Indiana's Democrats Walk the Plank on their Own Accord

It turns out the local Democratic Party's strategy of systematically abusing women, rallying around their abusers, and trying to bury the truth in dark is not paying off. How could the "best and the brightest" think that following a playbook written 75 years ago could possibly breed success in 2025? In this episode, we'll get to some of the apparent "thinking" behind their strategy.

Jesse Brown, our City-County Councilor representing District 13 joins the show to try to untangle the corrupt and undemocratic nature of the Democratic Party establishment. Brown, who beat Zach Adamson, the third highest-ranking Democrat in the city in the last primaries as an open socialist, has used his seat on the Council as a tribune for the people. He was the first to call for Hogsett's resignation after survivors' revealed the culture of misogyny he created and, after a failed attempt, was also the first to be kicked out of the Democratic Party Caucus.

Jesse joins co-host Derek Ford for the latest on this one aspect of the collapsing Democratic Party establishment. He also gives his take on the new punitive curfews his "colleagues" are placing on young people and their guardians/parents, showing the easy and effective solutions to youth violence that could easily be implemented here immediately. The two also touch on the bi-partisan effort to continue privatizing public education through charter schools and "school choice," a movement that emerged as a racist response to the 1954 "Brown v. Board of Education" ruling, and highlight that the fight is not over.

Co-host Dani Abdullah dedicates this week's Circle City Shout Out to Bryce Gustafson, an organizer with the Citizens Action Coalition, which has helped Hoosiers save $10 billion on utility bills through organizing. One can also find Bryce wherever the power of the people is needed, like the year-long struggle to implement the people's choice for Library CEO: Nichelle M. Hayes.

At the end of the show, find out about upcoming events, including the July 30 Liberation Forum, "The Power of Organizing Together," the August 1 First Friday with Vernon T. Bateman that closes out his two-week long "Art for Exoneration" experience at Gallery Forty-Two, and encourage listeners to stop by the Indianapolis Liberation Center to check out the phenomenal exhibit at the Center's Fonseca-Du Bois Gallery, "Frida by Colors," a group show of artworks inspired by Frida by local Black, indigenous, Mexican, and artists of color and oppressed identities.

Lastly, Dani and Derek issue a call to action to demand the arrest of Dorothy Nicole Scales, an Aramark worker for IDOC who raped Vernon T. Bateman in 2017. You can learn more about that and take action in the show notes below.

Show Notes:

Hamilton County: Prosecute Rapist Dorothy N. Scales! https://indyliberationcenter.org/hamilton-county-prosecute-rapist-dorothy-nicole-scales/

Citizens Action Coalition: https://www.citact.org/

Frida by Colors: https://indyliberationcenter.org/frida-by-colors-annual-art-open/

Liberation Forum: The Power of Organizing Together: https://indyliberationcenter.org/july-25-forum/ 

Indy's "Epstein Island" by Jesse Brown: https://www.jesseforindy.com/emailarchives/071325indys-epstein-island

Central Indiana DSA: https://www.centralindsa.org

First Friday: A History of Resilience with Vernon T. Bateman: https://www.freevernon.org/first-friday-the-history-of-human-resilience/