May 29, 2024 • 30 mins
In this episode, we get to talk to Danny Montes, the Organizing Director for Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice about the power of political advocacy and relationship-building with legislators. Danny shares his personal journey, explaining how pivotal moments in his life led him to champion public safety and reforming the criminal justice system. He lifts up the Heal the Vote campaign, which mobilizes crime survivors to participate in civic engagement and voting, and reflects on his experience as an Obama leader, highlighting its influence on his leadership style. This episode is a powerful reminder of how local leadership and community-driven initiatives can contribute to lasting change.
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Episode Transcript
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Aswad Thomas (00:00):
Welcome to the
Crime Survivors Speak Podcast.
My name is Aswad Thomas.
I'm the National Director of Crime
Survivors for Safety and Justice.
We are now a national network
of over 200,000 victims of
crime across the country.
If you haven't already subscribed
to stay up to date on the latest
episodes, you can do that on YouTube,
(00:21):
Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and other
streaming services by clicking the
link on your screen or going to the
website at www.cssj.org/podcast.
So welcome you all to
season three of the podcast.
As you all know, if you're listening
to TV, if you're reading newspapers,
and you were having conversations
with your family, we're headed into
(00:44):
a presidential election this year.
And I know that political engagement
is going to be such an important theme
in this coming year for our listeners.
So we've got an amazing lineup of
guests for you with a ton of expertise
and political organizing and advocacy.
So kicking off this season of the Crime
Survivors Speak podcast, we're happy to
(01:05):
be talking to my friend, Danny Montes,
who is the Organizing Director for
Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice.
Danny brings 12 years of local
state and national campaign
organizing and advocacy experience.
He was living in California, but
now he's based in Denver, Colorado.
Danny frequently works with the CSSJ
(01:27):
chapters and members to activate them
in organizing and policy campaigns.
Uh, Danny, thanks so much
for being here today.
Danny Montes (01:35):
Yes.
Thank you, Aswad.
I'm excited to be here.
Aswad Thomas (01:37):
Awesome.
Good.
So let's, let's get right into it.
So Danny, you bring a lot of
experience organizing advocacy,
bringing together communities.
Can you share some pivotal moments or
experiences in your life that inspire
you to become involved in political
advocacy, particularly in the space of
criminal justice and public safety reform?
Danny Montes (01:58):
Yeah, absolutely.
So my story starts when I was very young.
Some of my first memories were of
me having to translate for my parents
at grocery stores, at the bank, every
time somebody answered the phone.
And this was because my
parents were from Mexico.
They came to the United States.
I'm a proud son of immigrants.
(02:18):
And one of the things that I realized
very early on is how much people like me
and my family were treated as the other.
People sometimes would belittle us.
Uh, sometimes people would treat us
unfairly because of how we look like, how
we spoke, you know, and growing up, I was
(02:39):
born and raised in Los Angeles, California
in the 1980s in Southeast Los Angeles.
At that time, my community was
surrounded by a rich immigrant
community that was embedded in
both culture, but also poverty.
At a very young age, I wanted to make sure
that I had some extra cash in my pocket.
So during high school, I would spend
(03:00):
summers in the evenings working with my
dad, trying to find jobs, just connecting
and being able to sort of sustain
myself and also help my family out.
At that time, my dad worked any
job he could, he would work at car
washes, he would do landscaping,
he would work in factories.
And I joined him in a lot of those and
I remember feeling at a moment when
(03:20):
I was in a factory where it was over
a hundred degrees in there during the
summer, just realizing that this is,
this is not it for me, this is difficult.
And I remember having a conversation
with a few of my family members
at the time, and they said,
you just got to do the work.
And this is how we live.
This is how we're treated
in this, in this country.
And it made me feel small.
(03:42):
It made me feel like I didn't belong.
At the time, I really didn't see
anybody that looked like me, that
talked like me in television, in
government, people who were there
to support us, first responders.
It was, it was very difficult growing
up and seeing so much poverty, so
(04:03):
much crime, but also not having
our needs met as a community.
I lost so many of my childhood friends
to the prison system, to violence,
and I also saw firsthand how trauma
impacted my family, how it impacted
families in my community, where people
(04:25):
felt alone, people felt unwelcomed, and
there wasn't really a solution to a lot
of these problems that we were facing.
And it was at that time that
I made a commitment to myself.
I said, I don't know when, I don't
know how, but I want to make a change.
I don't want to feel small.
I don't want to feel like the other.
(04:47):
And at that time, the only route
that I knew was education, because
that's what my mom harped on.
She said, as long as you can get
good grades, do the best that you
can, that's how we're gonna succeed.
And that's exactly what I did.
I went to school every day, tried my
best, got some amazing grades, I feel.
