Podcasts about color caucus

Oregon City Mayor Denyse McGriff has extensive experience in government. She was the Principal Planner for the city from 1988 to 1996. Now retired, she has has worked for a number of local governments, including the Lane Council of Governments, Columbia County, City of Tillamook, Deschutes County, City of Oregon City and rounded out her career at the Portland Development Commission. Her public service career was multifaceted with an emphasis on historic preservation/conservation, adaptive reuse and land use planning.  Denyse was first appointed to fill a vacant seat on the Commission in 2019, and then won a four-year term in 2020. She was elected to complete Mayor Lyles Smith's term in August of 2022 before winning a full term in the next election. As the first woman of color to be elected mayor in Oregon City, she continues to champion a government and community where everyone has a voice. She has been active in the League of Oregon Cities DEI and the founding of the People of Color Caucus.  She is active in several organizations and efforts in the Portland metro area such as the Oregon City Planning Commission, the Clackamas Heritage Council, McLoughlin Memorial Association, 1000 Friends of Oregon, Bosco-Milligan Foundation/Architectural Heritage Center, National Trust for Historic Preservation among many others.  In 2013, she was awarded the Ruth McBride Powers Memorial Award for Service. The award notes the following: “Denyse's passion for preservation and love for her community is very evident. No matter what hat Denyse has worn over the years, she continuously pushes everybody she meets to try a little harder and aim a little higher”- Vicki Yates, Oregon City Historic Review Board member. In addition, in 2018, she was a member of the Rose Farm Management Committee who received the Ruth McBride Powers Memorial Award for their service. Denyse grew up in a military family and gained an appreciation for the small older communities adjacent to the bases. She arrived in Oregon in 1975 to attend graduate school at the University of Oregon and went on to graduate with degrees in Political Science (MS) and Urban and Regional Planning (MURP).  While at the University of Oregon, Denyse had a work study job with the Bureau of Governmental Research and Service/League of Oregon Cities.  She has now come full circle!

Oregon City Mayor Denyse McGriff has extensive experience in government. She was the Principal Planner for the city from 1988 to 1996. Now retired, she has has worked for a number of local governments, including the Lane Council of Governments, Columbia County, City of Tillamook, Deschutes County, City of Oregon City and rounded out her career at the Portland Development Commission. Her public service career was multifaceted with an emphasis on historic preservation/conservation, adaptive reuse and land use planning.  Denyse was first appointed to fill a vacant seat on the Commission in 2019, and then won a four-year term in 2020. She was elected to complete Mayor Lyles Smith's term in August of 2022 before winning a full term in the next election. As the first woman of color to be elected mayor in Oregon City, she continues to champion a government and community where everyone has a voice. She has been active in the League of Oregon Cities DEI and the founding of the People of Color Caucus.  She is active in several organizations and efforts in the Portland metro area such as the Oregon City Planning Commission, the Clackamas Heritage Council, McLoughlin Memorial Association, 1000 Friends of Oregon, Bosco-Milligan Foundation/Architectural Heritage Center, National Trust for Historic Preservation among many others.  In 2013, she was awarded the Ruth McBride Powers Memorial Award for Service. The award notes the following: “Denyse's passion for preservation and love for her community is very evident. No matter what hat Denyse has worn over the years, she continuously pushes everybody she meets to try a little harder and aim a little higher”- Vicki Yates, Oregon City Historic Review Board member. In addition, in 2018, she was a member of the Rose Farm Management Committee who received the Ruth McBride Powers Memorial Award for their service. Denyse grew up in a military family and gained an appreciation for the small older communities adjacent to the bases. She arrived in Oregon in 1975 to attend graduate school at the University of Oregon and went on to graduate with degrees in Political Science (MS) and Urban and Regional Planning (MURP).  While at the University of Oregon, Denyse had a work study job with the Bureau of Governmental Research and Service/League of Oregon Cities.  She has now come full circle!

