The following platform was introduced at the Rise Up: From Protest to Power founding convention of People's Action held in Washington DC, April 23-25, 2017.
At the event, seventy-two grassroots activists pledged to run for office guided by the principles in the platform and committed to be held accountable to their communities and people's organizations.
In this time of crisis, we rise up. We rise up for people and planet. For a government that protects the right of all people to thrive. For a society where every person has a say in our collective future.
We are under attack – as poor and working people, as immigrants and refugees, as women, LGBTQ people, Muslims, as indigenous nations, and as people of color. We are under attack by growing corporate power that takes from our families and communities.
But we refuse to be defined by these attacks. We know that, rising up together, we will win.
As People’s Action, we are united by our belief that all people have a right to health care, safe affordable housing, clean air and water, to self-expression and dignity, to personal and collective freedom, and to justice.
In solidarity, we rise up together for this vision, joining in protest and power.
We Rise Up as People’s Action for All
Racial Equity
We rise up to take down the barriers to racial equity. Racism is deeply embedded throughout our society and in all of our institutions. The effects of racism are real and deadly. We rise up to dismantle and remake institutions that discriminate and reinforce racial inequity while we confront the ideas and ideology of white supremacy. We work for bold solutions to achieve equitable outcomes in all aspects of our lives, from access to clean air and water, to good jobs, to restorative justice over criminalization, state violence and mass incarceration, to sovereignty and dignity for Native people and quality education for all.
Gender Equity
We rise up to take down the barriers based on sexual orientation, gender and gender expression across all aspects of social and political life. We work for bold solutions including guaranteed access to health care, to equal access to economic success, civil rights and the justice system and an end to gendered violence.
Economic Systems Built for People not Profit
We rise up for a system that reverses the concentration of wealth and historic income inequality and allows workers and small businesses to thrive. We fight for a fair global system that puts an end to corporate abuse of global markets and workers around the world. And we fight for a financial system that places people’s needs above profit and speculation.
True Democracy
We rise up for universally representative democracy. Too often, our voices have been denied, suppressed and silenced. Governing power belongs in the hands of the people at every level of government. We fight for fair voter access, campaign finance and districting systems to ensure we make real the unfulfilled promise of democracy.
Dignity at Work
We will fight to ensure everyone has access to good jobs, with good pay and benefits so every person can care for and support their families and have a secure retirement no matter who they are. We rise up for the freedom of working people to organize in unions and for equal respect and benefit for at home and in-home work.
Ending Mass Incarceration & Rebuilding Our Communities
We will fight for investments in harm reduction, restorative justice, and mental health treatment and fight to end mass incarceration, criminalization, state violence and biased policing and courts. We rise up for truly safe communities, where all of us are treated with dignity and respect, with a criminal justice system based on equal treatment not bias.
Health Care is a Human Right
We will fight for health care as human right that should be guaranteed by our government. We rise up for a health care system that supports healthy people and communities, not the profits of drug and insurance corporations. And we fight for a health care system that guarantees care for all; at the time we need it, regardless of where we live or who we are.
True Climate Justice
We will fight to heal the toxic damage done to low-income communities and communities of color, including on Native lands. We demand that the clean energy economy serves those most impacted by disinvestment, colonization, structural racism and the impacts of climate change. And together we will create good jobs and build a publicly owned clean energy economy that puts people and planet first.
Education Equity
We will fight for strong neighborhood public schools in every community and for equitable outcomes for every child – for girls, for rural, urban, and poor students, for LGBTQ students and students of color. We will fight the criminalization of our children by the school to prison pipeline. We will fight every effort to privatize public education or push resources to for-profit education. We fight for free, high-quality public education from preschool through higher education.
A Just Immigration System
We will fight to ensure our country welcomes all and against our current immoral system designed to exploit the labor of workers for corporate profit. We will fight against the militarization of our borders, detention, and cruel policies that rip our families apart. We will fight for a system that affords a full place in our society, our economy, and our democracy for everyone, regardless of their religion or country of origin and advance the rights of all people who call the United States home.