And I was fortunate enough to be
accepted to go to UC Berkeley, one of
(05:09):
the best public schools in California.
And at that time, I also realized
that I was in a community where
it was completely different than
the community that I grew up in.
I went from being in a high school of 95
percent Latino to a school that we were
just under 10%, but that didn't stop me.
I still wanted to continue.
That's where I learned a
(05:30):
lot of my, uh, politics.
I got politically active in organizations.
Sometimes I would say that my
college education got in the way
of my real education, but that's
when I realized that there is an
opportunity for me to stay engaged.
I ran for student body vice president.
I won and that allowed me to
really interact with people.
(05:51):
outside of the university, connecting
with lawmakers to talk about funding
for higher education, to provide
more students with the support that
they needed to not just attend public
institutions, but to actually graduate
and to go on to do some amazing things.
After that, I moved to Washington, DC.
I worked for a Congress member.
(06:13):
And that was really where
I saw politics firsthand.
At that time, I wanted to make sure
that I had an opportunity to learn
of how politics actually really works
outside of my history books and the
things that I learned at my university.
And it made me feel even more small
working in Congress because I realized
(06:34):
that there's not a lot of people coming
in and out of those doors that look
like me, that talk like me, that had
a lot of the experiences that I had.
But that didn't deter me.
That didn't stop me.
After that, I wanted to figure
out what is the best way for me to
continue to advocate and continue
to build the vision of my community
(06:55):
so that people continued to grow,
that people had an opportunity
to feel heard, not feel like the
other, how I felt when I grew up.
That led me to work at a union and then
had one of the largest Latino civil
rights organization where that was really
where I worked with a lot of community
(07:15):
members who were directly impacted by
our justice system and understanding
why is it that people cannot get jobs?
Why is it that people are not
advancing economically in the
communities that they live in?
And that led me to being much more
intentional with understanding not just
our criminal justice system, but how
(07:38):
immigrants in this country are directly
impacted by the justice system as well.
Aswad Thomas (07:43):
Thank you for sharing that
because I had a very similar experience
just like my childhood growing up
surrounded by poverty, crime, but one
thing that resonated with me was when you
talked about being at UC Berkeley, right?
So going from a community where, you
know, majority 95% Latino population,
then going to a school with less than 10%.
(08:05):
Right.
And I had that same experience
when I went to college as well.
And it was one of the most
beautiful experiences, right.
Of being in a different environment,
learning about different cultures and
just be it around individuals who are
so different from ourselves, right.
And the opportunity that our education
provided, especially provided you
with being able to be a student body
president, move to DC, then work for
(08:27):
a union organization, really dive
into working with community members.
As someone who has tons of experience
being an organizer and being a campaign
strategist, what advice do you have
for our listeners about the importance
of building relationships with
legislators and key decision makers,
especially on conflict issues like
(08:48):
criminal justice and public safety?
Danny Montes (08:49):
Yeah.
I mean, the, the solution
is in that question as well.
I feel like relationship is the key word
in there where we need to make sure that
as we are growing campaigns, you know,
if there are organizers out there that
are thinking about how do I make sure
that I have a successful campaign that
I connect with folks that we can win
(09:10):
either legislation or any of the local or
state or national advocacy efforts that
they're doing, their plan must include
relationship building.
Many of us, including myself, I would
not be here today if it wasn't for the
support and the relationships that I have
with my family, with my partner, Kay,
with mentors who took me under their wing
(09:30):
when I was very young, trying to be an
organizer, trying to convince everybody
that I had the solutions that I want to
win and trying to bring people on board.
But it was really taking the time
to listen and Identify what are the
common interests that we have together,
whether you are a legislator, whether
you are somebody who is just getting
(09:52):
activated for the very first time,
humanizing the issue is something that
is very critical in the work that we do.
Feeling like we are correct, feeling
like we are on the right side of
history, unfortunately isn't always a
recipe for success, but humanizing the
issues that we work on is going to take
(10:13):
us farther than we can ever imagine.
There's only so much reports.
There's only so much videos and
stories that we can share, but if
we're not connecting to people's
emotions, to people's histories, to
people's stories, that's not going to
lead us to the future that we want.
It's important also to ensure
that when we're thinking about
(10:34):
campaigns, that we're not just
thinking about the next few months.
We're thinking about what is the
legacy that we want to leave for future
generations to, to make a difference,
to carry the mantle of change.
You know, many people are always
feeling like they're stuck, that
their campaign isn't working, or
that their issue isn't working.
And sometimes it's really about shifting
(10:57):
the narrative, so that it connects more
with people, so that we can build those
relationships with legislators, not
just for this bill or for this campaign.
But for future, because there may be a
city council member in your community
that ends up running for mayor, that
ends up running for a state office,
that ends up running for governor, that
ends up running for federal offices.
