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Learn about the principles and practice of nonviolence as an active force for personal, social, and political change. Co-hosted with Grassroots Leadership Criminal Justice / Participatory Defense Organizer and Visions After Violence Fellow with Texas After Violence Project Robert Tyrone Lilly and Jim Crosby, the show covers current events, learning opportunities, and nonviolent direct action taking place locally. Airs 1st Thursdays of every month from 1-2 pm CT at KOOP Community Radio 91.7 FM in Austin, Texas, and streaming online at koop.org.
Take my story and tell it to the Congress. Gonna make them see what they're doing to me, what they're doing to me. Making minimum wage ain't making a living. It's time to raise it up. Yeah, raise it up.
Speaker 1:Time to raise it up. Got 2 jobs, can't pay the rent. I can't afford insurance Can't save a sin, I can't save a sin So take a tour, mister politician, through my neighborhood. Come to my neighborhood. My neighborhood.
Speaker 1:See if you can truly tell me you serve the common good. Serve the common good, the common good. You say you're gonna take my children, take my kids from me, my kids from me, take my kids from me, not till my body's cold and dead, and my spirit flies free. Yeah. My spirit flies free.
Speaker 1:Spirits are flying free. Take my story, tell it to the congress. Gonna make them see what they're doing to me, what they're doing to me.
Speaker 2:Brother, Jim Crosby, y'all. Welcome to another hour of nonviolent Austin Radio. I am your host, Stacey Fraser. I am joined by my comrades in solidarity on all things justice, brother Robert Tyrone Lilly, brother Jim Crosby who who you just heard from, and we have my new friend, miss Misael Ramos joining us today. Thank you and welcome to the show, Misael.
Speaker 3:Hey. Hey. How's it going?
Speaker 2:It's going well. We're we're here. Right? We're walking in our purpose in this room. So, 'tis the season for all things voting, and that's what we're gonna be spending, today's show focused on.
Speaker 2:So, brother Jim, before we go any further, what song were you just playing?
Speaker 1:That was a song that I wrote a couple of years ago, based on having read what's the man's name? Matthew Desmond, is a sociologist at Princeton these days, and he'd written an earlier book called Evicted, which is just amazing. He was embedded with, basically, in a trailer park and and getting to know families that were either at risk of being evicted or the landlords and wrote this wonderful book. And then, several years later, he wrote Poverty by America, which everybody needs to read and just talks about how our laws are designed to keep certain people in poverty. And so that song was, it was appropriate in that, it was the music is Spike Driver's Blues, which is Mississippi John Hurt's version of the John Henry story.
Speaker 1:So it's a labor story. And then my lyrics were inspired by those 2 books. And and, yeah. So, it's called Take My Story. And I think it's relevant to today in terms of, you know, the way laws affect us.
Speaker 1:And again, poverty by America is an amazing, book to check out.
Speaker 2:Thank you for that. Brother Rob, how are you doing today?
Speaker 4:Peace and blessings. I'm doing just fine over here working my social media. Wanna make sure we capture this moment for all of those that are not in the room to be able to experience. So I'm grateful to be here today and sharing this conversation.
Speaker 2:Thank you. Missael, how are you hanging today?
Speaker 3:I'm doing alright. Not too bad. It's, been pretty busy. Have some things, percolating at the at the city that, some of me and other organizers are trying to organize around. But, yeah, besides that, you know, it's been busy.
Speaker 3:It's been busy. Cool. Pretty good.
Speaker 2:Thank you. And I invite you to, in the next, hour that we have together to share some of that work that you're doing. So that's part of our purpose. So, Jim, I appreciate you for being the the the framer, and the resident. Well, I can't say you're the resident scholar because brother Rob, you're you're well read yourself.
Speaker 2:So, you'd sent me a list which I appreciate to frame our conversation today because we can go a lot of directions. So let's start with, the voter fraud panic and, just sit a little bit on that for a minute.
Speaker 1:Well, in the past decade and more, voter fraud has certainly become a, I would say, red herring in some ways. One of the statistics I read, I can't remember what the year was or anything, but, it was set particularly in specifically in Texas and said, you know, of 20,000,000 votes, 2 cases of voter fraud were, you know, detected. And I don't know even if those were were prosecuted. So the the instance of voter fraud in this country is infinitesimal, and yet it's been made a huge big deal and a reason for all kinds of voter suppression. So, I guess the main thing we wanted to emphasize today is vote and, you know, whatever we can do to make our aspirational democracy more democratic.
Speaker 1:Let's do it. And so part of the way we're gonna do that today is to look at, voter suppression, especially since, Citizens United and, and maybe particularly in Texas.
Speaker 2:Thank you. I will also say that the views expressed here are not necessarily those of the co op board of directors staff, volunteers or underwriters
Speaker 1:And,
Speaker 2:continue, Jim.
Speaker 1:Okay. Well, just 3 or 4 main ways voter suppression has been manifest in recent years. And, of course, it goes back, and and most of the study that I've done definitely ties it to the history of, white supremacy, post civil war, etcetera, reconstruction and the response of, with first KKK and then Jim Crow laws, etcetera. And then a long period of reaction since the sixties to the the successes of the civil rights movement. So, gerrymandering, we're all familiar with.
