a lawsuit against the City of Cottage Grove and its Police Department for violating Oregon’s Sanctuary Promise Act. With Oregon Law Center’s legal representation, ROP and CALC are asking a judge to order Cottage Grove to stop using local resources to assist […]
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Make Your 2023 Legislative Action Plan!
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 […]
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Advancing Democracy in Rural Oregon
2022 has been another monumental year for rural Oregonians and for our democracy. As we begin to wrap up the year, it’s a good time to reflect back on what we’ve been able to accomplish together as more than 70 human dignity groups and thousands of everyday rural Oregonians.For ROP, 2022 included our 30th birthday […]
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Gun Safety and Bodily Autonomy: Rural Oregon Takes Action!
In the past few weeks we have witnessed horrible acts of gun violence including against Black grocery store shoppers in Buffalo, NY; 4th graders and teachers in Uvalde, TX; Taiwanese worshipers in Laguna Woods, CA; and families at both an outdoor festival and a hospital in Tulsa, OK. In the midst of grief, rage, fear, and frustration, people are organizing all across the […]
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8 Reasons Not to Miss the Caucus!
ROP is turning 30 and we are overjoyed to be gathering together in person again! Join us in Redmond for the Rural Caucus & Strategy Session on Saturday, June 25th, and the Rural Organizing Intensive on Sunday, June 26th. The registration deadline to receive the early bird discount has been extended to May 25th, so check […]
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Big Victories in the Legislature!
Did you hear? Rural Oregon won some big victories this year in the legislative session, including overtime pay for farmworkers; helping close the wealth gap for Oregon’s Black, Indigenous, and Latinx communities; making sure every Oregonian in immigration court has access to a lawyer; and reducing the number of people stopped by law enforcement, just to […]
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The Town That QAnon Nearly Swallowed
We’re collecting Valentines to Rural Organizers to create a record of the creativity and care that flows through this web of organizers! How does it work? The ROP Staff team will gather notes, poems, recordings, or artwork from you and then share them back out over ROPnet. Share your words of encouragement with fellow organizers […]
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Safe and Welcoming Communities
In 2020 as part of creating the Roadmap to a Thriving Rural Oregon, the ROP network of more than 80 autonomous human dignity groups, agreed that in order to thrive, rural communities must be safe and welcoming to all people, regardless of their background. This past year, human dignity groups have continued to organize that goal […]
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Racial Justice from Kenosha to Rural Oregon
We are frustrated and angry at the news of Kyle Rittenhouse’s acquittal. In August 2020, Rittenhouse, a teenager from Illinois crossed state lines into Kenosha, Wisconsin with an AR-15, and shot three Black Lives Matter activists who were protesting the police shooting of Jacob Blake, an unarmed Black man. Two of those people died. Both the Kenosha […]
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