This is What Democracy Sounds Like

Every community has problems and concerns that need to be addressed. And every community has the power to make changes to improve the community. But do we know what we want and who the decision-makers are? MCU is conducting transformative conversations in impacted communities so that MCU and citizens can clarify what change needs to happen and who can implement that change. We talk with DeMarco Davidson, Lead Organizer for the MCU Sacred Votes campaign, about the ins and outs of transformative conversations and how this tool can focus the people's voice. Just ask the residents of Georgia, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania.

To get involved, contact DeMarco Davidson at [email protected].

Do have a loved one involved with the juvenile courts? Is your family overwhelmed by the impersonal system that ignores your child's full story? The MCU Participatory Defense Hub offers support and guidance for navigating this scary system. We talk with LaTrisha Gandy and Karmahn Leach, organizers for the Participatory Defense Hub, and also mothers who have walked this difficult path to fight for their children.

If your family has a child engaged with the juvenile courts:

Text #LoveYouth to 31996

Call (314) 367-3484

https://mcustlouis.org/events/justice-for-you-families-impacted-by-the-juvenile-courts/

Missouri Senate Bill 26, aimed squarely at those fighting for Black liberation in the State, will criminalize the right to protest and stifle dissent. We talk with Rev. Darryl Gray of Expect Us - St. Louis, Rev. Jon Stratton of Trinity Episcopal Church in St. Louis, and Richard von Glahn of Missouri Jobs with Justice about the white supremacist intentions of this bill, how it will stifle free speech, and the additional problematic concerns of Senate Bill 26.

Missouri Jobs With Justice

https://mojwj.org/

Trinity Church

https://www.trinitycwe.org/

Expect Us St. Louis

https://www.facebook.com/FrontLineA1

https://twitter.com/EStl365

On February 6, a group of men held in the St. Louis City Justice Center took over a floor of the facility in protest over conditions and mistreatment. This was the third action at the CJC since December. We talked with Latrell Stanton, an organizer with EXPO St. Louis about what the men in the CJC face and why they have decided to stand up. We also talk about why it is important for others to stand with them.

https://www.facebook.com/EXPOSTL

Text EXPO to 31996

[email protected]

We talk with Joshua Saleem, the St. Louis Peace Education Program Director of the American Friends Service Committee, about restorative practices in schools. Restorative practices look to build caring relationships between students and staff, and students and their peers, creating an educational environment where students are encouraged and empowered. And if discipline is required, the aim is to restore the student to the community instead of removal. Find out how these practices can shut down the school-to-prison pipeline at the source.

American Friends Service Committee St. Louis

Website: https://www.afsc.org/office/st-louis-mo

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AFSCstlouis

Joshua Saleem: [email protected]

School districts can overwhelm busy parents and guardians, and there is extra pressure on families with remote learning during the pandemic. How does one demand that their child receives the educational resources they need? How does one demand fairness for their child when discipline issues arise? MCU and Legal Services of Eastern Missouri provide tools, networking, and support for parents to advocate for their children. We talk with Lisa Thompson, an organizer on the MCU Education Task Force, and Hopey Fink, a staff attorney at Legal Services of Eastern Missouri.

Metropolitan Congregations United

https://mcustlouis.org/

314-367-3484

Legal Services of Eastern Missouri

https://lsem.org/

[email protected]

314-256-8789

EdRights App

https://lsem.org/edrights-app/

We continue our discussion with members of EXPO - Ex-incarcerated People Organizing. This week we turn our attention to matters close to the heart of EXPO members. We talk about how and why they joined EXPO and why taking action and paying attention politically is so important.

https://www.facebook.com/EXPOSTL

Meet the members of EXPO-St. Louis - Ex-Incarcerated People Organizing. Learn about EXPO's actions demanding accountability at the Dismas transitional housing, fighting to Unlock the Vote for those on probation and parole, and speaking up for those in prison without a voice.

https://www.facebook.com/EXPOSTL

Missouri voters passed Medicaid Expansion this past August. Will Jefferson City follow through and implement it and benefit 230,000 Missourians? What's happened with the nearly 100,000 children that were dropped from Medicaid a few years ago? What is the status of COVID-19 and the vaccine in Missouri? We talk with Jen Bersdale and Emilia Hinckley of Missouri Health Care for All about these and other issues of health care in the state.

Learn more at:

https://missourihealthcareforall.org/

https://missouricovidaction.org/

https://www.facebook.com/MoHealthCareAll/

https://twitter.com/MoHealthCareAll

Contact Emilia Hinckley at [email protected]

In 1997 Bobby Bostic was only 17 years old when he was sentenced to 241 years in prison. Bobby's inhumane sentence remains in place despite his reform, a Supreme Court ruling that would seem to apply, the judge who sentenced him admitting her mistake, and bi-partisan support in Jefferson City.

Israel Collier tells Bobby's story and the details of the injustices that keep him from freedom. She also lets us know how we can advocate for Bobby.

Find your Missouri Rep. and tell them to support H.B. 636 https://house.mo.gov/

Sign a petition at:

http://chng.it/gkvrc9YccR

https://diy.rootsaction.org/petitions/undo-unconstitutional-life-without-parole-sentence-for-bobby-bostic

https://action.aclu.org/petition/mo-clemency-for-bobby-bostic

Connect on Twitter and Instagram @FreeBobbyBostic

And learn more about Bobby Bostic at www.freebobbybostic.com/