Speaker 1:We can talk about that. More restrictive voter ID laws, purges. And, I think that's where we want to really bring in some of, brother Rob's, you know, thoughts and and specific experience and, and closing station, making for huge long lines, just closing polling stations, you know, to make it really hard for people to vote. Early voting, limiting that to make it hard for people with jobs to vote in particular. So all those kind of things real purposefully, and part of it has has been, as demographics have changed and, you know, who the powers that be don't particularly want to vote.
Speaker 1:So yeah.
Speaker 4:Well, I would I would jump in there by simply saying, if our vote didn't matter and I'm speaking to those people out there who may say, well, I'm not going to vote. My vote doesn't change anything. It's rigged. Right? For all those people that have that position, I wanna say, if our votes did not matter, why are those who are in positions of dominance so determined to restrict it?
Speaker 1:Mhmm.
Speaker 4:So determined to limit it. So I'm justice impacted. I work for a local nonprofit organization called Grassroots Leadership. I want as a criminal justice participatory defense organizer, and so, I speak through the lens of my experience. Every view that I have doesn't necessarily today line up with my organization and that I'm not here as a as a representative and spokesperson for the organization.
Speaker 4:However, I'm a part of that organization because of my lived experience. I'm a person as African American in America who has been subjected to felon disenfranchisement. And for and for that reason, this conversation is important to me. I I would not be able to vote until the year 2049. I'm on parole until 2049.
Speaker 4:So if I live that long, I'll be 81 years of age and then I'll be able to participate in the full process of citizenry, which is a part of that is the franchise, the use of the franchise. So for that reason, this conversation is important to me. For that reason, learning about all of these ploys that have worked to disqualify those of us in this society who value our voice and our vote is our voice, I'm interested in continuing to learn. I'll just say this in passing. I first became aware of this idea of voter disenfranchisement when I learned about what happened in Florida.
Speaker 4:The hanging chad fiasco. Right? Yeah. The hanging chad. That that word still sticks with me.
Speaker 4:You know, they were all looking at papers so closely, the hanging chad fiasco. And and what we learned after that whole debacle was that many of the people that were purged or removed from the voting rolls were people that were allegedly convicted of felonies and that was not always the instance. And so, what the reason I'm pointing that out is because as a person that's justice impacted, we have to, I believe it is firmly, it is necessary for me to articulate my voice in such a way that I make the general population aware that criminalization in our society does not just limit itself to the to the reality of those that are currently ensnared by the system, but it but it is also a way by which the entire populace is at risk. Right? A threat to justice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
Speaker 2:Thank you for tying in doctor King's words there. And when you were just sharing, even though you are unable to participate by casting a vote, you are still participating by spreading the word and educating. So I want you to know that your voice is being heard right now
Speaker 1:and
Speaker 2:there are other ways too. So for anyone who's been disenfranchised by our an unjust law, laws in place that you still have a way to show up and engage in this election cycle.
Speaker 3:Yeah. And, to also, like, really hammer the, point home in which we're seeing, you know, restrictions to voter access. It's not just here, in Texas. It's, you know, it's all over all over the country right now. But specifically here in Texas, we're talking about millions of voters have been purged from this voter registration.
Speaker 3:And so, it's very important that not only do we show up to vote, but that we also check to ensure that we're able to vote, because we have a system here that's actively trying to purge people from the process. And if you're blocked from that process, your voice will not be heard. And so I recommend any anybody go to the, Texas secretary of state, and you can check your voter registration. And if you are not, registered to vote or if you need to be registered to vote, you have until October 7th, to get registered to vote so that you can participate in this upcoming election, which is very important, not just not just at the federal level, at at the presidential level, but also at the local level as well. And just really trying to urge people to get involved, and double check.
Speaker 3:Double check for you, double check for your neighbor, double check for, you know, your grandma, your grandpa and everybody because we we have seen, within the last couple of months, people who never thought that they would be impacted, who have lived in the same areas being purged from these voter rolls. So be sure to double check, your voter registration and get out there and let's organize.
Speaker 2:Thank you for bringing that point up. If you are just tuning in, you are listening to nonviolent Austin radio hour on k0op.org. We stream everywhere. And if you're local in Austin, it's 91.7 FM, and we appreciate you joining us in community today. So we have covered so far, voter the importance of checking your voter registration.
Speaker 2:And Monday, October 7th, is the deadline
Speaker 1:Mhmm. 4 days from now.
Speaker 2:4 days from now.
Speaker 3:To get registered to vote.
Speaker 2:Yep. And we also started talking about the voter fraud. Mhmm. You brought back the the ghost of the hanging chat, brother Robert.
Speaker 4:I wanna also, if I may, kind of shift a little bit and because I'm just as impacted and I can't participate in the electoral process. But I want folk to know out there that if you have had a felony conviction and you have completed all terms of your sentence, in the state of Texas, you are eligible to register and you are eligible to participate in the electoral process. This is something that many people are not informed about. So they believe, you know, they they follow the the the incorrect logic, once a felon always a felon, right? That that colloquial mythology, right?
Speaker 4:Trying to categorize people as the their last greatest mistake for the remainder of their lives. The truth is that many people who have a felony conviction have gone on to live productive lives, including participating in all aspects of what it means to be a citizen in this society. And so, if you are, no longer on parole, if you've completed your term, if you are no if you're no longer on probation to the exclusion of deferred adjudicated probation, you can participate and I say exclusion because if you're on misdemeanor probation or you had deferred adjudicated probation, which means the conviction is removed from your record, you can register to vote. So again, I encourage people that are justice impacted out there, Do not sit idly by and watch this process unfold where tomorrow your taxes will be adjusted. Tomorrow, somebody new will be placed in the, the on the school board.