On this week-in-review, Crystal is joined by Editor of The Stranger and noted poet, Rich Smith! Crystal and Rich discuss the significance of the Stranger endorsing “Uncommitted Delegates” in the March 12th Presidential Primary. They then celebrate the legislature's passage of the Strippers' Bill of Rights and mourn the deaths of rent stabilization and even-year elections at the hands of the Senate Ways & Means Committee. Finally, they cover Seattle City Council's inexcusable silencing of protesters with arrest. As always, a full text transcript of the show is available below and at officialhacksandwonks.com. Find the host, Crystal Fincher, on Twitter at @finchfrii and find today's co-host, Rich Smith at @richsssmith.   Resources Check out our audiograms about proposed Seattle surveillance technologies and get your public comments in by the NEW deadline, March 22nd!   Vote Uncommitted WA   “The Stranger Endorses Uncommitted Delegates for the March 12, 2024 Presidential Primary Election” from The Stranger Election Control Board   “Donald Trump has a massive lead over Nikki Haley in Washington's 2024 Republican presidential primary, NPI poll finds” by Andrew Villeneuve from The Cascadia Advocate   “Washington Passes Strippers' Bill of Rights” by Rich Smith from The Stranger   “Senate Democrats Stiff Renters for the Third or Fourth Time, It's Honestly Difficult to Keep Track” by Rich Smith from The Stranger   “Conservative Senate Democrats Stiff Renters Yet Again” by Rich Smith from The Stranger   “Ways & Means declines to take up NPI's even year elections bill, ending its 2024 run” by Andrew Villeneuve from The Cascadia Advocate   “Police Arrest Six of Sara Nelson's Political Enemies After She Refuses to Hear Concerns of Asylum-Seekers” by Hannah Krieg from The Stranger   “6 protesters arrested during council meeting at Seattle City Hall” by David Kroman from The Seattle Times   “King County, Tukwila announce new investments to help asylum-seekers” by Anna Patrick from The Seattle Times   Find stories that Crystal is reading here   Listen on your favorite podcast app to all our episodes here   Transcript [00:00:00] Crystal Fincher: Welcome to Hacks & Wonks. I'm Crystal Fincher, and I'm a political consultant and your host. On this show, we talk with policy wonks and political hacks to gather insight into local politics and policy in Washington state through the lens of those doing the work with behind-the-scenes perspectives on what's happening, why it's happening, and what you can do about it. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to get the full versions of our Tuesday topical show and Friday week-in-review delivered to your podcast feed. If you like us, the most helpful thing you can do is leave a review wherever you listen to Hacks & Wonks. Full transcripts and resources referenced in the show are always available at officialhacksandwonks.com and in our episode notes. An update from last week's Tuesday topical show - public comment on bringing three surveillance technologies to Seattle has been extended from the original February 29th deadline to March 22nd. Check out our audiograms from this week and get your comment in now. Today we are continuing our Friday week-in-review shows, where we review the news of the week with a co-host. Welcome back to the program, friend of the show and today's co-host: Editor of The Stranger and noted poet, Rich Smith. [00:01:20] Rich Smith: Hey, Crystal - how you doing? [00:01:22] Crystal Fincher: Doing? I mean - I'm doing. All things considered, I'm all right. All things considered is doing heavy lifting in that statement, but here we are. But hey, we have a presidential primary going on. We have ballots now, and there is a movement that The Stranger has endorsed for Uncommitted Delegates - for those who identify as Democrats - in the March 12th presidential primary. What is that? And why has The Stranger decided to endorse that? [00:01:55] Rich Smith: Great questions. Yeah - well, you've got your primary ballot. You've got some options there. They include Joseph Robinette Biden Jr., Dean Phillips, Marianne Williamson - who dropped out, and Uncommitted Delegates. Uncommitted Delegates is just a delegate that will, if that bubble gets more than 15% of the vote share after the primary, go to the national convention - which is scheduled for August of this year in Chicago. And in the first round of balloting, when voting on the nominee, they just aren't pledged to vote for any particular candidate unlike the pledge delegates, which Joe Biden will almost certainly win the vast majority of at the conclusion of the primary. So functionally, that's what it means - uncommitted delegate is someone who can decide who they want to vote for at the convention rather than just doing it ahead of time. And The Stranger endorsed it for a number of reasons. Chiefly, we do not like Joe Biden's response to the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza. We do not like his hard right turn to the right. We do not like a number of other things that he did or did not do during the course of his four years in office. And this is the only time - the Democratic primary - where we get to raise an objection, make our voices heard in a language that he can hear, which is the language of delegates at the convention. The thinking is - if we send some uncommitted delegates, if the movement gets big enough, then during that first round of voting, the delegates can make a little noise if the war crimes are still going on. [00:03:39] Crystal Fincher: Now, one important note in this effort, because a lot of people were saying - We're going to write-in "Ceasefire," we're going to write-in a different candidate. That is, in Washington state - because of state law - a suboptimal option because officials only tally write-in votes from candidates who file "timely declarations" of a write-in candidacy and who also exceed the number of votes earned by the second place candidate. So that "Ceasefire" vote, that write-in is not going to be tallied or reported. It'll get lumped in with people who write-in some random name of a friend or someone who they wish would be president there. So the actual most organized and impactful way to register that vote is Uncommitted Delegates. There also have - heard some people who typically vote for Democrats say - Well, I want to cross over and vote for Nikki Haley instead of Donald Trump because I find Donald Trump offensive and don't want that. I don't know how much of an impact that is going to have here in Washington state. One, ultimately, most of the votes will wind up going to a Democrat - we're a blue state, that's not controversial. But two, even on the Republican side, NPI just came out with a poll this week showing Donald Trump holds a commanding lead in the Republican primary among Republicans - about 75% of Republicans saying that they planned to vote for Donald Trump in that poll. So what's the hope - to get Nikki Haley from 20% to 25%, 25% to 30%? I don't know how much of an impact that is. Obviously, people are free to choose however they do want to vote, but very important that you do make your voice heard, that you are aware of what the options are, what the ballot looks like. And again, for the Uncommitted Delegates option, that's actually a bubble that you can fill in - you don't have to write-in anything, and that's how that would be registered. Also, a reminder that the presidential election ballots are due by March 12th, 2024. Don't forget to sign the outside of your ballot. In presidential primaries, we have to declare the party on the outside of the ballot - without those things happening, your ballot can't be counted. So make sure that you - one, participate and vote your conscience. There is a very effective way to do that right now. [00:06:10] Rich Smith: Yeah, we need as many people to do it as possible so we can send as many delegates as possible and show Biden that his behavior on foreign policy matters and on immigration - two domains over which the executive branch has almost exclusive control. I know that Congress has the purse or whatever, but as we've seen with the sending of weapons to Israel in December - Joe Biden, if there is an emergency, the executive branch can skirt Congress and send the money anyway. And the way that the national security apparatus is set up, especially with the continued authorization of use of military force, Biden can bomb the Houthis without talking to Congress much. He's got a lot of power and it's just so rare to get the opportunity to speak directly to a president about foreign policy. We don't have a draft, people aren't really talking about foreign policy when they vote - foreign policy isn't at the top of their list of things that they vote on. And so, presidents don't feel like they have to respond to Democratic pressure because there's not a lot of Democratic pulleys that give us power over him, basically, on those policies - on immigration and on foreign policy. So we rarely, rarely get this opportunity - it's certainly worth doing for that reason. [00:07:28] Crystal Fincher: Yeah, absolutely. And I've talked about this a lot of times before, but primaries are your opportunity to truly vote your conscience. There's a lot of pressure in a lot of different directions in general elections. And it's not just a referendum on one person - sometimes we are in the position of picking the lesser of the two evils. But when that is ultimately the choice, it is on us to do all we can - in the meantime and around that - to lessen the evil overall. And so it is the time to be able to vote your conscience. There are lots of people who are having lots of discussions about voting in November, about Biden versus Trump. But this isn't that time. This is a Democratic primary where you can vote your conscience and you can send a message in a way that is stronger than just about anything we can do, especially as Washington state residents. So I certainly will be taking advantage of this option and want to make sure that lots of other people know that this is an option for them too. [00:08:35] Rich Smith: Hear, hear. [00:08:37] Crystal Fincher: Also want to talk about the legislature this week. There was a positive thing - a positive, I mean, maybe there are more positive things - but there was a positive thing that happened that's worth talking about. A Strippers' Bill of Rights passed. What did this bill do and why is it important? [00:08:55] Rich Smith: The bill did a lot. The bill established and added a bunch of labor protections for strippers in Washington state who have been needing them for far too long. It repealed the lewd conduct codes - the WAC, as they call them, Washington Administrative Codes - which were used and cited to raid gay bars in Seattle in January. And in doing so, it creates a pathway for strip clubs to apply for liquor licenses, so they can help offset the cost of some of the labor protections the state will now force them to implement - having panic buttons in certain areas, more safety training, lowering the house fees or the rental fees that strippers have to pay to clubs before they go on stage for the night so that they start the night indebted. And if the fees are too high - sometimes they're as high as $150, $200 a night - they will work a whole shift and just give all that money to the club owner and go home empty-handed. So this bill capped those fees to help strippers make money and express themselves sexually without the burdensome fees. What does it do? It frees the nipple and the jockstrap in queer bars so that the police don't have a reason to barge in as they did in January with their flashlights and their photographs - taking pictures of people in jockstrap in the clubs. It will more or less revolutionize the strip club industry in Seattle and give the workers the protections that they've long needed. I don't know if you've been to a strip club recently in Seattle, but it's kind of sad in there. It's not really a social atmosphere. People are there to sort of drink Dr. Pepper, and watch people dance, and then go get loaded in the parking lot, and then come back in. And that creates a kind of menacing atmosphere. And so the hope is - and that's supported by a state report released in 2020 - that having a more social atmosphere, having stuff to do there that's not just watch dancers and mull a lap dance will create a safer and funner environment for everybody and liberate sexual expression. But before this, with the lewd conduct laws - everything that a stripper did on stage was criminalized. They technically couldn't walk off stage with too sheer a bra or they would be having a threat of arrest. They couldn't take tips while they were dancing on stage without actual threat of arrest. There was a bunch of proximity rules in the codes that would have made lap dances illegal, basically. And so it decriminalizes stripping, essentially, in Washington and makes us the last state in the union to allow alcohol sales - in a kind of roundabout way. Basically, the repeal of the code means there's no enforcement of alcohol sales in clubs and it allows them to apply for the state's other liquor licenses - so that's the kind of roundabout way they're doing it. But it's incredible. It takes the boot of the state off the neck of marginalized communities and is a real win. [00:11:58] Crystal Fincher: Yeah, this is a marginalized community of workers. Workers that have been denied rights, been at risk of criminalization and penalties and everything that comes with that. Workers deserve protection - starts just as fundamentally and as simply as that. And every employer owes safety and fair compensation to their employees or to contractors working on their behalf. And so, this certainly brings us in-line with the modern world in many ways. And so just pleased to see that the legislature took action to protect workers in this way. Now, the legislature failed to take action, unfortunately, in some other very key areas - in areas that Democrats, certainly the House of Representatives, defined as priorities, defined as very important. Starting with the failure to pass rent stabilization, which would have, among other things, capped rent increases at 7% annually - which is still a healthy increase. But right now there is still continuing virtually unlimited rent increases across the state. I have talked about before - my neighbors received a 45% rent increase annually - in one year - from previous year. And this is contributing to housing insecurity. This is contributing to our homelessness problem. This is contributing to income inequality. And it's contributing to rising house prices across the state overall. This, in particular, really does fail to help our problem of displacement here in our communities - was just so disappointed to see this. Why did this happen? [00:13:48] Rich Smith: Yeah, it was a little bit - the short answer is that two men with somewhat adorable electoral ambition decided to quietly strangle the bill in the Senate's Ways and Means Committee, after a State senator representing Southwest Washington - Annette Cleveland - strangled the bill in a kind of clumsy and public way in the Senate's Housing Committee. And they don't offer many reasons for doing so, and the reasons they do offer are not good and unsupported by evidence. So in the Ways and Means Committee, you could only lose two Democratic votes, basically, to get anything through. The Ways and Means Committee is stacked with conservative Democrats, certainly fiscally conservative Democrats. And so Mark Mullet is on the Ways and Means Committee - he represents Issaquah, and he's just a true believer. He thinks that a rent stabilization package at 7% will decrease construction of new housing in the medium to long-term. And so it is not worth protecting the 40% of households in Washington who rent now from astronomically high rent increases that push them out of their communities - that's too great a risk - a potential medium to long-term decrease of indeterminate size in the number of housing units constructed in Washington. This is the kind of information that they're providing. Van De Wege did not give a reason. Rep Strom Petersen, who had talked to Van De Wege, asked him if he needed any amendments on the bill - they were willing to negotiate cap size, they were willing to negotiate all manner of exceptions. And Van De Wege shrugged and said, No. So not even giving a full-throated principled reason for quietly doing this to millions of Washington renters. And Annette Cleveland beforehand strangled the bill in her committee, saying that - it was spreading, basically, misinformation as far as I'm concerned. She said that the rent cap of 15%, which was the one that she was considering at the time - extremely high, almost comically high rent cap - would only catch the most egregious abusers because landlords would, as a matter of course, raise rates 15% every year. Because if they can't raise it however much they want, then they'll raise it to the cap every single time. This is silly. Everyone will tell you, even the f**ing landlords will tell you that a 3% to 5% rent increase on an annual basis is the kind of norm. That's what the developers and lenders are both agreeing on when they sign their contracts. That's the stuff that they're counting on when they're figuring out their returns on investment. So a 7% rent cap is more than genuous, especially with the exceptions in the bill. In any event, aside from that, she also cited a bunch of old papers talking about first-generation rent control, which is much more strict than the rent stabilization measures that the legislature was discussing. Those arguments are also - in recent review from academics - a little bit suspect, a little bit rosier, actually, for rent stabilization, and we could have a whole show on that. But anyway, she cited those disingenuous anti-rent control arguments to justify her support of killing rent stabilization measure, which is a completely different policy. And she insulted her colleagues while she was at it by citing the Urban Institute report that was actually less critical of rent stabilization than she made it out to be. But showing that she was concerned with the bill's impact on Black and brown people - doesn't want to raise the rents on those communities - and so decided to kill a bill that would make sure that they wouldn't face high rent gouging prices that have been pushing them out of their communities for the last two decades. I know I'm ranting here, but I can't underline this enough. This bill is too late, but must pass. We really could have used rent stabilization at the beginning of 2010 when rents started shooting up, and would shoot up over 92% over that decade. Rents have been sort of flat in aggregate for the last couple of years, but that doesn't mean, as you say, that landlords aren't jacking up rents on people to economically evict them because they can. That sort of stuff needs to stop - that bill would have prevented it - the Senate Democrats didn't let it happen this year. [00:18:08] Crystal Fincher: Didn't let it happen. And it should be noted that two people who were critical to killing this bill - Mark Mullet and Senator Van De Wege - are also running for statewide office. Mark Mullet is running for governor as a Democrat. Kevin Van De Wege is running for lands commissioner. Really interesting choices to refuse to help 40% of the state's population. [00:18:35] Rich Smith: Just a number of coalition partners - the Members of Color Caucus in both chambers prioritized this bill. The LGBT community came out, especially in Seattle, to do a big rally in support of this bill. Hundreds