Frequently Asked Questions

How large is RootsAction.org?
How do I join?
Is my information private?
How can I get in touch with the RootsAction team?
Can I create a petition on your site?
How is RootsAction funded?
How do you use donations?
Why don't you join with other great groups into one unified organization or alliance?
I support your political critique and reform goals, BUT isn't it all hopeless?
Can you point to any successes or worthwhile campaigns?
Where are RootsAction's graphic logos?
What candidates for Congress is RootsAction currently supporting?

How large is RootsAction.org?
RootsAction started its online activism at the beginning of 2011, and has had near-continuous growth ever since. We grew to 100,000 people by the end of 2011, and 200,000 by the end of 2012, 500,000 by the end of 2014, and over 640,000 in 2015. Today, RootsAction has 1.3 million active members.

How do I join?
It’s as easy as providing your name, email address and zipcode here.

Is my information private?
Yes. Here is our privacy policy.

How can I get in touch with the RootsAction team?
Send us suggestions, questions and feedback here. Although our team is too small to respond to every communication sent in, we do read each and every one. Many are passed around to the entire RootsAction team and discussed – and some ideas and suggestions have been implemented.

Can I create a petition on your site?
Yes at http://DIY.rootsaction.org

How is RootsAction funded?
As a nonprofit officially named “Action for a Progressive Future,” we rely on donations from members of the public. You can make a secure online donation to RootsAction.org here. Or feel free to send a check to:
RootsAction.org
PO Box 10931
Murfreesboro, TN 37129

How do you use donations?
Except where donations are sought for a specific campaign, your financial contributions to RootsAction help us cover our tech infrastructure and support, and an editorial team of two and ½ persons. Due to our low overhead, we can accomplish a lot with a little funding. Please support RootsAction.

Why don't you join with other great groups into one unified organization or alliance?
RootsAction works as often as possible in coalition with other progressive groups, and some of our best successes have been accomplished in these alliances. Having said that, we also believe there are advantages to a pluralistic approach, where different groups are using different tactics and strategies toward social change. We are basically an online group, but we work closely with offline groups that are a critical part of the solutions we need.

I support your political critique and reform goals, BUT isn't it all hopeless?
You don't really believe that or you wouldn't be pleading for someone to prove you wrong. We can’t predict the future, but we believe we have a moral duty to work to make things better and to refrain from discouraging each other. If you need to see successes to keep your spirits up, RootsAction has won some victories (see next FAQ).

Can you point to any successes or worthwhile campaigns?
Here are just a few positive developments that RootsAction contributed to in some way, large or small:

In February 2024, Nicaragua formally filed papers with the International Court of Justice in support of the case against Israel's genocide in Gaza, as requested of many nations by RootsAction and allies.

In January 2024, the day after RootsAction pressed Congress Members to repudiate former Speaker Nancy Pelosi's comments that advocates for a ceasefire in Gaza should be investigated by the FBI for ties to the Russian government, Congressman Ro Khanna questioned the Director of the FBI who promised the FBI would do no such thing.

In January 2024, with RootsAction and many others pushing local governments to act, a number of U.S. cities, large and small, passed resolutions urging a ceasefire in Gaza.

In January 2024, the White House announced a temporary (election year?) pause on approving new liquefied natural gas export terminals. RootsAction has pushed for that and more serious and permanent steps to protect the climate.

In January 2024, after pressure from RootsAction and many others resulted in a charge of genocide against Israel before the International Court of Justice, the court made a preliminary ruling that the case should proceed and ordered that Israel cease all of its genocidal actions including the killing of Palestinians.

By January 2024, following efforts by many including RootsAction, progress had been made on state minimum wages such that 14 states and the District of Columbia had a minimum wage of $15 or more per hour or plans to soon reach that level, and seven states plus D.C. had that wage indexed to automatically increase with the cost of living.

In December 2023, after efforts by RootsAction and allies, the government of South Africa invoked the Genocide Convention at the International Court of Justice in an effort to end the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

In September 2023, the striking actors of the Writers Guild of America reached an agreement meeting their demands for better compensation and rights. RootsAction had supported them with petitions, food-delivery and presence on the picket line, and fundraising.

In August 2023, President Biden finally designated a national monument near the Grand Canyon, preventing uranium mining, as RootsAction and many others had demanded for many years.

In June 2023, Congress Members in both houses finally re-introduced the College for All Act, as advocated for by RootsAction, among others. We continue to push for a vote and passage.