Speaker 4:Someone will, decide to to employ imminent domain to to to to unsettle you from your home. All of these things are aspects of how politics are played out in our society and it is through our participation in the process that we can make an impact. After the fact, it's too late. It's too late to complain then. Before these decisions get made, we have a right to, invest in who those decision makers will be by the use of our franchise.
Speaker 4:I'm gonna just one last thing I wanna mention along with that. Just because people are registered to vote doesn't mean they're gonna go vote. Mhmm. So so we know the cutoff date is October 7th and we do want people to register to vote. But I wanna read something to you real quick, some stats.
Speaker 4:1,000,000 peep this is in Travis County. 1,000,000 people are eligible voters with convictions in Texas. Mhmm. This not say Travis County, but I mean Texas. 20% who are registered.
Speaker 4:So 20% of 1,000,000 people that are formally convicted are registered to vote. That number has to increase. I wanna lift up that. Yeah. Here we go.
Speaker 4:In 2022, do we talk about voter turnout? 81%, and this is Travis County in Texas. 81% of the voting age population was registered to vote and 45% turned out to vote in the November election. In the previous elections, there was an 8.2% gap between white voters and non white voters in Texas. This is the 3rd largest racial gap in the United States of America.
Speaker 4:In 2022, Travis County had 886,480 registered voters. We estimated that in Travis County in 2022 election, 76% of people with felony convictions were eligible but unregistered. And in the 2022 election in Travis County, 51.99% of registered voters voted. In the same year, 2022 election, only 6.5% of eligible voters with felony convictions voted. So so we have to talk about registering the vote, but we also have to talk about taking action on your values.
Speaker 4:I'll pause there.
Speaker 1:Yeah. 2 things I wanna make sure people know about are s b one. Just look that up, senate bill 1, I think from 2021. And and I think it's under the auspices of that that that, 1,100,000 Texas voters have been purged from the rolls. And it's still you know, as with our governor and and and our state's immigration policy vis a vis, federal policy, you know, this this voting policy is still being contested, looked at by the Department of Justice, etcetera.
Speaker 1:So, yet to the extent that we can inform ourselves on that and and, vote in such a way to to, again, increase democracy, by all means. The other thing I wanted to bring up that brother Rob reminded me of is, you may have heard the name Crystal Mason. Check out her case. She she was let's see. Her case was reversed, I think, back in the spring, and then it's under review again.
Speaker 1:But, it's up in Fort Worth. The DA, you know, is determined
Speaker 4:brought her back again? They're trying to re they're trying to re I
Speaker 1:think it's under me. I think
Speaker 4:it's I heard rumors about that, but it's egregious.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Yeah. Do you know more about that case, Rob?
Speaker 4:But I don't feel at liberty to to to expound on it at length because I don't wanna give misinformation on. But I would encourage folk to to educate themselves because, again, just, you know, listening to rumor and innuendo is not information. We we we recently heard in our last election cycle so much disinformation that's been circulating around. I don't know about you all, but I just registered with with with Facebook, Meta, no longer Facebook, with Meta, to be able to put political content on my website. I verified my identity so that way when I put something on my web page, and I'm gonna turn this around so people can hear me that are on my web my my Facebook page.
Speaker 4:When I put something out there, I'm going to verify it. I'm gonna make sure that I double fact check it because what I don't wanna be responsible is for somebody taking action on information that is not accurate and up to the up to up to par. So that case is an important case for us to go back and study. What's her name again?
Speaker 1:Crystal Mason.
Speaker 4:Crystal and she's out of Fort Worth, Texas. Is that correct? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 4:Very, very important case. She I think it took her 5 years to get some resolution and and now they're again. It just it just it just demonstrates for me the first of all, I know history. Mhmm. And because I know history, I'm not surprised.
Speaker 4:You know, if after after the civil war in the United States of America, what what happened in the south particularly, there was this concept called redemption that was waged. This basically an unofficial version of the civil war. And that I and and that effort was designed for one goal and that was to suppress the African Americans, particularly males at that time, who were then permitted under the new constitutions being formed in each one of the southern states, to participate in the electoral process. And what would that mean? That would mean that these folk who were formally identified as property in the United States of America, would be responsible for deciding policy.
Speaker 4:What an offense to white supremacy. What an offense that the people that were once worthy to be sold like cattle, hence the word chateau slavery, would now would now be sitting at the master's table and deciding rules no differently than the master. In fact, on equal footing with the master. And so we we must not be, I think, fooled by these tactics employees today. They are the ghost of the legacy of racism and slavery past.
Speaker 1:Yeah. And not only being able to vote but also being elected, you know.
Speaker 4:Oh, my goodness. Yes. And basically being considered on par with every other member of our society. So, yeah, this is a part of the the unresolved issues of our historical past.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 4:We have to face that. That's why I love the name of your show. What's your show, Stacey? Your your original show that you started here, KOP?
Speaker 2:Yeah. Racism on the Levels.
Speaker 4:Yeah. And who are this whose other who are the what other shows can we tell people about that people are participating in with these kinds of topics?
Speaker 2:Well, Chris Harris has on k a z I, the Austin justice AJC, I believe it's called hour.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And that's that's regularly broadcast. So kazi, I point folks there too.
