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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There has been a surge in union organizing across the nation, including Los Angeles. In this chapter, we look at the role of labor in modern LA. Angela speaks with WGA strike captain, Helen Shang, Roxana Tynan, Executive Director of LAANE, USC Professor of Sociology and Ethnic studies, Manuel Pastor, California State Senator Maria Elena Durazo, and Kent Wong Project Director of Labor and Community Partnerships at UCLA. Together they unpack how labor unions advance a more equitable economy and, in turn, a functioning democracy.

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Multiracial organizing doesn’t mean that we always get along. Organizers and activists in Los Angeles know this. What it can mean is when intentions are right, multiracial coalitions can work together towards policies that benefit all. In this chapter, we hear from economist Manuel Pastor, environmental justice activist Denise Fairchild, and organizer Anthony Thigpenn.

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Leadership is not a solo endeavor. Community organizers from multiple neighborhoods in Los Angeles learned this after two incendiary rebellions in the city’s history: Watts in 1965 and the 1992 uprising. Activists, neighbors, and organizers across the city came together to take stock of the needs of the people. They’d go on to influence community and civic leaders, setting the basis for transformative leadership on the ground and at the city level. Organizer Anthony Thigpenn, UCLA Project Director of Labor Kent Wong, and historian Robin D.G. Kelley join Angela. 

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Join Angela Glover Blackwell, as she seeks to find the essential elements of a strong, inclusive multiracial democracy in, perhaps, one of the most unlikely places: Los Angeles.

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Los Angeles might be a city ripe for a multiracial democracy to thrive. Reimagining Democracy for a Good Life is a podcast from PolicyLink and hosted by Angela Glover Blackwell, which aims to infuse some hope into a foundational U.S. idea.

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