For Planning Purposes:
July 10 – July 12, 2014
Contact: Kathy Mulady (Kathy@allianceforajustsociety.org, 206-922-8787)
or Joshua Welter (jwelter@mainstreetalliance.org, 206-383-1857)
Power From the Roots Up Conference Attracts Hundreds to Seattle – “Ground Zero” of the Movement to Combat Income Inequality
Author Peter Dreier joins community organizers, grassroots activists, and small business owners to discuss how grassroots activism is building a powerful force for national change
Seattle, WA—This week, hundreds of organizers, grassroots activists, and small business owners from 12 states will converge on Seattle for Power from the Roots Up – a three-day conference organized by the Alliance for a Just Society and the Main Street Alliance at the University of Washington.
Pn Friday, acclaimed author Peter Dreier, E.P. Clapp Distinguished Professor of Politics at Occidental College, will speak on the history of local power, builing on both the left and the right. He’ll present a roadmap for building successful progressive movement from the ground up. He is a regular contributor to the Los Angeles Times, The Nation, and Huffington Post. He’s recognized from TV interviews with Bill Moyers, Rachel Maddow, Tavis Smiley and Bill O’Reilly.
With gridlock in Congress, community organizations are turning to local and state power building strategies. In recent years, the progressive movement has seen remarkable policy victories as a result of these campaigns, including Seattle’s highest-in-the-nation $15 minimum wage law.
The conference features workshops, strategy sessions and discussions on recent progressive victories with experts in community organizing, including Rich Stolz, Executive Director of OneAmerica, Joe Szakos, Executive Director of Virginia Organizing, Nicole Brown, Organizing Director with the Center for Intercultural Organizing in Oregon, Makani Themba, Executive Director of The Praxis Project, OJ Semans, Executive Director of Four Directions focusing on rural voting rights for Native Peoples, Gretachew Kassa from NAACP’s Voting Rights Initiative, and Main Street Alliance of Washington State Director, Gerald Hankerson.
The public is invited to join the discussion on social media at #RootsUp2014. Expert guests, including Dr. Peter Dreier, are available for interviews.
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Alliance for a Just Society is a national research, policy and organizing network based in Seattle. www.allianceforajustsociety.org
Main Street Alliance gives small businesses a voice on the most pressing public policy issues across the nation. Our advocacy promotes vibrant businesses, healthy communities, and socially responsible business leaders. www.mainstreetalliance.org