Center for Popular Democracy

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Center for Popular Democracy is a nationwide network that includes many re-constituted ACORN chapters. It controls Local Progress. Center for Popular Democracy's "sister organization" is CPD Action.[1]

The Wyss Foundation, Ford Foundation, and Open Society Foundations are the biggest funders of the Center for Popular Democracy.[2]

About Us

Verbatim from the Center for Popular Democracy's website as of February 20, 2023:[3]

"The Center for Popular Democracy works to create equity, opportunity and a dynamic democracy in partnership with high-impact base-building organizations, organizing alliances, and progressive unions. CPD strengthens our collective capacity to envision and win an innovative pro-worker, pro-immigrant, racial and economic justice agenda.
Our Theory of Change
CPD builds the power of communities to ensure the country embodies our vision of an inclusive, equitable society -- where people of color, immigrants, working families, women, and LGBTQ communities thrive together, supported by a resilient economy and political institutions that reflect our priorities. CPD’s role is especially important at a time when our communities are being threatened and the institutions that sustain us are under attack.
In order to accomplish this broad vision, CPD:
Builds and strengthens powerful, democratic people’s organizations that give voice to those facing structural barriers to realizing their aspirations – communities of color, immigrants, working families, youth, women, and the LGBTQ community. We believe that whole people have intersectional identities and need powerful institutions that fight on many fronts simultaneously. Through organization, we create lasting vehicles for sustaining community and to build and wield power in the broader democracy. The CPD network builds not only stronger organizations, but also trains and supports organizational leaders, staff, and members to be the true owners and drivers of those organizations and our broader movement. Collectively, our network is committed to building a mass base of people for action, engaging them and developing their leadership and militancy over time, and thus always increasing the scale and impact of our collective work.
Takes bold action together. We take on fights to advance our transformative vision of a more just, healthy, joyful world, while delivering significant victories that tangibly improve the lives of members of our communities in the near term. Our campaigns seek to confront deep structural problems that challenge our ability to achieve our vision (e.g., white supremacy, corporate power), and our actions resonate beyond those directly involved. We evaluate our work – whether it is succeeding in building real strength, changing the balance of power in our country, and meeting the real needs of our communities – in order to correct course in real time and work more effectively in the future.
Nurtures meaningful and diverse alliances with politically aligned partners that increase our collective power to move an agenda, and are committed to building authentic relationships grounded in real work. We build these relationships to advance our immediate term campaigns, and to build a strong infrastructure for a sustainable and growing movement for justice that our communities so deeply need.

History

Established in 2012, the Center for Popular Democracy merged with the Leadership Center for the Common Good on January 1, 2014 to create a newly powerful, Center for Popular Democracy. The organizations' sister 501c4 organizations, Action for the Common Good and Center for Popular Democracy Action Fund also merged to create a new stronger CPD Action.
CPD now has 95 staff, offices in New York City and Washington, D.C., and staff in California, Chicago, Georgia, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Texas, Wisconsin, and Puerto Rico. We work with a remarkably strong cohort of 53 affiliates and partners in 131 cities across 34 states, Puerto Rico, and Washington, D.C.
CPD’s model for change draws from the successful base-building and policy advocacy of partner organizations such as Make the Road New York (MRNY), CASA de Maryland, and PCUN in Oregon, as well as New York Communities for Change (NYCC), Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE) and Action Now in Illinois, among many others. Around the country, base-building organizations are demonstrating that it is possible to grow to scale, with strong institutional infrastructure and innovative organizing models, and leverage that strength to win cutting-edge policy victories at the federal, state and local levels. CPD grows out of this experience, to bring a range of additional capacities to the field to help base-building organizations scale up even further, to deepen and grow the progressive movement infrastructure, and to advance a pro-worker, pro-immigrant, racial and economic justice policy agenda nationwide.

Nationalize Election Policy

The Declaration for American Democracy heavily pushes the so-called "Freedom to Vote" act, which would nationalize the election process. The legislation was the "successor bill to the For the People Act", which "would strip the states of their electoral process autonomy and impose blanket rules, such as doing away with voter ID."[4]. On October 14, 2021, the Declaration for American Democracy published an open letter to Chuck Schumer, Amy Klobuchar, Tim Kaine, Angus King, Joe Manchin, Jeff Merkley, Alex Padilla, Jon Tester, and Raphael Warnock signed by coalition members thanking them for their role in the "Freedom to Vote" legislation.[5] Center for Popular Democracy signed the letter.

