Explore every episode of the podcast Reimagining Democracy for a Good Life

There’s a very real tension between the Atlanta metro area, home to more than half the population of Georgia, and lawmakers and officials in the State Capitol. How can activists and communities achieve their policy goals and aspirations for democracy at the state level, where so many decisions are made? And what strategies – old and new – can the rest of the country learn from people working on the ground in Georgia?

Featured Guests: Organizer and Civic Engagement Program Manager at the Center for Civic Innovation Evan Matthews, Vice President of Policy & Research at Kindred Futures Dr. Alex Camardelle-Floyd, Author and journalist Charles Blow, Activist and Managing Director of Women Donors Action, Hillary Holley, Executive Director of Georgia Coalition for the People's Agenda, Helen Butler, Activist and Executive Director of Latino Community Fund Georgia, Gigi Pedraza, Activist and community organizer Nsé Ufot, Community strategist and activist Grace Choi, and Nonprofit leader Aisha Yaqoob Mahmood.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So many of Atlanta’s achievements have been made possible by the alignment of race, place, and power to advance a more inclusive democracy. But that progress may be under threat. In this chapter, we explore what the changing composition of the city and the metro area means for power across the region and the state.

Featured Guests: Founder and Chief Equity Officer for Partnership for Southern Equity, Nathaniel Smith, Activist and Managing Director of Women Donors Action, Hillary Holley, Executive Director of the Housing Justice League, Alison Johnson, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, Director, Development & Design at The Guild, Antariksh Tandon, Director of the Community Stewardship Trust at The Guild, Avery Ebron, Community strategist and activist Grace Choi, and Author, historian and professor Dr. Maurice Hobson.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Moral conviction was the core of the Civil Rights Movement and still drives many Atlanta activists and leaders. In this chapter, we explore the values, fortitude, and open-hearted faith that helped Atlanta emerge from the brutality of Jim Crow to build a thriving,  inclusive city and continue striving for justice, and what the whole country can learn about creating a moral democracy that is true to its ideals and its people.

Featured Guests: Activist and community organizer Nsé Ufot, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, Activist and Managing Director of Women Donors Action, Hillary Holley, Founder and Chief Equity Officer of Partnership for Southern Equity Nathaniel Smith, Community strategist and activist Grace Choi, Activist and Executive Director of Latino Community Fund Georgia, Gigi Pedraza, Nonprofit leader Aisha Yaqoob Mahmood, Author, historian and professor Dr. Maurice Hobson, Executive Director of Georgia Coalition for the People's Agenda, Helen Butler, Author and ordained minister Dante Stewart, and Vice President of Policy & Research at Kindred Futures Dr. Alex Camardelle-Floyd.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Is Atlanta’s reputation as a Black Mecca real or simply good marketing? Or both? In this chapter: how the long legacy of Black leadership transformed Atlanta into a world-class city, and how hip-hop has been a voice for those left behind.

Featured Guests: Historian and professor Dr. Maurice Hobson, Atlanta Influences Everything co-founder Bem Joiner, Activist and community organizer Nsé Ufot, Visual artist Marryam Moma, Founder and Chief Equity Officer for Partnership for Southern Equity, Nathaniel Smith, Author and journalist Charles Blow, Executive Director of Housing Justice League, Alison Johnson, Executive Director of Georgia Coalition for the People's Agenda, Helen Butler, and Music and culture reporter Christina Lee.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Atlanta, known as “the Cradle of the Civil Rights Movement,” is a vibrant city with a long history of activism and civic participation. Under an unbroken line of Black mayors since the 1970s, it has become a center for business, TV, film, and hip-hop. And, like every place in this country, Atlanta has its struggles. In this chapter, we begin to explore this duality and what the city can tell us about building a thriving multiracial democracy and a more perfect union.