In May 2023, Minnesota became the latest state to support a national popular vote for president, which would eliminate the Electoral College and the possibility of any more popular-vote-loser presidents, and oblige campaigns to focus on all states, not just a few "swing states" -- as advocated by RootsAction and others.

In April 2023, RootsAction was one of a great many organizations that successfully promoted Brandon Johnson's campaign for Mayor of Chicago.

In January 2023, Harvard's Kennedy School stripped Kenneth Roth of a fellowship for speaking honestly about the Israeli government. After RootsAction and many others objected, Harvard reversed its decision.

In January 2023, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy finally agreed to make 75% of the new fleet of USPS trucks electric, something that had been demanded by a large coalition of organizations, the Save the Post Office Coalition, of which RootsAction is part.

In November 2022, Nevada voted to begin using ranked choice voting in general elections statewide, as urged by many groups including RootsAction.

In November 2022, the states of Alabama, Oregon, Tennessee, and Vermont banned slavery, which they had previously permitted as punishment for crime. RootsAction, among many others, had advocated for this.

In October 2022, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed the Ballot Disclose Act to add to ballots a short list of who really supports and opposes each ballot measure. This had been promoted by RootsAction along with many others.

In October 2022, President Joe Biden pardoned a small number of marijuana convictions and recommended that states do the same. More is needed, but without the activism of RootsAction and many others, even this very partial fulfilling of a campaign promise would likely not have happened.

In the autumn of 2022, it became clear that the activism that RootsAction and many others had done around and outside of the COP26 climate meeting in 2021 had resulted in the scheduling for COP27 in November 2022 of three official events on the topic of militarism and climate.

In September 2022, Senator Joe Manchin's "Dirty Deal" to facilitate the creation of more fossil fuel pipelines was removed from legislation in the U.S. Senate following pressure from many sources, including RootsAction.

As of September 2022, certain escalations to the war in Ukraine proposed for months in Washington, but opposed by RootsAction and others, had not been made, including the creation of a No Fly Zone and the provision of fighter jets to Ukraine.

In August 2022, President Joe Biden provided more student debt relief than he had recently indicated any willingness to do, albeit far short of the complete cancellation RootsAction and others had been demanding. The victory is appreciated; the struggle continues.

In the summer of 2022, candidates whom RootsAction supported won their primaries, including incumbents Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar, and Cori Bush, and newcomers Michelle Vallejo, Greg Casar, and Summer Lee.

In May 2022, Jamie McLeod-Skinner defeated incumbent Kurt Schrader for the Democratic nomination for Congress from Oregon's Fifth District. RootsAction and many others had supported McLeod-Skinner.

In May 2022, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to allow its staff to unionize, as advocated for by RootsAction and allies.

In April 2022, in another incremental step in the direction of ending student debt, as demanded by RootsAction and many others, the Biden administration forgave many people's debt entirely or in part.

In April 2022, after pressure from RootsAction and many others, President Joe Biden announced a four-month extension on a moratorium on student debt payments, which had been scheduled to expire on May 1.

In March 2022, following promotion by RootsAction and many other groups, the U.S. Senate voted to pass the Postal Service Reform Act (S.1720/H.R. 3076). This $107 billion overhaul bill eliminates the pre-funding mandate for retiree health benefits, integrates postal retirees into Medicare, and enables “non-postal services” like fishing licenses and subway passes in partnership with state and local governments.

In February, 2022, Congressman Jamaal Bowman withdrew his cosponsorship of HR 2748 the Israeli Relations Normalization Act and committed to a 'no' vote if it comes for a vote. RootsAction and many others had advocated for this step.

In December 2021, a DIY RootsAction petition, together with the work of many groups, had clearly had an impact, as our demand that the site of a Native American capital in Virginia not be used for a water intake and pump station seemed likely to be met, and a newspaper reported: "Development of a water intake and pump station in Fluvanna County will likely be moved away from the historic capital of the Monacan Indian Nation, after research has revealed little evidence of burial artifacts at a possible new site."

In December 2021, a coalition that RootsAction was part of achieved a partial success when one of two nominees we'd been asking to have confirmed as members of the Federal Communications Commission, Jessica Rosenworcel, was confirmed for FCC chair.

In December 2021, a demand made by a coalition of organizations and by a DIY RootsAction petition was met when the U.S. Navy agreed to remove tanks full of jet fuel leaking into drinking water in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

In October 2021, U.S. President Joe Biden announced two nominees for the Federal Communications Commission who supported net neutrality, something that RootsAction and allied groups had been urging for months.

In August 2021, the U.S. Senate voted down an effort to add military spending to a big "reconciliation" budget, keeping it out of both that bill and an accompanying infrastructure bill, as urged by a number of groups including RootsAction.

