Citizen University TV

How do you get city hall to listen to your concerns? As we continue this season's civics lesson, host Eric Liu explains how to get the attention of local powerbrokers and what to do once you have their ear. He highlights successful workers' rights campaigns and talks with Clara Cantor of Seattle Neighborhood Greenways, a volunteer organization that advocates for safe streets. Cantor recounts the long road to a recent victory that will result in improvements to Seattle's bike network.

Behind many important social and political movements are community organizers. Citizen University TV host Eric Liu examines an age-old tool of the art of civics with a look at how community organizing can upend the status quo and how simple acts can lead to powerful actions. He reviews the legacy of some well-known local leaders and looks at how people in the Northwest are responding to current crises surrounding addiction, hunger, gentrification and growth. Guest Katie Wilson, general secretary of the Transit Riders Union, discusses how the group's mission has expanded beyond public transit to include advocating for the rights of the working poor. Plus, sit in with us at a seminar co-hosted by Seattle's Somali Family Safety Task Force designed to help women targeted in our community because they are Muslim, minorities, immigrants, or all three.

Citizen University TV hits the road with a special presentation of Civic Saturday from the Northwest African American Museum. Host Eric Liu hits "rewind" with a fascinating journey back in time, decade by decade. Liu recounts pivotal moments in history when he had the foresight to warn people of what was to come. But his talk is more than a flashback. The lessons learned from Liu's time travel are revealed in five separate truths. Ultimately, he says hindsight is foresight if we know how to see. Civic Saturday is a community gathering that celebrates the American civic tradition with an address by Liu, readings, song and reflection.

Citizen rights are frequently top of mind, but host Eric Liu turns our attention to responsibilities. "Civic engagement isn't just voting or saying yes to jury duty. The new civic engagement is running for office," according to the founder of an online service that helps organize campaigns and manage political offices. We'll profile some local school board members (elected on their first try) who share what they learned on the campaign trail. And our in-studio guest talks about her unsuccessful run for office and how she landed a job at City Hall anyway. While running for office is challenging, Liu explains the reward is the evolution of community solutions.

Citizen University TV hits the road with a special presentation of Civic Saturday, a series of community gatherings designed to instill a spirit of shared purpose - with liberty, equality and self-government at the heart. And when you add singing, poetry, readings and speeches, you get a lively and unique civic experience. Eric Liu explores the question: Who really is a dreamer? Responding to Donald Trump's recent comment that, "Americans are dreamers, too," Liu fires back, "Dreamers are American, too." His civic talk at the Hillman City Collaboratory centers on young undocumented immigrants, who under the DREAM Act would have been able to achieve a pathway to citizenship, and an exploration of the American Dream and what it means for the insiders and outsiders in American life.

Performance is a powerful strategy for changing the game in politics and civic life according to host Eric Liu. Performing power is more than activist art or something on stage; it's about finding the courage to make powerful change. A Seattle performance-studies teacher and host of the Lulu Nation radio show sits down with Eric to share strategies that work in any arena, including the political field. And, we'll go inside We the Public, a onetime event that took place at Westlake Park on the first anniversary of the 2016 election. Why did the hosts, new to event organizing, trust art to spark conversations between strangers? In this final episode of the season, we revisit how people are working together to create and reclaim power in their communities and shift our nation's priorities.

One skill for changing the equation of power in civic life is to share your power with those who will give something back. Host Eric Liu investigates ways to act reciprocally to generate power exponentially and build social capital - perhaps with interest. Hear about Citizen University's involvement in a national network of diverse civic innovators that commit to helping each other. We visit the Hillman City Collaboratory, which serves as a social and work cooperative where attitude and effort are as important as dollars and donations. And meet Oskar Zambrano who talks with Eric about the micro networks his organization starts and supports to help increase civic engagement for Washington's Latinos.

Host Eric Liu reveals how thinking and acting in networks can grow power exponentially. He explores the strategy of harnessing people power to change the social and political equation. Vendors of Seattle's street newspaper "Real Change" share how they overcome first impressions to find their place and promote social justice and economic opportunity. Liu talks with a leader of Seattle-based art and action nonprofit Amplifier. The group helped ignite the We the People campaign, a national dialogue on American values. Liu shares how words and deeds (big and small) radiate and help reinforce and create new networks and power centers that can change civic life.

Citizen University TV Host Eric Liu says to make change, "Make your fight a fable." He recommends choosing people and symbols that personify the bigger moral and political stakes to create potent symbols for your cause. Learn about 350 Seattle, a climate action network that incorporates art and street theater into its dramatic and sometimes disruptive demonstrations. Civil disobedience is one way to push for change. Liu interviews a leader of NWDC Resistance, an undocumented movement that supports hunger strikes and other actions by people at the Northwest Detention Center (NWDC) at risk of deportation. From picking the right fight to defining it on your terms, Liu lays out how to shift the story, change the game and make your fight a fable.

To make change in civic life, use story to your advantage and "organize in narratives." To do that, host Eric Liu suggests you stir up a new sense of us. He describes us as the collective narratives of challenge, choice and purpose that define a community. In addition, Liu says it's also necessary to explain who has what and why and to awaken the hero in us all. Then, learn about a proposal to build a street food market consisting of low-income immigrant and refugee entrepreneurs. And, hear from the founder and editor of the South Seattle Emerald. He shares a compelling story of us, linked to the changing face of Columbia City and Rainier Valley.