Stepping Into Truth: Conversations on Social Justice and How We Get Free

Kat & Omkari interview each other

Kat Calvin & Omkari Williams
Kat Calvin and I both wrote books! Kat's is American Identity In Crisis: Notes from  an Accidental Activist. Mine is Micro Activism: How You Can Make a Difference in the World (Without a Bullhorn). 
When we realized that our books were coming out within weeks of each other we thought that we should have a conversation about them and the work we do in the world.
Kat's work is getting the 26 million Americans who don't have ID the state issued ID that they need to do things like get a job, a home, a bank account, you know, little things like that. Mine, if you don't know, is getting folks to engage in micro activism, tiny actions that add us to big changes. 
In this conversation we not only talk about serious things but we also laugh, a lot. I loved this conversation and I think you will too. 
Definitely, buy both our books. They are really good! We did not write them together, though the covers do coordinate beautifully and the themes do have a lot of crossover. Holiday gifts, yeah!!!
Have you met Kat?
About Kat:
She's been a guest on the podcast before, but in case you haven't met her, let me tell you about her. Kat Calvin is the founder and executive director of Spread The Vote + Project ID and the cofounder and CEO of the Project ID Action Fund. A lawyer, activist, and social entrepreneur, she has built a national organization that helps Americans obtain the IDs they need for jobs, housing, life—and in some states, the voting booth. Kat and her work have been featured in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic,  and on NPR, PBS, BET, and many other outlets. She has been a guest commentator on MSNBC, CNN, Headline News, Sirius XM, and more, as well as a frequent keynote speaker and a sought-after voice for her expertise and opinions on politics, voting, ID-related issues, and more.
For a written transcript of this episode click here
 
Connect with Kat:Project IDInstagram
Credits:Harmonica music courtesy of a friend.

Black Folk: The Roots of the Black Working Class w/ Blair Kelley

Often, when we think about racial justice immediately following the Civil War we think about a relatively narrow slice of Black history. Blair LM Kelley's Black Folk: The Roots of the Black Working Class shines a light on stories that we don't hear enough about. 
Drawing on stories from her own family and extensive research Blair tells us a compelling tale of Black folk beginning to claim their place in America as free people. 
With stories of washerwomen, Pullman Porters, and other Black workers who fought for rights for themselves, started unions, and paved the way for the modern Civil Rights Movement Blair had me captivated from the start.
The richness of her book is reflected in the richness of the conversation that we had. Both educational and inspirational, this is a conversation you don't want to miss. 
About Blair:
Blair LM Kelley, is an award winning author, historian and scholar of the African American experience. A dedicated public historian Kelley works to amplify the histories of black people, chronicling the everyday impact of their activism. Kelley is the Joel R. Williamson, Distinguished Professor of Southern Studies at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, and the incoming Director of the Center for the Study of the American South, the first black woman to serve in that role in the center's 30 year history. Kelly's newest book, Black Folk: The Roots of the Black Working Class, draws on family histories and mines the archive to illuminate the adversities and joys of the Black working class in America, both past and present.
For a written transcript of this conversation click here.
Action Items:
1) Buy and read Blair's book.
2) Spend time in "third spaces". Spaces outside of work and home where we can be in community and invest in one another.
3) Continue to learn about our past and advocate for broader education in our schools as well as in alternative and community learning spaces. Let this book be the beginning of a conversation that expands our knowledge and understanding of this important part of American history.
Stay in touch with Blair:
Instagram
Credits:
Harmonica music courtesy of a friend.