In June 2021, India Walton won the Democratic Primary for Mayor of Buffalo, NY. Politico reported she was on track to “become the first socialist mayor of a large American city since Milwaukee's Frank Zeidler, who left office in 1960.” RootsAction had supported Walton.

In June 2021, the U.S. government created licenses allowing items needed for pandemic relief to get through sanctions on three countries, Venezuela, Syria, and Iran, a partial success for an effort by RootsAction and allies to do this worldwide.

In June 2021, U.S. whistleblower Reality Winner was released from prison early. RootsAction and allies had urged her pardon.

In June 2021, newcomer Nadarius Clark won the Democratic Primary in heavily Democratic Virginia House of Delegates district #79. RootsAction had supported him.

In June 2021, the University of Virginia claimed to be moving forward on removing a statue glorifying genocide that a DIY RootsAction petition had demanded the removal of.

In May 2021, Larry Krasner won a primary election in a challeneged re-election bid for Philadelphia Attorney General. RootsAction was among many that supported him -- generating funding and turnout.

In April 2021, and at least for months following, U.S. President Joe Biden refrained, as a coalition organized by RootsAction had asked, from continuing to use reckless and dangerous rhetoric about the President of Russia.

In March 2021, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee ended its ban on working with consultants who work with challengers to incumbents, a move RootsAction had pushed for.

In March 2021, Neera Tanden withdrew from consideration for director of the Office of Management and Budget. RootsAction had opposed confirming her for that position.

In February 2021, Virginia did something RootsAction and others had campaigned for and ended the death penalty.

In February 2021, President Joe Biden announced the end of U.S. participation in and arming of the war on Yemen. RootsAction and many others had pushed for that for years. RootsAction committed to making sure it really happened following the announcement.

In January 2021, as promoted by RootsAction and others, President Donald Trump was impeached.

In January 2021, as promoted by a RootsAction DIY petition, a British court ruled against extraditing Julian Assange to the United States.

In 2020, Nebraska and Utah fully banned slavery by removing the exception for punishment of crime. RootsAction had been promoting this step, promoted also by many others, in every state that needed it -- and continues to do so in those that need it still.

In December 2020, RootsAction and allied organizations and individuals garnered significant media coverage expressing opposition to President-Elect Joe Biden's reported top-pick to nominate for Secretary of Defense, Michèle Flournoy. RootsAction and partners generated emails to U.S. Senators urging them to take a stand. Flournoy was not nominated.

In November 2020, voters in five cities approved referenda on ranked choice voting that RootsAction and many others had supported: Boulder, CO; Minnetonka, MN; Bloomington, MN; Albany, CA; Eureka, CA.

In November 2020, voters in Virginia approved a referendum on redistricting that RootsAction, along with many others, had supported.

In 2020, RootsAction launched the well-publicized, well-regarded "Vote Trump Out/Then Challenge Biden" campaign focusing its election ads, staff and volunteers on three swing states that all voted Trump out, two quite narrowly -- Michigan, Wisconsin, and Arizona.

On September 30, 2020, an innocent man named Lacino Hamilton was finally released from prison in Detroit. An RA-DIY petition had asked for that, as had many RootsAction activists and Truthout.org which had given Hamilton a platform to publish articles.

On September 29, 2020, a presidential debate that had announced the topics to be covered ahead of time without including climate, actually included a question about the earth's climate. An RAEF petition had asked for that. The petition had been discussed and linked to in a widely-read Washington Post column.

In September 2020, Charlottesville, Virginia, banned guns at city properties. One factor was a DIY RootsAction petition urging the city to ban guns from rallies.

In 2020, RootsAction members donated tens of thousands of dollars to the re-election campaigns of three members of the "squad," Congresswomen Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez -- all of whom won.

In July 2020, Charlottesville, Va., passed a resolution that was word-for-word a petition that had been promoted by RootsAction banning militarized policing.

In June 2020, RootsAction led the organizing, in alliance with several groups, that successfully pressured for Congressman Ro Khanna to lead the California delegation to the Democratic National Convention. Khanna would lead the delegation together with Congresswoman Barbara Lee and former Labor Secretary Hilda Solis.

In June 2020, two Congressional candidates supported by RootsAction, Jamaal Bowman and Mondaire Jones, won their primaries.

In May 2020, the U.S. Congress decided not to include massive weapons funding requested by the Pentagon in a COVID-19 bailout bill, which RootsAction and allies had opposed. A Politico newsletter (sponsored by military contractor Northrup Grumman) called it "a major victory" for advocacy groups.

