Adapting Strategy & Building Power in Crisis
Social Justice Resources for COVID-19 Rapid-Response series
Published May 5, 2020
Emergencies like the COVID-19 pandemic create the conditions for accelerated political realignments. This creates an enormous threat for bold moves toward authoritarianism, but also creates major opportunity for our movements to put forward our vision for the future and shape a new common sense about what we deserve.
In this episode, we face the reality of what is happening politically. We engage with how our power-building strategies need to adapt to our current conditions, and also pace with our needs and limitations as humans living in a traumatizing time.
You'll hear from Ejeris Dixon and Dove Kent, organizers with 4 decades of combined experience in grassroots organizing, political education, and movement building. This conversation was partially inspired by Ejeris' recent article titled "Fascists are Using COVID-19 to Advance Their Agenda. It's Up to Us to Stop Them."
Listen on Apple Podcasts / Spotify / Stitcher / Google Podcasts
Meet Our Guests
Ejeris Dixon is an organizer and political strategist with 20 years of experience working in racial justice, LGBTQ, anti-violence, and economic justice movements. She is the Founding Director of Vision Change Win Consulting, and is co-editor of the book Beyond Survival: Strategies and Stories from the Transformative Justice Movement, which we’ll be featuring in Irresistible Book Club later this year.
Dove Kent is the Senior Strategy Officer at Bend the Arc: Jewish Action and has 2 decades of experience in grassroots organizing, political education, and movement building. She is the former Executive Director of Jews for Racial & Economic Justice. Dove lives in Durham, NC.
Resources
Fascists are Using COVID-19 to Advance Their Agenda. It’s Up to Us to Stop Them by Ejeris Dixon for Truthout
Stepping into the Moment: The Corona-Crisis by Harmony Goldberg with Grassroots Policy Project
Coronavirus Is the Perfect Disaster for ‘Disaster Capitalism’ - Naomi Klein explains how governments and the global elite will exploit a pandemic for VICE
The quote Kate mentions having heard from Ejeris (about how under fascism people get really interested in good wine and cheese), was something Ejeris first heard said by Mariame Kaba.
Book Club
Join Irresistible Book Club to read Healing Resistance: A Radically Different Response to Harm by Kazu Haga with others all over the world. You'll also get access to a discussion guide, a live conversation with Kazu this May, and a 30% discount from Parallax Press when you join.
Buy the book directly from publisher Parallax Press, and if you’re not a member of Book Club, use code PODCAST for 15% off.
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