of people descended on the Capitol steps in Olympia during this session to support a bill from every part of the state - east, west, north, south. Every renter has been feeling this pressure, and the state legislature on some bulls**t about potential long-term costs to the housing supply - which they cannot quantify or have not quantified, I haven't seen the number. If so, please send it over to me - I can't wait to have that discussion. And the only salvo that they're giving us - and I'll stop talking after this - is, Well, next year, Mullet won't be there because he's giving up his seat to run for governor. Van De Wege won't be there because he's giving up his seat to run for land commissioner. A couple of other senators are going to announce their retirement - Sam Hunt has announced his retirement, we've got maybe a couple more. So those places on Ways and Means will be replaced by politicians who don't have the same politics as these conservatives. So next year, it'll be a whole new legislature. The complexion will change and yada, yada, yada. And in the meantime, renters are going to face massive rent increases. So that's the consolation. [00:19:58] Crystal Fincher: Yeah. And we really don't know if the next legislature - if the Senate is going to be constructed differently. We don't know who's going to be elected to those open seats. And so what I will say is moving forward this year, it's important to get people who are running on the record, to talk about how important this is. As local party organizations are going through their endorsement processes, this be a question that's going to impact whether you decide to endorse or not. Those are the types of decisions that should be being talked about now and decided now, so as we move forward we have a better idea of who stands where and what we can expect from this legislature. The last thing I would say is - as people are running, it's so clear how much more power chairs of committees and leadership have. So it's great to be elected as a senator, as a representative. But as we've seen, chairs of committees can just flat out refuse to hear a bill that has wide popular support, that would pass on the floor if it got there. They can prevent it from getting to the floor. So who do these senators expect to support, or will they rule out supporting people for chair and leadership positions? This matters and this is very impactful for the type of policy that we're able to pass here in Washington state. Those are very important things that usually get less attention that need to be getting a whole lot more. [00:21:32] Rich Smith: That's right. [00:21:32] Crystal Fincher: I also want to talk about another bill that died. Even-year elections, which we have talked about, certainly in our conversation with Andrew Villeneuve from the Northwest Progressive Institute. They were instrumental in helping to write and shape that. Representative Mia Gregerson from the 33rd LD sponsored that in the House. It passed the House, got to the Senate. And what unfortunately happens to so many bills in the Senate, it died. What happened here? [00:22:03] Rich Smith: Well, based on the reporting from NPI, the bill was sent not to the Senate Governance Committee, but to the Ways and Means Committee where it quietly died. So another way that a bill can quietly die - because people can take executive action on it and vote on it, and it can die that way, certainly. But they can also just decide not to take it up in the committee and then die that way - then no one has to go on the record with who doesn't want more democracy, who doesn't want to give cities the opportunity to have more democratic elections in Washington. So yeah, that's my understanding - the Ways and Means Committee strikes again. They killed the bill by not taking it up in time. And now cities don't have the option to move their local elections to even years, which studies show and King County proves increases turnout. It's a loss for democracy. It's inexcusable. And Secretary of State Steve Hobbs and a number of power players came out against it - saying that it was going to be costly and there's other complications that election officials were going to encounter. But the state's Office of Financial Management - when sending it to the Ways and Means Committee - said that the bill had an indeterminate fiscal impact. In short, the state doesn't know what the fiscal impact would be. And I struggle to understand how holding fewer elections costs more money than holding an election every year does. But maybe initially with changing stuff around, maybe you have to buy more software or whatever. But yeah, I don't understand that math - haven't seen that math. But that was the political dynamic that killed the bill. [00:23:39] Crystal Fincher: An opportunity to improve our small-D democracy. Has failed to take advantage of the opportunity and basically assurance - we see what even-year elections versus odd-year election turnout is. Even-year elections routinely have turnout 20-plus percentage points higher than odd-year elections. It's always better to have more people weighing in on who represents them and how their community should be shaped. So again, disappointed to see this. And hopefully we can take this time, as we have elections throughout the state at the legislative level, that we press candidates on this, and see where they stand, and try and set this up for success next session. [00:24:26] Rich Smith: Yeah, it was interesting that they decided to send it to the Ways and Means Committee. So Jamie Pedersen - Seattle senator - is the Floor Leader. He decides which committees bills go to. So one question would be - why didn't this bill go to the Governance Committee, which is chaired by Sam Hunt, who's retiring this year? And then another question would be - what was the conversation in Ways about why they wouldn't pass the bill? And those would be two people to ask, in case you're interested in contacting your representative about why the bill died or you want to add your support. [00:24:55] Crystal Fincher: Yep, absolutely. Now we will turn to local politics and policy in the City of Seattle. This week, we saw a different approach from the Seattle City Council in dealing with protests. And coverage, even in The Seattle Times, noted that protest has been a normal, consistent part of public meetings in Seattle for most of the last decade, for decades before that, and beyond. Seattle, as a city, has such a long and storied history of protests in favor of change - and successfully creating change also, by the way. And this is happening while other councils across the state, from Spokane to Tacoma, are dealing with largely the same things - have managed to de-escalate these situations, have managed to listen to people in their community who are passionately advocating for issues - many of which are crisis levels within communities. But in the city of Seattle, we saw insults from the Council perspective and calls for arrest, which did result in several people getting arrested for protesting. What happened? [00:26:18] Rich Smith: Yeah, so the council met to pass a resolution to rename a street after George Fleming, who was a Black state senator. Sidebar, nerd thing - not a big deal, but worth noting. The resolution called George Fleming the first Black person elected to the State Senate, but he was actually the second or third, kind of depending on how you want to slice it. The first Black person was bi-racial - William Owen Bush was elected to the House of Representatives in 1889. He wasn't a senator - okay, fine. But the first Black senator was elected in 1921 - that's John H. Ryan, out of Tacoma. And so George Fleming would be the second Black senator. Minor note. But they basically framed the protesters as interrupting this resolution that was supposed to honor a Black pioneer in Washington politics, but not getting his achievement correct is not particularly honoring him either. So I see it as a little bit disingenuous. But in terms of the facts of what happened, they were going to do this resolution. 20 people showed up during public comment to advocate for the refugees who are in crisis now in Tukwila - in a church parking lot, basically - they don't have anywhere to sleep. The shelter is unstable. And they wanted to say that maybe spending a little bit less money on police would give us more money to help these disadvantaged communities. That was the people's agenda that day, even if it was slightly different than the City Council's agenda. So knowing that, Sara Nelson, Council President, decided to comment by 20 minutes rather than giving them an hour to say their piece. And the people continued to want to talk after 20 minutes and so decided that they were going to stay right there and protest until she made public comment longer. She did not. They called for security. They told people to leave. Some people left. Six people did not leave. The six people who stayed were arrested for trespass and sent to jail. And the people who left were banging on the window outside of the chambers and chanting - Shame, shame, shame. At which point, Seattle City Councilmember Cathy Moore, who's a former judge, said that she felt as if her life was threatened and demanded the police to arrest those people outside of the chamber who were banging on windows. Everybody made a big stink. And I think another councilmember - I can't remember which one - also said that she felt threatened by the mob out there who was interrupting this moment of democracy. As you said, protests in City Hall - that's the job. We tried to tell people that this slate of City councilmembers did not know what they were talking about, had very little understanding of the normal workings of City politics, and of the City in general. And this is just another way to show that they didn't read the job description. You gotta listen to the people when they talk. First of all, because they will stop talking and chanting when they feel like they've said their piece. And so it's just better for democracy to hear their voice. You all ran on listening to community. And one of your first major operations as a council is to sic the police on the community who is voicing their dissent in Council chambers where we have voiced our dissent forever? That's not listening to community. That's saying you listen to some community and you'll use state violence to shut down other members of the community. So that's what happened. And it was inexcusable and dumb - at the same time. [00:30:05] Crystal Fincher: Strategically, it does not seem like that was a wise decision. This isn't even a progressive versus conservative issue on why this was just really poor decision making. That's why you see councils across the state - and country, really, but certainly across the state - not resorting to arresting people for protesting. All that does is escalate issues and create more passion around issues that is going to manifest itself during your meetings. I will say a lot of councils have been struggling with how to better deal with and manage dissent. The reason why I am more familiar with what councils are doing across the state is because of that reason - it's something that a number of people are looking to figure out and respond to, particularly because there have been actual threats of violence - actual threats made during meetings, people carrying guns into meetings - that is happening as well as not even commenting on stuff. Insults, threats coming to people in meetings. Racist, sexist attacks we've seen across the state. So there have been efforts from a variety of councils to implement rules to be able to get through their agendas while enabling people to express their First Amendment rights and make their voices heard to their public representatives. That has not included calling for arrest. That has not included saying that people chanting - maybe in a way that makes you feel uncomfortable or that you disagree with - is threatening to your safety. And that particular thing sounds real familiar to a lot of people in my position and a lot of different positions - and if you know, you know - that conflation of, I am uncomfortable, I don't agree with this, to - I am being physically threatened, my safety is in danger. Those are two very different things, and the conflation of them is something that is a very cynical and harmful thing to resort to that I hope we don't see much more of. I hope they take this opportunity to really explore what it does mean to hear from people who do and don't disagree with you. And I hope they do that quickly because they are going to put the City in a position where they're going to face legal scrutiny, where there are going to be lawsuits that are going to cost the City a lot of money if they continue down this path. So we'll see how this materializes, but certainly this is not the best start to this council that they could have. [00:32:43] Rich Smith: Hear, Hear. There was a moment when Abolish ICE protests were particularly salient and the Council was having a meeting. Abolish ICE protests came in - disrupted the meeting. Immediately, Kshama Sawant stands up with her fist in the air. Teresa Mosqueda starts clapping from her seat. Other progressive members of the council are nodding and listening. Bruce Harrell was the Council President at that time - immediately calls for security to get people out of there. And eventually - they chanted, they stayed a little bit, and eventually they left, and the meeting got brought to order. This is a normal course of events in City Council chambers. And them making a big stink of this is them being politically opportunistic - trying to gain civility politics points with their base. And as you said, it may open them up to liability and it's just unwise. And I agree - I hope they take this opportunity to do a little research on the positions that they have, and on the history of those positions, and how to de-escalate and manage dissent. [00:33:51] Crystal Fincher: Just a side note on that - those protesters were protesting in support of asylum seekers who are trying to secure a place to healthily stay. The county is taking action - it was announced this morning that the county actually authorized grants to organizations that will be assisting the asylum seekers, as well as funding that should secure a stay through June with an enhanced heated tent - better amenities, I guess, than they have now, or just better basic shelter than they have now. It certainly is a conundrum. That is a short-term solution, there needs to be a medium and long-term solution put together. It does look like the governor and the legislature have included allocations to help both migrants and asylum seekers overall, and specifically those in Tukwila - with it looks like $5 million to $8 million allocations is what is proposed. We will see what that turns out to be by the end of session next week. But it's a challenge. Interesting to see the differences in how the different jurisdictions have handled it. People do ask - Well, why would Seattle even be taking that up anyway? Because this is a regional problem and that's why they involved themselves in it before. So these were people returning to the body that had itself involved themselves in it - I think it was a month ago that they decided to take action to help extend stays in some hotels throughout cities in the county. [00:35:23] Rich Smith: By the way, it's the right thing to do. We should be bending over backwards to help these people seeking asylum in our sanctuary city. They want to work. They want to be members of society. And we should be doing everything we can to help ease that transition and help them. It's going to pay off in the long run, and it's morally indefensible not to help them in the short term. I don't know why they're throwing up their hands and saying - Oh gosh, go talk to the county, go talk to the state. We can't really do anything here. That's not particularly welcome in this Portal to the Pacific. And it speaks volumes about how they feel about immigrants, how they feel about people coming into the city, and who they think they're serving. [00:36:03] Crystal Fincher: Yeah, and this feeds into the larger problem that we're having with not having enough housing or shelter for people overall. These are people who don't have it and what we have to contend with - people are like, Well, these are migrants. Other people just want to be homeless. They had the opportunity to get off the street. They could take advantage of shelter if they wanted to. The fact is, there are thousands fewer shelter and housing spaces available than there are people out on the street. We cannot offer housing or shelter to people currently on the street. There is nowhere near enough. Even if we offer shelter to three people, there are eight more standing next to them where it's just not possible. Until we build more, we're going to have this problem. It's going to get worse. It is on us as a society to fix that problem, so that we can move people off of the streets. It's not acceptable to anyone to have people languishing outside - it's unsafe, it's undesirable. These conversations about offers to do stuff are really irrelevant until there is enough space for everyone. Then you can talk about - Well, they decided not to. And then a conversation about penalties could potentially be appropriate then. But before that - how is it valid to talk about criminalization of being outside if there aren't enough spaces to bring people inside? This is what has always perplexed me. [00:37:36] Rich Smith: Yeah, the only way you can believe that is if you believe two things. One, every homeless person is a drug addict and a criminal on purpose because they like it. Two, we have enough space in the jails for all of these drug-addled criminals who just want to steal TVs all day. Neither thing is true. Most people on the street develop drug addictions as a way to cope with being on the street. It is not drug addictions that send them there to the first place, at least not the majority. And the jail - we do not have big jails. And when they go in there, we don't have enough staffing for the jails. And people think that people get treatment in the jails - they do not get adequate treatment in the jails. Staffing issues prevent them from getting the treatment they need. The treatment they need does not meet their needs because they get buprenorphine in lower doses - if you're on fentanyl, bup is not going to be enough to help you or to treat you in jail. And when you get out, you're going to have a higher risk of overdosing and dying. So people's misunderstanding of the criminal justice system leads them to believe these silly things. And I really wish they would read three articles before talking. [00:38:46] Crystal Fincher: And with that, we thank you for listening to Hacks & Wonks on this Friday, March 1st, 2024. The producer of Hacks & Wonks is Shannon Cheng. Our insightful co-host today is editor of The Stranger and noted poet, Rich Smith. You can find Rich on Twitter, @richsssmith, with three S's in the middle. You can follow Hacks & Wonks on Twitter at @HacksWonks. You can find me on all platforms - and soon, Hacks & Wonks on all platforms and a few new things going on - at officialhacksandwonks.com. If you like us, please leave a review - that is a very helpful thing. And be sure to subscribe for the full versions of our Friday week-in-review and the Tuesday topical show. You can always get a full transcript of this episode and links to the resources referenced in the show at officialhacksandwonks.com and in the podcast episode notes. Thanks for tuning in - talk to you next time.