In May 2020, the state of California decided to hold a by-mail-only election in November, as RootsAction and others had urged.

In April 2020, the Governor of Virginia finally signed two measures RootsAction had been a part of pushing for. One created a commission to replace Virginia's statue of Robert E. Lee in the U.S. Capitol. The other, reported in the media as allowing Virginia localities to remove Confederate statues, actually allows Virginia localities to remove, move, or alter any war monuments -- something that until this date had been denied to Virginia cities and counties including the City of Charlottesville.

In February 2020, Senator Bernie Sanders, as he had done in response to a RootsAction DIY petition in 2016, acted in accordance with a new RootsAction petition, announcing that he would not attend the year's AIPAC conference. Sanders stated: "The Israeli people have the right to live in peace and security. So do the Palestinian people. I remain concerned about the platform AIPAC provides for leaders who express bigotry and oppose basic Palestinian rights. For that reason I will not attend their conference."

In February 2020, the U.S. Senate passed a war powers resolution to prevent a war on Iran, something RootsAction and others have urged.

In February 2020, the state of Virginia changed its laws to allow localities to move or remove war monuments, as RootsAction had pushed for.

In February 2020, a judge in Brazil dropped charges against journalist Glenn Greenwald as a coalition organized by RootsAction had urged.

In January 2020, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation to repeal the 2002 Authorization for the Use of Military Force and to prevent a war on Iran, as well as a war powers resolution to block war on Iran, all of which RootsAction, among other groups, had lobbied for.

In January 2020, San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin eliminated cash bail. RootsAction had played a role in promoting his election in November 2019 in an extremely close race.

In December 2019, a measure that RootsAction and others promoted to clean up Vieques survived a conference committee that eliminated many other positive measures, thus making it into the final version of the National Defense Authorization Act.

In August 2019, prisoner Cyntoia Brown was freed as requested by RootsAction and many others.

In June 2019, the Bureau of Prisons in Kentucky decided not to build a prison on a toxic site, a decision that RootsAction and others had pressed for.

In June 2019, Charlottesville, Va., City Council voted to divest its operating budget from weapons companies and fossil fuel companies. Central to the campaign was a DIY.rootsaction.org petition.

In April 2019, Philadelphia's District Attorney finally dropped his opposition to allowing Mumia Abu-Jamal to appeal for his freedom. RootsAction had created a petition demanding just that, and had delivered it to the District Attorney.

In April 2019, both houses of the U.S. Congress, as urged by RootsAction.org and many others, again voted to end U.S. participation in the war on Yemen.

In March 2019, the University of Virginia adopted a living wage policy that RootsAction.org had helped push for over the years.

In February 2019, the Governor of California ordered new DNA testing in the case of Kevin Cooper, something RootsAction and many others had requested.

In February 2019, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to end U.S. military participation in the war on Yemen, as urged by RootsAction and many others.

In January 2019, the Governor of Tennessee granted clemency to prisoner Cyntoia Brown as requested by RootsAction and many others.

In December 2018, the U.S. Senate voted to end U.S. military participation in the war on Yemen, as urged by RootsAction and many others.

In November 2018, Pennsylvania prisons ended the policy of refusing to allow prisoners to order books, a policy that RootsAction had protested.

In November 2018, Florida voters restored voting rights to 1.4 million people with felony convictions by approving a measure that RootsAction had helped to put on the ballot.

In September 2018, net neutrality legislation promoted by RootsAction and others was signed into law in California (SB 822). These are currently the strongest net neutrality protections in the nation.

In August 2018, RootsAction led the organizing of a petition and a picket line, generating media attention, and successfully persuading the Democratic National Committee to effectively do away with the voting power of Super Delegates.

In August 2018, a DIY.RootsAction.org petition urged Congressman Jared Huffman to sign onto HR 4391 "Promoting Human Rights by Ending Israeli Military Detention of Palestinian Children Act." The petition had some impact. “Though Rep. Huffman has not co-sponsored HR 4391, he did sign a letter that denounced Israel’s policy of detaining Palestinian children. A step forward. We will build upon this partial victory to urge stronger action in the future,” said Jim Harris, the petition's creator.

In May 2018, net neutrality legislation promoted by RootsAction and others passed the California Senate. The bill won approval and the governor signed it into law.

In May 2018, the U.S. Senate responded to the demand of RootsAction and many other organizations by voting to restore net neutrality. The House had yet to vote.

