The People's Wave

After decades of sounding the alarm about the mounting threats from anti-democratic efforts playing out in real time in Idaho and other rural parts of the country, today those realities face every American giving weight to the warning that as goes Idaho, so goes the country. 

The pursuit of policies at the expense of building relationships with people increasingly leads to the erosion of both. Simply put, we cannot build a home without a foundation. 

To truly get to the root of what is polarizing our country we knew that we had to be listening to people across ideological and political spectrums, to engage in meaningful dialogue, and reimagining community centered activism. It meant providing paths of engagement along a long arc of organizing that gives the space and the grace to consider something different. If we are going to shift the majority of the country around alignment on our shared interests and values and democracy itself, we’ll have to move hearts first. 

So, in 2016, we expanded our authentic relational organizing (ARO) and traveled the state to meet with people in communities stretched across the state, particularly in areas of experiencing an escalation of authoritarian efforts aimed at dividing them, spreading mis and disinformation and igniting hate. After two years, we created a public directed list of issues comprised expressed to us and vetted by those communities before issuing the "Idaho People's Platform." From there community members  joined the effort with a giant door hanger in hand and knocked 10,000 doors to ask, "What hurts, what would make a difference in your life, that of your family, and that of your community?" 

The results were astonishing! Most people said, "No one has asked me before what I think or feel?" When we documented their answers, they said, "You really care enough about what I think to write it down?" Their stories revealed the painful, hard truths about the realities that people had been living through. They spoke of their sadness, their loss of hope, their belief that their voices no longer mattered and their fear for future generations. Even those who didn't share all of the same concerns outlined in the Idaho People's Platform, most found areas of common alignment when engaged with respect, empathy and deep listening. And while some conversations didn't necessarily lead  to a shared path of unity, they did powerfully interrupt the profiling we do of one another - often resulting in acknowledgments of appreciation for taking democracy seriously and wanting to find a path forward together.

From this program, we learned about what matters to Idahoans and how our organization can play a pivotal role in uniting us to ensure that as many had lost faith in government and our democratic institutions, we can still build relationships across difference to reimagine those structures and remake them for our collective wellbeing and restore the balance of power for a truly democratic and just society though people-powered governance.

What is the People's Platform?
Idahoans across the state created and vetted the list of issues and values that are core motivators for families and communities in Idaho. This platform was ratified and adopted by 34 states including Idaho in 2019.

• Improved Medicare for ALL Medicaid
• Universal Family Care for Families, Women, Children & the Elderly
• Protecting and Preserving Social Security
• End the Overdose Crisis
• A Caring Economy; People Before Profits
• Fully Funded Public Education (K-12) and Higher Education
• Jobs, Power and Dignity in Work
• Housing Justice; Homes Guarantee
• Disability Justice
• Environmental Justice & 100% Just and Clean Energy for All
• Public Lands in Public Hands
• Restore & Protect Local Control
• Gun Sense; Community & School Safety​
• Gender & Racial Equity​
• Sovereignty for Native Nations
• Denounce White Nationalism and Combat White Supremacy
• Just Immigration; Dignity for Immigrants, Refugees & Asylum Seekers
• End Mass Incarceration
• Expand Voting Rights
• Special Interest Money Out of Idaho Politics
• Reduce Corporate Control Over Our Democracy
• Government Transparency & Accountability
• People-Centered Governance: Our work is moving Idaho and our country from a bold vision to action. UVI's rural and urban progressive populous organizing is part of powerful new movement led by 30 states that comprise 43 organizations of People's Action.
  

When the pandemic hit, it was no longer safe to have in-person community building efforts, so again understanding the threat of extremist division, we pivoted. See more here.