Momentum: A Race Forward Podcast

The last time Sulma Arias joined Momentum, in 2024, the argument was that rebuilding grassroots organizing was essential to confronting the conditions fueling authoritarianism. Two years later, she and Glenn Harris revisit that argument in a political landscape that has drastically shifted. On this episode of Momentum: A Race Forward Podcast, Arias, executive director of People’s Action, and Harris, president of Race Forward, talk about what organizing requires in a period of racialized authoritarianism —the use of racial division to gain and hold political power–and ongoing attacks on democracy. 

As longtime friends leading two national organizations, Glenn and Sulma move between the personal and the political, reflecting on what they are seeing across communities, what this moment is asking of organizers, and how relationships shape the way movements understand and respond to change.

Part of Race Forward’s new DemocracyIs: campaign, the episode pushes beyond elections to explore how democracy is experienced, practiced, and strengthened in everyday life. Glenn and Sulma wrestle with the challenge of leading organizations through interconnected struggles, the limits of any one organization trying to meet the scale of this moment, and what becomes possible when movement leaders and organizations work in relationship rather than isolation. 

Their conversation reaches from faith and friendship to multiracial organizing, collective action, and the generations that carried this work before them, while confronting a larger question at the heart of this moment: what will it take for movements not only to resist what is happening now, but to build the democratic future they are fighting for?

On this episode of Momentum: A Race Forward Podcast, Iris Crawford, Race Forward's Director of Strategic Communications, speaks with Bishop Dwayne Royster, Executive Director of Faith in Action, for a conversation about faith, democracy, and the institutions that help communities organize for change. Drawing on his experience as a pastor, organizer, radio host, and national movement leader, Bishop Royster reflects on the role faith communities have played in struggles for racial justice, civil rights, immigrant rights, and democratic participation. He challenges the notion that faith is simply a matter of personal belief, arguing instead that congregations and faith-based organizations serve as vital civic infrastructure, cultivating leadership, belonging, collective action, and hope in moments of uncertainty.

Recorded ahead of Juneteenth and as the nation approaches the 250th anniversary of its founding, the conversation explores the unfinished work of democracy and the role faith communities can play in shaping the future. Bishop Royster discusses Faith in Action's organizing model, recent faith-led mobilizations in response to immigration enforcement, the dangers of White Christian Nationalism, and the importance of building relationships across difference. He also reflects on his years in radio and why audio remains a powerful democratic medium, one that allows everyday people to share their stories, engage ideas, and participate in the public square. Together, the discussion asks what it will take to build a more just, inclusive, and multiracial democracy, and why faith, imagination, and collective action remain essential to that work.

Executive Producers: Hendel Leiva, Priscilla Sam  

On the season six premiere of Momentum: A Race Forward Podcast, Leah Obias, Director of Policy and Strategy at Race Forward, speaks with Abre' Conner, Director of the Center for Environmental and Climate Justice at the NAACP, to examine how the rapid expansion of AI data centers is reshaping conversations around racial justice, environmental justice, governance, and democracy. Together, they unpack the growing resistance emerging in communities across the country, from local organizing efforts and town hall confrontations to broader legal and policy battles over the future of AI infrastructure.

In their conversation, Leah and Abre’ explore how AI infrastructure is increasingly being framed not simply as a technology issue, but as a defining racial justice issue of the present moment. They discuss how communities are organizing against opaque development practices, the role of government and corporate power in accelerating AI expansion, and how frameworks like the Frontline Framework are helping communities advocate for accountability and community-centered development. The episode also examines what more equitable AI infrastructure could look like moving forward, and what it will take to ensure that the future of AI does not replicate longstanding patterns of environmental harm and exclusion.

Resources: 

On the Season 5 finale of Momentum: A Race Forward Podcast, Nikko Viquiera, Deputy Senior Vice President of Programs, sits with internationally acclaimed poet, comedian, public speaker, and actor ALOK Vaid-Menon. This conversation was recorded this past November at Just Narratives for Multiracial Solidarity 2025, In their conversation, Nikko and ALOK explore how storytelling can be used to challenge and transform the dominant narratives that shape our understanding of identity, power, and belonging. ALOK reflects on their journey from navigating childhood shame and public violence to cultivating a practice rooted in joy, play, and self-determination, offering a powerful reframing of what liberation can look and feel like. Together, they examine how vulnerability, when embraced and shared, can become a force for healing and a tool for shifting culture.

The conversation also connects these personal insights to broader movement work, unpacking how binary thinking, especially around gender, limits the possibilities of racial justice and multiracial solidarity. ALOK situates the gender binary as a colonial system that has been used to categorize, control, and divide people, reinforcing racial hierarchies and restricting self-determination across communities. Through this lens, they make the case that challenging the gender binary is not separate from racial justice work, but essential to it, expanding what it means to belong, to lead, and to exist freely.

