Organizing
Organizing
Here's How to Build Power—and Win Elections—in the Midwest
A new report lays out how Democrats can take back lost ground in the traditionally blue rust belt and develop a transformative framework for winning in the future. The key is grassroots organizing. Read more
Apr 27, 2022
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Standing Up Progressive Power in Pennsylvania
In one of the nation’s most important swing states, a growing statewide group is embracing year-round organizing to engage voters and shape electoral outcomes in 2022 and beyond. Read more
Feb 8, 2022
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Maurice Mitchell of Working Families on Organizing and Building Power
Blue Tent editor David Callahan talks to Maurice Mitchell, leader of the Working Families Party, about its national strategy to build a strong, multiracial working-class movement. Read more
Apr 9, 2021
Image via Creative Commons/Flicker user ep_jhu.
After Attacks, Some Asian Activists Push Back Against More Policing
A historic distrust of the police and other factors are fueling a debate among AAPI leaders about stepped-up law enforcement in responding to hate crimes. Read more
Mar 24, 2021
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How the Movement Voter Project Is "Building the Ecosystem" of Progressive Power
Donors need help identifying organizations on the ground that are working to win elections. We peek inside an effort that's moving millions to hundreds of grassroots groups. Read more
Mar 22, 2021
Life After Release
This Local Maryland Criminal Justice Abolition Group Has Attracted National Support and Star Power
Founded by a formerly incarcerated woman, Life After Release watches the courts, helps people navigate the system, and is building a movement through intentional relationships. Read more
Mar 22, 2021
Image via Chad Davis/Creative Commons.
What the Rise in Mutual Aid Foreshadows for the Progressive Movement
Whether based in neighborhoods or around identity groups, mutual aid networks are evidence of the growing push toward interdependence and away from individualism. Read more
Mar 16, 2021
Oakland County Prosecutor's Office
In Michigan, a Criminal Justice Reform Group is Scoring Wins
Michigan Liberation has been around for less than three years. But the group led by formerly incarcerated people and their families is already shaping electoral outcomes and public policy. Read more
Mar 2, 2021
The Quest for Transit Justice is Driving New Organizing and Advocacy
Even before COVID deepened the crisis facing transit systems, advocates were connecting up transportation inequities with a broader agenda for economic and racial justice. Read more
Feb 25, 2021
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These are the Top Asian American Advocacy Groups
Asian Americans have been mobilizing for more electoral influence and also to combat a rising tide of anti-Asian hate crimes. We look at the key players leading this growing activism Read more
Feb 22, 2021
Credit: Alice Attie
"There Is No Other Way To Do Our Work." Jane McAlevey on Relational Organizing
Jane McAlevey recently sat down with Blue Tent to talk about how organizers can build the deeper relationships that are needed to win power—both in the workplace and in the electoral arena. Read more
Feb 18, 2021
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With an Impressive List of Backers, a New Fund Supports Black-Led Groups in California
A coalition of more than 20 funders recently launched the California Black Freedom Fund, with $100 million to support Black-led power-building groups. Organizers share the details of how it came about. Read more
Feb 16, 2021
Image via Ted Eytan/Creative Commons
What Do Trans Advocates Want from a Biden Presidency?
Organizations focused on transgender rights are thrilled with Biden so far. But they have a long wish list as they organize to push the new administration and Congress to ensure greater trans liberty and safety. Read more
Feb 8, 2021
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Jonathan Schleifer on Winning on Healthcare and Wages with Ballots Initiatives
Blue Tent founder David Callahan talks with the executive director of the Fairness Project, an organization that's compiled an impressive record of winning ballot initiatives—including in red states. Read more
Feb 5, 2021
Photo credit: Kragt Bakker / Shutterstock.com
The Coalition of Immokalee Workers Started Small. Now it's a Powerhouse
CIW is a prime example of how a group of disenfranchised workers can build power and create long-lasting and effective change. What's been the secret to its success? Read more
Feb 4, 2021
Photo credits: lofti photography / Shutterstock.com
The Long Battle Over Rent Control in California
Advocates backed by money from the AIDS Healthcare Foundation have spent over $45 million in the past two years to repeal an anti-rent-control measure in California. Yet they've come up short. Read more
Feb 4, 2021
To Make Sure "This Doesn't Happen Again," a Bid to Stigmatize Ex-Trump Officials
Hate for Hire, an initiative from Accountable.US, is aimed at stopping the architects of the Trump administration's immigration policies from professional rehabilitation after leaving government. Read more
Feb 3, 2021
Julia Galilker
Criminal-Justice-Impacted People Are Just Starting to Realize Their Power
Ad-hoc, small organizations across the country that originally came together "just to survive" having a locked-up loved one are starting to wield political power alongside incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people alike. Read more
Jan 28, 2021
How a Local Tenants' Rights Group is Empowering California Latinos
Inquilinos Unidos is a Los Angeles-based nonprofit organization that works to empower low-income tenants to advocate for fair housing through education, organizing, and advocacy. Read more
Jan 26, 2021
Activist Sameer Jha speaks to the Human Rights Campaign in 2019. Image via YouTube/screenshot.
Coming Up: Three Gen Z LGBTQ Activists to Watch
LGBTQ activism has changed along with the times. Some of the interesting figures in today's movement are strikingly young, emerging in recent years during an era of fierce culture war. Read more
Jan 25, 2021
