Resources

Racial Justice

Articles, books, and other resource links:
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.”

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.
Unitarian Universalist discussion guide.

National Organizations:
Black Lives Matter https://blacklivesmatter.com/ 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) https://surj.org/
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 https://eji.org
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 https://www.antiracismproject.org/
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:
Black Leaders In Action & Solidarity Thurston (BLAST)
BLAST is a collective of black voices in Thurston County. Our organization is intersectional with a membership that is multi-generational, multi-gendered and coming together from all across the black diaspora.
BLAST Mission and Demands https://blasthurston.org/demands/

YWCA Olympia https://www.ywcaofolympia.org/
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.

Olympia SURJ (Showing Up for Racial Justice) https://www.facebook.com/OlySURJ/
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!

Economic Justice

National Organizations:
National Poor People’s Campaign https://www.poorpeoplescampaign.org/
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.

Northwest Justice Project   https://nwjustice.org/
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 https://www.poorpeoplescampaign.org/committee/washington/

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.

People Organizing for Welfare and Economic Rights (POWER) http://m.mamapower.org/
is an organization of low-income parents and allies advocating for a strong social safety net while working toward a world where children and care giving are truly valued, and the devastation of poverty has been eradicated.

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.

Just Housing https://justhousingolympia.org/
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.

LGBTQIA+ Justice

National Organizations:
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) https://www.aclu.org/issues/lgbtq-rights
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 https://www.genderequalitylaw.org/
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 https://www.thetaskforce.org/
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 https://legalaidatwork.org/our-programs/gender-equality-and-lgbt-rights/
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.

Climate Justice

Articles, books, and other resource links:
Accelerating a Just Transition in Washington State: Climate Justice Strategies from the Frontlines, is intended to guide the Front and Centered coalition and our allies as we consider where to focus our work.

National Organizations:
The Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is the most enduring and influential grassroots environmental organization in the United States. We amplify the power of our millions of members and supporters to defend everyone’s right to a healthy world.

Local and State Organizations:
Front and Centered https://frontandcentered.org/
Front and Centered is a statewide coalition of organizations and groups rooted in communities of color working for climate justice and a Just Transition. We were formed in 2015 out of a desire by leading racial justice organizations in Washington State to organize and ensure state climate policy was effective and equitable for communities on the frontlines. We see climate as fundamentally an issue of equity. Our new report, Accelerating a Just Transition in Washington State: Climate Justice Strategies from the Frontlines, is intended to guide the Front and Centered coalition and our allies as we consider where to focus our work.

Got Green https://gotgreenseattle.org/
Got Green organizes for environmental, racial, and economic justice as a South Seattle-based grassroots organization led by people of color and low income people. We cultivate multi-generational community leaders to be central voices in the Green Movement in order to ensure that the benefits of the green movement and green economy (green jobs, healthy food, energy efficient & healthy homes, public transit) reach low income communities and communities of color.

Washington Environmental Council https://wecprotects.org/
As a historically white-led environmental organization that still holds structural power today, WEC is committed to dismantling systemic racism and advancing racial equity and environmental justice in all we do.

Thurston County Climate Action Team https://thurstonclimateaction.org/
TCAT is a local non-profit dedicated to bringing our community together to reduce climate disruption, resulting in a healthy, just and prosperous future for all.

Immigration Justice

National Organizations:
Center for Constitutional Rights https://ccrjustice.org/
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) https://www.cair.com/ 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 https://www.nlg.org/ 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 https://www.nilc.org/ 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 (https://unitedwedream.org/)
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:
The Northwest Immigrant Rights Project https://www.nwirp.org/ promotes justice by defending and advancing the rights of immigrants through direct legal services, systemic advocacy, and community education.

Strengthening Sanctuary Alliance https://www.strengtheningsanctuaryalliance.org/

Disability Justice

National Organizations:
World Institute on Disability https://wid.org/ 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.

Project LETS https://projectlets.org/disability-justice This website provides numerous links to articles and other resources sorted by topical areas.

Local and State Organizations:
Disability Rights Washington  https://www.disabilityrightswa.org/ 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.

Interfaith Resources

Pending...

Interfaith Works Resource Page

Index with Resources

Questions & Suggestions?

Resetting Our Sacred Table 2023 — Resource Links

Videos

Indigenous Justice

"I believe in the sun and the stars, the water, the tides, the floods, the owls, the hawks flying, the river running, the wind talking. They tell us how healthy things are. Because we and they are the same."
BILLY FRANK JR.