Articles, Books, and Other Resources:

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Color-Blindness, by Michelle Alexander

This book directly challenges the notion that the election of Barack Obama signals a new era of colorblindness. With dazzling candor, legal scholar Michelle Alexander argues that “we have not ended racial caste in America; we have merely redesigned it.”

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White Fragility, by Robin Diangelo

White fragility is characterized by emotions such as anger, fear, and guilt, and by behaviors including argumentation and silence. These behaviors, in turn, function to reinstate white racial equilibrium and prevent any meaningful cross-racial dialogue. In this in-depth exploration, DiAngelo examines how white fragility develops, how it protects racial inequality, and what we can do to engage more constructively. f

Unitarian Universalist discussion guide.

National Organizations:

Black Lives Matter (BLM)

​BLM is an ecosystem of individuals and organizations creating a shared vision and policy agenda to win rights, recognition, and resources for Black people. In doing so, the movement makes it possible for us, and therefore everyone, to live healthy and fruitful lives.

Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ)

SURJ is a national network of groups and individuals working to undermine white supremacy and to work toward racial justice. Through community organizing, mobilizing, and education, SURJ moves white people to act as part of a multi-racial majority for justice with passion and accountability.

Equal Justice Initiative

The Equal Justice Initiative is committed to ending mass incarceration and excessive punishment in the United States, to challenging racial and economic injustice, and to protecting basic human rights for the most vulnerable people in American society.

Anti-Racism Project

The Anti-Racism Project seeks to educate participants about how institutionalized racism, internalized racism and white privilege feed oppression. This communal experience culminates in the hope that participants will go on to develop their own social action plans for racial justice. The Anti-Racism Project is meant to be life-changing, transforming community members into dedicated social change activists working to create a society that is truly egalitarian.

Local and State Organizations:

YWCA Olympia

YWCA Olympia is a non-profit, multi-service organization that has served girls, womxn and families since 1945. Today, YWCA Olympia is focused on our mission of eliminating racism and sexism to advance the social, political, and economic status of all womxn and girls. All of our activities place the leadership and wisdom of Womxn of Color at the center. We do this while also seeking to engage people of all genders, races, classes and abilities in the collective work of the YWCA’s vision: All People are valued, live free from oppression, and thrive in a just society.

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​Olympia SURJ (Showing Up for Racial Justice)

SURJ’s values ground our work and have been developed and honed over more than a decade of organizing. We believe we must have an inclusive, openhearted approach to organizing— bringing more and more people into this work (especially white people) rather than creating barriers to participation— while maintaining clear commitments to justice. Olympia Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) is part of a national multi-racial network mobilizing & organizing white people within a multi-racial movement for racial justice. Our chapter is multi-racial in membership; all are welcome!

National Organizations:

National Poor People’s Campaign

In 1968, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and many others called for a “revolution of values” in America. They sought to build a broad, fusion movement that could unite poor and impacted communities across the country. Their name was a direct cry from the underside of history: The Poor People’s Campaign. Today, the Poor People's Campaign has picked up this unfinished work. From Alaska to Arkansas, the Bronx to the border, people are coming together to confront the interlocking evils of systemic racism, poverty, ecological devastation, militarism and the war economy, and the distorted moral narrative of religious nationalism. We understand that as a nation we are at a critical juncture — that we need a movement that will shift the moral narrative, impact policies and elections at every level of government, and build lasting power for poor and impacted people.

Local and State Organizations:

Thurston Asset Building Coalition

The Thurston Asset Building Coalition is a network of nonprofits, businesses, government agencies, community groups, coalitions, and individuals. We connect partners and community resources that promote opportunities for people with limited incomes to become more resilient and prosperous.

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Northwest Justice Project

Northwest Justice Project (NJP) provides free legal assistance to address fundamental human needs such as housing, family safety, income security, health care, education, and more. Our work challenges structural and racial inequities to promote the long-term well-being of low-income individuals, families, and communities across Washington State.

