Democracy in Color with Steve Phillips

Reporting on Trans Rights with The 19th News’ Orion Rummler

The 19th News’ LGBTQ+ reporter Orion Rummler breaks down the scope of the attacks against the LGBTQ+ community and the importance of having trans journalists out in the field telling these stories.
Orion shares his thoughts on the Biden administration’s response, the state legislators speaking truth to power, and what’s giving him hope despite the ongoing assaults on LGBTQ+ rights.
REFERENCES:
Orion Rummler - @i_oriion https://twitter.com/i_oriion
The 19th News - https://19thnews.org/author/orion-rummler

Not Your Grandparents’ Greenpeace with ED Ebony Twilley Martin

Greenpeace’s new executive director Ebony Twilley Martin shares her path to climate activism and the significance of her position as the first Black woman to lead a national legacy environmental organization.
She discusses Greenpeace’s recent lawsuit victory and the legal strategies corporations use to silence environmental activists. She also shares her thoughts on President Biden’s response to the climate crisis, the proposed Cop City in Atlanta, and the role of young people in the fight for climate justice.
REFERENCES:
Ebony Twilley Martin - @Ebony_4_Justice
To support Greenpeace:
Text 86799
1-800-722-6995
engage.us.greenpeace.org

George Floyd’s America with Robert Samuels and Toluse Olorunnipa

The Washington Post’s White House Bureau Chief Toluse Olorunnipa and The New Yorker’s Robert Samuels join us to discuss their book, His Name Is George Floyd: One Man's Life and The Struggle for Racial Justice. The book was a finalist for the 2022 National Book Award for Nonfiction.
The writers discuss how the concept for the book came to be and why it was important to trace George Floyd’s ancestry as far back as the Civil War.
They also share their outlooks on where we are as a country today and what they hope readers take away from their book.
REFERENCES:
Robert Samuels - @newsbysamuels
Toluse Olorunnipa - @ToluseO
His Name Is George Floyd - https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/703358/his-name-is-george-floyd-by-robert-samuels-and-toluse-olorunnipa

Preview: California Senate Race 2024

Steve, Sharline, and Julie dive into the facts and data of the California Senate race ahead of the 2024 election to replace Senator Dianne Feinstein.
They discuss current polling data related to the race, racial demographics underlying the state, including its growing Latino population, and Governor Gavin Newsom’s 2020 promise to appoint a Black woman to the seat.
REFERENCES:
CA-12 - Rep. Barbara Lee - https://barbaraleeforca.com
CA-47 - Rep. Katie Porter - https://katieporter.com
CA-30 - Rep. Adam Schiff - https://adamschiff.com
The Nation // Steve Phillips - “Don’t Count Barbara Lee Out of the California Senate Race” - https://thenation.com/article/politics/barbara-lee-ca-senate-race

The Lineup: Four Republicans Vying for White House in 2024

NOTE: This episode was recorded a week before former President Trump was indicted by the state of New York on charges related to alleged hush money payments made to Stormy Daniels.
We discuss the current state of the Republican Party and its continued devolvement into the party of white racial resentment. We examine four leading contenders for the party’s 2024 presidential nomination, including Trump, who despite his recent indictment could very well still be in the running. We analyze Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ attempts at fanning the flames of hatred and division and what makes him a modern-day George Wallace.
We also look at two POC South Carolina Republicans—former governor Nikki Haley and Senator Tim Scott—and discuss whether their attempts to weave their backgrounds into a party that is hellbent on attacking people based on their identity can work.
REFERENCES
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution/Mark Niesse – Ban on ‘Zuckerbucks’ election money in Georgia heads to final votes(https://www.ajc.com/politics/georgia-house-committee-passes-restriction-on-outside-election-funding/ZQWAHN2J3FCN7JLEN5OILYDNSM/)
Growth and Opportunity Project Wiki (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Growth_%26_Opportunity_Project)

