Host Max Rameau is joined by two leaders of New Orleans' workers’ bill of rights campaign, which recently passed in the November elections. Britain Forsyth is an organizer with Step Up Louisiana and a member of the Louisiana Democratic State Central Committee, and Nadiyah Muhammad is a Step Up member/organizer who's been heavily involved in the workers’ bill of rights campaign. Together, we discuss what organizing for grassroots democracy looks like in this political moment. Britain Forsyth is a...
Dec 17, 2024•37 min•Season 7Ep. 37
Host Max Rameau is joined by Erika L. Anthony, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Cleveland VOTES, and Molly Martin, a member of the Cleveland Catholic Worker and the lead organizer for the People's Budget Cleveland grassroots ballot initiative campaign, for a conversation on Cleveland’s fight for participatory budgeting, and why sometimes losing an election is still a victory. Earning 49.11% of the vote in 2023, the People's Budget amendment would have given Cleveland residents the ability to...
Oct 15, 2024•48 min•Season 7Ep. 36
Today on the show: a special panel discussion addressing the questions: How can communities build power in the face of colonization, natural disasters, and corporate profiteering? In Puerto Rico and the Hawaiian island of Molokai, residents have been grappling with some of the highest energy costs in the nation, while for-profit utilities amass record profits. But communities on both islands have advocated for a different path, one that prioritizes care, democratic control, and resilience. Join ...
Jul 15, 2024•55 min•Season 7Ep. 35
Host Max Rameau talks with Manju Rajendran of Durham Beyond Policing. Together, they discuss the landscape of organizing in North Carolina, abolition, healing justice, and the work of building and maintaining community. Manju Rajendran is a facilitator, trainer, conflict transformation practitioner, and organizer with 27 years of local, state, regional, and national-level experience. Her work is grounded in popular education pedagogy and healing justice. Manju is a trainer with Ready the Ground ...
Jun 14, 2024•39 min•Season 7Ep. 34
Host Max Rameau talks with Kamau Franklin of Community Movement Builders, Inc and Black Power Media. Together, they discuss the movement to Stop Cop City, its national relevance, and the strategy behind the movement. They also discuss creating accessible political media, and what Kamau's learned from his time in Palestine. Kamau Franklin is the founder of Community Movement Builders, Inc. Kamau has been a dedicated community organizer for over thirty years, beginning in New York City and now bas...
May 10, 2024•50 min•Season 7Ep. 33
DSC Communications Coordinator Tafari Melisizwe and Coordinating Committee Member Andrew Hairston of Texas Appleseed join organizer, writer, and radical political theorist Geo Maher for a robust conversation on policing and social justice movements. The episode begins with Geo laying out the ideas of his book A World Without Police , and then continues with a conversation with Tafari and Andrew about translating these ideas to the work of getting police out of schools and transforming society. G...
Dec 01, 2023•1 hr 22 min•Season 6Ep. 32
Today on the show: a special panel discussion featuring leaders who are utilizing co-governance strategies in organizing. Hear from Elianne Farhat of TakeAction Minnesota, Faduma Fido of People’s Economy Lab, and Tarson Núñez, member of the Governance Board of People Powered. The discussion is moderated by Kesi Foster, Co-Executive Director of Partners for Dignity & Rights. Elianne Farhat (she/her) is the executive director of TakeAction Minnesota and has been a leader in many successful loc...
Nov 02, 2023•1 hr 8 min•Season 6Ep. 31
Host Max Rameau talks with leaders of the Cooperation New Orleans Loan Fund: Tamah Yisrael, the Education and outreach coordinator, and Tamara Prosper, the Loan Steward. Together, they discuss unions, capitalism, and organizing for cooperative economics in the deep south. BIOS Tamara Prosper is the Loan Steward at Cooperation New Orleans. She is an avid reader and writer who grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia, came to New Orleans for a college education, graduated, got married, and decided t...
Oct 02, 2023•52 min•Season 6Ep. 30
Host Max Rameau talks with Judith Le Blanc of the Native Organizers Alliance. Together, they discuss organizing in Native nations, protecting sacred spaces, lessons from Standing Rock, and celebrating victories. Judith LeBlanc is a member of the Caddo Tribe who has an endless appetite for fry bread, an inter-tribal culinary delight! As the executive director of Native Organizers Alliance (NOA), she has learned many intertribal secrets to good fry bread. She leads a national Native training and o...
Sep 05, 2023•55 min•Season 6Ep. 29
On this episode, Mississippi organizers discuss their work to end state sanctioned violence in schools. We explore the statistics behind the fight to end corporal punishment in Mississippi and the other 18 states where it is still legal, and how Mississippi organizers have made progress in this crucial fight for change. This a fight for human rights, children's rights, dignity, and respect. Whether it's in schools, the workplace, or judicial systems, punishment is more readily and harshly given ...