Washington State Poor People’s Campaign

​Faith Action Network

Faith Action Network’s mission is to be a faith-inspired statewide partnership striving for a just, compassionate, and sustainable world through community building, education, and courageous public action.

Parents Organizing for Welfare and Economic Rights (POWER)

​POWER is an organization of low-income parents and allies advocating for a strong social safety net while working toward a world where children and caregiving are truly valued, and the devastation of poverty has been eradicated.

Just Housing

Our mission is to support and protect the rights of tenants and unhoused or underhoused people, to fight systems of oppression and displacement, and to work towards de-criminalizing homelessness and poverty by centering the voices of tenants, unhoused, and underhoused people through community organizing, education, direct action, and advocacy. https://www.facebook.com/JustHousingOly/

​OlyMAP

Olympia Mutual Aid Partners’ mission is to support the right of all people to have a safe and warm place to call home by centering the voices of unhoused and marginalized peoples, challenging systems of oppression, building bridges between housed and unhoused community members through engagement and education, and by offering health, safety, self-management, self-advocacy, and survival support to our neighbors living outdoors.

National Organizations:

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)

The ACLU works to ensure that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people can live openly without discrimination and enjoy equal rights, personal autonomy, and freedom of expression and association.

Gender Equality Law Center

The Gender Equality Law Center advances laws and policies that promote gender justice and racial equity in all aspects of public and private life. Using an intersectional lens, we break down barriers that limit opportunities for low-income women, LGBTQ, and gender non-conforming individuals on the basis of gender and/or sexual orientation as well those created by institutionalized discrimination and stereotyping.

National LGBTQ Task Force

The National LGBTQ Task Force advances full freedom, justice and equality for LGBTQ people. We are building a future where everyone can be free to be their entire selves in every aspect of their lives. Today, despite all the progress we’ve made to end discrimination, millions of LGBTQ people face barriers in every aspect of their lives: in housing, employment, healthcare, retirement, and basic human rights. These barriers must go. That’s why the Task Force is training and mobilizing millions of activists across our nation to deliver a world where you can be you.

Legal Aid at Work

Guided by a mission of gender & LGBTQ justice, we partner with our clients to vindicate their rights and build power in their workplaces and schools. Our clients include low-wage women; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) individuals; immigrants; military veterans; survivors of harassment as well as domestic and sexual violence; student athletes; and other under-represented individuals.

Local and State Organizations:

Pizza Klatch

​Mission: To foster resilience in LGBTQ+ youth and create a safe and positive school experience through support, education and empowerment in the greater Olympia area.

Gender Justice League

Gender Justice League is a Washington State gender and sexuality civil and human rights organization based in Seattle, Washington. In 2012, GJL was started by a group of long-time trans, queer, and allied activists who were looking to increase the community’s capacity to address cissexism, transphobia, transmisogyny, and the homo, bi, and queer phobias that trans and gender diverse people face.

Articles, books, and other resource links:

Accelerating a Just Transition in Washington State: Climate Justice Strategies from the Frontlines

This report is intended to guide the Front and Centered coalition and our allies as we consider where to focus our work.

This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. The Climate by Naomi Klein

Forget everything you think you know about global warming. The really inconvenient truth is that it’s not about carbon—it’s about capitalism. The convenient truth is that we can seize this existential crisis to transform our failed economic system and build something radically better. In her most provocative book yet, Naomi Klein, author of the global bestsellers The Shock Doctrine and No Logo, tackles the most profound threat humanity has ever faced: the war our economic model is waging against life on earth.

What Climate Justice Means and Why We Should Care by Elizabeth Cripps

We owe it to our fellow humans – and other species – to save them from the catastrophic harm caused by climate change. Philosopher Elizabeth Cripps approaches climate justice not just as an abstract idea but as something that should motivate us all. Using clear reasoning and poignant examples, starting from irrefutable science and uncontroversial moral rules, she explores our obligations to each other and to the non-human world, unravels the legacy of colonialism and entrenched racism, and makes the case for immediate action.