Featured Guests: Atlanta Influences Everything co-founders Tory Edwards, Ian Ford and Bem Joiner, historian and author Dr. Carol Anderson, political scientist and author Dr. Bernard Fraga, activist and organizer Nsé Ufot, writer and minister Danté Stewart, Executive Director of Latino Community Fund Georgia, Gigi Pedraza, historian and professor Dr. Maurice Hobson, and community strategist and activist Grace Choi.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This season, we head south for insights and hope. We’re asking, "What can Atlanta teach us about democracy? What insights does it offer in terms of building a more perfect union? And what lessons from Atlanta’s past can help us through this present moment and lay a path for a vibrant democratic future?" Reimagining Democracy for a Good Life is a podcast from PolicyLink hosted by Angela Glover Blackwell.

Featured Guests: Writer and minister Danté Stewart, Historian and professor Dr. Maurice Hobson, Atlanta Influences Everything co-founder Bem Joiner, Historian and author Dr. Carol Anderson, Visual artist Marryam Moma, Founder and Chief Equity Officer for Partnership for Southern Equity Nathaniel Smith, Community strategist and activist Grace Choi, Author and journalist Charles Blow, Organizer Evan Matthews, Political scientist and author Dr. Bernard Fraga, Activist and organizer Nsé Ufot, Executive Director of Latino Community Fund Georgia Gigi Pedraza, Music and culture reporter Christina Lee, Executive Director of Housing Justice League Alison Johnson, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, Director of the Community Stewardship Trust at The Guild, Avery Ebron, Nonprofit leader Aisha Yaqoob Mahmood, Vice President of Policy & Research at Kindred Futures Dr. Alex Camardelle, Executive Director of Georgia Coalition for the People's Agenda Helen Butler.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Democracy flourishes when communities inspire and learn from one another. In this special episode, recorded live at the 2024 PolicyLink Equity Summit, Georgia nonprofit leader and Senior Director of Civic Engagement at the National Domestic Workers Alliance, Hillary Holley, joins returning guests Kent Wong and Alberto Retana. Together, they explore the evolution and power of local action in the south as well as Los Angeles, showing how each community’s unique path fuels a shared fight for justice, resilience, and real change.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We don’t know what the future holds for the growth of a radically inclusive multiracial democracy but the questions we raise in this series are more than just thought experiments. 2024 is an important election year for many countries all over the world and we ask you, dear listener, how are you participating in democracy in your own life?

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As community organizers and activists move from the grassroots to positions of power in city and state politics, how do they use their backgrounds to make democracy a tool for the people? Chapter 5 includes conversations with Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, President and CEO John Kim of Catalyst California, California State Senator Maria Elena Durazo, and President-CEO Alberto Retana of Community Coalition.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There has been a surge in union organizing across the nation, including Los Angeles. In this chapter, we look at the role of labor in modern LA. Angela speaks with WGA strike captain, Helen Shang, Roxana Tynan, Executive Director of LAANE, USC Professor of Sociology and Ethnic studies, Manuel Pastor, California State Senator Maria Elena Durazo, and Kent Wong Project Director of Labor and Community Partnerships at UCLA. Together they unpack how labor unions advance a more equitable economy and, in turn, a functioning democracy.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Multiracial organizing doesn’t mean that we always get along. Organizers and activists in Los Angeles know this. What it can mean is when intentions are right, multiracial coalitions can work together towards policies that benefit all. In this chapter, we hear from economist Manuel Pastor, environmental justice activist Denise Fairchild, and organizer Anthony Thigpenn.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Leadership is not a solo endeavor. Community organizers from multiple neighborhoods in Los Angeles learned this after two incendiary rebellions in the city’s history: Watts in 1965 and the 1992 uprising. Activists, neighbors, and organizers across the city came together to take stock of the needs of the people. They’d go on to influence community and civic leaders, setting the basis for transformative leadership on the ground and at the city level. Organizer Anthony Thigpenn, UCLA Project Director of Labor Kent Wong, and historian Robin D.G. Kelley join Angela. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Join Angela Glover Blackwell, as she seeks to find the essential elements of a strong, inclusive multiracial democracy in, perhaps, one of the most unlikely places: Los Angeles.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Los Angeles might be a city ripe for a multiracial democracy to thrive. Reimagining Democracy for a Good Life is a podcast from PolicyLink and hosted by Angela Glover Blackwell, which aims to infuse some hope into a foundational U.S. idea.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.