Today's History Story: White Americans Kept Unions Exclusive – But Black Workers Still Triumphed The right to earn a living wage under just and safe work conditions is as inalienable a right as our freedom of speech. Still, the history of Black people in the American labor movement is rooted in injustice. White supremacy has sought to keep Black workers from the best jobs, the most robust industries, and their sacred labor unions. However, today is a different day, as Black workers now occupy more seats at the labor union table than any other race or ethnicity in America. Here to help us explore this dramatic change is Bianca Cunningham, campaign director at The Action Center on Race & the Economy (ACRE), a non-profit that directly takes on the financial institutions and anti-democratic actors that are responsible for pillaging communities of color and poor families, subverting voting rights, and destroying our environment. She's also the co-founder of the AfroSocialists and Socialists of Color Caucus of the Democratic Socialists of America. Bianca will share her story of unionizing her retail job, taking that first step towards reconfiguring the makeup of labor unions everywhere. _________________________ Black History Year (BHY) is produced by PushBlack, the nation's largest non-profit Black media company. PushBlack exists to amplify the stories of Black history you didn't learn in school and explore pathways to liberation with people who are leading the way. You make PushBlack happen with your contributions at BlackHistoryYear.com — most people donate $10 a month, but every dollar makes a difference. If this episode moved you, share it with your people! Thanks for supporting the work. The BHY production team includes Tareq Alani, Brooke Brown, Tasha Taylor, and Lilly Workneh. Our producers are Cydney Smith, Len Webb for PushBlack, and Ronald Younger, who also edits the show. Black History Year's executive producers are Mikel Elcessor for Limina House and Julian Walker for PushBlack. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Our guest has over 30 years of experience in the domestic Violence field. She was a victim turn advocate and even spokeswomen. We have broken up her interview into two episodes to cover her vast experience. Reverend Patricia Jones-Turner is involved in many aspects of the community, offering her gifts and talents as a minister and in her job as the Domestic and Sexual Violence Coordinator for Chesterfield County.  Patricia has been an educator for 15 years and a social worker for 18 years. She published her first book entitled, “A Cry In the Wilderness” in 2000. She received awards for service delivery from the Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance in 2007. Reverend Jones-Turner is a leader within the Action Alliance and the Women of Color Caucus, which she helped to establish. She has worked actively with Break the Silence Campaign and other initiatives linking advocacy and faith communities.She was a board member of Virginians Against Domestic Violence for almost 20 years and has just founded a new domestic violence program in the state. As a motivational speaker, Reverend Jones-Turner guides those who participate in her workshops toward self-enlightenment.  When asked to summarize her work, Patricia responded, “In my journey, from daughter to sister to sister-in-law to wife to Aunt to teacher to coach to athletic trainer to social worker to Minister to author to advocate, I learned that in life the most valuable lessons we learn may be the most painful; yet they allshould lead us to one place... understanding and appreciating the richness and fulfillment that loving relationships can bring.”

