Greetings from What is California? HQ, where this week I’m thrilled to welcome Alicia Garza to the show.
Alicia is a celebrated activist and organizer whose name you’ve likely heard connected to any number of initiatives. She is perhaps best known for her work as the cofounder of the Black Lives Matter Global Network and #blacklivesmatter. (She left BLM in 2017.) More recently, Alicia has worked as the principal behind the Black Futures Lab and its affiliated Black Census Project. Her awakening to and her participation in social and racial justice activism is rooted in her native Bay Area—particularly in Oakland.
We talk a lot about that activism and its influence over the years, as well as why she thinks California isn’t necessarily given its historical due as an engine of Black culture. She is definitely doing her part—maybe you’ve heard her podcast Lady Don’t Take No, and two years ago this month, she published her book The Purpose of Power: How We Come Together When We Fall Apart.
Of course, we start with Alicia’s own California story, and end with her favorite Californian. (Alicia has a very, very good one.) It was a real thrill to speak with Alicia, and I’m so glad to bring our conversation to you.
Let me know what you think! Drop me a line: hello@whatiscalifornia.com. It’s always a pleasure to hear from you.
Thanks for listening! Keep your eye on the bear! 🐻 ❤️
Episode Notes
Alicia Garza is the principal at Black Futures Lab and the co-founder of the Black Lives Matter Global Network.
California is not seen as one of those places that has a high density of Black people, and therefore it's not seen as a place where Black culture is innovated. But it should be.
Notes and references from this episode:
@aliciagarza - Franklin Leonard on Twitter
Black Futures Lab - home page
Black Census Project - home page
“Lady Don’t Take No” with Alicia Garza - Apple Podcasts
The Purpose of Power: How We Come Together When We Fall Apart, by Alicia Garza
Dr. Espanola Jackson Day proclamation - City of San Francisco
June Jordan - Academy of American Poets
“Shock G, Leader Of Hip-Hop's Digital Underground, Dies At 57,” by Rodney Carmichael, NPR
“Thinkin’ About Merl Saunders” - The Grateful Dead
Congresswoman Barbara Lee - home page
“Why Barbara Lee Voted Against the War in Afghanistan,” by Andrea González-Ramírez, The Cut
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Produced, hosted and edited by Stu VanAirsdale
Theme music: Sounds Supreme
Twitter: @WhatCalifornia
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