Back in 1995, Outkast’s Andre 3000 declared, “The South got something to say.” That statement rings even truer today. So what is Atlanta telling us?  As we close a season full of diverse voices,  stories and hard truths about Atlanta and the region, two things become clear. Atlanta isn’t perfect. Yet it may provide the inspiration we need to get through the times we find ourselves in, and emerge, collectively, stronger and better.

Featured Guests:  Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, Visual artist Marryam Moma, activist and community organizer Nsé Ufot, Founder and Chief Equity Officer of Partnership for Southern Equity Nathaniel Smith,  Activist and Executive Director of Latino Community Fund Georgia, Gigi Pedraza, Vice President of Policy & Research at Kindred Futures Dr. Alex Camardelle-Floyd, Activist and Managing Director of Women Donors Action, Hillary Holley, Organizer and Civic Engagement Program Manager at the Center for Civic Innovation Evan Matthews, Political scientist and author Dr. Bernard Fraga, Atlanta Influence Everything Co-Founders Ian Ford, Bem Joiner, and Tory Edwards, and Author and ordained minister Dante Stewart.

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There’s a very real tension between the Atlanta metro area, home to more than half the population of Georgia, and lawmakers and officials in the State Capitol. How can activists and communities achieve their policy goals and aspirations for democracy at the state level, where so many decisions are made? And what strategies – old and new – can the rest of the country learn from people working on the ground in Georgia?

Featured Guests: Organizer and Civic Engagement Program Manager at the Center for Civic Innovation Evan Matthews, Vice President of Policy & Research at Kindred Futures Dr. Alex Camardelle-Floyd, Author and journalist Charles Blow, Activist and Managing Director of Women Donors Action, Hillary Holley, Executive Director of Georgia Coalition for the People's Agenda, Helen Butler, Activist and Executive Director of Latino Community Fund Georgia, Gigi Pedraza, Activist and community organizer Nsé Ufot, Community strategist and activist Grace Choi, and Nonprofit leader Aisha Yaqoob Mahmood.

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So many of Atlanta’s achievements have been made possible by the alignment of race, place, and power to advance a more inclusive democracy. But that progress may be under threat. In this chapter, we explore what the changing composition of the city and the metro area means for power across the region and the state.

Featured Guests: Founder and Chief Equity Officer for Partnership for Southern Equity, Nathaniel Smith, Activist and Managing Director of Women Donors Action, Hillary Holley, Executive Director of the Housing Justice League, Alison Johnson, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, Director, Development & Design at The Guild, Antariksh Tandon, Director of the Community Stewardship Trust at The Guild, Avery Ebron, Community strategist and activist Grace Choi, and Author, historian and professor Dr. Maurice Hobson.

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Moral conviction was the core of the Civil Rights Movement and still drives many Atlanta activists and leaders. In this chapter, we explore the values, fortitude, and open-hearted faith that helped Atlanta emerge from the brutality of Jim Crow to build a thriving,  inclusive city and continue striving for justice, and what the whole country can learn about creating a moral democracy that is true to its ideals and its people.

Featured Guests: Activist and community organizer Nsé Ufot, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, Activist and Managing Director of Women Donors Action, Hillary Holley, Founder and Chief Equity Officer of Partnership for Southern Equity Nathaniel Smith, Community strategist and activist Grace Choi, Activist and Executive Director of Latino Community Fund Georgia, Gigi Pedraza, Nonprofit leader Aisha Yaqoob Mahmood, Author, historian and professor Dr. Maurice Hobson, Executive Director of Georgia Coalition for the People's Agenda, Helen Butler, Author and ordained minister Dante Stewart, and Vice President of Policy & Research at Kindred Futures Dr. Alex Camardelle-Floyd.

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Is Atlanta’s reputation as a Black Mecca real or simply good marketing? Or both? In this chapter: how the long legacy of Black leadership transformed Atlanta into a world-class city, and how hip-hop has been a voice for those left behind.

Featured Guests: Historian and professor Dr. Maurice Hobson, Atlanta Influences Everything co-founder Bem Joiner, Activist and community organizer Nsé Ufot, Visual artist Marryam Moma, Founder and Chief Equity Officer for Partnership for Southern Equity, Nathaniel Smith, Author and journalist Charles Blow, Executive Director of Housing Justice League, Alison Johnson, Executive Director of Georgia Coalition for the People's Agenda, Helen Butler, and Music and culture reporter Christina Lee.

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Atlanta, known as “the Cradle of the Civil Rights Movement,” is a vibrant city with a long history of activism and civic participation. Under an unbroken line of Black mayors since the 1970s, it has become a center for business, TV, film, and hip-hop. And, like every place in this country, Atlanta has its struggles. In this chapter, we begin to explore this duality and what the city can tell us about building a thriving multiracial democracy and a more perfect union.

Featured Guests: Atlanta Influences Everything co-founders Tory Edwards, Ian Ford and Bem Joiner, historian and author Dr. Carol Anderson, political scientist and author Dr. Bernard Fraga, activist and organizer Nsé Ufot, writer and minister Danté Stewart, Executive Director of Latino Community Fund Georgia, Gigi Pedraza, historian and professor Dr. Maurice Hobson, and community strategist and activist Grace Choi.

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This season, we head south for insights and hope. We’re asking, "What can Atlanta teach us about democracy? What insights does it offer in terms of building a more perfect union? And what lessons from Atlanta’s past can help us through this present moment and lay a path for a vibrant democratic future?" Reimagining Democracy for a Good Life is a podcast from PolicyLink hosted by Angela Glover Blackwell.

Featured Guests: Writer and minister Danté Stewart, Historian and professor Dr. Maurice Hobson, Atlanta Influences Everything co-founder Bem Joiner, Historian and author Dr. Carol Anderson, Visual artist Marryam Moma, Founder and Chief Equity Officer for Partnership for Southern Equity Nathaniel Smith, Community strategist and activist Grace Choi, Author and journalist Charles Blow, Organizer Evan Matthews, Political scientist and author Dr. Bernard Fraga, Activist and organizer Nsé Ufot, Executive Director of Latino Community Fund Georgia Gigi Pedraza, Music and culture reporter Christina Lee, Executive Director of Housing Justice League Alison Johnson, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, Director of the Community Stewardship Trust at The Guild, Avery Ebron, Nonprofit leader Aisha Yaqoob Mahmood, Vice President of Policy & Research at Kindred Futures Dr. Alex Camardelle, Executive Director of Georgia Coalition for the People's Agenda Helen Butler.

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Democracy flourishes when communities inspire and learn from one another. In this special episode, recorded live at the 2024 PolicyLink Equity Summit, Georgia nonprofit leader and Senior Director of Civic Engagement at the National Domestic Workers Alliance, Hillary Holley, joins returning guests Kent Wong and Alberto Retana. Together, they explore the evolution and power of local action in the south as well as Los Angeles, showing how each community’s unique path fuels a shared fight for justice, resilience, and real change.

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We don’t know what the future holds for the growth of a radically inclusive multiracial democracy but the questions we raise in this series are more than just thought experiments. 2024 is an important election year for many countries all over the world and we ask you, dear listener, how are you participating in democracy in your own life?

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As community organizers and activists move from the grassroots to positions of power in city and state politics, how do they use their backgrounds to make democracy a tool for the people? Chapter 5 includes conversations with Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, President and CEO John Kim of Catalyst California, California State Senator Maria Elena Durazo, and President-CEO Alberto Retana of Community Coalition.

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