Sub·ver·sive with Cali Green: "Difficult" Women: A Revolution Rises episode features Chinisha Scott, "The Daily Show" Segment Director, Emmy nominated filmmaker, and co-chair of the Writers Guild East's Women of Color Caucus. We discuss the idea of "difficult women," the article that sparked this podcast, how the label impacts women across industries and enterprises, and why a revolution in the workplace is rising as women become exhausted with the double standard. _FOLLOW & CHAT:FCEE  + Cali GreenChinisha-EPISODE REFERENCES: Difficult women: Exhausted by bias, a revolution risesThe female CEOs on this year's Fortune 500 just broke three all-time recordsJen Bailin's (SAP CX CRO) LinkedIn post that re-ignited the conversation, making it viral at the beginning of SeptemberThe next time you hear a woman called difficult, ask yourself: What did she do to warrant being labeled as such? - Did she ask or demand to be paid what she's worth? - Did she refuse to let someone disrespect her boundaries? - Did she speak up to be recognized for something she inspired or built? If anything like the above took place, none of it makes her difficult. IT MAKES HER SMART. ---sub·ver·sive:Written, produced, and co-edited by creator/host Cali GreenPredominantly edited by Associate Producer Adam RossResident Mental Health Expert: Tracy TreacyMusic Supervisor: Samora PinderhughesShow Theme: "Hold That Weight" video + audio - Samora Pinderhughes

Jawanza Williams - Social justice activist and the director of organizing for VOCAL-NY, a grassroots organization that advocates for social reform. He is a founding member of the Afrosocialists and Socialists of Color Caucus, a division of the Democratic Socialists of America. What role can social activism play in these midterm elections and is there any common ground between “the old Black guard” liberals vs “newer progressives”? Is there an internal battle happening in the Democratic party? He joins Tavis to share his insights

In this episode of Black Work Talk, Steven Pitts and his co-host, Toussaint Losier, talk with Bianca Cunningham, Campaign Director at the Action Center on Race and the Economy and a co-founder of the Afrosocialists and Socialists of Color Caucus of DSA, the Democratic Socialists of America. The three of us began the episode by exploring different dimensions of the war in Ukraine. We continued with Bianca elaborating on why she thought socialism was the way to best address the issue of structural racism. Later, she spoke about the need to re-imagine community safety and provided examples of how strong relationships among community members could solve “safety” issues without resorting to the use of the police. Finally, she detailed the efforts of DSA members who are state legislators in New York, who employ a two-prong approach to building power: operating as a socialist caucus in the New York State Legislature and delivering constituent services in New York City in ways that actually organize residents instead of the residents becoming passive service recipients.

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Join us for this forum on the military coup in Sudan and the mass resistance against it. In 2019, Sudan's mass democratic uprising toppled the country's despised dictator, Omar al-Bashir, and secured a power sharing agreement between civilian leaders and the military with the promise of elections for a new government. In October 2021 the military reneged on that pledge and carried out a coup, arresting activists across the country. The people have now returned to the streets in mass numbers to defend their revolution. Speakers: Raga Makawi is a Sudanese democracy activist living in London. She is principal editor on the Debating Ideas platform at African Arguments, as well as leading publications and website administrator at the Rift Valley Institute (RVI). She is co-author of Sudan's Unfinished Democracy: The Promise and Betrayal of a People's Revolution (forthcoming in March from Hurst Publishers) and Honorary Research Associate at the Institute for Humanities in Africa (HUMA). Previously, she was a commissioning editor with Zed Books. Muzan Alneel is an activist and writer in Sudan. She is co-founder and Managing Director of the Innovation, Science and Technology Think Tank for People-Centered Development (ISTiNAD) in Khartoum and is a non-resident Fellow of the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy (TIMEP), focusing on a people-centric approach to economy, industry and the environment in Sudan. She also consults on industrial policy at the Industrial Research and Consultancy Center (IRCC) in Sudan. Jean-Baptiste Gallopin is a researcher working on the Horn of Africa. The former Sudan researcher at Amnesty International, he has written on the role of the UAE and Saudi Arabia in Sudan's counter-revolution and the political economy of the Sudanese transition. His writing has appeared in Le Monde Diplomatique, the London Review of Books, Democracy & Security, and the Project on Middle East Political Science. He holds a PhD in sociology from Yale. This event is co-sponsored by Internationalism from Below, the Tempest Collective, Africa is a Country, DSA AfroSocialists & Socialists of Color Caucus, Dissenters, New Politics, Review of African Political Economy (ROAPE), Spring Magazine, and Haymarket Books. Watch the live event recording: https://youtu.be/OihwYEacdpA Buy books from Haymarket: www.haymarketbooks.org Follow us on Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/haymarketbooks

Join a panel of experts for a discussion of the insurgent social movements sweeping across Africa. Across the continent, social movements are rising up and taking to the streets. Organizing against police brutality, militarism, budget and subsidy cuts and for democracy, human rights and liberation, activists are building on a long tradition of struggle to demand change. Join us for a live conversation with organizers from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Nigeria and Sudan on lessons from their movements and building international solidarity. Speakers: Fred Bauma is a leader of the pro-democracy youth group LUCHA, which advocates for nonviolent, community-level change and governmental reform in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He was arrested in March 2015 and spent 18 months in prison, where he faced the death penalty for organizing peaceful protests calling for rule of law. Lai Brown is the Organising Secretary of Automobile, Boatyards, Transport, Equipment and Allied Senior Staff Association (AUTOBATE), a writer and the National Secretary of Socialist Workers and Youth League (SWL) Amar Jamal is a Sudanese writer, translator, post-graduate student of anthropology, and part of the inaugural class of Africa is a Country Fellows. Mzalendo Wanjira Wanjiru is a Co-founder of Mathare Social Justice Center and a member of Women in Justice Centres and Social Justice Movements. Facilitator: Nanre Nafziger-Mayegun is Executive Committee Co-Chair, DSA AfroSocialist and Socialists of Color Caucus. This event is co-sponsored by Africa Is A Country, the DSA International Committee, the DSA Afrosocialists and Socialists of Color Caucus, and Haymarket Books. Watch the live event recording: https://youtu.be/q1l-XHJOJv0 Buy books from Haymarket: www.haymarketbooks.org Follow us on Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/haymarketbooks

Rep. Melanie Morgan, chair of the Members of Color Caucus, on Democrats' focus on equity in the 2021 Legislature. Plus, first-term state Reps. David Hackney and April Berg.

GUESTBettina Johnson is a Chicago born and raised abolitionist organizer, Co-founder and current Steering Committee member of Liberation Library and on the Steering Committee for the AfroSocialists and Socialists of Color Caucus of the Chicago Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). She is also on the Steering Committee of Chicago DSA’s #DefundCPD Campaign, and Co-lead for the Training Committee of the Black Abolitionist Network-steered #DefundCPD CampaignOVERVIEWBrownTown invites Bettina Johnson to talk all things #DefundCPD campaign, nuances and strategies for abolitionist organizing, non-hierarchal structures, building responsive institutions, and training the newly politicized.Bettina begins by sharing her journey growing up in Chicago and finding her movement home in various organizations. The gang compares and contrasts their work and thoughts on abolition and broader "defund police" campaigns pre- and post-George Floyd uprisings before digging into the momentum theory of organizing--turning the energy and politicization of highly visible moments into sustainable movements.As Bettina notes, "we need as many people and as many entry points to start that [politicization] process that feels good for people." BrownTown and Bettina discuss various entry points into grassroots work and the non-hierarchal structures and autonomous actions that folks are encouraged to take within more current and common decentralized movements. Near the end of the conversation, the gang gets in the weeds about #DefundCPD in Chicago and other defund campaigns nation-wide naming the specific campaign goals as abolitionist steps and not a reformist reforms. However, they center nuanced inter-movement discussions about the role of "refunding" and what responsive institutions should and could like that that do not re-ify the harm of the prison-industrial complex under a different name.#DefundCPD educated, organized, and mobilized thousands of Chicagoans around the abolitionist demand to defund the Chicago Police Department on the heels of a global uprisings against state violence and white supremacy and for Black lives. Now, a campaign coming out of hibernation in April 2021, what lessons have we learned from 2020? Why is hibernation necessary for movement work? Building upon years, decades, centuries of work, what types of organizing strategies and tactics need we build on or alter in terms of autonomous coalition-building, trust in camaraderie, and exhausting all of our skills in our work towards liberation? Here's their take.--Follow Bettina on Twitter!Follow Liberation Library on their site, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.Follow Chicago's AfroSocialists & Socialists of Color Caucus via Linktree, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.Follow the #DefundCPD campaign via Linktree, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.--CREDITS: Intro/outro song Fuck Tha Police by NWA. Audio engineered by Genta Tamashiro with assistance from Kiera Battles.--Bourbon ’n BrownTownFacebook | Twitter | Instagram | Site | PatreonSoapBox Productions and Organizing, 501(c)3Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Site | Support

