According to Ruha Benjamin, we’re living inside someone else’s imagination. An imagination that limits our ability to build a more just, liberated world. So, how do we take back our agency and begin to seed something different? Baratunde talks with Princeton professor and founding director of the Just Data Lab, Ruha Benjamin to find out.
SHOW ACTIONS
Internally Reflect - Bear witness and create a ripple
This one is inspired from Ruha’s book Viral Justice: How We Grow the World We Want which says: “…bear witness to the weight of individual and communal protective acts and consider how all of us can be involved in sheltering one another from the rain and sun by cultivating relationships, skills, accountability, and healing.”
Think about when you witnessed someone near you perform an act of justice or kindness or protection for another. Was it a big or small act? Did it require courage? How did witnessing that make you feel about the world? Is it something you could repeat and further the impact?
Become More Informed - Learn about racial justice
Ruha recommends Rest is Resistance: A Manifesto by Tricia Hersey and The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander both of which you can find on our Bookshop page.
Publicly Participate - Invest in your community using your time & skills
Check out ways to invest and get to know your community using your existing skills and experience. If you’re 60+ check out Thirdact.org and Cogenerate.org. If you’re 25-59 check out Volunteermatch.org and Catchafire.org. If you're 16-24 check out Civicsunplugged.org and Youthclimatelobby.org.
SHOW NOTES
Walk through Breonna’s Garden and check out Lady Phoenix’s IG for more.
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How To Citizen is hosted by Baratunde Thurston. He’s also host and executive producer of the PBS series, America Outdoors as well as a founding partner and writer at Puck. You can find him all over the internet.
CREDITS
How To Citizen with Baratunde is a production of iHeartRadio Podcasts and Rowhome Productions. Our Executive Producers are Baratunde Thurston and Elizabeth Stewart. Allie Graham is our Lead Producer and Danya AbdelHameid is our Associate Producer. Alex Lewis is our Managing Producer. John Myers is our Executive Editor and Mix Engineer. Original Music by Andrew Eapen and Blue Dot Sessions. Our Audience Engagement Fellows are Jasmine Lewis and Gabby Rodriguez. Special thanks to Joelle Smith from iHeartRadio.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
BONUS: Baratunde On Peril and Promise of AI
Citizening at The Source (Sam Rader)
First, You Bring Them Cake (Christian Vanizette)
A How to Citizen Huddle (Coach Steve Kerr & Friends)
Fewer Debates, More Dunk Tanks (Priya Parker)
To End Conflict, We Must Transform It (Tim Phillips)
A New Shape for the Economy (Kate Raworth)
DAO-mocracy (Alex Zhang)
Democracy without Politicians (Claudia Chwalisz)
Love is a Renewable Resource (Nsé Ufot)
Crafting a Citizen Story (Jon Alexander)
Democracy, Fractals, and Sci-fi (adrienne maree brown)
Season 4: Creating a Culture of Democracy
BONUS: Homelessness Is Solvable (with Aras Jizan)
Those We’ve Left Behind (with Shaka Senghor & Teresa Hodge)
Blockchain Chickens and Empathetic Tech Workers (with Xiaowei Wang)
When The Data Is Us (with Krystal Tsosie)
Arsenic in My Muffins (with Kasia Chmielinski)
Defending Our Collective Psyche (with Sander van der Linden)
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