The Stories Whiteness Tells Itself w/author David Mura

David Mura
If I am a broken record on any subject it's probably on the impact of story and how the stories we tell to ourselves and others shape our understanding of the world. In his powerful book, author David Mura, writes about some of the stories that underlie the American experience. 
With examples from literature and film David explores and important perspective in our fight for racial justice. If we don't know how the biases we hold are the storyline of our society it's gonna be impossible to rewrite those stories. 
Reading David's book, and then speaking with him, was a fascinating exploration of some of our deepest stories as a society and how we are being held back because we don't even know that they are the scripts running the action. 
This conversation gave me a whole other level of insight into the struggle for racial equity and has inspired me to question more deeply some of the things I just assume to be so.
I loved this book and this conversation and I think you will also.
About David:
David Mura has written numerous books. His most recent book is the acclaimed The Stories Whiteness Tells Itself: Racial Myths and Our American Narratives. A third generation Japanese American, Mura has written two memoirs, Turning Japanese: Memoirs of a Sansei, which was listed in the New York Times notable books of the year, and, Where the Body Meets Memory: An Odyssey of Race, Sexuality, and Identity. In addition to teaching at various universities, Mura has served as director of training for the innocent classroom, a program designed by writer and educator Alexs Pate, to train K - 12 teachers to improve their relationships with students of color.
For a written transcript of this conversation click here.
Connect with David:
WebsiteTwitterFacebookInstagram
Action Items:
1) None of us knows enough. We all have pockets of ignorance, and we have to keep learning. So it is simply just books, lectures, activities, arts activities, to learn about people, both within your community and outside your community. 
2) if your social life or your work life is racially or ethnically homogenous, you need to start diversifying and making conscious moves to diversify. And if you're a white person and you have no Black friends or friends of color, then you have to ask, why is that? How can you change your life so diversity becomes a part of it?
3) Once you understand the way racism works, you have to begin to work against it, and actively work and often time times you'll know you're working against it when people get angry. 
Credits:
Harmonica music courtesy of a friend.
BIG NEWS!!!
My book, Micro Activism: How You Can Make a Difference in the World (Without a Bullhorn) is now available for pre-order from your favorite bookseller.  
 
 

Leah Penniman and Black Earth Wisdom

Leah Penniman
In 2018 Leah Penniman wrote Farming While Black, a beautiful book recounting her experience of building Soul Fire Farm and, also, a guide for other Black and Indigenous people looking to reconnect to the land. Now Leah has compiled a treasure trove of conversations that she's had with other Black people who work in harmony with the Earth. Black Earth Wisdom brings together the voices of these leaders in service of guiding us all to a deeper connection with the land, with it's place in all of our lives, and the necessity of rebuilding the connection to Earth that, for far too many of us, is broken.
This is my second time talking with Leah and I can't overstate how much I learn from her and value both her wisdom and her generosity in sharing what she has learned with all of us. 
In this conversation Leah and I talked about the relationship we can have with the Earth, the racist history of our National Parks, Dr. George Washington Carver, and expanding our time perspective. 
This conversation left me feeling so uplifted and committed to forging a deeper connection to the Earth itself. I think it will do the same for you. Listen, and enjoy.
About Leah:
Leah Penniman is founding Co-Executive Director and Farm Director of Soul Fire Farm in Grafton, New York, an Afro-Indigenous farm that works toward food justice and land justice. Her books Farming While Black and Black Earth Wisdom are love songs for the land and her people.
For a written transcript of this conversation click here.
3 Actions:
1) Center the voices and leadership of the people most impacted by environmental injustice.2) Anytime there's an opportunity to advocate for policies that support Black farmers, such as the Justice for Black Farmers Act, that support farm workers, such as the Fairness for Farmworkers Act, anything that supports rights of nature, land back for Indigenous people, reparations for Black people, we need to be sending those letters, calling, be in the streets to support that type of change.3) We have a chance to get to know our neighbors, not just the people neighbors, but the amphibians, and the trees and the flowers and the mosses. Get to know their names, spend some quiet time listening, sing them a song of gratitude. And in rekindling that relationship with the Earth, we are almost guaranteed to fall in love. And when we fall in love, we are almost guaranteed to defend and protect.
Connect with Leah:
Soul Fire Farm
Farming While Black 
Black Earth Wisdom
Instagram
Credits:
Harmonica music courtesy of a friend

Bridging the Societal Divide with Debilyn Molineaux

:Debilyn Molineaux
Have you ever wished for an unmistakable sign of the direction you should be going in? I know I have. For Debilyn Molineaux, President and CEO of Bridge Alliance that sign set her on a path to work towards healing the divides that are ripping at the fabric of the United States.
 
In this conversation Debilyn and I talk about where we are as a country, how we get out of the mess that we're in, and about the experience that shifted the work that she does in the world.
 
What if the critical piece of healing what ails us is as simple, not easy, but simple, as listening to one another so that we can begin to find common ground and, at the least, understand one another? What if the tools that we need to build unity, rather than deepening the divisions that exist, are already available to us?
 