Poor People's Campaign

Center for Popular Democracy was named as a "mobilizng partner" for the Poor People's Campaign's Moral March on Washington, D.C. June 18, 2022.[6],[7]

Partner Organization of ProsperUS

Center for Popular Democracy is listed as a "Partner Organization" of ProsperUS,[8] a coalition of leftist groups formed during the 2020 coronavirus pandemic to demand massive government spending, including Joe Biden's "Build Back Better" spending bill.[9],[10],[11]

Rise Up Retail

Rise Up Retail becomes United for Respect April 2019 tweet screenshot

A Vox article from Sept 28 2018 by Bryce Covert[12] explained that "[T]he Rise Up Retail campaign is a melding of the Center for Popular Democracy, which is a nonprofit that advocates for a variety of workplace issues, and OUR (Organization United for Respect) Walmart, which is now going by OUR and branching out beyond the original retail behemoth. Most of the work consists of retail workers reaching out to other retail workers to organize and mobilize them, much of it done through social media."

In April 2019, United for Respect announced that they would be changing their name to United for Respect.[13]

Opioid Network

Politico reported in November 2017 that a group calling itself the "Opioid Network, spearheaded by Center for Popular Democracy" is made up of over 45 advocacy organizations is demanding $45 billion for the opioid epidemic.[14] 

National Survey of the Retail Workforce

A 2017 "report" titled "Job Quality and Economic Opportunity in Retail: Key Findings from a National Survey of the Retail Workforce" conducted by the Center for Popular Democracy gave the following acknowledgements:[15]

This report was researched and written by Maggie Corser. It was edited by Rachel Deutsch, Carrie Gleason, and Lily Wang, Fair Workweek Initiative at the Center for Popular Democracy. This survey benefited from the input of an advisory group which included: Andrea Dehlendorf and Tyfani Faulkner, United for Respect; Dr. Anna Haley-Lock, Rutgers University; Dr. Arne Kalleberg, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; and Dr. Susan Lambert, University of Chicago. We would like to thank the W.K. Kellogg Foundation for supporting this research.

Board of Directors as of February 2024

Board of Directors as of February 2023

As of February 2023:[17]

Board of Directors as of December 2017

As of December 2017;[18]

Strategic Advisory Council

As of December 2017;[19]

Staff

As of December 2017;[20]

Partner organizations

  • AS OF FEBRUARY 20, 2023:[21]


ALASKA

ARKANSAS

ARIZONA

CALIFORNIA

COLORADO

CONNECTICUT

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

DELAWARE

FLORIDA

GEORGIA

INDIANA

KANSAS

LOUISIANA

MARYLAND

MARYLAND

MAINE

MICHIGAN

MINNESOTA

MISSOURI

MONTANA

NORTH CAROLINA

NEW HAMPSHIRE

NEW JERSEY

NEW MEXICO

NEVADA

NEW YORK

OHIO

OREGON

PENNSYLVANIA

PUERTO RICO

TEXAS

TEXAS

VIRGINIA

VERMONT

WASHINGTON

WISCONSIN

WISCONSIN

WEST VIRGINIA


AS OF AUGUST 2018:[22]


ARKANSAS

ARIZONA

CALIFORNIA

COLORADO

CONNECTICUT

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

DELAWARE

FLORIDA

ILLINOIS

INDIANA

KANSAS

LOUISIANA

MASSACHUSETTS

MARYLAND

MICHIGAN

MINNESOTA

MISSOURI

NORTH CAROLINA

NEW HAMPSHIRE

NEW JERSEY

NEW MEXICO

NEVADA

NEW YORK

OHIO

OREGON

PENNSYLVANIA

PUERTO RICO

TEXAS

UTAH

VIRGINIA

VERMONT

WASHINGTON

WEST VIRGINIA

POWER to the People's Convention

Eric Mar July 10, 2016.

Sadrew.JPG

POWER to the People's Convention in Pittsburgh! An INSPIRED thank you to the Center for Popular Democracy/Local Progress, Make the Road, WORKING FAMILIES PARTY!, Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE), SEIU 32BJ, and so many others! — with Brad Lander, Helen Gym, Nikki Fortunato Bas, John Avalos, Tarsi Dunlop, Sarah Johnson and Ady Barkan at Center for Popular Democracy.

CPD-ACCE gala

Center for Popular Democracy would like to thank everyone who made October’s 2016 joint CPD-ACCE gala a huge success! Over 175 guests packed the room at Impact Hub in Oakland to support CPD and ACCE and to celebrate this year’s inspiring honorees: Laphonza Butler, president of SEIU Local 2015, Guillermo Mayer, president and CEO of Public Advocates, and John Avalos, San Francisco District 11 board of supervisors members and Local Progress board chair.

We would like to give a special shout out to our major sponsors, CFT, Josh Pesdchtalt, SEIU Local 2015, SEIU International, Susan Sandler and Steve Phillips, Rigo Valdez of UFCW 770, and the San Francisco Foundation. Your support ensures that the values of equity, opportunity and a dynamic democracy become national priorities.[23]

Anti-ICE protest

They came from all over, took planes and buses from 47 states, slept at friends' homes or in churches and prepared to be arrested Thursday June 27, 2018 in Washington, D.C.

Most of the participants were white women, stumbling over the syllables of Spanish-language chants. Many had never faced arrest before. But here they were.

