Language is a building block for transformation. Through the co-creation a vision for a radically and mutually inclusive, thriving multiracial democracy in service of human flourishing—including the PolicyLink podcast series Reimagining Democracy for a Good Life—new language and new ways of using existing language emerged. Over the next few months, PolicyLink will be sharing a chronicle of these key ideas to help people dig deeper into our shared vision, and to help us all rethink what is meant by democracy and its essential elements. Reimagining Democracy: The Language of A Good Life is a digital content series that explores the meanings of key ideas through words we reimagined or uncovered in the podcast series. Each word or idea is a touchstone that connects to how a reimagined democracy can revitalize a nation and its people. Our first idea in the series is “A good life.” In the spirit of reimagining, we offer these words as suggestions to explore what is possible in our collective aspirations to live a good life. Try out the words and definitions with your community. Stress test them and let us know what you think! Check out the Reimagining Democracy for a Good Life asset portal where you can download sharable assets you can use on your social media! https://lnkd.in/g5qCpQDd
Reimagining Democracy for a Good Life
Non-profit Organizations
A podcast series centered on the promises of and paths to a thriving multiracial democracy that leads to a good life.
About us
Reimagining Democracy for a Good Life is a 6-part podcast series centered on the promises of and paths to a thriving multiracial democracy in service of human flourishing that leads to a good life. The framers of American democracy were wealthy white men – many of them enslavers – who built the nation on the theft of land and the enslavement of people, limited the rights of citizenship to people like themselves, and dehumanized others. But as flawed as these men were, in articulating a revolutionary concept – government “of the people, by the people, for the people,” they punched way above their moral weight. We have a system that can grow and stretch. Indeed, the democratic system of government we have grows stronger as more people are included and have a stake in defending it. It’s clear that democracy is now in peril. It’s no surprise that these threats are coming now. We are at a point in the nation’s history where, for the first time ever, no single racial group will be the majority. This means, if democracy is to endure, it must be a multiracial democracy. However, we don’t just want a democracy that survives, we want a democracy that thrives. A democracy that embraces the potential of our vast national diversity as a gift. We need a radically inclusive, thriving multiracial democracy in service of human flourishing so we can all have a good life. While our democracy is far from perfect, there are buoyant signs of hope found in the work that people of color organizers, activists, and civically-minded elected leaders have been doing for decades. They have refashioned and reimagined what democracy looks like by refusing the status quo and resisting conventions and norms. By showcasing their work, we are inviting you to reimagine democracy as a multiracial democracy.
- Website
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https://www.policylink.org/reimagining-democracy
External link for Reimagining Democracy for a Good Life
- Industry
- Non-profit Organizations
- Company size
- 2-10 employees
- Specialties
- podcast, democracy, policy, organizing, labor, leadership, legislation, activism, dance, and equity
Updates
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Reimagining Democracy for a Good Life reposted this
Lifelong advocate for racial and economic equity | Host of the Reimagining Democracy for a Good Life podcast and Radical Imagination podcast. Views are my own.
How does labor organizing breathe life into a thriving, multiracial democracy in service of human flourishing? I learned about labor organizing from Kent Wong. He was a panelist recently at the 2024 annual PolicyLink National #EquitySummit. Forty years ago, Kent, along with a small group of fellow revolutionaries, went to Rev. James Lawson, Jr. That group of ten or so included: Senator Maria Elena Durazo – the first woman to lead the 800,000-member Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, Antonio Villaraigosa -- the first Latino mayor of Los Angeles, Mayor Karen Bass -- the first woman and second Black person to lead the city of LA. They wanted to learn the lessons of the freedom struggles of the South, and that’s exactly what Rev. Lawson taught them. Kent shared takeaways from several successful LA labor movements, including the Justice for Janitors campaign, which won a multi-million dollar settlement against the LAPD, and how that success carried over into a labor movement for security officers. He believes, just like I do, that solidarity is essential and that people with boots on the ground can set the pace for the nation. I think of local communities as lighthouses for the nation, shining their beam, showing us where we can land when the waters are calm or the seas roil in darkness. And my mission, as Founder in Residence for PolicyLink, is to give Kent, and change-makers like him, a platform to share so other communities can apply these lessons. So, listen to the Reimagining Democracy for a Good Life bonus episode, “Solidarity is Hard,” and hear for yourself how the examples of non-violence and labor activism have changed LA and *can* change cities across the nation. Tune into the discussion: https://lnkd.in/gTpujD_6
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In this bonus episode of the podcast recorded at the 2024 #EquitySummit in Atlanta, Hillary Holley of the National Domestic Workers Alliance talked about the Washer Women Strike of 1881. Dive into her thoughts and much more in Solidarity is Hard: https://lnkd.in/gFYGDcZE
Lifelong advocate for racial and economic equity | Host of the Reimagining Democracy for a Good Life podcast and Radical Imagination podcast. Views are my own.