In April 2018, Burlington, Vermont, City Council reversed its position following a local campaign that RootsAction supported, and voted to ask the U.S. military not to base F-35 fighter jets in Burlington.

In March 2018, British activist Lauri Love, who had faced extradition to the United States and decades in prison for protesting the persecution of U.S. internet activist Aaron Swartz, learned he would not have to face extradition when the High Court refused an appeal of a February ruling. RootsAction had partnered with the Courage Foundation to support Love and fund his legal expenses.

In March 2018, Congress protected workers' right to their tips, as RootsAction and allies had urged.

In January 2018, Floridians, with help from RootsAction, placed on their ballots next November the ability to restore voting rights to former prisoners.

In January 2018, the United States agreed with South Korea to delay its war rehearsals (or "exercises") in Korea until after the upcoming Olympics, as RootsAction had urged.

In December 2017, acting on a request from DIY RootsAction and others, Charlottesville, Virginia, finally created a policy to ban weapons other than guns from public events (banning guns awaits action by the state government).

In December 2017, the U.S. Congress maintained U.S. support for the nuclear agreement with Iran, something that RootsAction and many others had advocated.

In October 2017, after the campaign that included a DIY RootsAction petition, J.E.B. Stuart High School was renamed Justice High School.

In August 2017, after a campaign that included a DIY RootsAction petition, Fairfax County (Virginia) School Board agreed to rename J.E.B. Stuart High School.

In July 2017, RootsAction was one of a large number of groups that succeeded in blocking Trumpcare healthcare denial legislation in the U.S. Senate.

In July 2017, Edward Pinkney was released from prison. RootsAction had joined with many others in asking for his release.

In June 2017, RootsAction helped prevent the Maine legislature from eliminating ranked choice voting.

In June 2017, RootsAction was part of a successful effort that persuaded a number of cities and the U.S. Conference of Mayors to pass resolutions urging Congress to move money out of the military and into human and environmental needs, rather than the reverse as proposed by the Trump budget.

In June 2017, RootsAction was part of a successful effort to reject a plan for wide area surveillance in Miami, Fla.

In March 2017, the Pennsylvania Department of so-called Corrections finally agreed to give prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal medical treatment for Hepatitis C, which RootsAction had played a big part in demanding.

In January 2017, President Barack Obama commuted the sentence of Chelsea Manning, as RootsAction, among many others, had requested.

In January 2017, President Barack Obama sent $500 million to the Green Climate Fund, as RootsAction and many allies had demanded.

In January 2017, a court ruling finally answered pressure from RootsAction and allies to cease the medical neglect of Mumia Abu Jamal and other prisoners in Pennsylvania suffering Hepatitis C. The federal court ordered that treatment be provided within 21 days.

In December 2016, President Barack Obama banned oil drilling in portions of the Arctic and Atlantic, something that RootsAction, among others, had pushed for.

In December 2016, RootsAction protested a survey the Trump transition team had sent to Department of Energy employees apparently seeking to learn who supported protecting the earth from climate change. Reportedly employees refused to respond to it. The Trump team disowned it.

In December 2016, after pressure from RootsAction and many others, President Obama finally blocked some but not all weapons sales to Saudi Arabia.

In December 2016, the Army Corps of Engineers denied a permit for the Dakota Access Pipeline, which RootsAction had helped oppose. We will continue to oppose it in any other location.

In November 2016, Congress dropped its efforts to compel young women to register with Selective Service for a military draft. That was the outcome that RootsAction had promoted, along with abolishing Selective Service for men -- a step yet to be worked for.

After one state created automatic voter registration, RootsAction began flooding state legislators and governors with emails advocating following suit. By November 2016 six states plus the District of Columbia had created automatic voter registration, and one more (Illinois) needed only a vote for a veto override to join the list. Numerous other states by this time had legislation in the works.

In November 2016, RootsAction helped pass California's Proposition 59 asking elected officials to overturn Citizens United.

In November 2016, President Barack Obama abandoned efforts to pass the Trans-Pacific Partnership, long opposed by RootsAction in coalition with many other groups.

In November 2016, RootsAction helped urge a yes vote on an initiative to create ranked-choice or instant runoff voting in Maine, and a similar initiative in Benton County, Oregon. The measures both passed.

In November 2016, the United States began allowing cancer vaccine from Cuba into the country, a move that RootsAction had pushed for.

In October 2016, a DIY RootsAction petition asked North Dakota to drop charges against journalists Amy Goodman and Deia Schlosberg. This was one part of a much wider outrcy over Goodman's indictment. The charges against her were dropped.

