From fracking to toxic dumping to water bottling…who makes the rules where you live—corporations or community?

Movement Rights assists communities confronted by harmful corporate projects to assert their right to make important decisions that impact them by passing new laws that place the rights of residents (and nature) above the claimed legal “rights” of corporations. At the heart of our work is the belief that asserting our right to create the kind of place we want to live and reining in corporate power is the next evolution of the civil rights movement. Over 160 communities across the United States have already asserted their right to local self-government and stopped unwanted harms.

  • Community rights – Its time to stop our communities from becoming sacrifice zones for the profit of corporations. Its time to move away from unsustainable projects and practices at the cost of residents and ecosystems we depend on, and toward community decision-making, while recognizing and protecting our interdependence with nature.
  • Confronting corporate rule — Corporations are not people, and should not have the same “rights” afforded to people. Our Community Rights Program seeks to strip corporations of the legal powers and protections (including personhood) used to override the will of the people in our communities.
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  • Rights of nature – We cannot truly protect the environment if the law continues to see nature as mere property to be exploited at will. Women and slaves were once property, until we changed unjust law to recognize inherent rights. We’re at the forefront of a commonsense global revolution for nature’s rights.
  • Creating real democracy – It’s time to put the “we the people” into the democratic process. This program provides a legal and organizing model for the public to assert their inalienable rights in the place it matters most – where they live. Organizing for Community and Nature’s Rights is the current chapter in struggle for civil rights.