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Civil Rights Project

Fighting for Civil Rights for All People

The strength of our society is our ability to accept and learn from those who are different from us. We must be ever vigilant in ensuring that all people are treated as equal.

Ocean State Action has long fought and won on issues of civil rights. We believe that the human dignity of all people, including people of color, gays and lesbians, women, immigrants, senior citizens, and people with disabilities should be protected

Ocean State Action was born in the struggle to defend a woman’s right to choose. Out of the fight against the nomination of anti-choice advocate Robert Bork to the Supreme Judicial court of the United States, many organizations realized it was time to work collectively on civil rights legislation in Rhode Island. Since then, Ocean State action has led the fight for equal rights in our state.

In past years, our work has included:

* Fighting attempts to limit a woman’s right to choose;
* Winning the recognition of gays and lesbians in our state civil right’s codes;
* Restoring the rights of the children of undocumented immigrants to participate in RIte Care, the Rhode Island health insurance plan for low-income families.

In 2004, we are facing many challenges here in Rhode Island and across the country. Some issues we are working on include:

* Gay Marriage (federal and state);
* Right to Drive: We support the right of all immigrants, regardless of status, to obtain a driver’s license as a necessary part of supporting their families and for the safety of the Rhode Island community;
* Strengthening the role of women in our political culture through our Women’s Political Power campaign.

Together we can make Rhode Island a society of inclusion, respect and richness.

To help in our Civil Rights work, please contact Ocean State Action at (401) 463-5368.

Links:
Center for Justice and Democracy (http://www.centerjd.org/)