Rights For All People

RAP exists to organize with immigrants and their allies to bring immigrant voices and humane policies to the struggle for justice, dignity and human rights for everyone in Colorado. We began in 1994 as a response to the passage of the anti-immigrant Proposition 187 in California, and hired our first staff in 2003.

Rights for All People has emerged as a key organization in the Denver Metro area and Colorado as a whole. Our leadership is composed of 50 immigrants and 10 allies. Our organizing base is solid and growing at 300, and other supporters number around 500. Our campaigns come from the expressed needs and perspectives of our immigrant members. A major focus is leadership development, skill building and ensuring members “own” the work of the organization.

We work closely with many allies, building a web of complementary abilities that will result in a changed Colorado. Our immigrant leaders and staff serve as resources for organizations all over the state: they work with other immigrant groups, they devote time to building strong coalitions, and they provide models of grassroots policy campaigns that can serve other emerging organizations.

In addition to participating in the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition, we are active in the Colorado Community Organizing Collaborative (CCOC) and the Colorado C-3 Roundtable, a coalition of 501(c)3 organizations doing civic engagement work. We have been invited to join the State Integration Pilot Project, where we will be working with our partners to develop a model to measure an effective intervention with immigrant non-voters’ effect on their voting relatives and social contacts. We are active with Ya Es Hora, creating an ongoing pipeline of immigrants applying for citizenship. And we are partnering with the Latina Initiative and Intercambio de Comunidades to offer classes at our building.

RAP is currently the fiscal sponsor for the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition (CIRC). We are currently in the midst of an 18-month transition plan for CIRC to develop its own 501(c)3 status.

1994 – RAP was founded as an advocacy coalition for immigrant rights.

1997 – hosted a workshop for community advocates to defend against raids using materials provided by the National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights

1999 – RAP became an individual membership organizing project of Latino/a immigrants led by Latino/a immigrants.

2000 – RAP developed its Know Your Rights Curriculum with the assistance of the American Friends Service Committee, the Boulder Community Action Program, the National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, and attorneys Dan Kesselbrenner, Richard Garcia and Jim Salvatore.

2002 – RAP collected 4,000 surveys in support of a bill that would have provided driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants; helped to found the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition; with national and local allies, successfully protested attempts by an anti-immigrant Congressman to deport the undocumented honors student and his family; worked in coalition to prevent passage of a bill that would have given police responsibility for enforcing INS regulations; hosted 200 guests at our Posada Sin Fronteras; spoke out publicly at a press conference attended by 150 to publicize an immigrant rights legislative platform; led Know Your Rights trainings in Denver, Colorado Springs and Telluride.

2003 – RAP hired its first staff and helped bring the Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride to Denver.

2004 and 2005 – RAP led the statewide grassroots policy campaign for a driver’s license for undocumented immigrants by working to insert the voices of undocumented immigrants into the policy process, and by building a strong statewide coalition of ally organizations.

2005 – RAP launched a worker’s rights campaign, successfully changing conditions at two large employers in the Denver Metro area; RAP leaders surveyed 250 immigrants about their needs.

2006 – RAP protested HR 4437 (Sensenbrenner), that would have made every undocumented person, including 6 million children, felons; we played a key role in the spring 2006 mobilizations, working with allies on the March 25 mobilization that drew 70,000 participants and the May 1 economic boycott and mobilization that drew 150,000 participants. After the passage of anti-immigrant legislation in Colorado, RAP leaders began collecting testimonies from immigrants affected by the passage of Colorado’s Special Session. Leaders launched a La Gaceta (The Gazette) to inform members about the new legislation and their rights and held a series of press conferences designed to bring an immigrant perspective to the discussion about the effects of the Special Session. Leaders kicked off RAP’s political education series.

2007 – RAP leaders started the year with a survey of 150 people about how RAP could serve them better; they led a weeklong pro-immigrant boycott with the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition to raise awareness about the economic and social contributions of immigrants to our community; they presented a community forum to 80 people that presented analysis of the various immigration reform proposals and also wrote letters to their senators that night. In coordination with both nationwide and statewide organizations, members planned and assisted in mobilizing 10,000 people for a pro-immigrant march May 1. Four RAP leaders represented the organization at the United States Social Forum, traveling with leaders from Padres Unidos, Centro Compañero in Durango, and Centro Amistad, where they planned to develop strategic alliances with regional, state, and national progressive organizations and further RAP’s participation in a progressive movement for social change. Two leaders attended a conference in New York on Black/Immigrant Unity. And we launched the Saber Te Da Poder Campaign (Knowledge Gives You Power). From August to November, 15 of our leaders spoke with over 500 individuals in small groups of 5 to 10 at places like parks, family parties, schools, churches, door knocking, etc.

2008 – Through April, RAP’s Saber Te Da Poder (Knowledge Gives You Power) campaign brings rights information to 700 people through presentations given by 23 immigrant leaders. In February, RAP launches its Aurora Police Accountability Campaign.

Anita Arrieta-Alejandre , Bookeeper/Administrador
ImportadoDeMex@aol.com
A Chicana activist and artist with over 40 years of community experience, Anita also ran a nonprofit Latino theater company, an import business and a mariachi for many years. She has been with RAP since January of 2004.

Marvink Correa, Administration/Coordinator, Allies in Action
marvink@rap-dpt.org
(303) 893-3500 x100
Hired in June 2006, Marvink immigrated at the age of eight from Mexico and is highly motivated to give back to his community in the way he has been helped over the years. He earned his Associate Degree in Information Technology at Community College of Denver.

Lisa Durán, Executive Director
lisa@rap-dpt.org
(303) 893-3500 x102
Trained as a community organizer in Los Angeles at the Labor/Community Strategy Center, Lisa also has extensive experience with nonprofits. She was the first executive director of the Clínica Tepeyac in Denver, and has provided leadership over numerous years for organizations such as the Grassroots Institute for Fundraising Training, the Highlander Center, and Colorado Jobs with Justice. She chairs the board of the Colorado Progressive Coalition. A founding member of the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition, she serves on the National Council of the Campaign for Community Values at the Center for Community Change. She was the first recipient of the Ralph L. Carr Award from the ACLU of Colorado. Previously a volunteer with RAP, she began working as its half-time director in August 2003, and became full-time in April of 2004. She has an M.A. in Political Science from U.C. Riverside and will shortly receive her MPA from the Graduate School of Public Affairs at the University of Colorado at Denver.

Emily Parkey, Lead Organizer
emily@rap-dpt.org
(303) 893-3500 x105
With over 7 years of experience working with Latino/a immigrant communities in rural Kentucky, Emily moved to Colorado in 2004 to pursue a master's degree in community based Social Work with an emphasis on work with Latino/a communities. In 2005, Emily joined RAP as a volunteer intern, where she received extensive training in the art and science of community organizing with immigrants. In 2007, Emily joined RAP's organizing team as lead organizer.

Raúl Paz Pastrana, Organizer/Campaign Coordinator
raul@rap-dpt.org
(303) 893-3500 x103
Born in a little town in Chihuahua, Mexico (Gomes Farías), Raúl migrated to the United States for the first time in 1992. Before arriving at Rights for All People he worked as an organizer for SEIU Local 105 Justice For Janitors program, and for the Economic Justice and Tax Fairness program at Colorado Progressive Coalition (CPC). He also works along with Native Americans with the Village Earth Project where he facilitates vision and film workshops at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, and the North Amazon strip in Peru and Ecuador.

RAP also counts on the support of various interns from various universities and community based organizations.