Our Values

Members of Indivisible Charlottesville find solidarity in our shared opposition to fascism at every level of government. Each of us explicitly reserves our individual stances on specific issues for other forums as we believe resisting fascism is more important than any single issue. We welcome and respect everybody. 

Members of Indivisible Charlottesville conduct themselves according to the following values:

  • Non-violence is our strength. That’s not just a moral stance—it’s how we build durable power. We reject political violence and intimidation in all forms. Our resistance is strategic, principled, and grounded in the knowledge that peaceful movements win.

  • We hold power to account. We don’t put our faith in individual politicians. We put our energy into organizing. That means holding all elected officials accountable, even the ones we support, and supporting and collaborating with the people and communities most impacted by injustice.

  • We are inclusive. We believe in a world where everyone has equal rights, equal access, and equal power. That means that we model the values of inclusion and tolerance in all of our work. 

  • We lead with hope. Authoritarians want us to feel powerless. They rely on fear and division to keep people on the sidelines. We reject that. We believe in the power of people to change what’s possible, and we act like it.

  • We value community. We have each other’s backs. We care about building real community—across race, class, gender, geography, and generation—because we know that’s the only way we win, and that’s the world we want to live in.

As a group, and in our smaller teams, we operate according to the following principles:

  • Our work is rooted in community accountability, not state surveillance or enforcement. We prioritize the safety, dignity, and autonomy of those most impacted by violence and injustice, recognizing that policing often causes further harm rather than healing. This means that we do not invite, inform, plan, or work with law enforcement across our events and initiatives, or cooperate with them in any other way unless legally required to do so.

  • We prioritize making decisions by consensus. This will not always be possible but we are strongest when we are together. We don’t all need to agree on everything, however. We encourage our fellow Indivisible Charlottesville members to pursue their own ideas for actions and goals that align with the larger group’s mission and values, as long as they don’t actively contradict or conflict with other IC work.

  • In all external and internal communications we treat each other with dignity, respect, and solidarity. We assume others are acting in good faith, especially our fellow Indivisible members.

  • We err on the side of openness and transparency, except where privacy is necessary to keep our members and nonmembers safe and secure. 

We frequently collaborate with other organizations and individuals, and in that work, we abide by the St. Paul Principles as a reflection of the values stated here.