Jul 31, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Season 6Ep. 28
On this episode, leaders from Black and immigrant community organizations discuss their work and draw out lessons and challenges for communities and local governments interested in working together to advance racial and economic justice. They discuss their fights for safe water infrastructure, stopping wage theft, combating police violence, and building restorative justice in schools. Featuring: Brooke Floyd, People’s Advocacy Institute Rosie Grant, Paterson Education Fund Shaw San Liu, Chinese ...
Jun 26, 2023•1 hr 19 min•Season 6Ep. 27
On this episode, we talk with Aisha Ahmed, an organizer with the Palestinian Youth Movement and the International League of People’s Struggle. Together, we look at the current resistance in Palestine, fighting against fascism, Black-Palestinian solidarity, and strategies for liberation. Aisha Ahmed is an organizer with the Palestinian Youth Movement and the International League of People’s Struggle. She is the vice general coordinator of the Bay Area chapter for PYM and sits on the national stee...
Jun 01, 2023•38 min•Season 6Ep. 26
On this episode, we talk with Rukia Lumumba from the People’s Assembly, Jackson, Mississippi. Together, we discuss the state of Mississippi’s attempts to disenfranchise Black political power, and the revolutionary organizing happening now in response. Rukia Lumumba was named a "New Activist" by Essence magazine and an "Emerging Leader" by the Congressional Black Caucus. She is the daughter of community justice icons, the late Mayor Chokwe Lumumba and Nubia Lumumba, and continues the Lumumba fami...
Apr 24, 2023•48 min•Season 6Ep. 25
On this episode, hear from a recent panel discussion featuring Sofia Lopez, Tomás Rivera, James DeFilippis, & Kesi Foster. Together, they discuss strategies to wrest control of housing from the real estate industry. Sofia Lopez is Deputy Campaign Director of Housing for the Action Center on Race and the Economy. Tomás Rivera is Executive Director of the Chainbreakers Collective. Dr. James DeFilippis is Associate Professor, Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University....
Nov 15, 2022•53 min•Season 5Ep. 24
On this episode we present a panel discussion featuring Jessica Gordon Nembhard, Raj Patel, Rafaela Rodriguez, & Kesi Foster. Together, they discuss how what we eat connects to labor rights, health, culture, and more. Jessica Gordon Nembhard is professor of Community Justice and Social Economic Development in the Department of Africana Studies at John Jay College, CUNY. Dr. Gordon Nembhard is a political economist specializing in community economics, Black Political Economy and popular econo...
Oct 21, 2022•55 min•Season 5Ep. 23
On this episode, we talk with Njera Keith and Kristina Brown, the co-founders and Ministers of Cohesion of 400+1, a Black cooperative federation based in Texas. Together, we discuss reproductive justice, creating and holding Black space, revolutionary organizing, vanguardism, and gender politics in social movements. Njera Keith is a Diaspora oriented Black organizer whose focus is the development of movement philosophy and infrastructure that supports cohesion and unity in revolutionary struggle...
Sep 15, 2022•1 hr 19 min•Season 5Ep. 22
Seventeen years after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, join us in exploring the legacy of Katrina and education justice. In conversation with host Max Rameau is Ruth Idakula, Program Director of Dignity in Schools Campaign. Ruth discusses the principles of restorative justice, New Orleans schools after Hurricane Katrina, how to sustain yourself in this work, and her own path from a childhood in Nigeria to organizing in New Orleans. For nearly two decades, Ruth S. Idakula has dedicated her l...
Aug 26, 2022•57 min•Season 5Ep. 21
Join us in exploring art and abolition, with host Max Rameau and artist, professor, writer, and prison abolitionist Bryonn Bain . Bryonn talks with Max about his new book Rebel Speak: A Justice Movement Mixtape , and the multimedia production of his play Lyrics from Lockdown , playing at the Apollo Theatre on August 29th . They also discuss the Prison Industrial Complex, organizing through the arts, the importance of mental health, and influences; including Albert Woodfox , Lani Gunier , and Kel...
Aug 15, 2022•1 hr 11 min•Season 5Ep. 20
On this episode, we discuss the intersection where food justice meets Black liberation. Joining host Max Rameau are Mama Savi Horne and Baba Fred Carter, two organizers who are also on the board of the National Black Food & Justice Alliance. Baba Fred Carter works with Black Oaks Center for Sustainable Renewable Living, a 40 acre off-grid eco campus in Illinois that is engaged in a campaign against NICOR to stop the development of a pipeline and push for a Renewable Pembroke. Baba Fred is ch...
Jul 15, 2022•58 min•Season 5Ep. 19
On this episode, part two of a two part interview, Mamyrah Prosper discusses the aftermath of the assassination of Haitian president Jovenel Moïse, as well as grassroots responses. This interview was recorded just days before the recent earthquake added to the turmoil in Haiti. Mamyrah Prosper is International Coordinator for Community Movement Builders , and Assistant Professor of Global and International Studies at UC Irvine. She immigrated to the U.S. from Haiti at age 15, leaving her parents...