In an increasingly fractured and polarized world it is on each of us to do what we can to shrink the divide, not widen and solidify it. In this important conversation Debilyn gently challenges all of us to be better listeners, to grant others the grace we would want for ourselves, and to actively participate in our democracy beyond voting.
 
After speaking with Debilyn I felt more hopeful and more empowered. Positive change is possible, we just have to be willing to put down our personal armor long enough to make a connection with someone coming from another perspective.
About Debilyn:
Debilyn Molineaux is a long-standing leader of organizations working towards American healthy self governance. In 2015, she co-founded the Bridge Alliance, where she remains President and CEO. Bridge Alliance is a coalition of over 100 member organizations bridging electoral reform, policymaking, and media. Debilyn and her full time staff helped these organizations exercise their collective power, share best practices, and uncover opportunities for collaboration.
Debilyn's, deep knowledge of the healthy self governance field, extensive ties to movement leaders, and hard won field experience put her in a unique position to advise, mentor, and lead large scale healthy self governance initiatives.
For a written transcript of this conversation click here.
Action Items:
1) Go to citizenconnect.us and get engaged.2) Find a way to fully share of yourself. Whether it's with a friend, family member or stranger where's there's no social capital at risk, find a way to share your story.3) Make sure that whatever you're putting out on social media and also in your relationships is adding to the future you want to see in the world, not adding to the fear and division. 
Connect with Debilyn:
Citizen ConnectBridge Alliance
Credits:Harmonica music courtesy of a friend.

Black Athletes and Sports Justice with Shaun Anderson

Shaun Marq Anderson
Given how little we are taught about Black history in general it's not surprising that most of us, me included, have relatively little knowledge of the role that Black athletes have played in the social justice movement before the late 20th century. But since the Reconstruction Era Black athletes have been pushing the envelope, trying to move us towards justice and equity.
Shaun Marq Anderson and I talked about the history of Black athlete activism and how the Sports Justice Movement has been evolving over the years as well as his new book, The Black Athlete Revolt. From Black jockeys who first raced in the Kentucky Derby to Colin Kaepernick and the Black Lives Matter movement Black athletes have used their voices and public platforms to address inequities. From the flamboyant to the subtle the movement has been as diverse as the athletes participating in it.
As Black athletes refuse to follow Fox anchor Laura Ingraham's directive to "shut up and dribble" their impact in their communities and the larger world continues to grow.
This conversation was not only informative but fun as Shaun told me about some real characters in the history of Black athletes. Have a listen, I think you'll really enjoy it. 
For a written transcript of this conversation click here.
About Shaun:
Shaun Marq Anderson, is a global authority on sport and social responsibility Shaun says that sport is a microcosm of society, a catalyst for conversations about business, politics, racial injustice, environmental sustainability, and other pressing social issues. Shaun researches these contemporary problems in the context of sport to determine the most effective strategies and methods to solve them. As a consultant, he has used his work to help renowned brands such as Nike, ESPN, and Major League Baseball on their social responsibility initiatives.
Action Steps:
1) Reach out to retired athletes taking action on causes that you care about and explore how you might connect with them. A lot of these athletes are becoming the liaison in their teams' community development arm. 
2) What are the specific policy reforms that are currently being discussed that you can add your voice to with letters to the editor, letters to your legislators, and/or raising community awareness of the conversations that are happening around legislative changes. 
3) Pay attention the intersecting issues of race and gender and support women's teams in their fight for justice.
Connect with Shaun:
https://twitter.com/ShaunMarqSpeaks
https://www.instagram.com/shaunmarqspeaks/
 
 
Credits:
Harmonica music courtesy of a friend. 
 