Speaker 4:Out to kazi.
Speaker 2:That's right.
Speaker 4:Sister station out here. Yeah. What about, somebody I don't mean to put you on the spot, but I think we have a collective of people in our group Yeah. Who are doing some phenomenal work. Let's just kinda shout 1, at least 1
Speaker 1:or 2 of the folk out.
Speaker 2:I appreciate you be, saying that because I just pulled up the Austin Common, and, Amy Stansbury is on our in our collective. So this show, Nonviolent Austin Radio Hour, and my show Racism on the Levels, falls within a collective. And I want folks to know if you don't already know about it, theaustin common.com and the Austin common, has a really strong Instagram game and it's easily digestible with good graphics, but they put out an election guide and it's really focused on the local, races and propositions. And, missaela, you had mentioned and I wanna go into that after the halfway break to get really rooted in local community because, and I didn't come up with this, although I do live with this belief and it's a guiding value for me is that the person you help beyond working on yourself is the person next to you in this moment. And so, whereas we have plenty to discuss at the national level because there's a lot at stake there.
Speaker 2:There's a ton at stake at the state level and there is a ton at stake here in the city and that arguably will have more of an immediate impact on folks' lives because that's being made right here in your backyard, in your family's backyard, in your friend's backyard. So we're gonna actually pause for a quick station traffic break and we'll be right back.
Speaker 3:I gotta think about running for office.
Speaker 5:Hey, co op listeners. If you have ever considered becoming more involved with one of Austin's most progressive media outlets, then why not throw your hat into the ring and run for a seat on Co OP's board of directors or community council? Why should I? Well, because it's a great way to involve yourself in the shaping of the present and future of Co OP Radio.
Speaker 1:It sounds great. I'd love to.
Speaker 5:Well, if that is the case, you can get all of the details at k0op.org. There you will find a link to our online nomination form that will be due by Sunday, October 13th. Co op election's a great way for you to have your say in the present and future of KOLP radio.
Speaker 4:It's just the American way.
Speaker 2:Hey, y'all. Welcome back. You are listening to Co OP Community Radio 91.7 FM in Austin. And I appreciate all of my family and friends who are not in the state listening, online at k0op.org. And, I'm looking at brother Rob because you and I have shared, orbits.
Speaker 2:We both spent time in California and New York and our circles are wide. And now I'm going deep in this season by having an Austin community radio show. Nice. So, Michelle, I think you had something you wanna bring in.
Speaker 3:Yeah. We were talking about, you know, our history and, like, white supremacy as, as it pertains to elections and, voting. And I just wanted to kinda just reiterate and make a statement of saying that's why it's so important that we get out there and vote, because a lot of the things that we're fighting for and that are for for fathers and mothers we're fighting for can all be undone by the stroke of a pen if the wrong people are elected. And so it's very important that we get out there, so that we can ensure the progression that we've been making is continued upon.
Speaker 4:Yeah. Jim, do you have anything else on those
Speaker 1:Yeah. Just as a springboard for a few minutes, back to the state level. One of the pieces that most impressed me in doing some of my research is a book by Carol Anderson, who's a historian, I think, at Emory University, 1 Person, No Vote, How Voter Suppression is Destroying Our Democracy. And on page 108, it left out to me, Texas. She says, in fact, just as Mississippi in the 19 sixties exemplified the contortions the state was willing to undertake to politically silence a sizable minority population, Texas is the poster child for trying to accomplish something similar in the 21st century.
Speaker 1:She goes on to talk about the 2010 census and the way that was used for gerrymandering, etcetera. And then she says, farther down on the page, the racial gerrymandering in Texas is so institutionalized that, frankly, it has the aura of the apartheid area era's white minority rule. In the Lone Star State, whites are 45% of the state's population but control 70% of the congressional districts. This disparity is even more obvious in the Dallas Fort Worth area, where whites are only 20% of the population but have 80% of the congressional seats. As an editorial in the Dallas Morning News explained, quote, current voting maps erode minority voters' right to choose who they want to represent them and threaten our democracy more broadly, end quote.
Speaker 1:The state has therefore faced a number of lawsuits and has had to go back and redraw, redraw, and redraw again, and that's ongoing. So, yeah, I just wanted to throw that out there. That page leapt out at me.
Speaker 4:Well, thank you for that, information. Again, I wanna emphasize history because I think history is best prepared to reward its researcher. Mhmm. And historically, after the civil war, that era is called the reconstruction era. And when you learn history, you'll learn that this was one of the most bloody and and we've had a lot of bloody histories.
Speaker 4:Right? And I emphasize this because I know that many people are going to be and are now afraid of what could be on the horizon in our community. But I wanna tell you that we've had times in the past that have been extremely challenging. Right? Draw on the past to guide us because there's wisdom in the past.
Speaker 4:There's there's a legacy that we can learn from in the past, in learning the past. One thing I wanna lift up is that, you know, often times I find myself perplexed by those who condemn or critique the African American community for the reason of knowing about for that one reason because I know about the history of reconstruction. So here you had a time in America where, you know, African Americans were getting themselves in line to participate fully in society. Right? They were, you know, laws were being changed to accommodate their presence here.
Speaker 4:Well, just in Texas for a long for example, you know, what do politics do? Politics allow us to gain access to the allocation of resources. Essentially, that's the way I describe it for myself. Right? Those who make rules decide who's going to get a portion of what.
