Welcome to another episode of the Comrades Classroom Podcast! We are finally back. Our team has been hard at work trying to keep our two core programs running. In this episode, we listen to a speech from Haunani Kay Trask, a scholar poet, and champion of sovereignty for the Hawaiian people. Her life's work was dedicated to the liberation and self-determination of the Indigenous people of Hawaii. This month, our curriculum is centered around her best-known book, "Notes from a Native Daughter: Col...
May 16, 2023•24 min•Ep. 25
Welcome back to another episode of the Comrades' Classroom podcast. This month, our community took time to study concepts and frameworks that have emerged out of queer the liberation movement and especially those that are grounded in the revolutionary tradition of Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera. On this episode, we play back a brilliant book launch of Eric A. Stanley's book Atmospheres of Violence: Structuring Antagonism and the Trans/Queer Ungovernable. The discussion was put on by the Oth...
Jun 30, 2022•1 hr 32 min•Ep. 24
On this episode, we sit down with members of the Orange County Rapid Response Network (OCRRN). OCRRN is an interconnected system of non-profit and grassroots organizations, civil rights attorneys, law school clinics, and individuals working together to respond to dehumanizing immigration enforcement activities and policies in Orange County. Throughout the discussion, we talk about the purpose of their organization and we also talk about why it's necessary to connect immigration issues to the lar...
Apr 03, 2022•1 hr 28 min•Ep. 23
Welcome to another episode of the Comrades' Classroom Podcast! On it, we playback for you a live interview done by Neighbor Program with Dr. Cornell West (watch the full video here ). In this interview, Dr. West talks about growing up in Sacramento, the History of the Black Panthers in Oak Park, and the Importance of the Malcolm X Academy being developed by members of Neighbor Program. To support the school, please donate using this link . Their team is hard at work fundraising to get the school...
Mar 23, 2022•1 hr 45 min•Ep. 22
What up everybody! We're back and trying to get on schedule for some weekly content for our listeners. On this episode of the Comrades Classroom Podcast, we sit down with members of Neighbor Program and Agape movement to discuss their development of a community center called the Shakur Center for Health and Wellness. If you haven't yet, go back and listen to our previous episodes with each of these organizations. The Shakur Center will be located in Oak Park, Sacramento and it will house various...
Feb 28, 2022•1 hr 44 min•Ep. 21
On this episode of the Comrade's Classroom Podcast, we've turned one of our favorite documentaries into an audio episode for our listeners. ' The Aqueduct Between Us ' is a film project that documents radical oral histories about water in los angeles county as told by the Indigenous people of tovaangar (los angeles) and payahuunadü (the owens valley). This documentary was directed by Annie Mendoza, a Ph.D student in Urban Planning at the University of california, los angeles and is guided by the...
Dec 31, 2021•45 min•Ep. 20
For this episode, we turn the Zine 'Accomplices Not Allies' by Indigenous Action Media into an audio essay for our listeners! "This provocation is intended to intervene in some of the current tensions around solidarity/support work as the current trajectories are counter-liberatory from my perspective. Special thanks to DS in Phoenix for convos that lead to this ‘zine and all those who provided comments/questions/disagreements. Don’t construe this as being for “white young middle-class allies”, ...
Nov 10, 2021•22 min•Ep. 19
Welcome to another episode of the Comrade's Classroom Podcast! In this episode, we turn y'all onto one of our favorite Disability Justice resources from our curriculum titled "Re-envisioning the Revolutionary Body" a talk by Mia Mingus. This talk is about the ways in which ableism and disability impact organizing, organizations, and so much more. In the first part of the discussion, Mia will focus on building our knowledge about disability, ableism, and the medical-industrial complex. In what wa...
Sep 30, 2021•51 min•Ep. 18
For Black August , we began by honoring the legacy of Russell 'Maroon' Shoatz and that's how we hope to end this month as well. Shoatz is a dedicated community activist, founding member of the Black Unity Council, a former member of the Black Panther Party, and a soldier in the Black Liberation Army. He is serving multiple life sentences as a US-held political prisoner/prisoner of war. This is Part Two of our Audio Essay of 'Autonomous Resistance to Slavery and Colonization' by Russell 'Maroon' ...
Aug 31, 2021•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 17
For Black August , we begin by honoring the legacy of Russell 'Maroon' Shoatz. Shoatz is a dedicated community activist, founding member of the Black Unity Council, a former member of the Black Panther Party, and a soldier in the Black Liberation Army. He is serving multiple life sentences as a US-held political prisoner/prisoner of war. In the next two episodes, we turn his incredible compilation of writings 'Autonomous Resistance to Slavery and Colonization' into a two-part audio essay for our...
Aug 10, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 16
On this episode of the Comrades Classroom Podcast, we sat down with the hosts of the podcast 'Building Our Power' to talk about the process of political education and the state of political consciousness on the Western Left. Subscribe, leave a review, and share with the homies—we appreciate everyone's support thus far. If you fuck with the work we doing and want to support our survival programs in the field please become a sustainer of our work on Patreon! Stay principled, y'all. To Tap in with ...
Jul 28, 2021•55 min•Ep. 15
What up everybody! The purpose of this project is to raise political consciousness and encourage our listeners to get involved with or form their own abolitionist organization. In this episode, we sit down with Red and Lindsay from From The Heart PNW. We discuss the foundations of From the Heart PNW, building institutions hand-in-hand with our neighbors, sustainable organizational structure and much more! To support their work and learn more about survival programs in the Greater Seattle area, t...