Today we are joined by a Hacks & Wonks fave, Representative Kirsten Harris-Talley! She hit the ground running as a legislator for the 37th District, and joins us to talk about what we might see coming through in the remainder of this 2021 legislative session, and how you can help advocate for policies you want to see passed. Hot topics include correcting Washington's State's backwards tax codes, preventing gentrification, public safety and policing, and how the 37th District uniquely needs effective environmental legislation. As always, a full text transcript of the show is available below and at officialhacksandwonks.com. Find the host, Crystal Fincher on Twitter at @finchfrii. More information is available at officialhacksandwonks.com.   Resources: Look up your legislators by name, and see everything Rep. Harris-Talley is working on, here: https://app.leg.wa.gov/bi/report/billsbysponsor/?biennium=2021-22&houseSponsorId=31532&sponsorType=house&billsBySponsorReportType=primarybills&hasCompanionBills=false  Learn about how committees work with our previous guest, Senator Joe Nguyen: https://fb.watch/3SBBq_RIA-/  Learn about the tax specifically on billionaires before the legislature here: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/proposed-billionaire-tax-comes-to-olympia-as-washington-democrats-seek-to-revamp-tax-system/  Get to know Washington State's tax system generally here: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/data/seattle-taxes-among-nations-kindest-to-the-rich-and-harshest-to-the-poor/  Find House Bill 1494, focused on the anti-displacement property tax exemption, here: https://apps.leg.wa.gov/billsummary/?BillNumber=1494&Year=2021&Initiative=false  Get to know the Working Families Tax Credit, and what it seeks to achieve, here: https://budgetandpolicy.org/policy-priorities/state-budget-revenue/working-families-tax-credit/  Learn about the Pathways to Recovery Act here: https://www.wethepeoplepower.org/treatment-recovery-home  Read about “Energy for All”, or House Bill 1490, which would attempt to ensure that low income folks don't have their power and water turned off here: https://frontandcentered.org/energy-for-all-hb1490/  Get to know the Washington State Growth Management Act here: http://www.futurewise.org/assets/resources/A-Beginners-Guide-to-the-GMA.pdf    Transcript: Crystal Fincher: [00:00:00] Welcome to Hacks & Wonks. I'm your host, Crystal Fincher. On this show, we talk to political hacks and policy wonks to gather insight into local politics and policy through the lens of those doing the work and provide behind the scenes perspectives on politics in our state. Full transcripts and resources referenced in the show are always available at officialhacksandwonks.com and in our episode notes.  Today we are thrilled to have Representative Kirsten Harris-Talley from the fighting 37th Legislative District. Welcome, once again, to the show. Rep. Kirsten Harris-Talley: [00:01:00] Thank you so much for having me. It's such a pleasure to be here with you, Crystal. Crystal Fincher: [00:01:04] Absolutely, and a pleasure to have you. And I will tell you, there actually is no other single legislator that - I have conversations in many different coalitions and different contexts - and I tell you, universally, people are just like, "That Kirsten Harris-Talley is just so inspirational and motivational." And as more and more people have gotten to hear you and know you - certainly the appreciation of you being known for coming out of community, certainly bringing community into the process with you - combining that with the knowledge and experience that you have through working through political and legislative systems before, but being able to speak to and lead with principles and articulate values in a way that we often have not heard on the local level. So I know I certainly appreciate that. People from across the spectrum of issues and coalitions appreciate that - so again, just thrilled to have you here today. Rep. Kirsten Harris-Talley: [00:02:15] Oh, thank you. I love the people, so it's good when they see that and love me back and the work because we need each other to do the work. We really do. So that's important to hear. Crystal Fincher: [00:02:26] Absolutely, and so I guess we'll dive into the work. What is happening with the legislative session right now? Where are you at, and how are we progressing on the most important priorities? Rep. Kirsten Harris-Talley: [00:02:37] Oh, that's a big question. I mean, the biggest contributor, I think, to answering that question, right, is that we're in the first of its time and kind remote session. So the terrain of how the work moves - it's all new. In some ways, I think that has leveled the playing field for those of us - me and other colleagues who are coming brand new into the process this year - with our colleagues who've been there in previous cycles in that we're all learning these new systems simultaneously at the same time. What that meant that is that out the gate, there was a high recommendation, and I know it was covered pretty well in the media as well, for us to be really thoughtful about what bills we were bringing forward. Usually, you just put it all out there. You're on the floor. We separate the priorities from those that we can let go of. But this year, we knew we had to focus in a different way. What that has meant is that substantively, I think the context of the conversation has been elevated to really rise to this moment - what the needs are of this moment. Because of course, we're doing remote session because all of us are trying to survive a pandemic. And all of the repercussions of that and what it means for every system we engage with in public, private, and personal space is being tested. So for me, that meant really focusing on the committees once our committees were assigned - what voice and what community voice would I be bringing to that process and how are we going to organize? And so I'm on three committees. Finance - we get to discuss questions of revenue, what dollars are we bringing in, who's paying it, and tax equity and structure. What are the laws that then make that possible? Environment and Energy - where we get to talk about climate, impacts on the environment. This year is the first year of the biennium where we're talking about the Growth Management Act. We have not visited the Growth Management Act in almost three decades - a really deep conversation about how do we work with our planet as we build the spaces we need to live as humans - an overdue conversation. But also energy and talking about what is the energy future and what are we going to do about it now? And then the third committee I'm on is Children, Youth, and Families.- and they are anything that relates to children and families that doesn't happen in Education comes to that committee. So it's a lot of issues and I'm concentrating there on juvenile justice, childcare needs, and homeless youth needs. So really, I feel honored that our caucus sought to put me in places I already was doing work in community and could really hit the ground running. And the biggest call of this moment this cycle to me, is the question of revenue. How much revenue are we going to raise? And then budget - where are we going to spend it? We're still dealing with the fact that we have, while it is a shrinking picture of deficit, there is still the last projection of $2.8 billion, with a "b" deficit in our budget. And what that means is every service that the state provides, we are $2.8 billion from being able to sustain those services. So that's not thinking through the new policies or new ideas that we have that we also want to pay for to have implemented. So for me, that's the critical question. And we have some really exciting things in the mix for that conversation this leg session. Crystal Fincher: [00:06:00] Well, there are very exciting things in the mix. And certainly, from the 37th District, you have a broad mandate to support a lot of those policies, whether it's capital gains tax, wealth tax, a variety of things on the table. So where do each of those proposals - or what is still possible or looking likely? Rep. Kirsten Harris-Talley: [00:06:24] So I'm really excited that we, out the gate, have been having two really important conversations in this moment from day one. Equity and justice has been the lens that we're trying to apply to every bit of policy happening. But the second conversation is just starting from the reality that we are dead last - State #50 - when it comes to tax equity and we are in a completely upside down tax code. When you break that apart, there are two reasons we're in an upside down tax code. We're not raising enough revenue. And the folks we raise that revenue from - low-income families, middle-class families - we are disproportionately paying more than everyone else, even though we have really, really, really rich people here. That means we're paying almost 18% in taxes while the richest among us pay 3%. Six times as much tax. So that consideration of - get revenue in so we can spend good dollars in good places to help good people. But also this thing of who's paying that tax responsibility and how do we address that so that we're not having those with the least resources paying the most? And so the wealth tax proposal is really exciting to me. Our new chair this year, Representative Noel Frame, has introduced the first of its kind wealth tax. It is structurally well within our constitutional rights in Washington State where we have a number of tax exemptions. It is another tax exemption. It is a tax exemption that gives you an exemption for the first billion, with a "b," dollars you make. Once you have a billion plus one or more dollars, you would pay a 1% tax. I don't know about you, but I don't have any tax where I only pay 1%. That's a really, really low tax rate. And then from there, we look at how many of our neighbors would be impacted. Only 100 of our neighbors make a billion plus $1. So the rest of us, up to a billion, we're exempt from this tax. And then of those 100 people, I was overwhelmed to see, when we had the fiscal note in the hearing, that it would generate $4.8 billion. That's an exciting proposal. 100 people paying a 1% tax - paying in $4.8 billion to help hundreds of thousands of neighbors statewide. That's the kind of conversation where you're talking about filling that $2.8 billion deficit and having $2 billion to dream with as we build back better what our economy can look like out of this crisis point. So that's a really exciting proposal to me. And then I immediately started thinking through what is the tax responsibility neighbors in the 37th have that also matches what other folks in the state are struggling with? And we know here what we witnessed in 2006, '07, '08, and '09, was a rapid acceleration of gentrification and displacement of our neighbors. What we saw when the economy turned then was aunties who owned their houses outright being pushed out because they couldn't afford the property taxes anymore on the assessed value of their homes. So I introduced House Bill 1494 with accompanying HJR4204, which is a constitutional adjustment that would make it legal within our constitution to give an up to $250,000, quarter million dollar, tax exemption. It's called the anti-displacement property tax exemption. And in essence, it would be applied to the state portion of your property tax - whatever the assessed value of your home, you take off that first up to $250,000 and only have to pay for the state portion of your property taxes what was left in the assessed value of your home. It's a game changer when we think about what it is that folks are stewarding in property tax responsibility. And for me, it's about really addressing the needs of Black, Brown, Indigenous folks who want to stay in their communities and find themselves being pushed further and further out, as well as our neighbors in rural areas who are experiencing the same thing as those land values are assessed at higher and higher values too. So really trying to address the structural issues and have justice and equity at the center of those decisions as we talk about it. It's a really different conversation than I've ever heard us have before. And I'm really ecstatic about the possibilities as we have more and more neighbors really stand up and say, "These are the right answers for us in this moment." Crystal Fincher: [00:10:32] Yeah, absolutely, and appreciate your leadership. One thing - we had a conversation with Senator Joe Nguyen not too long ago and he brought up the point - we are having very different conversations. When we were faced with an economic challenge like this previously, similar to this, the conversation was around austerity and cuts, and just what we were not going to do for people. And how we had to do less, even though people needed more. And we discovered that we paid for that choice in very negative ways, and that you don't do less for people when they need more - you find ways to do more. And to make sure everyone's paying their fair share so that we can support everyone who needs it. So this is certainly just a different conversation and perspective that I think new leaders like you have brought into the legislature. And from my perspective, it certainly is welcome. Rep. Kirsten Harris-Talley: [00:11:30] I think a great example of that is another proposal in this revenue space, the Working Families Tax Credit. For the first time with that proposal, we're making sure that some of our undocumented neighbors are included there. To your point, a very different consideration of how you take care of people. And I appreciate what you brought up and what Senator Nguyen brought up. There is actually nothing more expensive at the end of the day than austerity. It costs exponentially more to cut and reinstate things and have that loss in our communities than to just find a way to take care of people in the moment. So I'm glad that we're having that different conversation this time. Crystal Fincher: [00:12:05] So am I. And one thing I am wondering is - for this immediate crisis, as you had alluded to before, with COVID and people struggling, businesses struggling, people without jobs, what is coming in terms of relief? What have you been able to work on there? Rep. Kirsten Harris-Talley: [00:12:26] Definitely, the property tax consideration is one of those considerations. The Working Family Tax Credit, for folks who don't know, we've had that actually legally on the books for a number of years, but we've never had a funding mechanism behind it. And each year, I think we've really deepened the conversation and improved what it is to have that tax credit. In essence, it's the dollars that you pay in to government and the system - us giving a little bit of that back to you as a cash incentive. And what we know, when we've seen this implemented in other parts of the country, folks who are struggling know exactly where those dollars will be of best use to their communities and their families, whether it's making up a car payment, paying gas to get to work, buying that computer or software your student needs to be on online school right now, making sure that the elder you don't get to be with as you're social distancing has the groceries they need - whatever that solution is, it's a way for us to give some dollars back. This year, there's a structural mechanism for the size of your family that actually increases the amount that you could get back up to $950. That's nothing to sneeze at for a lot of families - that can do a lot of good very quickly for folks. So that's a form of relief that's really immediate, can help everyone, and can be invested in a lot of different ways that will help our economy and individuals and families at the same time.  And we also have had already a number of votes with consideration of the CARE dollars from the federal level. As folks will recall - in 2020, every state got a draw down from the Feds of dollars to help steward us through the moment, but we had a very short window to spend it. Before the administration changed on the federal level, we thought any unspent dollars were not going to be available. They were able to change that very quickly in January when we had the new presidential administration come in. So we've already voted on a $2.2 billion package of those relief dollars that have already started to be moved into systems and communities to immediately create relief. And that's everything from utility bill subsidies that folks are using to keep the lights on right now, to some of the education considerations that families need as we're looking at all the considerations, to some of the healthcare infrastructure for vaccine distribution - a whole spectrum of issues were there. So we've already gotten those dollars cared for out the door. It's one of the first votes we took, but we're continuing to have proposals and votes come up to give some support to small businesses as well. I know here in the 37th, I have been heartbroken to see how many of our Black, Brown, Indigenous, women-owned, immigrant and refugee-owned businesses have shuttered or closed, some temporarily, but too many permanently. And we want to make sure that there's relief there so that those places that are made up of our neighbors here in our community - that those businesses are weathering this storm too. So we're going to continue to have those conversations and you're going to see some fast and furious votes, I think, in the coming weeks on all of those relief pieces coming out as fast as we can get them on the floor. Crystal Fincher: [00:15:18] Excellent. And I also wanted to talk about the suite of public safety bills and bills to address the disproportionate policing, the police brutality, and just trying to make our entire community safe, and keep our entire community safe, and not have public safety interventions right now put people further at risk. What is going to happen? I mean, certainly a lot of bills were introduced with a lot of fanfare and hope. And are we still seeing that full suite moving through? Are some getting through and others not? What is still on the table? And what can people who feel very passionately about these do to help get those across the finish line? Rep. Kirsten Harris-Talley: [00:16:09] I love this question. I love that we get to ask this question. It's just another mark of how unique the conversations we are having now. And I just want to say out the gate, I am one of four Black legislators who came into the legislature on the House side, and we also have Senator T'wina Nobles in the Senate, the only Black member in the Senate right now. It has doubled our Black Member Caucus. We now have a total of nine Black representatives statewide serving. Our Member of Color Caucus in the House is now wholly a third of our general caucus. That has been advocates on the street, folks in electoral spaces - building a bench, making sure that we're staying centered on representation mattering. And that's why we're having these kinds of conversations right now. I am an out and proud abolitionist - I believe in a day when we will end slavery and the way it's been reincarnated into our incarceration system. We also have for the first time in our legislature with Representative Tarra Simmons, someone who has been on the inside incarcerated, and now is an advocate and lawyer in this policing justice space. So I just wanted to say that the container for this conversation is a bold, beautiful container that we all built together over a long period of time. And I am ecstatic about all of the bills that we are seeing. And we're seeing them in Children, Youth, and Families, the committee I serve on - juvenile justice considerations happen through that committee. We've already made a lot of adjustments and considerations there. There's conversations from advocates that they're like, "We don't want to see institutional incarceration for youth anymore." At the state level, that means we need to move to electronic monitoring systems to get more youth to stay in their home communities. And I want to eventually see us move away from that as well, because what we don't want is a new Jim Crow that has us incarcerated in our own homes with surveillance. So there's a number of bills at all the intersections of those issues.  We have a qualified immunity bill that would open up what it is in civil space, outside our government systems, to be able to hold police officers and systems accountable for deaths and injury that happened in violence in the field to folk, families. What it is to really think of those as restorative actions for families impacted by police violence are huge. It's a really different conversation than we've ever had before.  We also have a number of bills that are looking at our court systems. What do the sentencing pieces look like? I'm really proud to have signed on with Representative Davis for the Pathways to Recovery Act, which is looking at a behavioral health solution for substance use disorder, for folks who really want to find a path to healing and recovery there. So we're not criminalizing them instead. One of the biggest feeders into our incarceration system is our War on Drugs and what that has looked like for communities and who is and is not being pushed into our systems. And then we're also having some contextual conversations about the school to prison pipeline with re-looking at our truancy laws and other things. So almost everywhere we're having the conversation. As far as which bills have had the most traction, I'm seeing a lot around pieces where there's community oversight and community voice, which is, I think, right where we need to start those conversations. Certainly here in Seattle, we've had this conversation about community oversight for a long time - we have the Community Police Commission and others. So I'm really excited that I feel like that's a place I really want folks to continue to put energy - where communities get to have voice for themselves about what it looks like to build the bridges between law enforcement and community, as we continue to dismantle these systems and build more towards care. Crystal Fincher: [00:19:39] How can people help the cause? Rep. Kirsten Harris-Talley: [00:19:42] That's my favorite question. That's my favorite part. So I'm someone - I truly believe the best policy is when we work with community and decision-makers are allowed to help shape their ideas into policy and get it over the finish line. Hands down, every time that happens, we have the best policy. So I would say, find those legislators that you know are championing the things you care about. We have this great portal on our legislative website, leg.wa.gov. You can look up any bill by the sponsor name - so by our last name. So if you want to look up all the bills that I've talked about today that I was the prime on, you can just search for Harris-Talley.  What's great is it gives you an overview of the bills and which committee, part of the process, that bill is in. And then you can click on that committee and it lets you know who are the legislators in that body who get to make the decisions for that level of the work. So you can do everything from signing in PRO - so if it's in a committee, you can just sign it and say, "I'm for this." Or "I'm against this," depending on what your stance is. You can do written testimony this year for the first time. So if you have a story to share, and I find those so compelling - it's really helpful when I can share those with other colleagues who don't get to sit in on the committee conversations. And then you can also sign up to do Zoom-based testimony during the hearings. It's an opportunity to give a face and a voice to your story, your context. What I love in remote session, one of the pluses - we have interpretation services available to folks right there. So no matter what language is your primary language, you can engage. But also for folks who wouldn't be able to travel with the weather and the pass and everything in Olympia, we're hearing from neighbors from all over the state. So it's really broadening who can give voice to what we're making decisions on. So I really invite folks to do that. Yeah. And then the other piece is we really do read our emails. So if you write into us, tell us "Yes," tell us "No," tell us why you feel the way you do. We really do track that and respond and take that as a litmus of how our neighbors are thinking about these issues. And the last piece that's so important, that's so much less about talking to us as legislators, talk to your neighbors. Talk to them about what they care about. If you know some bill's moving through, or you can share with them that something's happening in a part that really impacts their life, make sure to get the word out. That's the piece for me - making sure that folks know what's happening, how they can contribute and give voice to it. And so often, we're not able to reach folks as quickly as you can reach your own neighbors. And it makes a huge difference. Crystal Fincher: [00:22:16] Absolutely. And we will include links to both your list of bills and to just a primer on how people can sign in to testify and just navigating through that whole process, in addition to a full text transcript of this show in our show notes. So people can refer to those in the podcast version of this when they hear it and can find all of those resources there. I also wanted to ask about what's going on to address the climate crisis and everything from dealing with extreme weather and wildfires, to air pollution, cleaner energy? Just the full suite. Broad action is necessary on that - as if we don't already have enough to deal with, you're having to multitask on addressing these big, major systemic problems. What's looking likely? Rep. Kirsten Harris-Talley: [00:23:11] I am, of course, an advocate for a Green New Deal, because I do believe that we can take care of our people, our economy, and the planet simultaneously. I love the idea of a just transition. That's why I was ecstatic about Washington STRONG as an economic solution around what we can do to really reverse the damage to climate change and find a new path. And one of the very first bills we heard was the Clean Fuel Standard consideration - a big deal for neighbors here in the 37th. We have the worst air quality in the entire State of Washington, in no small part because of our proximity to roads and airplanes and airports. A clean fuel standard is about every mode of transportation that we have to take - transit, car, and plane - and what kind of fuel we're using and whether or not it's literally killing the planet and us. And so to have a conversation about a clean fuel standard and what that means for bringing in more refineries and clean fuels production in-state, so we're also not having to do negotiations over international and state lines for what our fuel sustainability is in-state, really amazing conversations. We also talked about natural gas and that infrastructure of natural gas within buildings and what it is to move to a green building standard as well. And so have voted both of those bills out of committee on the House side. And as you noted, there's some companions on the Senate side, which means we'll probably have a conversation of how to reconcile the solution on that, versus whether it'll happen, which is really important. And then I also introduced, when it comes to the energy consideration, a bill in partnership with community - 1490, House Bill 1490. And it's really looking at the fact that during this time with COVID-19 moratorium, we've made sure that no matter anyone's ability to pay, we are not disconnecting people's electricity or heat. I grew up - I'm the oldest of four children. I grew up very, very poor, amongst many, many poor neighbors in rural Missouri. And many times over my lifetime as a child, experienced what it was to have our utilities shut off and what it was to try to make it through the day. And certainly, I can appreciate as a parent now - I literally could not do my life if we did not have electricity right now with COVID-19. My children could not go to school. I could not go to work. I could not apply for a job. I could not check on my neighbors and other folks who I can't be next to because I'm social distancing as we keep each other safe. It is literally a lifeline to folks to have these basic needs. And what I love is that Front and Centered, Puget Sound Sage, and others - have formed a statewide coalition talking about - we need to think about energy differently. And is this actually a right that folks have? And what is it to continue to care for our neighbors? So I'm really excited about this bill. We had a great hearing this year. We're going to continue to refine and make this bill even stronger over interim. I would love to have neighbors as part of that conversation. We'll probably have a couple of community sessions to talk about this issue and how it impacts neighbors here. So a lot of really big questions. And then for the first time this year, what I'm really excited about with the Growth Management Act conversation - the Growth Management Act is a state level act that actually tells us prescriptively - how do we make decisions in concert with our planet and environment when we're building everything from roads, to bridges, to housing infrastructure, to parks and recreation, everything we build and have input on? And for the first time, we have environmental justice as a definition within the Growth Management Act to really get us on that path of community-led - Brown, Black, Indigenous community-led - perspective on what it is to think of a justice frame, a social justice frame, along with our environmental work. Crystal Fincher: [00:26:57] Well, and that is just so exciting to me. And kind of on the face - to a lot of people may like, "Growth Management Act? What is that?" But as a former land use and planning board member at the municipal level myself, it really is the lens through which you are required to make all decisions. So to be able to have that in policy and institutionalized is major. Going into the session, there were lots of places and people saying Black Lives Matter, but how to turn that into policy, how to show that with your work? And that is certainly a big step towards doing that. So I thank you for just making the process more accessible, for understanding the importance of working along with community, and just for being you - I appreciate that. And allowing so many other people to see themselves in the legislature and to see how it works when they're heard and how to navigate through it. So no secret, I am a Kirsten Harris-Talley fan. But I do think that you show what is possible when you lead with values and you make an effort to bring everyone along with you. And if we continue to show that that produces winning coalitions and even better policy - and that when we help people, they support policies that help - and you don't have to continue to try and bash people over the head to make them vote for something on the promise that it might help, and maybe we'll deliver a promise, but saying "You had my back. So I will continue to make sure you can pass policy that helps." So I appreciate that and taking the time and just thank you for the time that you spent, and we'll keep an eye on things in the legislature. And of course, put all of the links to what we've discussed in the show notes today. Rep. Kirsten Harris-Talley: [00:28:53] Thank you. Thank you for continuing to keep these dialogues happening and keeping us all connected. I have deep appreciation for you and this entire team and what you all bring with this show. It's one of my favorite political shows. So thank you so much. Crystal Fincher: [00:29:10] Thank you for listening to Hacks and Wonks. Our chief audio engineer at KVRU is Maurice Jones Jr. The producer of Hacks and Wonks is Lisl Stadler. You can find me on Twitter @finchfrii, spelled F-I-N-C-H F-R-I-I. And now you can follow Hacks and Wonks on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever else you get your podcasts. Just type in "Hacks and Wonks" into the search bar. Be sure to subscribe, to get our Friday almost live shows and our midweek show delivered to your podcast feed. You can also get a full text transcript of this episode and links to the resources referenced during the show at officialhacksandwonks.com and in the podcast episode notes.  Thanks for tuning in. Talk to you next time.

