Our Story
Who We are
Liberty Walks is a nonpartisan, grassroots group, founded in March 2025 in Eugene, Oregon by a former academic who currently works as interfaith chaplain and counselor.
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Our director, Esther Tishman - daughter of German Jewish refugees - has been inspired all her life by our nation’s founding principle of strength through individual engagement and collective effort. E pluribus unum - out of many, one.
What we Do
Liberty Walks promotes civic-minded connection step by step, community by community, across the United States. Our primary activity is the Liberty Walk: a cross-country American pilgrimage.
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Beginning on July 4, 2025 - we will walk from Eugene, Oregon to Washington, DC, forging face-to-face, footstep by footstep connections as we go.
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We will seek shelter each night, connecting with faith groups, civic organizations, individuals (etc) to host us in their community along the way.
The journey is as important as the destination.
Why We Walk
We Walk as an act of faith in “We the People.”
Our core values are respect, kindness, curiosity, and courage.
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We aren’t “for” or “against” anything - unless you want to say that we are for America, and against cruelty and despair.
We're striving to ease the politics of fear and resentment.
We hope to spark a new collective vision for the commonweal.
We walk with steadfast determination, convinced that walking together is better than splitting apart.
The way we Walk
The way we walk is an embodied, living, breathing expression of why we walk. We affirm our core values in the way we carry ourselves and relate to those we walk alongside and meet along the way.
Respect
We leave places better than when we found them;
We affirm the worth of the American experiment;
We understand that we are building a community that requires each of our care and concern;
We honor and are honest about our needs.​
Kindness
We believe in the power of connection;
We earnestly wish to make connections across differences;
We support one another along the way;
We give ourselves and one another grace when the way becomes difficult.​
Curiosity
We know there is still so much we do not know;
We aim for solutions rather than focusing on the problems;
We are open with one another;
We spend time in self-reflection.
Courage
We are stepping into the unknown;
We boldly demand a more perfect union;
We stand for the rights and liberties of our neighbors;
We walk with integrity.