Whatever cause is dear to your heart, you can find a local Utah group to fight alongside you. 

• Alliance For a Better Utah
• Protestors with the Alliance For a Better Utah demonstrate on the south steps of the Utah State Capital.

Editor's note: The following article was originally published as part of City Weekly's 2025 City Guide, out now in print and available online.

When I was a young and dumb in the 1970s, it seemed like the world was changing fast ... for the better and for the worse. The vibe, when I think back, is just like the chaos that we're experiencing now with MAGA supporters and the pro- and anti-war division towards the Ukraine/Russia and Israel/Palestine conflicts. And if you're someone inclined towards political activism, you can find local groups that continue the legacy of making "good trouble" that kicked off more than 60 years ago.

The Vietnam War was over when the last U.S. troops left the country in 1973; we didn't win that undeclared war, but lost almost 60,000 troops. So many of us were against that war for a myriad of reasons, but partly because of the mandatory draft for men over 18 years of age, most of whom, because of student deferments, seemed to be young men of color. Racial justice work continues in groups like Utah's Black Lives Matter (blacklivesmatterutah.com), which has been around Utah since 2014, even though only 2% of our state population is Black. George Floyd was murdered in 2020 in Minnesota and the repercussions around the world echoed here as well, with Black Lives Utah coming to the forefront of local protests. The group is still active in the state, being a voice for marginalized communities and against police violence.

The civil rights movement triggered the women's rights movement of the '60s and '70s, as women sought to end inequality, including rights to their own bodies. The Roe v. Wade ruling by the Supreme Court was in 1973, but the National Organization for Women (NOW) was formed in 1966. Utah's local chapter (now.org/chapter/utah-now) focuses on such issues as reproductive rights, ending sex discrimination, constitutional equality, promoting diversity and ending racism, economic justice, stopping violence against women and LGBTQIA rights.

The Salt Lake Rape Recovery Center (raperecoverycenter.org) was created in 1975 to assist victims of sexual assault. Beyond those groups, there are currently more than 170 different women's networks, groups and associations across the state focused on politics, higher education and business to this day.

The Stonewall "gay riot" happened in New York City in 1969, and members/allies of the LGBTQIA+ community formed support groups and held marches throughout the country for basic civil rights. Equality Utah (equalityutah.org) formed in 2001 as the largest organization in the state fighting for the rights of people and protections on the basis of one's sexual orientation or gender identity.

The United Farm Workers was founded in 1962 in California by César Chávez and Dolores Huerta, and has fought for years to gain better working conditions and pay for agricultural workers around the U.S. There's no chapter in Utah, but there is the Utah Farmer's Union (utahfarmersunion.com), which is committed to representing the interests of Utah farmers on issues like sustainability, genetically modified crops, markets, conservation and the environment.

Comunidades Unidas (cuutah.org) is an immigrant and Latino advocacy group based in West Valley City that promotes voter registration, as Latinos are the largest minority group in the state. There's also the Utah Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (utahhcc.com) that helps to inform, uplift and support minorities living here.

We live in a beautiful state, one that includes many organizations advocating for preserving our air, water and green spaces through environmental protection. That list includes Save Our Canyons (saveourcanyons.org); HEAL Utah (Healthy Environment Alliance) (healutah.org); Friends of Great Salt Lake (fogsl.org); Utah Open Lands (utahopenlands.org); Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (suwa.org); and Breathe Utah (breatheutah.org).

For those committed to preserving political accountability, the progressive Alliance for a Better Utah (betterutah.org) advocates for such policies to help make Utah an even better place. The local ACLU (acluutah.org) chapter advocates for civil rights and freedoms of everyone.

Basically, there's a group/cause in the state that fits your personal beliefs and passions. All that's left for you to do is make the effort to find and align yourself to one.