Thursday, February 18 on Urban Forum Northwest on 1150 AM KKNW/www.1150kknw.com 2:00-3:00 pm (PST) Hayward Evans and my scheduled guest for the hour are: *Congressman Bennie G. Thompson (D) MS-2 Chair, House Homeland Security Committee has filed a lawsuit to bring to justice the individuals that conspired to overthrow the US Government on January 6 utilizing the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871. *Bob Armstead, Washington State Civil Rights Coalition comments on his letter to the Washington State Members of Color Caucus of the Legislature concerning the lack of accountability. CPARB is authorized to approve methods for public works projects that exceed billions of dollars yearly. *Congresswoman Marilyn Strickland (D) WA-10 the former Tacoma WA Mayor was elected November 3, 2020 comments on her committee assignments that includes the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. *Author Merritt D. Long comments on his book "My View From The Back Of The Bus" and his 6:00 pm (PST) facebook live event. Urban Forum Northwest streams live at www.1150kknw.com. Visit us at www.urbanforumnw.com for archived programs and relevant information. Like us on facebook. Twitter@Eddie_Rye. This program will also air on Saturday 7:00-8:00 am (PST).

Thursday, February 18 on Urban Forum Northwest on 1150 AM KKNW/www.1150kknw.com 2:00-3:00 pm (PST) Hayward Evans and my scheduled guest for the hour are: *Congressman Bennie G. Thompson (D) MS-2 Chair, House Homeland Security Committee has filed a lawsuit to bring to justice the individuals that conspired to overthrow the US Government on January 6 utilizing the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871. *Bob Armstead, Washington State Civil Rights Coalition comments on his letter to the Washington State Members of Color Caucus of the Legislature concerning the lack of accountability. CPARB is authorized to approve methods for public works projects that exceed billions of dollars yearly. *Congresswoman Marilyn Strickland (D) WA-10 the former Tacoma WA Mayor was elected November 3, 2020 comments on her committee assignments that includes the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. *Author Merritt D. Long comments on his book "My View From The Back Of The Bus" and his 6:00 pm (PST) facebook live event. Urban Forum Northwest streams live at www.1150kknw.com. Visit us at www.urbanforumnw.com for archived programs and relevant information. Like us on facebook. Twitter@Eddie_Rye. This program will also air on Saturday 7:00-8:00 am (PST).

We continue our “counter-inauguration” event with organizers from the Democratic Socialists of America, or DSA. This second half presents the Afrosocialists and Socialists of Color Caucus, who point out the racial discrimination inherent in the very first 100 Days programs announced by FDR, the Green New Deal campaign, which asserts the importance of organized labor in addressing climate change, and the International Committee, which enumerates specific socialist demands to curtail U.S. imperialism. DSA: https://www.dsausa.org Afrosocialists and Socialists of Color: https://www.dsausa.org/working-groups/afrosocialists-and-socialists-of-color-caucus/ Ecosocialists and Green New Deal: https://ecosocialists.dsausa.org International Committee: https://international.dsausa.org

Season 3 opens with an exercise in socialist imagination with organizers from the Democratic Socialists of America, or DSA. A few days after Biden’s inauguration, we held our own counter-inauguration laying out our alternative‘100 Days’ program. This is not purely a speculative exercise—the extent to which Biden’s presidency goes beyond a “return to normal” will depend crucially on the left’s ability to mobilize around some of the demands and aspirations you’ll hear in this episode. Part 1: DSA’s National Political Education Committee, the Democratic Socialist Labor Commission (DSLC) and the Socialist Feminist working group. Political Education: https://education.dsausa.org Democratic Socialist Labor Commission: https://labor.dsausa.org Socialist Feminism Working Group: http://bit.ly/JoinDSASocFems Soc Fem Day School: https://bit.ly/DSASocFemDaySchool GND: Join the DSA Labor Commission & Green New Deal campaign in organizing to win the PRO Act (in the actual first 100 days)! http://bit.ly/dsaproact DSA’s ecosocialist Green New Deal principles: https://ecosocialists.dsausa.org/ YDSA: bit.ly/cancel-debt ! International Committee: https://international.dsausa.org/ Afrosocialists and Socialists of Color Caucus: https://www.dsausa.org/working-groups/afrosocialists-and-socialists-of-color-caucus/

GUESTJasson Perez is a Senior Research Analyst at ACRE who studies the connections between police violence, mass incarceration, and economic injustice. Through his research, he works to create campaigns to end mass incarceration and police violence and demonstrate that the fight for democratic socialism must embrace the politics of decarceration and abolition. Previously, at the Cook Center on Social Equity, Jasson did research on the racial wealth gap created by housing discrimination against Black homebuyers. Before becoming a researcher Jasson was a lead organizer for SEIU Local 73 and BYP100. When Jasson isn’t selling his labor for sustenance, you can find him subpar rapping with the rap group BBU, organizing with the Afro-Socialists & Socialists of Color Caucus of DSA and learning how to write about politics and economics in a manner that won’t bore you.OVERVIEWFollowing up on BrownTown's first installment from 2017 focusing on the aftermath of Colin Kaepernick's kneeling to protest police brutality, Jasson Perez joins them to talk all things sports in the later half of 2020--post-COVID and post-George Floyd uprisings. With multiple, interrelated crises at the fore, the team speaks candidly on sports organization's co-opt of Black Lives Matter, the relationship between players and owners, polarization as a strategy, and competing theories of social change. Originally recorded November 2020.Topics mentioned include:Naomi Osaka wears mask in memory of Breonna Taylor at US OpenMaya Moore left WNBA to work on criminal justiceBarack Obama and The Role of the Black Bourgeoisie in Coopting Our MovementsBrian Urlacher reacts to Jacob Blake and NBA strike, Bears denounceWNBA have been doing the work (1, 2, 3)--Follow Jasson on Twitter and Instagram. Follow Afrosocialist and Socialists of Color Caucus on Twitter.--CREDITS: Intro/outro soundbites from CNN and Milwaukee Bucks set to music by Genta Tamashiro. Outro song I Can't Breathe by Montana of 300. Audio engineered by Genta Tamashiro. Episode photo by Jasson Perez.--Bourbon ’n BrownTownSite | Become a Patron on Patreon!SoapBox Productions and Organizing, 501(c)3Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Site | Support

Bianca is the founder of Afrosocialists and Socialists of Color Caucus and organizer with NYC DSA. She talks with us about her background as a labor organizer, history with the DSA, how to build solidarity with coalition partners, and the role of DSA in antiracist organizing coalitions. (Note: this episode was recorded shortly after the George Floyd uprisings.)0:00 - Introduction0:30- Getting Involved in Labor Organizing 6:40- Organizing One to Ones8:30- Organizing Multiple Stores11:20- Setting up the Organizing Committee15:05- Dealing with the Fear of Retaliation 17:23- Bianca’s DSA History25:30- Building Solidarity 33:00- Role of DSA in antiracist organizing 37:31- Closing https://www.dsausa.org/working-groups/afrosocialists-and-socialists-of-color-caucus/https://www.socialists.nyc/

Featured Guests: Dr. Kathy Farah, is an Integrative and Holistic Family Physician with a special interest in Mind-Body Medicine and social determinants of health, including racism. She is a faculty member for the Center for Mind Body Medicine, and is the lead for their programs in Indigenous Communities, and the combined Whole Health Coaching model at the Veterans Administration in the Florida region. She provides consultation at Children's Minnesota in the Department of Pain, Palliative Care and Integrative Medicine in Minneapolis, MN, in addition to Western Wisconsin Health. Diem Jones, is a thought leader, poet/musician, multi-disciplinary producer and program designer. He is currently the Executive Director of Murray Grove Association in Lanoka Harbor, NJ as well as CEO of All One Consulting. He is co-founder and past Executive Director of Voices of Our Nations Arts Foundation (VONA). Additionally, he has served as Deputy Director of Arts Council Silicon Valley, program officer at the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities as well as Director of Grants at the Houston Arts Alliance and Administrative Director of East Bay Center for the Performing Arts. Jones was Art Director for George Clinton and the Parliament-Funkadelic and has managed health and wellness practices in California, New Jersey and Philadelphia. Diem Jones is also certified in Mind, Body Medicine protocols by the Center for Mind, Body Medicine in Washington, DC. Thaddeus Gamory: Faculty Member - The Center for Mind Body Medicine; President - SWIMS Foundation; Director of Community Engagement & Partnerships; Diversity in Aquatics; Head Coach - Diversity in Aquatics Masters Swim & Triathlon Club; Founder - Blue-Mindfulness(™) a Trauma Informed Anxiety Sensitive training approach and Mind Body Aquatics & SwimTriPros LLC. John Jay College of Criminal Justice graduate; Retired - Police Lieutenant NYPD; Certified NYS Police Instructor; Chair - Social Sciences Department NYC Police Academy; member of National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE); presented Blue-Mindfulness(™) at NOBLE National Conference 2019. Certifications held: NYC Public School Mentor for At-Risk-Youth & Mentoring; Program Coordinator; Wholistic Health Educator; Substitute Teacher. Coaching Certifications held: USA Swimming; US Masters Swimming; USA Triathlon; USA Track & Field; USA Cycling; YMCA & Red Cross Lifeguard; Qigong Instructor; Advanced Scuba Diver; Broward County Racial Equity - People of Color Caucus. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/carol-penn/support

Working Class Heroes Radio is back after a week off! Well, it's more like we moved from a half-hour show on Thursdays to a full hour radio program live on WBAI 99.5fm on Saturday nights at 6 pm. On this week's show, Julian and Carlos speak with Robert Cuffy, founder of the Socialist Workers Alliance of Guyana, a DC37 Union member and a member of the Afrosocialist and Socialist of Color Caucus of the DSA. Robert speaks with us about the role organized labor can play in the Black Lives Matter uprising across the U.S., the demand to expel police unions out of the labor movement, and how the Black freedom struggle can generate broader social movements in the United States. We also get a brief live report of the Occupy City Hall encampment from our correspondent, Lea Ramirez. Make sure to download and subscribe to our weekly show. You can also check out WCHRadio.org to view photos and listen to our past episodes.

As Oregon battles the COVID-19 pandemic and seeks a response to calls for police accountability, Gov. Kate Brown has called for a legislative special session. Rep. Janelle Bynum (District 51-Clackamas) and Sen. James Manning (District 7-Eugene) are two members of the legislative People of Color Caucus, which has called for action on police accountability by state lawmakers. They join us to talk about their goals for the special session.

Hey friends! Happy official summer for all of our trimester friends! Would you believe that you can listen to two people with degrees talking at you this week?? (We didn't have them at the time of recording so don't expect us to sound smarter yet or anything). Special guest and friend, Sara Kim, joins us this week to talk about dealing with anxiety a family that stigmatizes mental health, the struggle of not being on neutral ground, and being overwhelmed by media. We recognize and detest the injustice that we see on the basis of skin color. As a podcast and as humans, we stand with our peers and BIPOC communities in these days when human rights continue to be violated daily. Sara Kim has compiled a list of resources for BIPOC and those who may benefit from it, as well as insider tips on how to be an effective ally. We love and hope that you are safe. This is a link to Oregon BIPOC Organizations. Campaign Zero is an organization that is working to end police violence in 10 different areas. While Oregon and the US have worked to pass a few laws on this issue, it's still not enough. The People of Color Caucus is currently working on a few police accountability measures to pass in Oregon. Here are a few effective ways you can communicate with your legislator, council member, or local government official - As tempting as it is, I would encourage against using an automatically filled email from a website - many people use auto-filled emails to send to their legislators and while it's a good way to show how many people care, it's not effective in communicating why you care about that topic. If you send an auto-email, you will probably get a copied and pasted response. Take some time and write a thoughtful email to your legislator and explain why these issues are important to you. Include your name and your address or at least the town you're in - legislators typically only look at emails from their constituents unless they are holding higher positions of power in committees. They want to hear from their constituents because that is who they are representing in their district, you may even get the chance to testify! Use this tool to find out what district you're in and who your legislators are. Know your legislator and where they stand on certain issues - do some research and find out what your legislators value and what kinds of positions they hold. From there, you can leverage your experiences to be catered to what they're familiar with. Most legislators typically have a personal website that you can find by Google, or you can their Oregon Legislator profiles here for the Senators and the House members. Most legislators also have a newsletter that you can sign up for which you can use to learn about what's going on in the Capitol and where they stand on certain issues. Vote and stay informed - it's crucial that you vote and show your legislators and your community members that you care. It's so crucial that we all use our voices to stand up for what we believe in and tell the legislators what they should care about. Be sure to also follow the news to learn about any developments on certain policies that you really care about!