Speaker 4:Well, when you cannot have access to the levels of power, what happens to a community if that's done on a whole scale basis. Right? A wholesale basis. So in Texas, for example, there was for There was a time we had legislators that were African American after the civil war. For almost 97 years, there was not one African American until Barbara Jordan that sat on the Texas state legislature.
Speaker 4:Now just imagine what kind of what what would the what would the conditions of that community be? So so on one hand, we point to communities and say, look at the look at the poverty, look at the blight, look at the neglect. But we deny them on the other hand access to the resources which would then transform those conditions. So so I point that out for those fair minded people that are listening to this show today, the nonviolent Austin Radio Hour because it's important for us to remember the values of the beloved community. Right?
Speaker 4:We all deserve a right to live in this society. Especially those of us that have been impacted and and are closest to the margins. We shouldn't cancel them out. What happens to them then?
Speaker 2:Well, also, this is on a philosophical note, we're intertwined. Our our mutualities, our futures are intertwined. So, and again, doctor King is one of my strongest teachers and influences and it's the beloved community isn't about us and them because we understand what our mutual our mutual interest is and it is not the dominant status quo And that does it. That cuts across age lines, race lines, class lines
Speaker 4:Gender lines.
Speaker 2:Gender lines. That's right.
Speaker 4:Yeah. Yeah. I got one so we're gonna shift we want to shift to back to local politics. So what's what what do we what do we to expect in the local ballot in Travis County? Let's just lift that up for a moment.
Speaker 4:In Travis County, this coming election, what would be of interest to those also that adjust as impacted? So we'll have multiple offices this year for reelection. Some important offices are going to be the county attorney, who works with law enforcement on prosecuting misdemeanor charges. Big issue when you have over 50% of those, that are going cycling in and out of the jails for misdemeanors. We need to investigate.
Speaker 4:What are the misdemeanors? Why are we arresting this many people for for these mediocre offenses? Why are we clogging up the jail and creating all sorts of other fiscal problems for our society? Right? I think that's something that we should be concerned about.
Speaker 4:So, Delia Garza will be, up for reelection. District attorney, with with work with law enforcement. Okay. So that's felony charges. Jose Garza is up for reelection and sheriff, who determines the local law enforcement initiatives and implementation.
Speaker 4:Sally Hernandez is up for reelection. So these are important offices that we can have a impact on who sits in them, how they work with us as a community, whether they cooperate with us or not cooperate with us. Right? These are important issues that we have a chance to now engage with them on and determine whether or not they remain in that position or they are removed from that position. I say again to those that are out there, your vote is your voice.
Speaker 1:Yeah. And that yeah. Michelle, did you have something?
Speaker 3:I was gonna say, yeah. Going back to brother Rob's point, these folks that were basically electing and putting in these positions, these are the folks that we want to work with, from a community standpoint. And I know, me and brother Rob, we've worked on a a few things together, in collaboration with some of these folks and
Speaker 4:Soon to be the black pink tank?
Speaker 3:Yeah. Soon to be soon to be soon to be. And, and and one of the things that, you know, that we've been learning throughout this process is that when you have an advocate that sits at the table, you can get a lot way more done, especially if those ideas are transformative, especially if those ideas take nuance and complexities. You can bring those lived experiences, to the table and have an advocate for you out there. And so, it's very important that we get involved and look at, you know, up and down the ballot of who we want representing us
Speaker 4:and Mhmm.
Speaker 3:And their ideas and their thoughts. I'm also going to recommend, League of Women Voters. They come out with a great ballot, breakdown of not only the different propositions that will be on ballot, but also from the federal to the local, level of the different candidates, their viewpoints. And there's no bias. There's no there's no, there's no tinge to any of it.
Speaker 3:It's just exactly what the, the candidates have put out there.
Speaker 4:If I may really quick, would did somebody else wanna jump in?
Speaker 2:I just wanna say as as a movement broadcast journalist through this radio show, I'm gonna put an invitation out there and that is there is no unbiased news in journalism, print or, you know, radio or anything. And so I think that that that mis belief has stifled the people's voice. And so, yeah. So quick quick movement broadcast journalism plug is that there's no unbiased information out there.
Speaker 4:Thank you for that point that you're making. I wanna just chime in one more time with some some things that we should be expecting at this next election. So in the November election, Austin will be holding an election for mayor and city council districts. 2, 4, 6, 7, and 10. Which district are you in?
Speaker 4:Which district? And you look it up online. If you wanna know anything about, this coming election, our organization, we have a website. It's called grassrootsleadership.org. You can look us up and when you go on to the page, just go and select campaigns.
Speaker 4:And when you scroll down in campaigns, look for how to register to vote. And we have a whole plethora of content that we've made available to the public, specifically for those that are just as impacted. We want you to be as empowered as you possibly can be. So again, mayor Kirk Watson is up for reelection. Kathy Tovo, Doug Greco and Carmen Yanez, are up for reelection this year.
Speaker 4:Districts 2, 4, 6, 7, and 10. Be informed. Take action. Do not just sit on the sidelines. Get involved.
Speaker 4:The last thing I wanna say is I shift to someone else participating in this conversation is even though I can't vote you said something a little bit earlier, Stacy, that I I thank you for expressing. I can't vote. Right? But that doesn't mean I don't have another v and that's called a voice. So I make myself available, as part of my my my job description to go down to the county, county court and and I engage with our elected officials at the commissioner's court.
