TakeAction Minnesota is a social welfare organization and political advocacy group operating in the U.S. state of Minnesota. According to its mission statement, the group's goal is to "unite the power of diverse individuals, communities and organizations in active grassroots democracy that builds racial, social and economic justice. [1] Minnesotan media have called it "a powerful advocate for liberal causes" [2] and "a powerhouse in DFL politics". [3]
TakeAction Minnesota was founded in 2006 as a merger of Progressive Minnesota and the Minnesota Alliance for Progressive Action. [2] The group is incorporated as 501(c)4 (or "social welfare") organization—an organization legally considered to serve the purpose of promoting the general welfare of people in its community, but which is also allowed to engage in political activity. The group is a coalition of 20 different organizations, including labor unions and advocacy groups for such causes as environmental protection, education, and the prevention of sexual violence. [4] TakeAction Minnesota claims 6,000 individual dues-paying members and a mailing list of 50,000 people. [3] It is an affiliate of the national organizations People's Action [5] [6] and CPD Action. [5]
The TakeAction Minnesota Education Fund is a separately incorporated 501(c)(3) organization (not engaging in politics); the two groups have different boards of directors and file their taxes separately. [1]
TakeAction Minnesota campaigns at the state level for such issues as expanded access to healthcare, paid family and medical leave, transitioning Minnesota's energy infrastructure to renewable energy, and prevention of gun violence. [7] In 2012, it was part of a successful campaign against Minnesota Amendment 2 (a proposed amendment to the Minnesota constitution that would have required voters to show photo ID), [2] and in 2013 successfully lobbied (alongside the NAACP) for a ban the box initiative (a law prohibiting employers from asking about criminal convictions on job applications). [8]
In addition, the organization makes endorsements in political campaigns, mostly at the state and local level. In 2013, it backed the successful mayoral candidacy of Betsy Hodges, [2] and in 2018 it endorsed the unsuccessful gubernatorial bid of Erin Murphy. [3] TakeAction Minnesota is also active among the large Hmong diaspora in Minnesota; Hmong Americans for Justice is one of the group's member organizations, and two Hmong-American TakeAction members (Dai Thao and Nelsie Yang) have been elected to the Saint Paul City Council. Thao and Yang were the first Hmong person and the first Hmong woman to serve on the council, respectively. [2] [9]
In 2020, the organization endorsed the presidential campaign of Bernie Sanders, [5] its first ever endorsement of a candidate for president. [3]
The Hmong people are an indigenous group in East and Southeast Asia. In China, the Hmong people are classified as a sub-group of the Miao people. The modern Hmong reside mainly in Southwest China and countries in Southeast Asia such as Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, and Myanmar. There is also a large diasporic community in the United States of more than 300,000. The Hmong diaspora has smaller communities in Australia and South America.
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) is an American LGBTQ advocacy group. It is the largest LGBTQ political lobbying organization within the United States. Based in Washington, D.C., the organization focuses on protecting and expanding rights for LGBTQ individuals, including advocating for same-sex marriage, anti-discrimination and hate crimes legislation, and HIV/AIDS advocacy. The organization has a number of legislative initiatives as well as supporting resources for LGBTQ individuals.
MoveOn is a progressive public policy advocacy group and political action committee. Formed in 1998 around one of the first massively viral email petitions, MoveOn has since grown into one of the largest and most impactful grassroots progressive campaigning communities in the United States, with a membership of millions. MoveOn did not endorse a candidate during the 2020 presidential primary campaign; it then endorsed and actively supported Joe Biden in the general election. Rahna Epting has been Executive Director of MoveOn Civic Action and MoveOn Political Action since 2019.
Democracy for America(DFA) was a progressive political action committee headquartered in Burlington, Vermont. Founded by former Democratic National Committee Chair Howard Dean in 2004, DFA led public awareness campaigns on a variety of public policy issues, trains activists, and provided funding directly to candidates for office, until it ended operations in 2022. At its peak, the organization had dozens of local chapters and more than a million members in the United States and internationally.