You probably didn’t hear about the Atlanta Washer Women Strike of 1881 in your high school history class. But it was an absolutely pivotal moment in the post-Civil War South that radically changed the economy for Black domestic workers and, even today, can teach us the power of solidarity. Hillary Holley is an Atlanta-based advocate and Senior Director of Civil Engagement at the National Domestic Workers Alliance. In my most recent podcast, Hillary talked briefly about the Washer Women strike. It’s a fascinating example of a labor-community pulling together in solidarity to create a better life for an entire sector. In a new, free South, politicians wanted to lure businesses to invest in Atlanta with the promise of a subservient workforce… former Black slaves. In a time with sewage in the streets and waterways, laundry was a dirty and labor-intensive job. Washerwomen had to pick up dirty laundry in the Georgia heat, carry and boil water, make their own soap, hand wash and wring, hang dry, iron, and return clothes. Six days of labor for about $1 a week. That’s if the people who were used to free labor from Black women didn’t find a reason to dock their pay. The washerwomen organized and went on strike to get $1 per 12 pounds of laundry about two months before Atlanta was set to host a major international cotton festival. The Atlanta Constitution wrote, “There are probably more dirty clothes in Atlanta than any other city in the union.” “The washerwomen have society at their mercy.” Some of their leaders were arrested, but the labor group held strong. White immigrant washers, followed by domestic workers in private homes and hotels, joined in. The power of their solidarity, the timing of their strike, and their steadfastness won and inspired Black labor movements in other cities across the nation. They inspired movements to the north and west. Listen to the Reimagining Democracy for a Good Life bonus episode, “Solidarity is Hard,” and discover how this 1881 strike brought lessons to solidarity and labor organizing that still apply today: https://lnkd.in/gz7BJxdj Photo Credit: Buyenlarge/Getty Images via The Washington Post
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Reimagining Democracy for a Good Life reposted this
Lifelong advocate for racial and economic equity | Host of the Reimagining Democracy for a Good Life podcast and Radical Imagination podcast. Views are my own.
Over the years, I’ve learned that nourishing our own well-being as activists, artists, and change-makers is just as important as sharing ideas and strategies. We must take care of the people leading the movement—mind, body, and soul. So, at this summer’s 7th National Equity Summit, we enjoyed a Morehouse marching band, visual art, and a concert—in addition to stellar speakers who challenged our minds and sharpened our focus. And we danced late into the night, despite the next morning’s early schedule. PolicyLink’s vision is to bring the wisdom, voices, experience, and aspirations of those working for transformative change in local communities to state and federal policy. Our national equity summits are a physical expression of that founding vision. This year, the summit was hosted 10 minutes from the location of the first highly successful post-slavery labor strike: the Atlanta Washer Women Strike of 1881. It was a fitting location because the legacy of the washerwomen is a testament to interracial solidarity for the time. The strike was organized by Black washerwomen, but it included some white washerwomen, and the movement inspired other domestic workers in Atlanta including cooks, maids, and nurses. Today, solidarity remains a critical source of strength. But, especially when times are bleak—solidarity is hard. This is exactly what we talked about at a breakfast panel I hosted at the Equity Summit. We turned this panel into a bonus episode of my Reimagining Democracy for a Good Life podcast. Experience a piece of the transformative power of the equity summit by listening to the NEW bonus episode: Solidarity is Hard. And at the next #EquitySummit, we hope you’ll come join the dance party. Visit https://lnkd.in/gTpujD_6 to check out the bonus episode of Reimagining Democracy for a Good Life.