In September 2016 RootsAction pushed for the U.S. Congress to override the President's veto to pass a bill allowing 9/11 victims' families to sue Saudi Arabia. Congress did so.

In September 2016 pressure from a DIY RootsAction petition helped persuade the U.S. State Department to grant British whistleblower Craig Murray a visa to visit the United States to speak at a conference against war and to present an award to U.S. whistleblower John Kiriakou.

In September 2016 pressure from RootsAction and allies helped persuade the U.S. Army to cease violating *some* of whistleblower Chelsea Manning's basic rights. This struggle continues.

In July 2016, the U.S. government finally made public 28 previously censored pages of a Congressional report on 9/11 regarding evidence of Saudi Arabian ties to 9/11. RootsAction and allies had lobbied for that release.

In June 2016, RootsAction was part of a large coalition of groups that won improvements from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on mortgage loans in poor neighborhoods.

In April-May 2016, RootsAction petitioned the Prime Minister of Bosnia to cease retaliation against a whistleblowing company. The pressure was felt, and the government quickly allowed the company to resume operations and return its employees to work. Our ally Mark Worth recounted: "RootsAction successfully partnered with whistleblower activists in 2016, when more than 12,000 people responded to a RootsAction alert and sent e-mails to then-Bosnian Prime Minister Denis Zvizdić. The campaign urged Zvizdić to stop the retaliation against Tuzla Kvarc, a small family-owned mining company [that] was brutalized after exposing a government bribery scheme. The reprisals were among the most sadistic in Europe in recent years. Authorities ordered Tuzla Kvarc to halt its mining operations; tax officials seized the company’s property; and prosecutors opened transparently fake criminal proceedings against its director. Tuzla Kvarc’s offices were ransacked, burned and smashed to bits by unknown persons.The prime minister’s office admitted being blindsided by the flood of e-mails, and the RootsAction campaign worked. The trumped-up criminal charges were dropped in December 2016. The mining official who the company exposed was sentenced to 20 months in prison for corruption in February 2017. And in June 2017, Tuzla Kvarc deputy director Zlatan Velagić won a defamation lawsuit against a government-run TV station that falsely accused him of being affiliated with an Islamic terrorist organization."

In March 2016, a DIY RootsAction petition urged Senator Bernie Sanders to refuse an invitation to speak at an AIPAC event. He did refuse.

In March 2016, RootsAction was part of a coalition effort that stopped legislation that would have privatized the Federal Aviation Administration.

In 2015, a DIY campaign to rename J.E.B. Stuart High School in Fairfax County resulted in the School Board creating a new method for renaming schools. Part Two is an effort to rename the school for Thurgood Marshall.

In December 2015, a DIY petition urged the Congressional Research Service to resume reporting on international weapons sales after a three year period since it last did so. Within weeks, the CRS released a new report.

In November 2015, President Barack Obama abandoned plans for the construction of one fossil fuel pipeline, the Keystone XL tarsands pipeline. RootsAction had joined with many others in opposing it.

In November 2015, the U.S. government made the full text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) public. RootsAction and others had demanded that it be made public as a means to facilitate defeating it.

In September 2015, Shell abandoned its arctic drilling plans which RootsAction and many other groups had opposed.

In September 2015, after long and intense efforts by RootsAction and coalition partners and many others, enough U.S. senators committed to supporting a nuclear agreement with Iran for the agreement to survive efforts to undo it.

In August 2015, after hunger strikes by prisoners and petitioning by many groups, including RootsAction, California ended indefinite solitary confinement and brought thousands of prisoners out of isolation.

In August 2015, Chelsea Manning faced the possibility of indefinite solitary confinement for the offense of possessing certain publications including the Senate Torture Report and for possessing toothpaste that was past its expiration date. RootsAction collected over 30,000 -- and together with allies 100,000 -- signatures and delivered them to the U.S. Army, generating media attention. Manning said there was no doubt she would have been put in solitary confinement for at least some time without the petition. Instead, although found "guilty," she was sentenced to 3 weeks without access to the library, gym, or outdoors.

In August 2015, the White House further tightened, at least slightly, the military's unloading of military weaponry on local police departments.

In July 2015, the United States and other Western nations reached a final agreement with Iran. RootsAction had been helping to hold off Congressional moves to prevent such a deal for years. That struggle continues.

