ROAR! A Jewish Leadership Training for Resistance, Organizing, Action, and Resilience

Collage of 8 images, each with around 30 people smiling and holding a JOIN for Justice banner.

In response to the new political reality and to the surge in demand from our alumni and partners looking for guidance from us, we created a series of one-day trainings in 2017. JOIN created ROAR! — A Jewish Leadership Training for Resistance, Organizing, Action, and Resilience — to meet these goals, partnering with the National Council for Jewish Women, Bend the Arc, the Religious Action Center for Reform Judaism, and several other amazing organizations.

Today: Over 760 people have attended ROAR! trainings in 19 cities around the country, from the coasts to the South to the Midwest. We are working to directly support campaigns that cross race, class, faith, and ethnicity, in opposing the new administration’s rollback of fundamental rights, helping lay the groundwork for changes that will move the country in a different direction. Whatever we do must be able to be sustained, must build power as opposed to drain us, and have an impact whenever possible. But how? How do we make a difference, not just a statement? How do we channel the energy to act in this moment towards developing campaigns that make real change? How do we stand for civil society by working with other communities rather than reinforcing the barriers that so often exist?

Through the wisdom of community organizing, our ROAR trainings explore campaign development and the cycle of campaigns that progress, step by step, to build power and have the greatest possible impact. We explore how to work across lines of difference, how to find strength and resilience to allow us to work for justice long-term, and how Jewish wisdom can guide us and ground us in this moment.

Examples of campaigns and efforts that ROAR! trainees are now participating in:

  • Judicial fairness campaign to preserve Missouri’s current system to have judges recommended by impartial committee, not elected/appointed (St. Louis, MO)
  • Ballot initiative to restore voting rights to felons once they’ve finished parole (Miami, FL)
  • Passing sanctuary state legislation currently under consideration (New Brunswick, NJ)
  • One-to-one campaign this summer to build their chapter, and then engage as a group to select an issue to work on (Kansas City, MO)
  • Fair implementation of newly passed legislation to keep 16- and 17-year-olds out of adult prison system (Brooklyn, NY)

Two months after attending a ROAR! session, one of our participants said:

“I spoke with conservative friends about the current situation in a different way than I could have before the training. This was a significant change because in the past, we avoided any political talk at all!”

Are you a part of a social justice organization that would like to sponsor us in your city? For more information about hosting, or for general inquiries, please reach out to info@joinforjustice.org to learn more.

Past trainings:

CA: Bay Area – Sunday, May 7
CA: Los Angeles – Sunday, June 4
CA: Orange County – Sunday, June 11
FL: Miami – Sunday, June 4
LA: New Orleans – Sunday, June 11
MA: Boston – Sunday, June 11
MA: Northampton – Sunday, March 5
MI: Detroit – Sunday, June 25
MD: Baltimore – Thursday, March 9
MO: Kansas City – Sunday, April 23
MO: St. Louis – Sunday, June 4
NC: Charlotte  – Sunday, July 23
NC: Durham – Monday, July 24
NJ: New Brunswick – June 11
NY: New York City – Sunday, June 25
PA: Philadelphia – Sunday, February 26
PA: Pittsburgh – Sunday, May 28
TX: Dallas – Sunday, June 25
GA: Atlanta – Sunday, October 29

We are grateful to our partner organizations that help make ROAR! possible. These include:

Lead Partners:

Thanks to our co-sponsors in one or more cities. Our co-sponsor list is still in formation. Please email info@joinforjustice.org to learn about co-sponsorship and with any other questions.