Critical Media Literacy with Allison Butler

Allison Butler
We hear a lot about Critical Race Theory, as we should. But what about Critical Media Literacy? Have you ever even heard the term? I hadn't. Then I read The Media and Me: A Guide to Critical Media Literacy for Young People. Not to quibble with the authors but really, this isn't only for young people. This is for all of us. 
We're taking in so much information from so many media sources and yet we rarely, if ever, stop to think about what those sources are, their agendas, and what that means for what we're hearing and reading. Allison Butler and her co-authors take this on and lay out a path to being far more savvy about what we hear so that we are making thoughtful decisions about what we choose to engage with and how, rather than just buying everything they're selling without looking behind the curtain. 
This conversation gave me so much insight into looking behind the scenes so that I am less vulnerable to being taken in by something that seems reasonable but, upon closer investigation, isn't what it appeared to be at all. 
In this time of instant "news" it's more important than ever that we pay attention and interrogate what we're told rather than just accepting it. Allison lays out some clear and simple ways that we can become media literate. Ways that will make us better able to engage with all that's coming at us. 
For a written transcript of this conversation click here.
About Allison:
Allison Butler is a senior lecturer and director of the media literacy certificate program in the Department of Communication at UMass Amherst. She is the author of Educating Media Literacy: The Need for Critical Media Literacy and Teacher Education. She is the co-author of the open source text, Critical Media Literacy and Civic Learning: Interactive Explorations for Students and Teachers. She's also co-authored the new book, The Media and Me: A Guide to Critical Media Literacy for Young People.
Action Steps:
1) Recognize that this is not hopeless. It's easy to feel overwhelmed. Start by looking at your own language. Part of what we're doing is examining power so instead of "Googling" something and using Google's (a huge, powerful corporation) language, think about just searching for something. 
2) Slow down. Don't just scroll, take a bit of time to read more deeply.
3) Take a break. Turn off notifications. Get your news like back in the old days, when there was a morning paper and an evening paper rather than being inundated all day long. 
Connect with Allison:
Mass Media Literacy
Credits:
Harmonica music courtesy of a friend.
 

Young People are the Future, He’s Helping Elect Them

Ross Morales Rocketto
I feel pretty safe in saying that we all have gripes about our government. Where it's not doing enough, where it's overreaching. Most of us just gripe, Ross Morales Rocketto has taken a decidedly different path. Along with his co-founder, Amanda Litman, Ross has made it his mission to get as many young (read under 40) progressives elected to offices at the state and local level around the country as possible. 
From their start, rising from the ashes of the 2016 campaign, their organization, Run For Something, has been guiding successively larger numbers of young people as they run for elected office. 
What they've built in a really short period of time, is amazing. Ross and I talk  about Run For Something but mostly about how important having a strong progressive base is, especially in light of the deeply conservative Supreme Court that we're dealing with.  He's also very honest about the fact that having a (D) next to your name doesn't necessarily mean that you're someone who will fight to build a more just country.
It's a great conversation. I came away feeling hopeful and energized and I think you will too. Have a listen.
About Ross:
Ross Morales Rocketto is the co-founder and co-executive director of Run For Something, a piece of democratic infrastructure designed to recruit and support the next generation of young, diverse, and progressive political leaders. To date Run For Something has worked with more than 125,000 individuals who are interested in running for office. Run For Something as helped elect more than 650 new folks across the country. Before starting Run For Something Ross spent 20 years in electoral politics, having worked for candidates from school board to president. Ross lives in Washington DC with his partner, Jess, their dog, Nacho and cat, Baby Kitty.
For a written transcript of this conversation click here.
Ross's Action Items:
1) The first thing is you can run. So you can go to runforwhat.net and get more information about the offices that are available in your community. 2) The second thing you can do is volunteer either for a candidate or just to have one on one conversations and be a mentor for somebody who's thinking about running for office or currently running for office. You can go to runforsomething.net to find those opportunities. 3) Make a contribution.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Their strategic plan (it's really good and fun to read or listen to!).
Connect with Ross:
Run For Something's TwitterWebsiteRoss's Twitter
Credits:
Harmonica music courtesy of a friend.
 

