Building Power Together
As we enter this week, we are excited to see the momentum continuing for Vermont Renews priority bills. Last Wednesday, RAD joined “Lunch on the Lawn” at the State House, to say “yes” to free breakfast and lunch for all Vermont students.
As we enter mid-April, we are enjoying the first blooms of spring and celebrating recent wins in the work for a just Vermont in which we all can flourish. To name just a couple…
March was a huge month for Rights & Democracy, one of immense presence and power. Two weeks ago, I was in DC to stand alongside 10 powerful RAD leaders and Black women-led progressive organizations from across the country in support of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson at the Supreme Court confirmation hearings.
Yesterday’s 2022 Vermont Town Meeting Day elections brought exciting results, with 85% of RAD-endorsed candidates winning their races!
With Vermont’s 2022 Town Meeting Day fast approaching, we are excited to introduce you to the full slate of local candidates we are endorsing ahead of the March 1st elections!
Each election season, we announce a first slate of early endorsed candidates who share our vision and values and are proven champions of our principles and key priorities — and we are thrilled to introduce you to this year’s slate today!
This February, we are celebrating leadership across our movement. We’re seeing mounting interest in running for local office and grassroots organizing in both states, and we are excited to keep growing the work of our Grassroots Leadership Academy to support, educate, and motivate movement leaders.
January is a special month at Rights & Democracy, one full of assessment and preparation. In each state, we’re at a moment of opportunity.
All of our Vermont youth deserve culturally responsive and fact-based curricula, equitable access to educational resources, and a safe and supportive school environment.
Calling all members – new and old – the Membership Assembly is on the horizon! Every year, our members come together to reflect upon and celebrate our work, deepen our relationships, renew our commitment to this movement, and strategize for the year ahead.
I hope you are taking a moment this week to slow down and enjoy the view; we are all feeling deeply how much is at stake right now, and have been showing up in so many ways to shift the political landscape. Be gentle with yourself, and let’s take inspiration from all the powerful work we did together in September.
Please sign on to this letter calling for the task force in charge to correct the pupil weighting formula used to distribute education funds to rural and low-income school districts in Vermont, rather than adopting categorical aid!
The Vermont Climate Council is gearing up to develop a plan that will serve as a roadmap for how our state addresses the climate crisis. Now is our chance to speak up for a Climate Action Plan that rapidly transitions us off of fossil fuels while centering justice, equity, and most-impacted Vermonters to ensure we all can thrive!
I hope the final days summer have given all of you a chance to recharge. As one RAD staff member put it, August “has been like Friday afternoon for a whole month.” So, rested and restored, we shake off summer and step into September, gearing up for a busy fall.
Over the past month, RAD really stepped into the heart of our work. The through line of our movement is ever present, and we really felt it this month as we continued our blend of in person organizing and our remote operations.
This July marks a quiet shift for Rights & Democracy. With high vaccination rates across both Vermont and New Hampshire and the boundless opportunities for outdoor events presented by summer weather, there is a feeling of awakening.
Six years ago, I brought together some of the best organizers and leaders I knew to found Rights & Democracy (RAD). Working across Vermont and New Hampshire, RAD was a new kind of people’s movement organization focused on changing what is politically possible by using all the tools in the changing-making tool box.
It’s hard to believe we are nearly halfway through the year! Although the legislative session is winding down, RAD’s work is not. We have been processing, planning, adapting, and responding to the ever-shifting political landscape to build the people powered movement we need. At this point, we’ve gotten pretty good at it.
As the Boards of Directors of Rights & Democracy and Rights & Democracy Institute, we celebrate all that we have accomplished over nearly six years of James Haslam’s leadership.
Rights & Democracy joins national solidarity statement calling on Biden Administration to condemn Israeli government plans to forcibly displace Palestinians in Occupied East Jerusalem.
Rights & Democracy stands in strong support of Kiah Morris and her family in the aftermath of a grueling two-year investigation into the hate and racism they experienced in Bennington.
With the warm weather rolling in and more vaccines rolling out, (We’re number one, Vermont!), we were thrilled to kick off this month with long-awaited, live in-person events for May Day.