Speaker 4:When there's an issue coming up around the budget, I go down to the city hall and I testify. If there's an issue that pertains to my community's welfare around resources or housing or childcare, I weigh I weigh in. Because all my life, these institutions and these systems have circumscribed my life. I have a right and a responsibility to weigh in on those. And even if I weren't doing this work as a paid organizer, I would still be doing this work as a part of my avocation.
Speaker 4:It is my purpose to take the things that I've been through. I've been close to the pain. Now it's time for me to get into the driver's seat and start riding and driving this train.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Absolutely. And, also, I will say, you're you're unpaid doing this out of your heart and within your purpose for this show. So That's correct. I would say there's probably many things in your life, brother Rob, that you're not gonna pay for that you're doing.
Speaker 4:I'm gonna use
Speaker 2:Which isn't right.
Speaker 4:I'm gonna say yet.
Speaker 3:Yeah. Yet.
Speaker 4:Because I do have a family. And today Oh, yes. It's important for me to do these things with the hope of like, anybody that's lived in this society historically, what what is one of the things what what is one of the the the catchphrases we identify our entire society by, right? We call this the American what? Dream.
Speaker 4:We want we want this society to present itself with the possibility of creating a wonderful life, a wonderful opportunity at, for others. My hope is that this dream doesn't become a night fear, a nightmare that's that's that's derived at the expense of others. Mhmm. Right? That's what we don't want.
Speaker 2:And as long as we are capitalisming in this society, I certainly hope you get paid for your efforts because this is labor, what we're doing. Yeah. And so we
Speaker 3:Yeah. I was gonna say, and this is just a random plug, but I've I really hope at some point, we could have, like, a general fund for organizers that are doing the work that can actually, seek some type of compensation. Because like brother Rob and like many others, you know, we have full time jobs, and then advocating and organizing is also the full time job that we do outside of that. And so, you know, a lot of that work, it comes it comes with a lot of stress. It comes a lot with a lot of time, and it comes with, you know, with some hard nights as well.
Speaker 3:And so seeing folks, get compensated would be great to see at the the city and the state level, but I'll pass off the
Speaker 1:I just had a quick personal anecdote from last week. I was volunteering voter registration at one of the ACC campuses, and, young people were coming through. And there was a young man, early twenties, when we asked, you know, can we check your voter registration? He said, I don't vote. And so, oh, why not?
Speaker 1:You know, just gonna engage him in conversation, and and he basically expressed the frustration with exactly what you're talking about. Who who can I trust? You know, what what news source, what media is gonna get me, you know, the information I need in order to be an informed voter? And so we had a little card that that had the contact info for the League of Women Voters, and I gave him that card and bookmark. And he went away.
Speaker 1:I don't know if it's the class or what, but he made my day. He came back a half hour later and said, I changed my mind. I decided to register. So Yeah.
Speaker 2:And that's it. You know, impact is not always at scale, and at scale is I'm tired of that one. Like, you you change one person's life. Like, you don't know what ripple effect that one small seemingly insignificant action is gonna result in. It could be huge.
Speaker 4:Well, you know, I have a thought about that too. Thank you for lifting that up. One thing that I wanna add to that element of our conversation is I believe so I I believe very much in direct action organizing. Right? I believe that we change society through collective effort.
Speaker 4:Right? And so it is important for me to belong to organizations and to lend my hand to the work that is done by the collective who shares in common values that I hold to be true. But at the same time, I realized that direct action organizing does not necessarily instantly support people that are in crisis. So I'm simultaneously extending one hand towards efforts of service, kindness, and compassion when it is needed. I don't believe that there's a one size fits all approach to change in our society.
Speaker 4:Right? If you could look at change as a spectrum and on one side, you had service work and on the opposite side, you had direct action organizing and in the middle, you had education. You know, depending on the situation, one approach may be more prevalent or more preferred than another. We have to we have to use our wisdom and our and our insight to to know what's appropriate when.
Speaker 2:And our natural gifts. Right? All of us have a different gift. And when we're shining in our truth and purpose, we're gonna be the most effective. Deepa Iyer, I referred to on my other show every month because Deepa created a social change ecosystem map and lists out about 12 different roles, and artists are on that list of roles as you you lifted up frontline responders.
Speaker 2:And there are many shapes and forms, and they all are required to move us into liberation.
Speaker 4:I mean, how do we begin this show today? We had a we had musical accompaniment because music moves the people, right? You go back in history and you look at the populous movements, you look at the labor movement. What was moving the people? What was forming the the the social fibers that connected one group to another?
Speaker 4:It was art. It was music. It was poetry. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Alright, y'all. We got, we actually have one more, station break, and we will be right back.
Speaker 1:I don't know, you know. I mean, like, I know Vinny likes me, but, like, you know, I don't know.
Speaker 6:Tune in every Friday afternoon from 3:30 to 4:30 for Be Kind, Rewind, the the show that's all about the eighties. A rotating cast of DJs explores the decade that gave us MTV, college radio, ergonomics, and, oh my god, Valsky. Don't forget, Be Kind, Rewind, only on your most excellent community station, Co OP Radio.
Speaker 2:You are tuned in to the nonviolent Austin Radio Hour. I am your host, Stacey Fraser. I am joined by my comrades and friends, brother Robert, Tyrone, Lilly, brother Jim Crosby. I what Musail, we got a lot of bro brothers by, chosen title. What, do you I can call you something else.