Few expected the vote in the U.S. House of Representatives on June 12, 2015, to fail. That's why they held the vote! The Trans-Pacific Partnership is a job-killing, environment-destroying, 1% enriching, antidemocratic trade treaty, and briefly RootsAction and a great many allies slowed it down, raising awareness and building the movement to oppose it. President Obama made a trip to Capitol Hill on the day of the vote to pressure Democrats to vote for a measure that would have allowed "fast track" to proceed. Public pressure turned so many Democrats (and many Republicans) against this vote, that Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi turned against it. They held the vote, and it failed to pass. Congress maneuvered to pass Fast Track the following week, but the struggle to prevent the TPP goes on.

In May 2015, the U.S. government agreed to allow testing for U.S. use of a Cuban vaccine for lung cancer, following pressure by RootsAction and allies to allow various Cuban medical advances to be used in the U.S.

In May 2015, the U.S. Congress allowed some of the most abusive and abused sections of the Patriot Act to expire after RootsAction and allies had demanded just that. Congress then passed the USA Freedom Act which imposed some restrictions but was at best a very limited victory.

In May 2015, U.S. President Barack Obama moved to reduce war weaponry flowing to domestic police departments in the United States, something that RootsAction and others had pushed for, for months.

In April 2015, the United States and Iran negotiated an agreement -- by many accounts avoiding a war. RootsAction had been one group among a great many supporting that effort and helping defeat moves to block it in recent years (see below).

In February 2015, after RootsAction and many other organizations had for months pressed the Federal Communications Commission to protect Internet Neutrality, it voted decisively to do so.

In February 2015, President Obama vetoed a bill to allow the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline to be built -- a veto that RootsAction had advocated for, as had many, many, many other organizations.

In late 2014 and early 2015, RootsAction was part of stopping the creation of what would have been the biggest and dirtiest trash incinerator in the United States, in Baltimore.

In January 2015, after a DIY.RootsAction.org petition pushed the United States to negotiate with North Korea rather than rejecting its offer to halt nuclear tests, the U.S. did begin negotiating -- with outcome yet to be determined.

In January 2015, after RootsAction and many other organizations had for months pressed the Federal Communications Commission to protect Internet Neutrality, it moved to do so.

In December 2014, the U.S. Department of Justice dropped its threat to imprison author and journalist James Risen if he refused to reveal his source for the reporting he'd done on Operation Merlin, in which the CIA gave flawed blueprints for nuclear weapons to Iran. RootsAction had organized a coalition to demand just this outcome and had collected over 100,000 signatures on a petition to the President and the Attorney General.

In December 2014, RootsAction and other organizations pushed hard for the release of a 500-page summary of a U.S. Senate report on torture by the CIA, which was released on December 9th. Specifically, we lobbied outgoing Senator Mark Udall to release the report if the committee did not. Udall threatened to do so. And immediately after the report was released, he spoke on the Senate floor and revealed more information that had not been included.

In November 2014, RootsAction was one of many several groups that pressured the U.S. Senate to vote no on the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. The Senate did so by one vote.

In September 2014, the Governor of California signed four bills that RootsAction, among others, had urged him to sign:

SB 967: Requires colleges to adopt an affirmative consent standard for sexual assault (what matters is not whether a student says “no” to sex but whether he or she clearly indicates “yes").
AB 1014: Allows police officers or immediate family members to obtain restraining orders blocking mentally troubled people from owning a gun.
SB 1010: Eliminates sentencing disparities for crack and powder cocaine.
SB 270: Prohibits single-use plastic bags, allowing grocers to instead offer paper or reusable bags for a fee.

In September 2014, Google said it would cease funding ALEC, as demanded by RootsAction and a huge coalition of groups and individuals.

In September 2014, a DIY petition posted at DIY.rootsaction.org by the War Resisters League helped a broad effort that resulted in Marriott Hotels and the City of Oakland, Calif., both committing to not hosting the Urban Shield event in the future -- an event that markets military weapons to police.

In September 2014, a coalition including RootsAction won from the U.S. Department of Justice a commitment to investigate police violence in Ferguson, Missouri. Clearly, this is a first step and an ongoing campaign.

In July 2014, after RootsAction and many, many other organizations pushed Congress to block a new war on Iraq, the House passed a measure denying the President any ability to begin a new U.S. war there without a Congressional authorization.

In July 2014, RootsAction was part of a coalition effort that halted, at least for now, the construction of what would have been the largest trash-burning incinerator in the nation, near a school in Baltimore.

In May 2014, RootsAction and Demand Progress sent over 90,000 emails to the Federal Communications Commission urging that it back off plans to destroy net neutrality. The Washington Post reported: "The FCC ... has been flooded with more than 100,000 e-mails and calls to commissioners’ offices from consumers voicing concern about protecting the principle known as 'net neutrality,' which says that all content should be treated equally online." The FCC's final decision is not yet known.

