Rogue Action Center

The Rogue Action Center (RAC) is a community organizing center for the Rogue Valley.

The RAC is a collaboration of community members working to protect this place, each other, and the things that make local life good. We focus on leadership development, community organizing, and policy work at the local and state levels.

Rooted in collaboration + Shared analysis the RAC grew out of a need for a space where community leaders working on different issues could come together in mutual support and increase capacity for a movement that connects the dots between economic issues, climate work, and racial justice in Southern Oregon. We also saw the need for an organizing hub that it is run by, and accountable to, the local community. As a result, the RAC is able to be effective, strategic, nimble, and responsive to the needs, realities, and priorities of our community.

We work to…

• Grow an effective and coordinated movement that can win economic, social, racial, and climate justice based on the needs and realities of our rural and small-town region.
• Train and incorporate new people into community leadership role and campaign work.
• Respond to increased threats by white supremacists and militia groups not only by exposing their activities but by offering an alternative vision for improving rural quality of life for all.
• Test rural organizing models that can be used in other communities, while learning from successful experiences elsewhere.
• Contribute to building community power by organizing in a key rural region experiencing population growth and increasing diversity.

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Current campaigns focus on local and state affordable housing solutions, building people power to defend and expand public transportation options, and developing community leadership and capacity through trainings, internships, and hands-on campaigns.

The day to day work of the RAC is done by many volunteers and interns and two part time staff members. This primarily involves:

• Door to door outreach to people in Jackson and Josephine Counties who are impacted by the housing crisis
• Creating community safety plans and providing de-escalation teams for local organizations and events
• Organizing a community response to incidents of hate
• Training and mentoring new leaders in community organizing work
• Local and state level policy work to address housing, transit, and racial justice.