Firewall for Freedom: ACLU of Oregon's Strategic Priorities

Your ACLU of Oregon is working hard to ensure that our state is prepared to defend our collective progress toward a more just, equitable, and caring democracy. Trump has threatened democracy and the basic rights and freedoms of people across the United States — from voting rights, to abortion and reproductive rights, to racial justice, and so much more.

In Oregon, we have identified our issue area priorities for uplifting humanity and resisting fascism and creating opportunities for Oregonians to engage in principled resistance with us:

Your ACLU of Oregon is working hard to ensure that our state is prepared to defend our collective progress toward a more just, equitable, and caring democracy. Trump has threatened democracy and the basic rights and freedoms of people across the United States — from voting rights, to abortion and reproductive rights, to racial justice, and so much more.

In Oregon, we have identified our issue area priorities for uplifting humanity and resisting fascism and creating opportunities for Oregonians to engage in principled resistance with us:

Through our work in these three priority areas, the ACLU of Oregon is focused on the strategies of political noncooperation and grassroots mobilization.

The ACLU is uniquely positioned to face this moment with our deep bench of legal, advocacy, and organizing experts, our presence nationwide and our issue-area expertise.

Together we are creating a more just, equitable, and caring democracy in Oregon while providing a blueprint for what can be accomplished elsewhere in the country. ACLU National and some of our affiliate colleagues have publicly unveiled their Firewall for Freedom plans to safeguard our rights.

ACLU National Firewalls for Freedom Initiative

History tells us that the answer to this question is up to us.

According to the Global Nonviolent Action Database at Swarthmore College, at least 40 dictators were overthrown by the use of nonviolent strategies dating back to 1920.

However, history also teaches us this: Occasional actions that simply protest a particular policy or egregious action aren’t enough. They may relieve an individual’s conscience for a moment, but, ultimately, episodic actions, even large ones, don’t assert enough power. Over and over, the Global Nonviolent Action Database shows that positive results come from a series of escalating, connected actions called a campaign.

At the ACLU of Oregon, we have committed significant time and resources so that our team can develop strategic campaigns — instead of one-off actions — to counter fascism.

However, to build the power needed to counter Trump’s fascism, we need you to join with us in the work of nonviolent resistance. Please explore the ways to get involved in our work below.

Thank you for placing your trust in us. Together, we resist.