In February 2014, a judge showed great leniency in sentencing three nonviolent protesters of nuclear weapons in Tennessee to sentences far below the federal guidelines, after their lawyer submitted 17,000 signatures and comments from a RootsAction.org petition.

In January 2014, a bill to create sanctions on Iran, effectively tear up a negotiated agreement with Iran on nuclear energy, and commit the U.S. to any war with Iran engaged in by Israel, looked likely to pass through the U.S. Senate. RootsAction helped, along with many, many other organizations to successfully stop that bill -- for now.

In December 2013 Russian President Vladimir Putin said two jailed members of the punk band Pussy Riot would be freed -- and they were. Months earlier, RootsAction had been early to widely communicate opposition to their imprisonment.

In November 2013 we flooded Bath, Maine, city council with emails opposing corporate welfare for General Dynamics' weapons construction, as a minor assist to a local campaign. The victory was partial, with the city council reducing but still providing tax breaks.

In September 2013 we flooded President Obama and Iranian President Rouhani with emails urging them to speak with each other about peace. Days later, they did so in what amounted to the most serious meeting between U.S. and Iranian leaders in decades. We continued to press for more talks and an end to sanctions and threats of war.

In August 2013 we, along with many other groups and individuals, helped compel President Obama to seek Congressional authorization before attacking Syria, and continued to pressure Congress to reject that request. In September 2013 we helped compel both houses of Congress to make clear to the White House that they would reject an authorization of war on Syria. The missiles were not fired, and the decision clearly turned on the Congressional opposition.

In May 2013 we urged the Governor of Connecticut to sign a bill, also promoted by lots of groups in Connecticut, creating a commission to advance conversion from a war to a peace economy. He signed it. We hope to help spread that model to 49 other states and the District of Columbia.

In 2013, we helped stop the Koch brothers from taking over the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, and six other newspapers.

Our petition to the U.S. and Yemeni governments was part of an effort that freed from prison on July 23, 2013, journalist Abdulelah Haider Shaye.

We led some of the earliest online campaigning in support of NSA whistle-blower Edward Snowden.

Our petition urging that military whistle-blower Chelsea (then Bradley) Manning receive the Nobel Peace Prize became an international phenomenon.

We've opposed the launching of U.S. wars in Iran or Syria, and we've pushed hard for an end to U.S. war-making in Afghanistan. The U.S. House of Representatives voted in June 2013 to require an end by December 2014.

In 2012, we flooded the government of Ecuador with requests for asylum for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange – which they noted, and which they granted.

We led a coalition in 2012 that successfully obtained a visa to visit the United States for an Afghan peace activist who otherwise was being blocked.

We supported a living wage campaign at the University of Virginia that has won wage increases.

Our opposition to increased interest rates on student loans has been part of efforts that have, thus far, resulted in a partial victory.

For years, we’ve campaigned for no cuts to Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security benefits, and continuously demanded cuts to Pentagon spending as part of any budgetary discussions.

We have been supporting a youth-led effort in the United States to legally force the government to address climate change, and that effort has won a victory in Texas district court.

We helped lead the progressive opposition to Susan Rice's nomination for Secretary of State – over her investments in corporations backing Keystone pipeline.

We’ve supported the movement to reject Citizens United, which has gained a great deal of attention, passing almost 300 local and several state resolutions.

On several issues, including the Trans Pacific Partnership, we've received a lot of emails from our members thanking us for educating them, which is a valuable end in itself.

We've helped push back, successfully so far, against attempts to eliminate Saturday mail delivery by the U.S. Postal Service.

In 2012, we sparked a large coalition around NBC's pro-war "reality" show, called "Stars Earn Stripes," which was canceled.

We opposed indefinite detention power even before President Obama signed it; a federal court later blocked it.

We’ve built a large coalition of groups gathering signatures against weaponized drones and, in 2013, had allies deliver the petition to officials in Pakistan.

In 2013, we built pressure that removed the most egregious language from a Senate resolution that, as originally written, would have effectively given Israel the power to launch a U.S. war on Iran.

In 2012, we came very close to winning a vote in the U.S. House to cut off military sponsorships of NASCAR and other sporting events; the Army announced it was ending NASCAR sponsorships.

We formed, in 2012, an international coalition of poets against a life sentence for a poet in Qatar (punishment for reading a poem). His sentence has been reduced to 15 years.

Where are RootsAction's graphic logos?

New darker logo on white (PNG) (JPG):

Large (2404x868) logo on white with black border (PNG):