The Avant Guardian Podcast

Join Professor Cornell William Brooks as he interviews Monica Cannon-Grant, Eric Cheng, and Rev. Dr. Brandon Thomas Crowley on the ways in which nonviolent direct action and civil disobedience can be harnessed to advance public policy and social transformation. This episode was originally recorded on June 12, 2020.

Frederick Douglass was on the frontier of abolishing slavery in the United States. Douglass' legacy has sparked renewed interest as activists across the country call to "abolish the police." Professor Cornell William Brooks interviews Dr. David Blight about his definitive biography of Frederick Douglass and the impact of his legacy in the current movement for freedom and liberation.

Professor Cornell William Brooks interviews Congressman James Clyburn on the Avant Guardian Podcast to discuss the need to move from protest to the polls. As the United States prepares for a second presidential election without the full protections of the Voting Rights Act, Congressman Clyburn reflects on his personal history of activism and what we must do to protect our democracy through electoral politics and public policy.

With over 4 million cases of COVID 19 in the United States, governors and elected officials across the country are determining the best way to open the United States economy. Professor Cornell William Brooks speaks with Dr. Danielle Allen, Director of the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics, to discuss the groundbreaking report - Roadmap to Pandemic Resilience. In this study, Dr. Allen describes what we must do to safely reopen the economy and care for the most vulnerable.

We live in a moment of unprecedented citizen activism. Many of the strategies used by protestors across the United States were practiced by William Monroe Trotter - an activist, journalist, and Black radical. William Monroe Trotter's style of activism preceded many of the demonstrations in our country today. Join our host Cornell William Brooks and Dr. Kerri Greenidge for a powerful conversation on the life and legacy of William Monroe Trotter.

The Avant Guardian is a podcast created by the William Monroe Trotter Collaborative for Social Justice in the Center for Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School. The goal of the Avant Guardian is to elevate the stories of activists and scholars on the frontier of social justice activism. Our host, Professor Cornell William Brooks, was the 18th President and CEO of the NAACP. He is now the founder of the Trotter Collaborative, the Hauser Professor of the Practice of Nonprofit Organizations, and a Professor of the Practice of Public Leadership and Social Justice at the Harvard Kennedy School. Join him and a myriad of other guests as they come together to unpack this pressing moment of social justice, and uplift the voices of those on the front lines of the work.