At the national level, Indivisible was formed after the 2016 election by two former congressional staffers who created a practical guide on how to organize locally and pressure your elected officials to resist Trump’s agenda. It has developed into a grassroots movement with millions of members and thousands of autonomous local chapters. After Trump’s win in 2024, Indivisible’s national strategy pivoted and has been fleshing out concrete approaches and tactics that collectively will help us limit harm, build community, and break the stranglehold of compliant Democrats and complicit Republicans. For more info, check out Indivisible.org.

Individuals just like you! Roanoke Indivisible is a grassroots organization, run entirely by regular people who want to organize for change. Our membership is composed of several working groups with distinct goals; coordinated by our steering committee and supported by a communications/tech team. We are non-partisan, but not neutral. This means we don’t align with a political party, and we welcome anyone who wants to push back this authoritarian regime.

Indivisible and 50501 are two distinct movements with their own structures and histories. They both have had a part in various projects, including the HANDS OFF and NO KINGS nationwide events. They’re connected through collaboration but are organized differently. “No Kings” is a coalition of many groups, listed in alphabetical order here.

Our website is a great resource for learning about each working group. Also, we hold new member welcome calls monthly, and in-person meetings on the third Wednesday of every month.

You can sign up for a working group via this interest form. Also, we encourage you to attend either the monthly member meeting or a new member orientation call.

RI is not affiliated with any political party. We have members who identified as classically conservative or Republican, until the party shifted to MAGA extremism. We also have members who consider themselves far left of the Democratic Party, or lifelong dems who have been increasingly frustrated with the party at a national level. We also have some fans of the Working Families Party. The D, R, or I next to someone’s name is not what matters to us -- we care about the issues.

We have many members across the state and even across the country. With virtual events and informational articles, even people from outside our area enjoy the connection. However, you can also check Indivisible.org to locate a chapter that might be closer to you. Other Virginia chapters include (but aren’t limited to) Lynchburg, Virginia Tech, New River, Charlottesville, Nelson County, Richmond, Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia.

Yes! All our events are rooted in welcoming new people and keeping the love of community and our neighbors at the forefront. We usually choose a space with an adjacent playground, so families with young children have space to play. We consistently receive feedback from first-time participants who share their surprise at the atmosphere of celebration – it feels wonderful to be in community with others who want to stand up to the current regime. At our local level, we develop and communicate emergency plans with our onsite team, and have two systems of communication in place onsite (with megaphones for emergency backup). We have a volunteer team of peace marshals who go through de-escalation training and a detailed safety meeting ahead of each event. They work in pairs and space themselves out to address the rare hecklers who may show up.

More than you’d think! Many of our most active members got started with Roanoke Indivisible because they came to a rally. Our goal is that everyone who attends will have a chance to get involved in ongoing community participation -- leveling up in whatever way works best for them. We host other community organizations who can share the work they’re doing and garner participation and support, and we share calls to action from the microphone and in our follow-up communication. When events occur across the nation in huge numbers, they shift the conversation and the news cycles. They allow likeminded elected officials to cite community pressure when casting their votes, and they let weak or complicit elected officials know that they are being held accountable.

We host our monthly meetings in Roanoke’s most accessible public housing location, Melrose Towers, at a time that works for bus riders. This is the ADA designated public housing facility which makes it the home of the majority of Roanoke’s disabled public housing community.

We are actively seeking volunteers to improve accessibility for our rallies and events. We have a small team focused on accessible parking and very limited transportation coordination. We would like to add sign language interpretation and offsite parking with volunteer shuttle drop off. If you can help, please email RoanokeIndivisible@gmail.com with the subject line ACCESSIBILITY VOLUNTEER

Our outreach and partnerships working group sets up at a variety of events that draw different crowds as a way of reaching across lines of cultural segregation. We were a sponsor of the Juneteenth Family Reunion and have had the board members of CommUNITY Arts-Reach heavily involved in co-coordinating the first No Kings Rally in McCadden Park, at their suggestion. We often work with DoGood Virginia, Roanoke Social Circle, and local immigrant organizations and labor unions. We host local organizations as speakers and tabling guests at our rallies, including Roanoke Workers’ Assembly, Justice Advocates, Roanoke Mutual Aid, Plowshare Peace and Justice Center, and more. This is ongoing work -- if you are a part of an organization that would like to table at our events or otherwise work together, please email RoanokeIndivisible@gmail.com.

We hold monthly all-member meetings to allow members to get to know each other and connect directly with our working group coordinators. They are on the third Wednesday of every month at different locations. Please look for our monthly schedule on the Events page. We also hold a new member call each month if you can’t show up in person. That is the first Thursday of the month. You can also sign up for our weekly(ish) newsletter by clicking here and scrolling down.

Please sign up for our weekly email. The email usually contains a section of priority to-do action items around important topics, which sometimes includes links to scripts you can use when calling your elected officials. You can also check the national Indivisible site, which usually breaks down important current issues and includes scripts as well.

Donations can be made here. Donations over $200 are not anonymous and will be reported to the FEC.