My guest for episode 10 is Jill Mangaliman, executive director of Got Green. Got Green is a south-Seattle based grassroots organization led by low income people and people of color that “cultivates multi-generational community leaders to be central voices in the Green Movement in order to ensure that the benefits of the green movement and green economy ... reach low income communities and communities of color.”

Got Green is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, and Jill has been with the organization since the early days. I talked with Jill about the challenges of organizing a community that is rapidly being displaced and about the ways in which coming together can effect change – and not just from a policy perspective. It can awaken us to new ways of interacting and remind us to model the world we are trying to build with the people who are in the struggle with us.

I hope you enjoy my conversation with Jill as much as I did.

Resources:

Got Green website: http://gotgreenseattle.org

10th anniversary event: May 19th http://gotgreenseattle.org/rooted-in-power-2018/

Don't Displace Dove: https://southseattleemerald.com/2017/10/28/beacon-hill-community-rallies-to-denounce-esther-little-dove-johns-displacement/

Jill Mangaliman: "How can the economy be environmentally sustainable?" (video): https://youtu.be/zfmbBh6JcEU

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Intro/outro music, recorded with permission: "Joe Metro," by Blue Scholars.

www.youtube.com/watch?time_contin…e=6&v=Wz79goWQrYU

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My guest for episode 9 is Sue Lenander, program director for Plant for the Planet Seattle. She is also, I learned during our interview, an extremely committed and courageous activist.

I wanted to interview Sue to find out how she recruits families and spreads her organization’s message -- and to explore the connection between trees and community building. We talked about those things, but Sue also shared a bit of her own story –- how she came to realize that her life choices had contributed to our climate crisis and how she honors her commitment to be part of the solution. She has participated in or is connected to some of the most impactful direct action climate resistance of this decade.

Get ready to be inspired by my conversation with Sue Lenander.

Resources:

Climate Change for Families: https://climatechangeforfamilies.com/

Plant for the Planet (global): https://www.plant-for-the-planet.org

Valve Turners: http://www.shutitdown.today/

Wangari Maathai Foundation: http://wangarimaathai.org/

Related:

A blog post about my family's experience planting trees: http://www.buschick.com/?p=7985

A blog post that references one of the valve turners: http://www.buschick.com/?p=9377

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Intro/outro music, recorded with permission: "Joe Metro," by Blue Scholars.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=6&v=Wz79goWQrYU

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My guest for Episode 8 is Elmer Dixon, one of the founding members of the Seattle Chapter of the Black Panther Party. Next month marks the 50th anniversary of the Seattle Panthers, so I was incredibly honored to have the chance to interview Mr. Dixon about the party’s work in the community and as a community – and about how his experience as a Black Panther continues to inform his life today.

Resources:

50th Anniversary celebration info: https://www.seattlebpp50.com/about

My People Are Rising: http://mypeoplearerising.com/

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Intro/outro music, recorded with permission: "Joe Metro," by Blue Scholars.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=6&v=Wz79goWQrYU

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My guest for today’s episode is author and consultant, Peter Block. Peter has written a number of books, including Community: The Structure of Belonging, which I read recently and learned a lot from.

What I love about Peter’s book is that it doesn’t just focus on our interactions; it tackles the cultural assumptions and practices that have created the fragmentation that make it difficult to build cohesive communities. It challenges common beliefs about what makes a leader and the most effective ways to bring about change. And, it provides important insights and practical steps to help us build the communities we want to live in.

Resources:

http://peterblock.com/

commongood.cc/

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Intro/outro music, recorded with permission: "Joe Metro," by Blue Scholars.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=6&v=Wz79goWQrYU

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My guest for episode 6 is Tim Lennon, executive director of the brand new nonprofit, Langston Seattle.

Langston is housed in the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute, a beautiful facility in the Central District neighborhood. For the past 40 years, Langston Hughes (or LHPAI) has been run by the City of Seattle and has served as a performance and gathering space for black art and artists.

After 40 years, the city has decided to stop managing the programming that happens at Langston Hughes. Though the city will continue to manage the facility, it will hand over control of the programming to the community, through the nonprofit, Langston.

Tim, who just started in his role as the new director last month, is well suited to lead this effort. He has worked in the art world in a number of capacities, at Elliott Bay Book Company, the Seattle Office of Arts and Culture, and most recently, as the director of the Vera Project, an all ages, youth arts organization. Tim has spent his career bringing people together around art and is deeply invested in the health and future of this city. I really wanted to pick his brain about how we build community through art and what he envisions for the future of Langston.

Resources:

Langston’s website: https://www.langstonseattle.org/

Langston Hughes African American Film Festival: https://www.langstonseattle.org/lhaaff/

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Intro/outro music, recorded with permission: "Joe Metro," by Blue Scholars.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=6&v=Wz79goWQrYU

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Nora Laughlin is a single parent who was born and raised in West Seattle and lives there today with her 12-year old daughter. Nora started a project in West Seattle called Sharing the Harvest, which connected gardeners who had excess harvest with food banks in need of fresh produce.

I love the concept of Sharing the Harvest for all the obvious reasons. It provided fresh produce to people who wanted and needed it, and it took advantage of local resources to fill local needs. But I also love it because it was simple. It didn’t require a lot of infrastructure or a new organization or fundraising or campaigning or petitioning government officials. All it took was one person with a good idea who was willing to give some of her time to make it happen.

Additional information:

Sharing the Harvest: https://www.facebook.com/sharingtheharvestseattle/

White Center Food Bank: https://www.whitecenterfoodbank.org/

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Intro/outro music, recorded with permission: "Joe Metro," by Blue Scholars.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=6&v=Wz79goWQrYU

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Estela Ortega is the executive director of El Centro de la Raza, a community organization based on Beacon Hill in Seattle. El Centro is s a beautiful and special place that has been providing comprehensive services -- including food assistance, childcare, training, and English instruction -- for the Latinx and Chicano communities (and anyone else who needs them) for over 45 years. Everything about El Centro, including its name (the center for people of all races) embodies the value of community, but I wanted to talk to Estela about El Centro’s recent success building affordable housing in a city that is rapidly becoming the exclusive domain of the rich.

For more information about El Centro de la Raza and Plaza Maestas, visit www.elcentrodelaraza.org/.

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Intro/outro music, recorded with permission: "Joe Metro," by Blue Scholars.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=6&v=Wz79goWQrYU

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This is the second part of my interview with King County Councilmember Larry Gossett.

We can’t figure out where we’re going until we understand – remember – where we’ve been, and what I love about Larry Gossett is his deep connections to our city’s history AND his continued commitment to engage in the present and work toward a better future for all.

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Intro/outro music, recorded with permission: "Joe Metro," by Blue Scholars.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=6&v=Wz79goWQrYU

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This is the first in a series of interviews with King County Councilmember Larry Gossett. We talked about the importance of organizing and building alliances in movements for social change.

If you’d like to learn more about Councilmember Gossett’s legacy, check out the book Gang of Four: Four Leaders, Four Communities, One Friendship, by Bob Santos and Gary Iwamoto.

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Intro/outro music, recorded with permission: "Joe Metro," by Blue Scholars.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=6&v=Wz79goWQrYU

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This is the intro episode of Remember, a podcast about building community. Host Carla Saulter talks to guests about ways we can build connected, resilient, inclusive, interdependent communities to help us tackle our nation's -- and our world's -- most pressing problems.

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Intro/outro music, recorded with permission: "Joe Metro," by Blue Scholars.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=6&v=Wz79goWQrYU

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