Beyond the Ballot: Everyday Strategies for Collective Liberation

Beyond the Ballot: Everyday Strategies for Collective Liberation

Discussion how we can be politically engaged every day, and not just on Election Day.

Organization: Prism (Oakland, CA https://theprismfoundation.org/)

Date and time: Tue, April 12, 2022 @ 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM PDT

RSVP: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/beyond-the-ballot-everyday-strategies-for-collective-liberation-tickets-288681122007


On April 12th, 2022, Prism will convene a panel entitled: Beyond the Ballot: Everyday Strategies for Collective Liberation

The United States is in a state of political emergency, and for too long, popular narratives have sold the ballot box as the solution to every injustice. But although voting is a vital tool for political engagement, it’s not the only way to fight for social justice.

As part of Prism’s ongoing politics and democracy coverage, we’re bringing together community activists, organizers, and movement leaders to talk about the many ways their communities are politically engaged beyond the ballot. We’ll discuss issues like decolonization and reparations, queer liberation, and strategies for amplification, grassroots movement-building, and coalition-building. Ultimately, this conversation will help deepen connections and engage the Prism community with the everyday work of liberation in an active, practical way.


SPEAKERS

Preston Mitchum (he/him) is a Black queer attorney, advocate, and activist with a focus on the power of Black people, young people, and queer, transgender, and nonbinary people. With a decade of legal and policy expertise, Preston has led advocacy departments in an effort to center the intersectional needs and experiences of marginalized communities beyond the buzzword. Preston has shaped state and federal strategies on reproductive health, rights, and justice in the South and Midwest, with issues on abortion access, comprehensive sexuality education, and LGBTQ+ health equities.

Teja Smith (she/her) has spent the last decade combatting social justice and political awareness via social media by building campaigns that impact Black and Brown communities across the country. Her contributions to #SchoolsNotPrisons, #RockTheVote, #SheThePeople, and other organizations have helped shape the country we live in today.Teja enjoys tying in political topics to hip-hop culture and making the content relatable. She created Get Social as an outlet for women of color to make their voices heard.

Maurice BP Weeks (he/him) is the Co-Executive Director and Co-Founder of The Action Center on Race and the Economy. Throughout his career he has worked with community organizations, movement groups and labor unions on campaigns to create equitable communities by dismantling systems of wealth extraction that target Black and Brown people. With over a decade of campaign and organizing experience, Maurice has led work on a wide range of issues from housing to policing to revenue and budgets, both statewide and nationally.

Nalleli Cobo (she/her) began her work in climate justice at age 9, when she noticed she was often ill. She soon learned others in her community in South Los Angeles were also having similar health issues. Through grassroots organizing, Nalleli uplifted her community’s voice by fighting AllenCo and making them temporarily close in Nov 2013. Currently, Nalleli is a co-founder of the South Los Angeles Youth Leadership Coalition and a member of STAND LA, which both work to end environmental racism in LA.

Allie Redhorse Young (she/her) is a citizen of the Diné (Navajo) Nation from the Northern Agency of the reservation in Northern New Mexico. She is a storyteller and writer on a mission to increase authentic representation of Native Americans in TV, film, and mainstream media by sharing the stories and traditions of her people. She co-founded Protect the Sacred, a grassroots movement supporting frontline efforts to address the pandemic and ensure access to healthcare information and vaccines. Ahead of the 2020 elections, Young organized Ride to the Polls, which encouraged tribal citizens living on reservations and in remote communities to saddle up and travel to polling places.

Moderator:

Ashton Lattimore (she/her) is editor-in-chief of Prism. She's an accomplished writer and editor--and former lawyer—whose work focuses on the intersection of race, culture, and law. Her writing has been published by The Washington Post, Slate magazine, CNN, and others. In 2021, she was named a Maynard 200 fellow by the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education, and selected for the Poynter Women's Leadership Academy.