Speaker 2:Are you are you,
Speaker 3:Brother's 5.
Speaker 2:That's 5. Yeah. Yeah. In the in the spirit, I have strong walks in the spiritual faith in this circle here.
Speaker 4:Yeah. Yeah. I tell folk all I wanna do is be a brother to another.
Speaker 1:That's it. Yeah.
Speaker 4:That's it. So I got plenty of brothers here and a sister.
Speaker 2:That's right. So, thank you. I say siblings too. Like, I've been telling people sibling all the time. Like, that's my music too.
Speaker 4:Ken folk. Ken folk.
Speaker 2:Ken folk. Yes. Ken folk. So folk. Let's let's send some information here real quick.
Speaker 2:The League of Women Voters is actually doing a council member candidate forum tonight. So if you're listening, it is going to, the lead league League of Women Voters Austin area is moderating the forum, and you can attend in person or you can watch online, on their website lwvaustin.org. And I believe that this event is happening at city hall. Is anybody else aware of this event? I heard it this about it this morning.
Speaker 2:It's happening tonight.
Speaker 1:Oh, wow.
Speaker 2:So it's the mayor of Austin. Yep. Yeah. So we've got a yeah. We've got about 10:10 minutes left.
Speaker 4:Well, one of the things I wanna jump in real quick with is, now, I just wanna quickly talk about eligibility, and the guidelines. Right? For who can who can vote. So a person must be at least 18 years or older by election day, a US citizen, a resident of the state Texas County where you apply for registration, not currently incarcerated or on probation or parole for a felony conviction. But I wanna make sure I had to mention that if you're in the county jail and you have not been you've not had a final conviction, you are eligible to vote by mail.
Speaker 4:So I just wanna emphasize that that is an option available for those that have loved ones that are incarcerated in the jail. You spread that word because they are their votes still counts. You're not determined by a court to be ineligible to vote due to a mental incapacitation even if you are still paying legal financial obligations but your sentence is otherwise completed, you can vote. You can vote if only you have a misdemeanor even if you are on probation or parole for a misdemeanor, as long as you are not serving time for a felony, you can vote. The right to vote is automatically restored in the state of Texas upon the completion of one's sentence.
Speaker 4:If you're unsure whether you or one of your contacts, your loved ones or relatives are eligible to vote, ask a trusted organization. I just wanna lift up a couple of those organizations. Texas Civil Rights Project. You can reach out to them at www.texttxcivilrights.org. The election protection hotline.
Speaker 4:That's another great space. 866, our vote. 866-687-8683. And, you can go to our website at grassrootsleadership.org and go to the area called campaigns. Scroll down and look for register to vote, and you can find out all kinds of cool information about how to be empowered.
Speaker 3:And, I just wanna jump in here and give some, dates as well. The last day to register to vote again is October 7th. October 21st is when early voting starts, so just be aware of that. October 25th is the last day counties will take mail in ballots. And so if you cannot get out to vote, October 25th is the last day you can mail in your ballot.
Speaker 3:And, of course, Tuesday, November 5th, will be the actual vote, that day. I do wanna shout out one institution, Sugar's Cakery in Pflugerville. They will actually be doing a voter registration drive, this Friday at 3 PM. And so check them out.
Speaker 4:I know Sugar's. I know Sugar's.
Speaker 3:Yeah. I
Speaker 4:think I got some Sugar
Speaker 1:over here.
Speaker 4:Well, I wanna mention something along those lines of, come upcoming an event. There's going to be a candidate forum. Now let me just mention this before I I list out the forum. This is a space where you can come as a citizen, sit down in an audience, and listen to the position that the push person pursuing your vote has. You can there there are opportunities, depending on how it's set up for you to raise your hand or write a question and get that question answered.
Speaker 4:If that person's answer doesn't jive with your preference for a representative, that is an indication that that may not be the individual that you wanna endorse. Right? So these candidate forms can be quite essential to helping us understand who we want to, you know, put our put our vote in the hands up.
Speaker 1:So
Speaker 2:And this is beyond tonight's council, mayor 1?
Speaker 4:Yes. This is This is gonna be on October 7th. Thank you. Thank you for getting me there. Candidate form, community safety and policing.
Speaker 4:It's going to be it's gonna start at 5 PM to to 8 PM, October 7th. It'll be at the vortex, 2307 Manor Road, number 2135, Austin, Texas 78722. It's, hosted by grassroots leadership, the Austin Justice Coalition, and the Texas Civil Rights Project.
Speaker 3:Oh, and I know about the vortex right across the street from me.
Speaker 2:And I know about the butterfly bar, which is at the vortex. It's one of my favorite spots to meet up with people.
Speaker 4:Yeah. So get out there. Not only will it be an opportunity for you to engage with those that are seeking your vote, but it'd also be an opportunity for you to find community. These are spaces where you'll come and see people who are interested in the in the very same, you know, issues that you hold true to or important in your life. And this is how we build power in our community.
Speaker 4:We connect through relationships, public relationships, political relationships in our community.
Speaker 2:Now before we continue this popcorn of info sharing, I just wanted to impress upon our listeners that again, this is this system requires our participation and it is designed as such to restrict our participation. So, something that I saw on KUT, this was today, it was published this morning is Austin post offices dropped out of the plan to host voter registration drive. Oh, wow. And yeah. So local post offices across Travis County have reversed a plan that would have allowed residents to register to register to vote on-site Monday.
