How we save ourselves: Interventions beyond the ballot box
As The South Votes
As The South Votes, Episode 4. 'Don’t boo, just vote' is a tired refrain. It takes more than an election to save ourselves—let alone Democracy. Groups that employ continued, year-round civic engagement in the South walk us through the connection between electoral power and creating real opportunities for our communities to thrive. It will take more than a single electoral victory or an additional pro-people candidate elected to change the status quo. Voting is just one of many tools in our toolbox to affect meaningful change in the South. At the start of episode four of , we are joined...
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How we build political power: Lessons from Texas and Florida organizers
As The South Votes
As The South Votes, Episode 3. Instead of simply focusing on get-out-the-vote campaigns behind particular candidates, these groups are building for the long haul. Organizers in Texas and Florida share what it means to build power outside of traditional electoral campaigns. “Building political power” and “people-powered movements” are two phrases that have become organizing buzzwords over recent years. But what exactly do either of them mean? We dig deeper into both in the third episode of . Brianna Brown, Co-Executive Director of the Texas Organizing Project, walks us...
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How we fight gerrymandering in the South
As The South Votes
As The South Votes, Episode 2. What gerrymandering looks like in the South—and what we can do about it before it’s too late. Putting redistricting in context, with a spotlight on the legal challenges to some highly questionable maps that have been allowed to go into effect for the upcoming election. We hear a lot of talk about gerrymandering and rigged maps, especially in the South, but few seem to understand what the terms actually mean. In episode two of , we cover gerrymandering and redistricting in-depth—and the impact on the concept of “one person, one vote.” We spoke with...
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How we organize around elections: Lessons from Mississippi organizers
As The South Votes
As The South Votes, Episode 1. For electoral and civic engagement organizers, there is no off-cycle. Catching up with Mississippi Votes about what it means to organize young leaders to shift the balance of power in a state still combating deeply entrenched white supremacist power. In this first episode of , we hear from Arekia Benett and Velvet Johnson of Mississippi Votes, an intergenerational organization cultivating a culture of civic engagement and political empowerment in impacted communities across their state. Arekia and Velvet share that as an organization, Mississippi Votes...
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As The South Votes: 2022 teaser!
As The South Votes
In this season of As The South Votes, Scalawag and Anoa Changa team back up to talk about what's working, what's not, and what lessons Southern organizers have learned in their efforts to make the region we love a more just place. Learn more and revisit past episodes at: https://scalawagmagazine.org/vote/
info_outlineAs The South Votes, Episode 2. What gerrymandering looks like in the South—and what we can do about it before it’s too late.
Putting redistricting in context, with a spotlight on the legal challenges to some highly questionable maps that have been allowed to go into effect for the upcoming election.
We hear a lot of talk about gerrymandering and rigged maps, especially in the South, but few seem to understand what the terms actually mean. In episode two of As the South Votes, we cover gerrymandering and redistricting in-depth—and the impact on the concept of “one person, one vote.”
We spoke with Joshua Douglas, University of Kentucky law professor and author of Vote for US: How to Take Back our Elections and Change the Future of Voting about all of the above—as well as upcoming Supreme Court cases like Moore v. Harper, which could have broad implications which change the balance and separation of powers at the state level.
In the second half of the episode, we speak with Ashley Shelton, Executive Director of the Power Coalition for Equity and Justice in Louisiana. The Power Coalition is a coalition organization that partners with several other groups in the state. Following its work during the 2020 Census, the Power Coalition and partner organizations geared up for the redistricting process in Louisiana, and prepared for attempts to gerrymander Black voter power to the margins.