Emerald Garner is Seeking Justice

EMERALD GARNER
Most of us, mercifully, get through life without getting the news that Emerald Garner and her family got on a July day in 2014. Her father, Eric, had been killed by a police officer who used a chokehold on him as Garner spoke those words that we have heard all too often, "I can't breathe".
While her older sister, Erica, sprang into action Emerald stayed in the background until the day that Erica died at 27 years of age from a heart attack.  With Erica gone Emerald knew that she had to pick up the torch and fight for justice for her father, her sister, and all those who had suffered at the hands of police.
Emerald's book, Finding My Voice takes us through her fight for justice. Emerald and I talked about what it's like to navigate getting anti-chokehold legislation passed while raising her daughter and her sister's two children. We spoke about the youth services organization she is working to build and we talked about dealing with trauma.
Emerald is someone who found herself in an impossible situation and is taking the tragedies that she's experienced to make things better for all of us. Have a listen, I think you'll be inspired.
About Emerald:
Emerald Snipes-Garner is the youngest daughter of six children and is currently the Executive Director of her non-profit We Can't Breathe Inc, which is named after her late father Eric Garner and her sister Erica Garner. She is the author of Finding My Voice: On Grieving My Father, Eric Garner, and Pushing for Justice.
 
For a written transcript of this conversation click here.
 
Emerald's Action Items:
1) Get involved in any community action that means the most to you, whether it's a school board, things that involve your children, with your mental health services or elderly services, just get involved in something and figure out what your purpose is in your community.2) Follow me on social media       Instagram      Twitter3) Check in on all your friends, check in on your people, check in on somebody that you haven't spoken to in a long time, try to make amends with somebody who you left on bad terms with, if it's worth fighting for. 
Credits:
Harmonica music courtesy of a friend

The Bonobo Sisterhood: Revolution Through Female Alliance

Diane Rosenfeld
I read a lot of books, most of the people I interview on this podcast are authors, so I'm pretty used to finding interesting aspects to various subjects. But when I started reading this book I was riveted! I couldn't wait to talk with Diane about what we humans, particularly females, could learn from Bonobo apes. 
That apes had figured out how to eliminate male sexual coercion and violence while this is still a huge problem for a, supposedly, more evolved species fascinated me. By the time I finished reading the book I had pages of questions for Diane. When we finally got to speak I was not disappointed. There is a way to address the crisis of violence against women and women hold the key. This is something that we can do. We just have to choose to. As Diane describes it, it's a pivot. A different way of engaging, with other women both individually and collectively. Then, that different engagement changes the way that males and females engage. From a culture of sexual coercion and violence to a culture where that behavior is not tolerated and does not occur.
Listen to this conversation and then think about how you can create your own Bonobo Sisterhood and what an enormous shift that would create in the world. The opportunity is right there for us. We just have to take it. 
About Diane: Diane L. Rosenfeld is an attorney, a lecturer in law and the founding director of the Gender Violence Program at Harvard Law School, where she has taught since 2004. Rosenfeld has appeared in major media outlets, including ABC, Nightline, Katie with Katie Couric, CNN Headline News, Fox and Friends, the New York Times, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, the Chicago Tribune, and NPR's All Things Considered and Morning Edition. She is featured in the award winning documentaries, The Hunting Ground: It Could Happen Here, and Rape Is. Rosenfeld served as the first senior counsel to the Office of Violence Against Women at the U.S. Department of Justice, and as an executive assistant attorney general in Illinois. She is the recipient of multiple awards for her teaching, mentoring and change making legal policy work. She is also the author of the new book, The Bonobo Sisterhood: Revolution Through Female Alliance.
For a written transcript of this conversation click here.
Diane's Action Items:
The first thing is what we talked about to stop judging yourself. Just start with yourself, stop judging yourself. And really take the book as an invitation to to be in an intimate space with yourself and the ideas in the book and see what resonates and what you feel, if anything, that you want to change and how you want to change it. The first thing is really to stop judging harshly yourself, and to open space for your sisters. To really believe in the bonobo principle and that you have a self worth defending.
Learn self defense learn, self defense that's inspired by the bonobo sisterhood. You could even start by going on YouTube and watching a 15 minute video, a lot of self defense is, is being ready to verbally shut down any aggression that's aimed toward you. But learn self defense.
And then once you learn self defense, the third thing is that that enables you to imagine defending your sisters. And it pisses you off. And you learn from the outside in and from the inside out that you have a self worth defending. And then you really want to do it. And you really want to defend your sisters. So it's a physical embodiment of the ideas. And that's what will change, because that's what will stop male sexual coercion.
Credits:Harmonica music courtesy of a friend
Resources mentioned in this episode:The Bonobo Sisterhood: Revolution Through Female Alliance by Diane L. Rosenfeld