the.com/grassroots

means Describes a movement, campaign, or support that originates from ordinary people and local communities rather than from leaders, institutions, or centralized authority.

from A straightforward image before it was a political one: grass roots are literally the roots of grass, down at the base of the ground. American usage stretched the metaphor in the early 1900s — the 'roots' of a party or movement being its ordinary members out in the country, as opposed to the leadership at the top. By the early 20th century 'grassroots' had taken hold as political shorthand for power and energy rising up from the base rather than trickling down from on high — the same sense it keeps today, whether in politics, organizing, or sports.