Grass Root Activism

Self-organized-local-level efforts to encourage members

of the community to participate in activities, such as
fundraising and voter registration drives, in support of a
given social, economic, or political cause.
Drawing their power from ordinary people, grassroots
movements need large numbers of participants.
Rather than money, the power of grassroots movements
comes from their ability to harness the effort of ordinary
people whose shared sense of justice and knowledge
about a given issue can be used to influence
policymakers.
The leaders of grassroots campaigns must master a wide
variety of skills, such as public relations, developing
flyers, writing letters to the editor and letters to
lawmakers, and posting on social media networks.
Leaders eventually become organizers, who are
responsible for choosing issues, running campaigns, and
training new leaders.
 Strategies
● Raising money to pay for political advertising
● Putting up posters, handing out flyers, and going
door-to-door.
● Conducting letter-writing, phone-calling, and emailing
campaigns.
● Gathering signatures for petitions.
● Holding get out the vote activities and helping people
get to polling places.
● Organizing larger rallies and marches.
● Posting information on online social media networks
History
The phrase "grassroots and boots" is thought to have been
coined in 1912 after Senator Albert Jeremiah Beveridge of
Indiana, said of former President Theodore Roosevelt’s
Progressive Party, “This party has come from the grassroots.
It has grown from the soil of people’s hard necessities.”
1904 newspaper article on a campaign for possible Roosevelt
running mate Eli Torrance quotes a Kansas political
organizer as saying, "Roosevelt and Torrance clubs will be
organized in every locality. We will begin at the grass roots.”
In 1907, Ed Perry, vice-chairman of the Oklahoma
Republican Campaign Committee, stated of his platform,
“I am for a square deal, grass root representation, for
keeping close to the people, against ring rule, and for fair
treatment.”
The Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s
1951 Educator William Van Til while working for the
integration of the Nashville, Tennessee public school
system- discussing race relations at the local level
Me Too- grassroots effort to combat sexual abuse and harassment.
Started in 2006 by American sexual harassment survivor and social
activist Tarana Burke.
Me Too rose to prominence both online and in traditional media in 2017,
after several well-known female celebrities shared their personal
experiences with sexual harassment in the entertainment industry.
Since 2017, the Me Too movement has served as a
source of understanding, solidarity, and healing for
women from all walks of life who have been the
victims of sexual harassment, typically perpetrated
By their male colleagues in workplace or academic
settings.
Love Wins
Arising after the 2015 U.S. Supreme Court’s 5-4 Obergefell
v. Hodges ruling legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide,
and organized under the social media hashtag #LoveWins,
This grassroots campaign mustered
vast new support for the LGBTQ
community and the overarching
cause of gay rights.
Bernie Sanders 2016 Presidential Campaign
On May 26, 2015, United States Senator Bernie Sanders
announced his 2016 presidential campaign based on a
platform of reducing income inequality by raising taxes on
the wealthy, guaranteeing tuition-free college, and creating
a single-payer healthcare system.
Inspired by Sanders’ vision, a network of millions of
passionate volunteers succeeded in elevating the campaign
to challenge Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton,
before ultimately losing the nomination.
Kenya- The Kuruwitu Conservation & Welfare Association
marine ecosystems were being destroyed by overfishing,
pollution, and climate change,
Locally Managed Marine Area to ban fishing in a designated
zone.
The Mali Elephant Project -tangled issues that make poaching
in Mali so bad.
First, it offers sustainable economic opportunities to people in
the region.
Youth are trained to be “eco-guardians” and women are
encouraged to collect non-timber natural resources, giving
Guatemala — Alianza Internacional de Reforestación
After legal and illegal deforestation threatened the collapse of
ecosystems government turned to local communities to protect
forests.
For many groups who live in the Amazon rainforest and
experience deforestation and resource exploitation, that often
means their ways of life are threatened.
The Ashaninka people of Northwestern Brazil have taken an
innovative approach to defending their land and culture.
To protect their 87.205-hectare of land, Apiwtxa uses 3D-mapping
technology to understand what areas are at risk and where
resources should be deployed.
Purnima Devi Barman, a conservation biologist known
for initiating an all-female grassroots conservation
movement from Assam for saving the greater adjutant,
one of the world's rarest storks
UN Environment Programme's (UNEP)
2022 Champions of the
Earth award
 Swayam Shikshan Prayog
Maharashtra, faced its worst drought in more than 40
years last year.
While nothing can ultimately wring water from desiccated
land, Swayam Shikshan Prayog ensured that more than
72,000 women were empowered to effectively navigate
the conditions.
sustainable agriculture, enabling women to obtain land
and engage in a form of mixed-crop, organic farming that
uses little water