Resources: 

Facing Race 2026

In this bonus episode of Momentum: A Race Forward Podcast, we take a closer look at the state of housing in the United States nearly 60 years after the passage of the Fair Housing Act and why this moment demands renewed urgency. With a national shortage of more than 4.7 million homes, rising rents, and persistent racial discrimination, the housing crisis goes beyond supply. It reflects a deeper shift in how fair housing is being understood and enforced, as federal protections are rolled back under the guise of “colorblind” policies. 

We hear from Nathan Cheung, Communications Manager for Housing Now California, and Andreanecia M. Morris, President of HousingLOUISIANA, who bring this moment into focus through lived experience and on the ground advocacy. They speak to what housing justice looks like in practice, including stable, affordable homes and real choice not constrained by race or income. They also share how communities are organizing for affordable, safe, and stable housing. From community land trusts to local policy fights, this episode shows how people across the country are not just pushing back, but actively building a more just housing future.

Special thanks to Ryan Curren, Director of Housing, Land, and Development at Race Forward, for his contribution to this episode. You can find the full Leaders of the Movement for Housing Justice video series on Colorlines.com.

On this episode of Momentum: A Race Forward Podcast Dr. Coleman-Robinson, President and CEO of the Association of African American Museums, joins Race Forward’s Chief of Staff Karla Bruce to discuss the growing scrutiny around diversity, equity, and inclusion, the ripple effects of federal shifts and funding cuts, and how institutions dedicated to preserving history are responding with resilience and purpose. Dr. Coleman-Robinson shares how cultural organizations are staying grounded in their missions, building coalitions, and continuing to document history in real time, even amid political headwinds. At a moment when public memory feels increasingly contested, this conversation underscores why preserving history is not simply about honoring the past, but about safeguarding truth, strengthening community, and protecting democracy in the present.

Dr. Vedet Coleman-Robinson is President and CEO of the Association of African American Museums (AAAM), the national professional network serving Black museums and cultural institutions across the United States. A historian by training with a doctorate in U.S. History from Howard University, she leads one of the country’s foremost associations dedicated to cultural preservation and institutional advocacy.

She is a nationally recognized voice on the role of museums in democracy and has been featured in outlets including The Washington Post, The New York Times, USA Today, and MSNBC, now MSNOW. Through her leadership at AAAM, she represents and supports cultural institutions across the country navigating questions of public memory, funding, and political scrutiny

Links: 

Trump interference could have ‘chilling effect across entire museum sector (via Museums Association) 
https://bit.ly/4kWpwV9

Cultivating the Next Generation of Black Museum Leaders: The AAAM x Howard University Advanced Executive Training by Dr. Vedet Coleman- Robinson 
https://bit.ly/3OYF7r0

Facing Race 2026 
https://facingrace.raceforward.org/

Executive Producers: Hendel Leiva, and Cheryl Blakemore

In this special bonus segment, Race Forward closes out 2025 with a powerful message of urgency narrated by Leslie Grant-Spann, Senior Director of Conferences and Convenings. Drawing on decades of movement-building work, this message reflects on how racial inequities are embedded in our institutions—and why transformational change requires action now. From partnering with communities of color to reshaping local government from the inside, Race Forward’s work is grounded in building lasting systems, relationships, and accountability. As we look ahead, this message affirms a clear truth: when communities most impacted have real power in decision-making, racial justice becomes not just possible, but inevitable.

This episode of Momentum, hosted by Race Forward’s Chief of Staff Karla Bruce, examines the enduring policy failures and systemic harms of over-policing—connecting the legacy of former Chicago police commander Jon Burge’s “Midnight Crew” to the current federal deployment of National Guard forces across U.S. cities.

Guest Omar Jimenez, Emmy Award–winning CNN anchor and news correspondent, discusses findings from his investigative podcast Tortured Justice which exposes decades of police violence and coerced confessions in Chicago. Through stories like that of James Gibson—wrongfully imprisoned for decades—Omar and Karla explore how unchecked police authority, prosecutorial discretion, and political protection enabled abuse, and what structural reforms are needed to prevent it from recurring.

Tortured Justice (CNN Presents) 
https://www.cnn.com/audio/podcasts/cnn-presents

‘Tortured Justice’: Uncovering a story of decades-old police violence (CNN)
https://bit.ly/4oLdU7J

Chicago Innocence Project
https://www.chicagoinnocenceproject.org/

Executive Producers: Hendel Leiva, Cheryl Blakemore, Freddie Beckley 

Resources:

MILPA Collective: A movement organization rooted in Salinas, California, led by formerly incarcerated and system-impacted individuals. 
Learn more about MILPA Collective at: 
https://www.milpacollective.org/

Just Narratives for Multiracial Solidarity:
Nov 13-15
St. Louis, MO
REGISTER NOW at 
https://www.raceforward.org/training-and-events/just-narratives 

Executive Producers: Hendel Leiva, Cheryl Blakemore, Priscilla Sam