Why does this moment, from the killing of George Floyd to the subsequent protests nationwide, resonate more strongly and activate our communities more viscerally than previous examples of police brutality or violent racism? This is just one question that we pose to Beckee Birger this week. Beckee also speaks about her amazing work developing future generations of justice-oriented, Jewish philanthropists through her work as the Program Director for Teen Leadership and Philanthropy for the Jewish Federation of Chicago and the power of spaces specifically for Jews of Color, like the Jews of Color Caucus which she helped to create at the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs. https://jcua.org/kol-or/

America is burning and it smells like justice. In the short time since we aired our last episode, protests in Minneapolis over the police murder of George Floyd have spread across the country and a new chapter in the struggle against anti-Black racism has begun. This week's show Working Class Heroes Radio, Lupita and Julian will kick off a new series about police oppression with an interview with Bianca Cunningham, a participant in last weekend's protests in Brooklyn and a member of the AfroSocialist and Socialists of Color Caucus in the Democratic Socialists of America. We had time for one caller over WBAI's live radio format at the end. Musical credit: Michael Kiwanuka - Hero J Dilla - F**k the Police The Coup - Guillotine Talib Kweli & 9th Wonder - In every Ghetto

On December 31, 2019, the World Health Organization’s office in China heard the first reports of a previously-unknown virus behind a number of pneumonia cases in the city of Wuhan.   On March 11, 2020 that virus, now named COVID-19 better knowing as the Coronavirus outbreak was now characterized as a pandemic by the World Health Organization.   Today the NYTimes wrote: The number of known corona virus cases in the United States continues to surge. As of Tuesday afternoon, at least 5,002 people in 49 states, plus Washington, D.C. and three U.S. territories, have tested positive for the coronavirus, according to a New York Times database at least 93 patients with the virus have died. “The pace of diagnosis is expected to quicken as the virus spreads and testing becomes more widely available. More state and private labs have started running tests for the coronavirus in recent days, increasing the capacity to identify new patients after weeks of delays and test kit shortages.”   On twitter Speaker Nancy Pelosi said “The Families First” bill was about many things but first and foremost: testing testing testing. I urge Senators to pass this legislation today, to make testing free and to provide masks, make it available ASAP. Any delay, is a delay, in testing.   While we wait on relief legislation to be passed by our federal government  The CDC have advised us: ·     To wash are hand often with Soap and water for at least 20 seconds ·     Use an alcohol based hand sanitized with at least 60% alcohol if soap and water are not available. ·     Cover you coughs or sneezed with a tissue or cough or sneeze into your elbow not your hand. ·     Stay home as much as possible. Social distancing can slow the spread.   These are confusing and scary times and so, like many of you, I wanted a bit more clarity about what this virus is, and why it’s difficult to find a vaccines, so I turned to my friend, Dr. Hazel Levy, is a virologist and a research scholar in the bio-medical sciences, in STEM education, and in higher education policy. She was the first Black American woman to have an independent and National Institutes of Health funded research laboratory in the history of the University of Florida's College of Medicine. Dr. Levy is a social justice community organizer, serving as the vice-Chair of the Women of Color Caucus of National Women’s Liberation's Gainesville, FL chapter, and was the founding faculty advisor to UF's Black Women in Medicine student organization.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Ravens wish to express our gratitude for our patrons this month:Simon - from GreeceCarol - from California Natalie - from CaliforniaThank you for your support! Tyler shares some of the highlights from his recent trip to Japan where he discusses what he learned about Japan's people, culture, torii gates, shrines, and animism. For more information about Torii Gates: https://www.japanvisitor.com/japanese-culture/torii-gates The Ravens embark upon another road trip for a Pagan conference. This time it's to attend the final PantheaCon. PantheaCon is held in San Jose, California over President’s Day weekend each year. It is a conference for Pagans, Heathens, Indigenous Non-European and many of diverse beliefs Over 2000 people attend more than 200 presentations that range from rituals to workshops and from classes to concerts. In additions to a fabulous Vendor hall, there are many diverse groups who host Hospitality rooms for meet and greets. Established in 1994 it is currently the largest Pagan gathering and convention in the world. https://pantheacon.com/wordpress/ EDIT: This year is the 26th annual event not the 21st.The Pagans of Color Caucus is to be organized by Crystal Blanton, MistressPrime, Tanuki Wise, and Nikka Tahan.CUUPS - The Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans: https://www.cuups.org/

We are delighted to speak with Dr. Pata Suyemoto, a feminist scholar, writer, educator, and a mental health advocate, as well as a champion for racial and social justice. She is Co-Chair for the Greater Boston Regional Suicide Prevention Coalition and Chair of the Massachusetts Coalition for Suicide Prevention’s People of Color Caucus. Through her work and lived experience with depression, she provides a voice to Asian American women who struggle with mental health, and she helps to foster compassion over the associated stigma. BIO: Pata earned her PhD from the University of Pennsylvania and did her research on multicultural education and issues of race and racism. She is a member of a number of boards and committees, including the planning committee for the annual Asian American Mental Health Forum and the Department of Public Health’s Suicide Prevention Community Advisory Board. She is the Co-Chair for the Greater Boston Regional Suicide Prevention Coalition and the Chair of the Massachusetts Coalition for Suicide Prevention’s People of Color Caucus. Pata has spoken and written about her struggles with depression and is a co-founder of The Breaking Silences Project www.thebreakingsilencesproject.com, which is an artistic endeavor that educates about the high rates of depression and suicide among Asian American young women. She is also a long-time volunteer for Asian Women for Health and is a trainer and wellness coach for the Achieving Whole Health program. Her claim to fame is that she rode her bicycle across the country in the summer of 2012. Additional Links: The Breaking Silence Project: http://www.thebreakingsilencesproject.com/ Asian American Mental Health Forum: https://www.facebook.com/Asian-American-Mental-Health-Forum-410090306122850/

In part one of a monster episode, we sit down with Justin Charles of North Brooklyn DSA and the AfroSocialists and Socialists of Color Caucus. Sean is scarred by a perilous bus journey. Rachel Maddow and the libs freak out about potential peace (oh no!) on the Korean Peninsula. Democrats 'Russia Russia Russia' themselves into becoming the NatSec party. Who cares if 81% of South Koreans want an end to the war? (Not the lamestream media!) Super deep dive: where does 'identity politics' come from? Does the left foster conflict between racial groups as per weeping moron Jordan Peterson, or is 'race' a historically constructed category with no basis in biology? Jamie explains the Marxist concept of 'real abstraction'. Justin on how the term 'identity politics' was created by the black, lesbian Marxists of the Combahee River Collective in 1977. The gang then traces — with help from Adolph Reed and the Fields sisters — how this radical conception was watered down into neoliberal diversity capitalism. How does the left avoid 'bad' idpol? What structures should socialist organizations put in place to ensure that racialized and gendered domination is not reproduced within our movement? Is the AfroSocialist and Socialists of Color Caucus a bourgeois radlib beachhead destined to undermine the Democratic Socialists of America? (Spoiler alert: nah.) Part two will further the conversation by addressing critiques of the caucus before it degenerates into dragging on Elon Musk's utopian anarchist turn. Become a patron starting at just $2/month at patreon.com/theantifada Reed articles referenced: leftbusinessobserver.com/Antiracism.html libcom.org/library/marx-race-neoliberalism-adolph-reed-jr Outro music: "The Underside of Power" - Algiers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGZXzmM1smM

Left POCket Project Podcast - Episode 6 - @AFROSOCDSA in their own words, a conversation w/Yasmina Price & Jazz Hooks Follow AFROSOC, the Afro-Socialist & Socialists of Color Caucus of the Democratic Socialists of America, here: Twitter: @AFROSOCDSA Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AFROSOCDSA/ --- Music: Intro: Michael Salamone, "My Life as a Video Game" Outro: WBEEZA, "Laying Here" --- Learn more about the Left POCket Project! Interact: twitter: @leftpoc facebook: facebook.com/leftpoc media revolt: mediarevolt.org/LeftPOC/ reddit: reddit.com/user/leftpoc/ #LeftPOC Listen: soundcloud: http://soundcloud.com/leftpoc speaker: http://spreaker.com/user/leftpoc itunes: search "leftpoc" or subscribe here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/leftpoc/id1329313097?mt=2 … Support: patreon: patreon.com/leftpoc

Hot boxing the USA w/ Jamie and Yasmina of the DSA. Join our radical smoke out as we spit some truth about racism, socialism, climate change and police brutality. Yasmina Price is the co-founder of AFROSOC (the Afrosocialist and Socialists of Color Caucus) and also part of the newly-elected NYC CLC (City Wide Leadership Committee). Jamie Tyberg is on the leadership team of the NYC DSA climate justice working group as well as a founding member of the National DSA climate and environmental justice working group. Twitterz @jasminprix @jtbrg Join the DSA - dsausa.org Subscribe on iTunes: goo.gl/Ytp3nx Recorded 9/21/17 Brooklyn, NY veryape.tv

Joining me to discuss race, class and the Democratic Socialists of America is Adolph Reed, Jr. He's a prolific commentator on black politics and has been on the socialist left for 50 years, so he's just the man to talk to about the upcoming DSA convention. In particular, we'll be addressing the proposal to establish an autonomous "Afro-socialist and Socialists of Color Caucus." The full resolution can be found here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5P0FbY9YTM-UlVwTzRSTGhQRG8/view ***This is a shortened version of my interview with Adolph Reed, Jr. To get access to the full 2+ hours, subscribe to my patreon: www.patreon.com/deadpundits*** Twitter: @deadpundits Facebook: www.facebook.com/deadpunditssociety

While the Institutional Jewish Community condemned the Movement for Black Lives this month, Jews for Racial and Economic Justice held weekly 'Jews for Black Lives' actions across New York City. David spoke with Shoshana Brown, an organizer with JFREJ's Jews of Color Caucus, about these actions as well as the fraught media discourse surrounding the Movement for Black Lives platform. We then played a segment produced by WBAI reporter Mitchel Cohen, documenting the August 11th Jews for Black Lives march that culminated in the arrest of seven Jews of Color. Show Notes: Movement for Black Lives Platform https://policy.m4bl.org/platform/ JFREJ Jews4BlackLives Actions: http://jfrej.org/largest-ever-mobilization-of-jews-for-black-lives-matter/ Mitchel Cohen's WBAI Report: https://archive.org/details/JewsForRacialEconomicJusticeRallyAndArrestsForBlackLivesMatter20160811

Replay: Carol Denise Adams witnessed Domestic Violence in her home, growing up, and will share her story, her experience. Carol has worked in Law Enforcement for 23 years.  She serves as the Community Care Sergeant for the Community Youth Interventions Services Division.  She is a member of United Way Women’s Leadership Initiative, Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance and Women of Color Caucus, to name a few.  Being active in the community for over a decade, Carol has been recognized by several local and regional Associations.  In 2010, Verizon Wireless created the Carol Adams Hopeline Community Outreach and Prevention Program. Carol has taken what was bad, and has made it her life work to turn it into good. Sponsors:  MWHY Mag   TBAIMS     Rita Ricks     Off The Vine  Healthy Wealthy and Wise RVA Expo