Rep. Jennifer McClellan Is Making Government a Force for Good

Newly-elected Congressmember Jennifer McClellan just became the first Black woman representative from Virginia. She comes with a powerful slate of accomplishments dedicated to expanding and protecting our democracy.
Rep. McClellan joins us to share how her love of history and her family’s involvement in the Civil Rights Movement led her to politics; her proudest achievements during her time in the Virginia state legislature; and her goals as a new House member.
She explains how the Voting Rights Act of Virginia came to be (she was one of the main architects behind the bill), and what it meant for her to see the monument honoring white supremacist Confederate general, Robert E. Lee, come down in 2021.
REFERENCES:
Rep. Jennifer McClellan - @JennMcClellanVA

Heather Booth: When We Organize, We Can Change the World

Activist, strategist and organizer Heather Booth is a living legend. Booth—the founder of Jane, an underground abortion service she started in Chicago prior to Roe v. Wade—joins us to share how she got started in organizing and social justice work, the legacy of the Janes, and the lessons she’s learned for future generations of organizers and leaders.
She recounts her early activist days as an organizer alongside Fannie Lou Hamer during Mississippi’s 1964 Freedom Summer to her founding of the Midwest Academy, the go-to training program for organizers in the progressive movement today.
Heather also shares what it’s been like to be a woman leader in the movement and her advice for those who want to make a difference today.
REFERENCES:
Heather Booth - @hboothgo
Documentary - Heather Booth - Changing the World https://heatherbooththefilm.com
Documentary - The Janes - https://hbo.com/movies/the-janes
Feature Film - Call Jane - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Call_Jane
Photo - Heather Booth & Fannie Lou Hamer, 1964 https://jwa.org/media/image-of-heather-booth-and-fannie-lou-hamer

The 1619 Project’s Shoshana Guy Is On the Record

Shoshana Guy, the “sho”-runner (pun intended) of Hulu’s new docuseries The 1619 Project, joins the podcast to discuss the significance of the series and her career trajectory—from broadcast network news to leading the critically acclaimed Netflix series High on the Hog.
She and Sharline also reminisce about how they met more than 15 years ago and Shoshana shares what’s next for her as a creative Black woman at the top of her game.
REFERENCES:
Shoshana Guy - @Shoshana_Guy
The 1619 Project // Hulu - https://press.hulu.com/shows/the-1619-project
Nikole Hannah-Jones - @nhannahjones
The 1619 Project // The New York Times - https://nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/14/magazine/1619-america-slavery.html

Doing Politics Differently with Justice Democrats’ Alexandra Rojas

Executive Director of Justice Democrats Alexandra Rojas joins us to talk about the organization’s instrumental role in recruiting and running young progressive candidates and how they’re rewriting the rules for what a political leader looks like.
Justice Democrats is the group behind Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’ historic 2018 victory against 10-term Democratic incumbent Joseph Crowley, as well as freshman Representative Summer Lee’s historic 2022 victory to become the first Black Congresswoman from Pennsylvania. Alexandra recounts AOC’s political rise and the role Justice Democrats has been playing in revolutionizing U.S. electoral politics.
Alexandra also shares her own story, including why she dropped out of community college to work on Bernie Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaign.
REFERENCES:
Alexandra Rojas - @alexandrasiera
Justice Democrats - @justicedems - justicedemocrats.com

Emmy Ruiz is in the House

Emmy Ruiz, current Assistant to the President and White House Director of Political Strategy & Outreach and former campaign aide to President Barack Obama, Secretary Hillary Clinton, and Vice President Kamala Harris, is an all-around rockstar.
Emmy joins us to talk about her path to politics, the importance of building diverse campaign teams, and what she’s learned along the way from her time as a presidential campaign manager in Nevada and Colorado to what it’s like to be a mother in a high-pressure career.
She also shares the powerful role her family played in helping her get to where she is today and she provides insight into what young people who are interested in politics can do to get involved.