Ground Game: Georgia

When you learn to pursue justice in Sunday School, growing up to become part of the stream guiding the world toward justice is almost inevitable. There’s an enormous cloud of witnesses to that fact, including Rabbi Lydia Medwin. Lydia is Director of Congregational Engagement and Outreach at The Temple, Atlanta’s oldest Reform synagogue with a long history of civil rights allyship. In this episode, Rabbi Lydia takes us on a journey from a childhood awakening to the work she’s dedicated to today, building strong bonds within her faith community and being part of the flow toward social change that enables us all to live free and be well.

Episode references:

The Temple of Atlanta www.the-temple.org

The Southern Center for Human Rights www.schr.org

Auburn Theological Seminary www.auburnseminary.org

Ebenezer Baptist Church www.ebenezeratl.org

Ending Mass Incarceration http://emi.odyssey-impact.org/ (or www.endingmassincarceration.com)

Ground Game: Georgia is hosted by Holly Anderson and Marcus Patrick Ellsworth. Follow us at @groundgamepod on Twitter and Instagram, and visit us on the web at www.groundgamepod.com.

Ground Game: Georgia is a production of unir.

The galvanization of the Black church greatly aided Georgia's bluest political victories in the recent historical elections. As the Scripture goes, “Faith without works is dead.” No one knows this better than organizers of faith communities like Billy Michael Honor (@BillyMHonor). Public scholar, community organizer and Georgia resident, Honor’s foray into organizing came by way of national tragedy and has been bolstered by a deep interest in and care for humanity. His work with the New Georgia Project, Rev. Raphael Warnock, and The Aspen Institute is the outgrowth of both his beliefs and lineage as a man of faith and the people. Hear Honor's thoughts on everything from bipartisan faith leadership to the deeper legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on this special episode of Ground Game.

Episode references:

Ground Game: Georgia is hosted by Holly Anderson and Marcus Patrick Ellsworth. Follow us at @groundgamepod on Twitter and Instagram, and visit us on the web at www.groundgamepod.com.

Ground Game: Georgia is a production of unir.

The election is over (we’re almost positive). We’re still here; Georgia is still here. Friends and neighbors and allies, it’s time to make good on all those “Trust Black Women” memes you posted during the campaign! The good and necessary work you’ve come to know and appreciate during the past election cycle will continue, and the time to support that work is now. Malika Redmond of Women Engaged joins Marcus and Holly for an extended interview focused on centering the lives and livelihoods of black women, femmes, and girls.

Episode references:

Ground Game: Georgia is hosted by Holly Anderson and Marcus Patrick Ellsworth. Follow us at @groundgamepod on Twitter and Instagram, and visit us on the web at www.groundgamepod.com.

Ground Game: Georgia is a production of unir.

**Disclaimer**

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This episode features an interview with Rembert Browne, host of Gaining Ground: The New Georgia, that was recorded early on the morning of January 6, before any of the events in DC occurred, and while we were still overjoyed about Jon Ossoff and Reverend  Warnock’s victories in the Senate runoff. The introduction was recorded the next day, January 7.

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The format for this episode is a little different from our usual style. Our hosts Holly and Marcus got on a call with our friend Rembert Browne, from the Crooked Media podcast Gaining Ground: The New Georgia, to have a more casual chat about the results. (spoiler alert: Warnock and Ossoff both won) They discuss how Georgia's political landscape has shifted over the years, especially outside of Atlanta, why the type of grassroots organizing we've been covering works so well, and what kind of leadership Georgia is likely to see come from its newly elected senators.

You can find Rembert Browne and Jewel Wicker's podcast Gaining Ground: The New Georgia here: https://crooked.com/podcast-series/gaining-ground/

If you'd like to get involved with the work to help preserve democracy and the rights of all voters, you can sign up with The Election Defenders here: https://electiondefenders.org/

You can also find virtual events, online organizer trainings, and direct actions with The Frontline at: https://www.mobilize.us/thefrontline/

Keep up with us at www.groundgamepod.com

You’ve heard their hits; now explore the b-sides: As we race into 2021 and count down the days until Georgia’s Senate runoff elections, hosts Marcus Patrick Ellsworth and Holly Anderson revisit vital moments with guests from our earlier episodes, tangents and exchanges we weren’t able to fit into our first four shows but can’t stand to leave behind. You’ll also hear segments from an upcoming featured interview, a conversation we couldn’t wait until next week to share. (Think of it as a clip show, but with all new material!)