National Organizations:

Climate Justice Alliance

Climate Justice Alliance (CJA) formed in 2013 to create a new center of gravity in the climate movement by uniting frontline communities and organizations into a formidable force. Our translocal organizing strategy and mobilizing capacity are building a Just Transition away from extractive systems of production, consumption, and political oppression, and towards resilient, regenerative, and equitable economies. We believe that the process of transition must place race, gender, and class at the center of the solutions equation in order to make it a truly Just Transition.

National Organizations:

Center for Constitutional Rights

The Center for Constitutional Rights works creatively to advance and defend the constitutional and human rights of social justice movements and communities under threat and helps them build power. We are committed to dismantling systems of oppression and fighting for justice through litigation, advocacy, and narrative shifting.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)

CAIR is a nonprofit, grassroots civil rights and advocacy organization. CAIR is America’s largest Muslim civil liberties organization, with affiliate offices nationwide. Its national headquarters is located on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. Since its establishment in 1994, CAIR has worked to promote a positive image of Islam and Muslims in America. Through media relations, lobbying, education, and advocacy, CAIR works to make sure a Muslim voice is represented. Through our work, CAIR seeks to empower American Muslims and encourage their participation in political and social activism.

National Lawyers Guild

Our work is guided in all areas by the mission statement laid out in the Preamble of the NLG Constitution: “To use law for the people, uniting lawyers, law students, legal workers, and jailhouse lawyers to function as an effective force in the service of the people by valuing human rights and ecosystems over property interests.” For over 80 years, the NLG has acted as the legal arm of social movements and the conscience of the legal profession. The NLG is dedicated to the need for basic change in the structure of our political and economic system. The NLG is anti-capitalist, anti-imperialist, and anti-racist and we strive to bring in anti-oppressive practices to all aspects of our organization.

National Immigration Law Center

Established in 1979, the National Immigration Law Center (NILC) is one of the leading organizations in the U.S. exclusively dedicated to defending and advancing the rights of immigrants with low income. At NILC, we believe that all people who live in the U.S. should have the opportunity to achieve their full potential. Over the years, we’ve been at the forefront of many of the country’s greatest challenges when it comes to immigration issues, and we play a major leadership role in addressing the real-life impact of policies that affect the ability of low-income immigrants to prosper and thrive.

United We Dream

United We Dream is the largest immigrant youth-led community in the country. We create welcoming spaces for young people - regardless of immigration status - to support, engage, and empower them to make their voice heard and win! We have an online reach of over 4 million and are made up of over 400,000 members as well as 5 statewide branches and over 100 local groups across 28 states. Over 60% of our members are womxn and 20% identify as LGBTQ. We are made up of fearless youth fighting to improve the lives of ourselves, our families and our communities. Our vision is a society which celebrates our diversity and we believe in leading a multi-ethnic, intersectional path to get there.

Local and State Organizations:

TheNorthwest Immigrant Rights Project

The Northwest Immigrant Rights Project promotes justice by defending and advancing the rights of immigrants through direct legal services, systemic advocacy, and community education.

Strengthening Sanctuary Alliance

Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network

​We are the largest immigrant justice network in Washington that convenes and cultivates a statewide transnational solidarity coalition to protect and advance the power and rights of all immigrant and refugee communities.​

National Organizations:

World Institute on Disability

The World Institute on Disability (WID) was established in 1983 as one of the first global disability rights organizations founded and continually led by people with disabilities. WID works to advance the rights and opportunities of over 1 billion people with disabilities worldwide, bringing research and policy into action and operationalizing inclusion.

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Project LETS

This website provides numerous links to articles and other resources sorted by topical areas.

Sins Invalid

Sins Invalid is a disability justice-based movement building and performance project that celebrates disabled people, centering and led by disabled Black, Indigenous, and people of the global majority, and queer, trans, and nonbinary disabled people.

Local and State Organizations:

Disability Rights Washington

Disability Rights Washington is a private non-profit organization that protects the rights of people with disabilities statewide. Our mission is to advance the dignity, equality, and self-determination of people with disabilities. We work to pursue justice on matters related to human and legal rights.