Speaker 2:And so, you know, that's that's what we're talking about here is piercing through that veil that this is not important or that you may not have enough information to exercise your right or that you think your vote doesn't matter because it absolutely does. And not only that, if you believe in justice, then, it's imperative that you get involved and exercise that right.
Speaker 1:And again, the ostensible reason for things like that decisions like that is voter fraud, which statistically almost never happens.
Speaker 3:So
Speaker 4:Mhmm. Well, one thing I wanna speak to again, and I lifted up a little earlier, was some of the nay the nay saying, the commentary that runs through various populations. But in particular, those populations that feel disempowered because of the historical voices of oppression. Some people may say things like, I don't care about voting. People running for office don't care about me, or the things that are important to me.
Speaker 4:And I want to say to you, you don't know that to be absolutely true. You have to do your research. You have to engage with the people who are running for office. One thing I've learned, and this is about in reference to ministers, I had a similar position towards people that were people of the cloth that I hold that I that some people hold towards people of the politics. Right?
Speaker 4:I thought these purposes were disconnected from my my my experience. They weren't interested in the things I was going through until I joined the church and got close to a minister And I learned that everything that is happening in the general population is usually taking place right there in that congregation. There's somebody that's been arrested. There's a family that's breaking up. There's a need for financial support.
Speaker 4:So even though this minister who has oftentimes historically been portrayed in the community as a political force. Right? And that was the thing that I was resentful about. Right? Usually, when political issues come up, we run to the politicians.
Speaker 4:We run to the to the to the to the clergy and we rep and we bring them out, right, to address our issues. And I didn't feel connected to that population. But what I've learned is that these people are just as invested in the issues that I'm plagued by. Only they're dealing with it on a on a more intimate level with the people in their congregations. It's not all we don't always see the work that they're doing.
Speaker 4:Shout out to to to my minister at, reverend Horton, doctor Horton at Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church. I wanna just acknowledge him and the congregation for the great service that they're rendering to many in our congregation. And this work happens every day and it can't be seen by the general population. Right? But we need these institutions.
Speaker 4:We need political institutions. We need our faith institutions. We need all of the organizations that are out there representing the interests of the people like nonprofit organizations. I wanna just point that out as well. It's not just one one form of power is not the only form of power.
Speaker 4:Right?
Speaker 1:Yeah. Yeah. And if you feel isolated or alone, especially if you think about issues like this, yeah, reach out and be part of community. Build your own community from from you out or join, you know, a a group like Robert's talking about.
Speaker 4:And if you're feeling like, like my brother, Jim has said, you know, if you're feeling really right now afraid, there's a lot of rhetoric that's circulating around there, around these these these current political times. I wanna encourage you to reach out to a local, mental health support. Reach out to nami.org and connect with them. What is that number? Is it the 988 number?
Speaker 4:The the 988 number when you can if you're feeling, like, depressed or you have some kind of, challenge in that respect?
Speaker 1:And if I can It's,
Speaker 2:it's it's 80950 NAMI, which stands for the National Alliance on Mental Illness. So, yeah, please reach out. No suffering in silence. And this, you know, the try and this ice isolated individualism is a tool of the oppressor. So, you know, you're not alone even if you feel alone.
Speaker 4:I am because we are.
Speaker 1:Mhmm. Mhmm. I noticed that one of your areas of focus is housing. And if you could just give us a a sense of of housing in Central Texas, you know, what the what the issues are, and maybe how it relates to the current election.
Speaker 2:And in 45 seconds. Or maybe one fact.
Speaker 3:Yeah. One fact. Yeah. Yeah. So housing is very important.
Speaker 3:Not only, you know, just one definitive type of housing, but we need to have, diversity in housing. With that, though, we also have to understand, the historical inequities that have taken place over time and actually push policy that go back and right those wrongs. And so just building housing just to build housing for its sake is not just the answer. We need housing. We need actual policies that look at vulnerable communities and ensure that they're being brought along, with all of our progressive ideas as well.
Speaker 3:And I definitely could talk about this, you know, on LinkedIn, ad nauseam for
Speaker 4:for a while.
Speaker 1:We'll bring you back
Speaker 2:to say that this is a public invitation to rejoin us because I I feel like this worked out alright. Yeah. Yeah. So y'all, thank you for your time and attention. Thank you
Speaker 4:for your time and attention. Thank you for your voice. Your vote is your voice. Your vote is your voice.
Speaker 2:And we wrap, and we'll see you after the election because we are a monthly show. And, Jim, tell us what you're gonna play and then take us out with your song.
Speaker 1:I'm gonna play you m I'm Satisfied, which is a John Hurt song, adapted for, activism and Beloved Community, we'll say. I'm satisfied, tickled to. Marching arm and arm with you, I'm satisfied. We'll keep on till we win. I'm satisfied in tickle 2 and I'm marching arm and arm with you, I'm satisfied.
Speaker 1:We'll be back again, we'll organize throughout our state, we won't lie down, we won't wait, we'll organize. Keep on till we win, we'll organize. Register and vote, we'll speak the truth. The weak quote by rote, we'll organize. Dear, we'll be back again.
Speaker 1:I'm satisfied, tickled to marching hard and armed with you, I'm satisfied. We'll keep on till we win, and I'm satisfied in tickle 2, and I'm marching hard and armed with you, I'm satisfied. We'll be back again.