The Working Families Party (WFP) is a left-wing minor political party in the United States, founded in New York in 1998. There are active chapters in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
Hmong Americans are Americans of Hmong ancestry. Many Hmong Americans immigrated to the United States as refugees in the late 1970s. Over half of the Hmong population from Laos left the country, or attempted to leave, in 1975, at the culmination of the Laotian Civil War.
Gran Torino is a 2008 American drama film directed and produced by Clint Eastwood, who also starred in the film. This was Eastwood's first starring role since 2004's Million Dollar Baby. The film features a large Hmong-American cast, as well as one of Eastwood's younger sons, Scott. Eastwood's oldest son of record, Kyle, composed the film's score with Michael Stevens, while Jamie Cullum and Clint Eastwood provide the theme song.
Equality NC(ENC) is the largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights advocacy group and political lobbying organization in North Carolina and is the oldest statewide LGBT equality organization in the United States.
Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, 558 U.S. 310 (2010), is a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States regarding campaign finance laws and free speech under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The court held 5–4 that the freedom of speech clause of the First Amendment prohibits the government from restricting independent expenditures for political campaigns by corporations, nonprofit organizations, labor unions, and other associations.
The Saint Paul City Council is the governing body of Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States, as part of a strong mayor–council government. It has seven members from seven wards, each elected to four-year terms. As of 2024, all seven are members of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party, although city elected official positions are nonpartisan according to state law, and political party identifications are not included on election ballots.
The Hmong people are a major ethnic group in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul area. As of 2000, there were 40,707 ethnic Hmong in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. The 2010 U.S. Census stated there were 66,000 ethnic Hmong in Minneapolis-St. Paul, giving it the largest urban Hmong population in the world. Grit Grigoleit, author of "Coming Home? The Integration of Hmong Refugees from Wat Tham Krabok, Thailand, into American Society," wrote that the Minneapolis-St. Paul area "acted as the cultural and socio-political center of Hmong life in the U.S."
Jeffrey P. Weaver is an American political strategist who served as campaign manager for the Bernie Sanders 2016 presidential campaign and an advisor for the Bernie Sanders 2020 presidential campaign. He formerly served as the campaign manager for Sanders's 2006 United States Senate election and as chief of staff in Sanders's House and Senate offices. In August 2016, Weaver was named president of Our Revolution, a political organization created by Sanders, a position he held until June 2017. In May 2018, his book How Bernie Won: Inside the Revolution That's Taking Back Our Country was published.
Brand New Congress was an American political action committee with the mission to elect hundreds of new progressive congressional representatives in line with the campaign's political platform.
Our Revolution is an American progressive political action organization spun out of Senator Bernie Sanders's 2016 presidential campaign to continue its work. The organization's mission is to educate voters about issues, get people involved in the political process, and work to organize and elect progressive candidates. Our Revolution is also the title of a book by Sanders released in November 2016.
Elizabeth Peterson "Lisa" Bender is an American politician, city planner, and a former member of the Minneapolis City Council from the 10th Ward. In 2018, she was unanimously elected president of the Minneapolis City Council.
Justice Democrats is an American progressive political action committee and caucus founded on January 23, 2017, by two leaders of Bernie Sanders's 2016 presidential campaign, Saikat Chakrabarti and Zack Exley, as well as political commentators Kyle Kulinski and Cenk Uygur of The Young Turks. The organization formed as a result of the 2016 United States presidential election and aspires "to elect a new type of Democratic majority in Congress" that will "create a thriving economy and democracy that works for the people, not big money interests". The group advocates for campaign finance reform and endorses only candidates who pledge to refuse donations from corporate PACs and lobbyists.
Emgage is a family of organizations that seeks to empower Muslim Americans through political literacy and civic engagement. Its national headquarters is in Washington, D.C., and has state chapters in Michigan, Texas, Florida, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New York. It consists of Emgage, a civic engagement organization, Emgage Action, an issue advocacy organization, and Emgage PAC, the largest Muslim American political action committee (PAC).
Sheng Thao is an American politician and the 51st mayor of Oakland, California. She is the first Hmong American mayor of a major city in the United States.