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Reimagining Democracy for a Good Life reposted this
Lifelong advocate for racial and economic equity | Host of the Reimagining Democracy for a Good Life podcast and Radical Imagination podcast. Views are my own.
Ana Maria Alvarez is the queen of dance as a form of resistance. She wears many hats, the most well-known being the founding artistic director of CONTRA-TIEMPO Activist Dance Theater in Los Angeles. Ana Maria’s dances take on contentious issues. In Reimagining Democracy for a Good Life Episode 6: “Hope is a Discipline”, we break down a provocation piece Ana Maria performed in 2010 when Arizona enacted its harsh anti-immigrant law demanding proof of citizenship from anyone police suspected was illegal before the Supreme Court struck the law down. This sort of art doesn’t just take on difficult topics, it is a method for getting the message out, leaving a lasting emotional impact, and pushing democracy forward. It’s art that reproduces the hope we need to persevere in the difficult work of social transformation. For this reason, we consciously incorporate art and culture into the work we’re doing at PolicyLink. Ana Maria also choreographed and produced a dance piece for Reimagining Democracy for a Good Life. The piece is called Rhythms of Democracy. I plan to share it with you early next year.
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Reimagining Democracy for a Good Life reposted this
On this #NativeAmericanHeritageDay, we reflect on Baratunde Thurston's remarks at the #EquitySummit2024 and how the Indigenous Peoples of this land already had a flourishing, thriving, multi-tribal democracy before there was ever a Declaration of Independence.
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Reimagining Democracy for a Good Life reposted this
Chief Executive Officer | Fortune 100 Corporate Board Director, Executive Committee Member, Chair, Compensation Committee | Recipient of Skoll Award for Social Innovation
In the new bonus episode, ‘Solidarity is Hard’ in the Reimagining Democracy for a Good Life podcast hosted by #PolicyLink’s Founder in Residence Angela Glover Blackwell explores 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. I said it before, and I will say it again, I understand how embracing all can be hard, but it is the only way forward if we want to design a nation where all can participate, prosper, and reach their full potential. Like Kent Wong said, there is a necessity for multiracial organizing and no movement can be successful without it. And that requires deep solidarity across communities. https://lnkd.in/gJDQxeTr #TheAll #MultiracialDemocracy #ReimaginingDemocracyForAGoodLife #AngelaGloverBlackwell
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Reimagining Democracy for a Good Life reposted this
On this #NativeAmericanHeritageDay, we reflect on Baratunde Thurston's remarks at the #EquitySummit2024 and how the Indigenous Peoples of this land already had a flourishing, thriving, multi-tribal democracy before there was ever a Declaration of Independence.
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The actions we take are an inherent part of moving democracy to work on behalf of the greater good. This is hard, wearying work – now more than ever. When our actions are cultivated to include personal satisfaction and joy, the struggles for a better world are filled with more than pain and setbacks, they are fueled by a sense of possibilities and imagination that keep hope for a better future alive. https://lnkd.in/gjRt6BjR
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Remember that solidarity is hard, and that it is as important as ever. PolicyLink Founder in Residence Angela Glover Blackwell reminds us that our solidarity is a critical source of strength — and it is especially when times are bleak that solidarity is hard and essential. “When we get it right, it propels our movement for democracy in service of human flourishing,” she said. Listen to a bonus episode from the Reimagining Democracy for a Good Life podcast, recorded live from the PolicyLink #EquitySummit2024. Angela connected with leaders Kent Wong, Alberto Retana, and Hillary Holley as they discussed the power of organizing and solidarity across communities, generations, and the nation. Listen to the bonus episode here: https://lnkd.in/gbz8uhTd