Lawyer and PolicyLink Founder-in-Residence Angela Glover Blackwell discusses her new podcast project, Reimagining Democracy for a Good Life, a six-part series that illustrates the potential of our democracy, using L.A. as an example of what is possible when people come together to create change. 

She shares her journey from growing up in a segregated St. Louis, MO in the 1950s and 60s to her role as an organizer during the Black Power Movement to a lifelong commitment to social justice, policy work, and activism. She shares key concepts from her latest podcast including what it means to be a generous leader and a phrase she coined called the “curb cut effect.”

Angela also offers advice on how to stay hopeful and engaged in a time when current events leave many feeling discouraged, and she makes a case for why voting isn’t just about ourselves but about the future generations of people to come after.

Angela Glover Blackwell

PolicyLink

Reimagining Democracy for a Good Life (Podcast)

Happy Pride! Emmy and Peabody award-winning journalist Imara Jones shares the origins of her multimedia company TransLash Media and the role of storytelling and narrative in preserving the humanity of trans people.

She breaks down how and why the fight for trans rights has become the focus of American politics in recent years, and she discusses the role of journalists in covering trans issues. She also touches on how mainstream media misses the mark when it comes to understanding the moment we’re in.

Imara also weighs in on the complexities of progress and victories in support of trans rights while anti-trans hate and violence continues to rise, and she explains how a trans agenda for liberation is fundamentally about creating a society that works for everyone.

Imara Jones - imarajones.com @imarajones

TransLash Media - translash.org

In collaboration with the Bay Area Book Festival, we’re broadcasting the powerful conversation between Steve, Working Families Party National Director Maurice Mitchell, and former co-executive director of the Highlander Center, Ash-lee Woodard Henderson about Steve’s book How We Win the Civil War. 

Moderated by former podcast guest and congressional candidate Lateefah Simon, the panelists each discussed their commitment to building and establishing a multiracial democracy in this country and how their life experiences led them to that work. 

They discuss what it means to be in solidarity with one another, the undeniable legacy and role of the South in America’s destiny, and the multifaceted ways in which we fight back against authoritarianism and white nationalism. Steve also reads a short excerpt from his book.

Bay Area Book Festival 

Introducing our funniest guest yet: Solo performance artist, comedian, and actress Kristina Wong joins the podcast to talk about her path to theater (including her brief stint as an elected Koreatown, LA official), and how her creation of the “Auntie Sewing Squad” helped her and many others survive the pandemic.

Kristina Wong - kristinawong.com

@mskristinawong

Arizona legend-in-the-making Raquel Téran talks about her bid for Congress and her decades-long work to help turn the state into a shining example of what progressive organizing (and winning) looks like.

Raquel shares her journey to politics and the issues she plans to lift up in Congress. She also shares why she believes building coalitions and mobilizing voters are key to protecting democracy and how she recruited and mentored many of the key leaders who are driving change across the state.

Raquel Téran - RaquelTeran.com & @RaquelTeran

Care in Action’s Hillary Holley shares how the organization is mobilizing domestic workers, most of whom are women of color and immigrants, and pushing Democrats to embrace a Care Agenda in Congress. She shares insight on the National Domestic Workers Bill of Rights which was introduced to Congress in 2021.

She also shares her path to organizing and discusses her role in helping Stacey Abrams build Fair Fight Action, one of the crucial voter mobilization engines in Georgia that helped flip the state in 2020.

Hillary Holley - @HillaryHolley4

Care in Action - @CareInActionUS

March Madness may be over but we’re gearing up for a…Narrow November with our very own set of 16 congressional districts that have the potential to flip the balance of power in the House of Representatives. 

Data expert Dr. Julie Martínez Ortega joins Steve and Sharline to discuss the updated New Majority Index (NMI) and which districts they’ll be watching closely ahead of November elections. 

New Majority Index

Top 16 Most Flippable House Seats for Democrats in 2024

Lateefah Simon—Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) board member, MacArthur “Genius Grant” recipient, and Congressional candidate—shares her path to politics, including her work with Vice President Kamala Harris during Harris’ time as San Francisco Attorney General. 

Lateefah shares why she decided to run for office and offers insight on how grief has been a catalyst for her political work and activism. She also courageously expresses her thoughts on the war in Gaza and says what few are willing to say. 

Lateefah Simon - @lateefahsimon

Campaign Website

Sarah Alvarez, founder of Outlier Media, a Detroit-based service journalism organization, shares what she’s hearing on the ground in Michigan following the protest  “uncommitted” vote by more than 100,000 people during the state’s recent Democratic presidential primary. 

She shares what role today’s journalists must play in filling information gaps at the local level, and why nonprofit news organizations like the one she’s built are needed today.

 Sarah, Steve, and Sharline discuss Michigan’s historical significance in the larger scheme of national politics. Sarah draws parallels between the ways politics and journalism-as-usual are failing those who need the most support and deserve the most attention.

REFERENCES:

Outlier Media - outliermedia.org

Steve and Sharline celebrate the release of the paperback edition of How We Win the Civil War, which comes out Tuesday, March 12. They discuss how the political landscape has changed since the first edition launched in 2022 and why How We Win is more pertinent now than ever. 

They also discuss the book’s reception since its first release and the exciting partnerships that have developed with groups and organizations who resonate with How We Win’s message. 

Steve shares his hope and vision for this new edition and the parts of the book that have become his favorite.

Buy the second edition of How We Win the Civil War! 

Podcast episode: "White People and the Fight for Racial Justice with SURJ's Erin Heaney"