Our Mission
The mission of The People’s Assembly (TPA) is building a cross-cultural and intersectional movement grounded in anti-racism and directed at advancing Black liberation and social justice for all. We work to engage youth and community power. We organize by means of creative resistance and shared learning and leadership.
In September 2016, Tacoma Stands Up changed our name to The People’s Assembly, in light of a deepened understanding of the power of language and the way in which language both shapes and is reflective of access to various communities. In recognition of the ableist nature of the terms “stand up”, we moved to adopt the name of our summer-long campaign of marches (The People’s Assembly) as our organizational name. As we continue our work, we commit to continuing to examine and adapt our language, approaches, and strategies to expand access and strengthen connections across different communities.
core values
Abolition: the complete uprooting and elimination of structures and institutions of policing, imprisonment, and oppression and the creation of people-led systems of care, safety, and well-being that promote freedom of all people. To enable transformation, abolition must be preceded by the restoration of power to survivors of oppression and violence to define and receive accountability and reparations.
Antiracism: the active dismantling of cultures and systems that directly and indirectly foster white supremacy, colonization, and anti-Black violence.
Black liberation: freedom, uplift, and autonomy for all Black lives and social, legal, cultural, and economic reparations for centuries of systemic genocide, criminalization, and marginalization of Black lives and bodies.
Community: valuing relationship-building as the foundation of movement-building, nurturing and engaging relationships with honor and care.
Community organizing: Mobilizing community voice and power for deliberate and strategic action towards the goal of systemic change, justice, and freedom.
Imagination: as a tool of organizing, imagination is the act of deliberately dreaming. It is articulating and envisioning the actualization of freedom, joy, and justice.
Intersectionality: the recognition that each individual simultaneously holds a variety of identities which have varying power implications and which bring complex lived narratives. This means capturing our stories and framing our strategies in ways that recognize the nuanced experiences of oppression across and within communities.
Mutual aid: building and drawing on people power, strengths, and resources for community survival, sustenance, and resilience.
Queer and trans positive: the affirmation, celebration, and centering of queer, trans, gender nonconforming, and non-binary folx and stories (particularly Black LGBTQIA+ folx and stories) as a part of intersectional organizing.
Social justice: fair access to dignity, freedom, and quality life for all people. This includes the divestment of power from current systems and cultures of white cis-heteronormativity and organizing, action, and policy for Black liberation and social justice for all.
Transformative justice: the practice of accountability and repair as defined by those who are harmed and upheld by structures that facilitate healing at all levels of life and society.