From our team to you and yours, wishes for a peaceful and productive New Year. And remember, the work’s not done.

Episode guests and references:

Ground Game: Georgia is hosted by Holly Anderson and Marcus Patrick Ellsworth. Follow us at @groundgamepod on Twitter and Instagram, and visit us on the web at www.groundgamepod.com.

Ground Game: Georgia is a production of unir.

There aren’t too many issues that unite most Americans on the same side, but “Love thy neighbor” has historically been a pretty popular concept – at least, in theory. The leap of initiative between the thought of “I should help,” and the action of “I *will* help,” is one most people fail to make. Not so for today’s guests, King Williams and Mina Turabi, who looked at problems in their own communities – voter suppression and gun violence, respectively – and forged their own paths in search of solutions.

Episode references:

Ground Game: Georgia is hosted by Holly Anderson and Marcus Patrick Ellsworth. Follow us at @groundgamepod on Twitter and Instagram, and visit us on the web at www.groundgamepod.com.

Ground Game: Georgia is a production of unir.

The history of civic engagement is one of coalition building, a process which takes more labor than you can imagine. Now imagine running a coalition composed entirely of other coalitions. Tamieka Atkins, the Executive Director of the non-partisan voter advocacy organization ProGeorgia, sits down with hosts Marcus Ellsworth and Holly Anderson for an extended interview on the flashpoint that brought her to civic engagement work, community-led models of organizing, and the overshadowed public service commissioner race that’s happening alongside the Senate runoffs.

Episode references:

Follow us @groundgamepod on Twitter and Instagram, and visit us on the web at www.groundgamepod.com.

Ground Game: Georgia is a production of unir.

Despite how you might feel in the dregs of 2020, most of what we think of as “real life” takes place outside of election cycles. This week, TargetSmart CEO Tom Bonier breaks down the basics of voter data analytics. Next, Raven Bradfield discusses her experiences organizing for Democratic campaigns in Iowa and Georgia, and what campaigns lose when they assemble staffs that don’t resemble their constituents. PeachPod’s Luke Boggs explains how peer-to-peer contact makes a difference when getting college students out to vote. Finally, Georgia Shift founder Ian Bridgeforth continues our conversation on transactional versus transformational activism, and the challenges of engaging young Georgians outside the Atlanta metro area.

Episode references:

Follow us @groundgamepod on Twitter and Instagram, and visit us on the web at www.groundgamepod.com.

Ground Game: Georgia is a production of Unir.

Getting out the vote is vital work, but how do you get people to that starting line in the first place? SONG has been working alongside communities in the South for decades, meeting the needs of their neighbors where they live while building up political muscle. Hear how that work came to fruition in 2020’s races to elect new county sheriffs in Georgia, as SONG Power campaign lead Robert-John Hinojosa traces the organization’s past and present with hosts Holly Anderson and Marcus Patrick Ellsworth.

Episode references:

SONG - https://southernersonnewground.org/

SONG Power - https://unleashpower.org/

Movement for Black Lives - https://m4bl.org

MIJENTE - https://mijente.net

GLAHR - https://glahr.org

Sister Song - https://www.sistersong.net

Follow us @groundgamepod on Twitter and Instagram, and visit us on the web at www.groundgamepod.com.

Ground Game: Georgia is a production of Unir.

Ground Game: Georgia is a podcast miniseries that tells first-person stories from inside the organizations on the ground that are registering voters, getting them to the polls, and fighting voter suppression during the Senate runoff elections.  Hosts Holly Anderson (Shutdown Fullcast) and Marcus Ellsworth (The Chocolate Therapy Podcast) will focus on the activists and organizers throughout the state that have proven effective in turning Georgia from red to purple and now, possibly, to blue.  Starts December 2, 2020 on your favorite podcast app.