Jun 09, 2021•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 14
What up everybody! The purpose of this project is to raise political consciousness and encourage our listeners to get involved with or form their own abolitionist organization. In this episode, we sit down with Mikey and Michaela from Feed The Block Inland Empire. We had an amazing discussion about the foundations and guiding principles of Feed The Block IE, the necessity and urgency of political education, and the cooptation of liberatory movements. To support their work and learn more about su...
Jun 01, 2021•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 13
What up everybody! The purpose of this project is to raise political consciousness and encourage our listeners to get involved with or form their own abolitionist organization. In this episode, we sit down with the founder of a political education project called, Agape Movement where we had an incredible conversation about political education and radical love. In addition to her PE work with agapemvmt, mel is involved as a volunteer with People's Programs Oakland. To support their work be sure t...
May 20, 2021•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 12
EMERGENCY EPISODE! In this episode, we spoke to the Red Condor Collective to learn about the current situation in Colombia. As protestors throughout the country mobilized against the government’s recent neoliberal reforms, we have seen the Colombian government use repressive tactics to eliminate the possibility of a liberation movement. To understand how global capitalism and policing play a role in Colombia’s current circumstances, Juanes from the Red Condor Collective discusses the broader his...
May 10, 2021•54 min•Ep. 11
In this episode, we sit down with Malik, a member of the Revolutionary Abolition Movement who was one of the authors of Burning Down the American Plantation. They're also joined by one of their comrades and fellow educators, Christy! They both guide us through some important conversations about revolutionary Abolition, the inevitable societal collapse under capitalism, and the necessity of community survival. To support the Revolutionary Abolition Movement visit RevolutionaryAbolition.org to pur...
May 03, 2021•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 10
In this episode, we get to sit down with a panel of sex workers and grassroots organizers (@adrierising, @prolepeach, @xoxoLaurenKiley, and @GemmaParadiseXO) to talk about decarceration of the sex industry and how idealism on the left produces harmful discourse that minimizes the material conditions of sex workers and erases their liberatory organizing. Listen close at the end of the episode to see how you can support the work these amazing folx are doing on the ground in their communities. To s...
Apr 05, 2021•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 9
In this episode, we get to sit down for a conversation with Kingsley, a graduate student and member of the All African People's Revolutionary Party , and Broderick, a graduate student and member of the Black Power Collective out in IE. They share a lot of expertise about direct organizing and why it's important to study alongside the work we do in the field. To support the podcast share with friends and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts! Your support helps us sustain our surviving programs and...
Mar 29, 2021•1 hr 26 min•Ep. 8
Welcome to another episode of the Comrades Classroom Podcast! On it, we get to sit down with two of our comrades from Neighbor Program up in Sacramento and they talk a bit about their own journey of political education as well as the survival programs they're building within their community. Follow and support their work @NeighborProgram (@neighbornewsppr) on Instagram and support their work on Patreon ! To support the podcast share with friends and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts! Free the ...
Mar 22, 2021•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 7
In our final episode of our Disability Justice Series, we get to sit down with two of our comrades Sam and RT as they discuss the everyday violence of ableism through their personal experiences. To support our work please subscribe to our Patreon or donate via Venmo! Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Youtube, or wherever else you get your podcasts & leave us a comment!
Mar 15, 2021•54 min•Ep. 6
In this episode, you'll get to listen in on snippets from our weekly conversations in December and January! Our comrades sat down to talk about the "Cripping Transformative Justice" and the difficulties of addressing harm within collective spaces, accountability, grace, and all the ways we imagine implementing Disability Justice frameworks into our mutual aid work. You're in for a treat—what makes this episode so special is the honest stories told by our members. In the next two weeks, we will b...
Feb 17, 2021•1 hr•Ep. 5
In this episode, we sit down at Neighbor School with our homies from Sacramento to talk about Disability Justice and other frameworks of collective care developed by Eliot Fukui. On it, we discuss why we, as a collective, believe it's important to implement practices of Disability and Healing Justice to sustain our survival programs. For access to more Disability Justice resources please visit the Comrades Classroom website. If you haven't already, please support this podcast and our daily work ...
Jan 26, 2021•53 min•Ep. 4
In this episode, we playback audio from a documentary done with former Black Liberation Army member, Thomas "Blood" McCreary (starts at 2 min. 8 sec.). Following the audio playback, you will hear clips from our group discussion (starts at 52 min. 3 sec.) -- we talk about the BLA's impact on the community, security culture, and how our current movement is failing to honor political prisoners and lost soldiers of the BLA. For more readings on the Black Liberation army please visit the Comrades Cla...
Jan 02, 2021•1 hr 26 min•Ep. 3
This discussion centers on the movement for Palestinian liberation through sources provided by our wonderful guest facilitators from the Palestinian Youth Movement—follow them @ palestinianyouthmovement on Instagram. We outline the barbaric history of Zionism, we discuss the Palestinian Liberatio Front, and we also talk about why the occupation of Palestine is not a "conflict," it's violent settler colonialism. To support the work we do in the field become a sustainer of The People's Fund on Pat...
Dec 05, 2020•59 min•Ep. 2
This discussion centers on the political and organizational foundations of The Peoples Coalition. In an interview with graduate students from Cal State Dominguez Hills, two members of the Coalition share the history of the foundation and growth of the organization and the principles that guide the mutual aid and survival programs undertaken by We Got US OC. Don't consume this labor for free! Become a sustainer of our mutual aid projects at patreon.com/ThePeoplesFund. To support the podcast kick ...
Dec 05, 2020•47 min•Ep. 1