Aug 15, 2021•1 hr 7 min•Season 4Ep. 18
On this episode, part one of a two part interview, Mamyrah Prosper discusses her personal history as the daughter of a political prisoner in Haiti through her movement activism and work as a scholar, as well as recent Haitian political history, from the Duvaliers through Jovenel Moïse. Stay tuned for part two, as we discuss the assassination of Moïse and the aftermath, as well as grassroots responses. Mamyrah Prosper is International Coordinator for Community Movement Builders , and Assistant Pr...
Aug 12, 2021•35 min•Season 4Ep. 17
Cole WIlliams of the Greater New Orleans Citizen's Relief Team talks with host Max Rameau about liberating homes owned by the city of New Orleans, renovating them, and moving in unhoused people. Described as having “the heart of Bob Marley, soul of Sam Cooke and grit of Etta James” , New Orleans-based Cole Williams and The Cole Williams Band (CWB) has rooted their sound in the tradition of Gil Scott-Heron , creating songs that reflect the everyday experiences and hopes of Black people all ...
Apr 13, 2021•39 min•Season 3Ep. 16
M. Adams, Co-Executive Director of Freedom, Inc , talks with host Max Rameau about Black-Asian solidarity, lessons from multiracial organizing in a mostly white Midwest city, and their recent victory in removing police from schools in Madison, Wisconsin. M. Adams is a community organizer and co-executive director of Freedom Inc. Born and raised in Milwaukee, Adams has been in Madison since 2003. Adams’s dad has been incarcerated most of her life and she comes from a community that has been the e...
Jan 01, 2021•43 min•Season 3Ep. 15
Philadelphia Housing Action used direct action to force the city of Philadelphia to relinquish over 60 vacant homes for a community land trust for housing for the homeless. Sterling Johnson and Jenn Bennetch, two organizers with Philadelphia Housing Action, join host Max Rameau to discuss their victories and setbacks in their work to take over vacant housing in Philadelphia, and explore lessons for the movement for housing. See more of the work of host Max Rameau at pacapower.org . Stay subscrib...
Dec 01, 2020•46 min•Season 3Ep. 14
This episode, adapted from a recent webinar hosted by Partners for Dignity & Rights, is an important conversation on community solutions to the interconnected crises we are facing in this political moment. Liz Sullivan-Yuknis of Partners for Dignity & Rights facilitated a conversation with frontline organizations, including: Scot Nakagawa, ChangeLab Adriana Foster, United Workers Letha Muhammad, Education Justice Alliance & Dignity In Schools Campaign Crystal Hayling, The Libra Found...
Aug 17, 2020•48 min•Season 2Ep. 13
On this special bonus episode of The Next World, we feature highlights from a recent conversation with organizations of essential workers and impacted communities. Cathy Albisa of Partners for Dignity & Rights facilitated a conversation on how we can not just save lives, but also expand human rights and make us all safer in the future. Speakers on this episode include: Poet and organizer Cynthia Dewi Oka . Tim Bell, Executive Director, Chicago Workers' Collaborative . Magaly Licolli, Cofound...
Jul 23, 2020•1 hr 8 min•Season 2Ep. 12
On this episode of The Next World, we focus on the organization Moms 4 Housing . Our guests are two members of the organization, Carroll Fife, Director of the Oakland chapter of Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment and current candidate for Oakland's District 3 City Council seat, and housing activist Dominique Walker, who participated in the first Moms 4 Housing housing takeover. Carroll and Dominique joined host Max Rameau to discuss what brought them to the act of civil disobedie...
Jul 09, 2020•45 min•Season 2Ep. 11
This month: We are excited to welcome Michelle Mascarenhas-Swan and Mateo Nube of Movement Generation Justice & Ecology Project . Movement Generation inspires and engages in transformative action towards the liberation and restoration of land, labor, and culture. Michelle and Mateo joined host Max Rameau to discuss viral superhighways, land & capitalism, and environmental justice. Michelle Mascarenhas-Swan has worked for the last 25 years building movement vehicles for frontline communit...
May 13, 2020•1 hr 9 min•Season 2Ep. 10
In this special bonus episode, Laketa Smith of Voice Of The Experienced (VOTE) in Louisiana joins host Max Rameau to discuss environmental justice, prisons, and prison reform versus prison abolition. Laketa Smith is a proud dual member of Voice Of The Experienced in their New Orleans & Baton Rouge Chapters, Executive Director of A Bella LaFemme Society, and a mentor and advocate for social justice. This episode was recorded before COVID-19 had been declared a pandemic across the U.S. Of cour...
Apr 23, 2020•31 min•Season 2Ep. 9
This month: Cathy Albisa , co-founder and executive director of Partners for Dignity & Rights, and Ben Palmquist , Program Director for Health Care and Economic Democracy at Partners for Dignity & Rights. Cathy and Ben join host Max Rameau to discuss a human rights response to COVID-19, focusing on housing, healthcare, dignity in schools, and workers' rights. See more of the work of host Max Rameau at pacapower.org . This our first episode of season two of The Next World! Stay subscribed...
Mar 30, 2020•1 hr 5 min•Season 2Ep. 8