Capitol Police said 575 protesters were arrested and escorted out of the Hart Senate Office Building in a mass demonstration that called for the abolishment of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, and an end to migrant family detentions and the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" immigration policy.

They were charged with unlawfully demonstrating, a misdemeanor.

"I have two kids, and as a white mother, there is almost no circumstance that they would be taken away from me - ever," said Victoria Farris, who slept Wednesday night in All Souls Church after participating in civil disobedience training. "I was awake one night because I couldn't sleep thinking about all those [immigrant] mothers and terrified children. I realized I had to do something more than protest, more than make a sign and march."

Protesters unfurled banners inside the Hart building Thursday as others staged a sit-in, wrapping themselves in shiny, silver space blankets. The political banners, which aren't allowed in the building's lobby, were confiscated by police.

Capitol Police process a group consisting mostly of women demonstrators inside the Hart building in Washington, D.C.

Then the arrests began.

Just after 3 p.m., protesters were rounded up in groups of a dozen or more and led out of the building.

"Abolish ICE," they shouted as more were moved out. "Shut it down."

Demonstrators continued to sing and chant as they were led away.

When the first group was escorted out of the building, the remaining crowd erupted in cheers.

As police continued to clear the area, several senators greeted demonstrators, including Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill.

"I join them in calling on the Trump administration to reunite these families and give these kids back to their parents," Duckworth said. "On my side of things, I ask my colleagues, let's pass, finally, sensible immigration reform."

Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., joined in the protest and was led out with marchers by Capitol Police. Actress Susan Sarandon, who marched at the front as the protest made its way down Constitution Avenue, was arrested with a group of demonstrators.

It took about an hour to clear the women from the building.

The protest began hours earlier at Freedom Plaza, where hundreds of women robed in white and carrying signs deriding the Trump administration's immigration policy had gathered. The protest was organized by a coalition of groups, including the Women's March and the immigrant advocacy organization Casa de Maryland.

Several participants wrote "WE CARE" on their palms, a rebuke of the jacket first lady Melania Trump wore on her first trip to visit detained children near the border.

Ana Maria Archila, executive director of Center for Popular Democracy, said calling for the disbandment of ICE "would have seemed absurd even a few months ago."

But now it is central to the mission of her group and Thursday's march.

"This country has finally been exposed to the brutality and inhumanity of immigration enforcement," she said. "This barrage of injustices has inspired us to say, 'No more. We will not be silent. We will not obey.' "

After gathering at Freedom Plaza, the group marched to the Justice Department before heading to the Hart building, singing hymns and protest songs all the way.

Organizers of the D.C. rally said similar protests will take place in 351 congressional districts across the country.[24]

DCCC Blacklist

Center for Popular Democracy was on the DCCC Blacklist.

References

  1. ↑ About (accessed February 21, 2023)
  2. ↑ Woman Who Confronted Flake In Elevator Runs Soros-Funded Organization (accessed October 7, 2018)
  3. ↑ About Us (accessed February 21, 2023)
  4. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20230615175619/https://rairfoundation.com/alert-left-wing-groups-fight-to-abolish-filibuster-to-seize-control-of-state-elections-watch/ ALERT: Left-Wing Groups Fight to Abolish Filibuster to Seize Control of State Elections (Watch) (accessed June 15, 2023)]
  5. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20230615173442/https://www.socialworkers.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=0GobO6jQ04A%3D&portalid=0 Declaration for American Democracy Letter (accessed June 15, 2023)]
  6. ↑ June 18, 2022 (January 23, 2023)
  7. ↑ Poor People's Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival (January 23, 2023)
  8. ↑ About (accessed November 21, 2021)
  9. ↑ ProsperUS Praises House Passage of Build Back Better Bill, Calls for Speedy Senate Passage, No Additional Cuts (accessed November 21, 2021)
  10. ↑ ProsperUS Urges Swift Passage of Build Back Better Act (accessed November 21, 2021)
  11. ↑ ProsperUS Coalition: Historic Build Back Better Deal Clear Rejection of Trickle-Down Economics, Big Win for Workers, Families, and Economy (accessed November 21, 2021)
  12. ↑ Retail workers are more vulnerable than ever. A new campaign wants to protect their jobs. accessed December 1 2019
  13. ↑ Rise Up Retail Tweet accessed December 1 2019
  14. ↑ [1]
  15. ↑ [Job Quality and Economic Opportunity in Retail: Key Findings from a National Survey of the Retail Workforce accessed Dec 1 2019]
  16. ↑ [2]
  17. ↑ Board (accessed February 21, 2023)
  18. ↑ [3]
  19. ↑ [4]
  20. ↑ [5]
  21. ↑ Our Affiliates (accessed February 20, 2023)
  22. ↑ [6]
  23. ↑ [https://populardemocracy.org/blog/rising-together-oakland-california11/7/2016 Rising Together in Oakland, California]
  24. ↑ Chicago Tribune, June 28, 2018
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