(11:17):
And for you to be able to build those
relationships throughout that journey
is only going to be helpful for you
and the work that you do in building
change in your communities as well.
Aswad Thomas (11:28):
So relationships,
relationships, relationships, it's
critical in just your daily life, right?
Relationships with family and friends
and community, but most importantly
when working on changing policy,
those relationships with legislators
and also their staffers as well.
Danny, you started with
Californians for Safety and Justice.
You've been with the organization
almost going on 10 years now, but the
(11:50):
last few years you have been working
directly as the Organizing Director
for Crime Survivors for Safety and
Justice, and as an organizer yourself,
supporting local survivor leaders is
crucial to energizing and sustaining
efforts around policy change.
Can you share a story
about a local leader?
(12:11):
Or a community initiative that left
a lasting impression on you and
what lessons you learned from that
collaboration with local leaders?
Danny Montes (12:18):
There's so many.
Um, one of the people that I want
to uplift and I learned a lot,
especially when I first started
working on these issues much more
intentionally is David Guisar.
He was one of the founding members of
Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice.
And my first week on the job,
I had a conversation with him.
We grew up in the same areas, grew up in
(12:40):
the same communities, and learning about
how he lost his siblings at a young age.
And then, you know, at that time, fairly
recently, and how he was turning his pain
into power really helped bring to light
the importance of making sure that the
journey that we are on with our campaigns
(13:01):
is as important as the end result.
That's one of the most important
things that I've learned from
David in the work that we do.
I just had a conversation with somebody
yesterday who told me Danny, for
the last 20 years, I've been a cook.
This is the first year that I've actually
started to do anything regarding politics,
(13:21):
regarding policy and campaigns, but
I'm doing it because I lost my brother
and I want to owe it to him and his
legacy to continue to do the work
and bring a lot of these resources.
I don't know how, I don't know, you
know, what we need to do, but I'm all
in and we hear these stories across
(13:42):
the country in the work that we do.
We hear it in Texas,
we hear it in Florida.
We hear it throughout the Midwest and
the East coast where people are really
standing up and utilizing their voice,
many of them for the very first time to
advocate on behalf of not just themselves,
the history and the lived experiences
that they have, but for their communities.
(14:03):
And I connect with each and every
one of those because of my story of
how I felt growing up and what I saw.
I remember in middle school when
we would have career day, people
would say, I want to be a fireman.
I want to be an astronaut.
I was a kid that was very quiet
because I didn't know what I
wanted to do when I grew up.
And I feel like at my age now, I
still don't know exactly what I want
to do when I grew up, but I always
(14:26):
knew that I wanted to make change.
And throughout our movement, throughout
the organization of Crime Survivors
for Safety and Justice, we have so
many leaders that are just taking that
step without knowing what's going to
happen, without knowing if it's going
to work and trusting the process to
ensure that we can do the best that
(14:46):
we can to make our community safer
and to bring more healing as well.
Aswad Thomas (14:50):
To bring more healing,
that takes a lot of collaboration, right?
A lot of creativity and also unity.
How do you approach bringing
people together from diverse
backgrounds and experiences?
And are there specific strategies
you find effective in fostering
collaboration around a common cause
like public safety or victim services?
Danny Montes (15:10):
Yeah, in the work that I do
across the country, I've had some amazing
conversations with some of the most
conservative people that I've ever met.
But also some of the most progressive
people, you know, I'll go back to
relationships and building that.
It's not about whether you're right or
convincing somebody that you are right.
It's about having a common understanding
around what is it that we're trying to do?
(15:31):
And do we agree on that?
The most important thing that I do
when I'm talking to folks across the
country is making sure that we can build
a common connection with each other.
What are the common histories that we
have in communities that maybe don't
look like each of us, but we have a
common goal of what we want to do.
(15:52):
Having a vision for the future, having a
vision for change, creating avenues for
folks to be included in that is one of the
best ways to do that no matter where you
are and no matter who you're talking to.
That's why we've been able to
win key legislative victories
across states that people may
(16:12):
think that we weren't able to win.
And the main reason for that is
because we were able to create a
vision for change and brought people
in to our vision to ensure that we can
continue to build and continue to win.
Aswad Thomas (16:25):
Danny, you know,
we're going to get to Heal the Vote.
We're looking forward to
you sharing more about that.
But you know, this work, especially
working with survivors and working
on criminal justice reform and public
safety policies and work to bring
safety and healing, it changes us.
It changes our lives in
so many different ways.
So we'd love to hear from you.
How has your role as an organizer
(16:48):
contributed to your personal growth
and healing and have experiences in
this work changed your perspective
in ways that you didn't expect?
Danny Montes (16:56):
Yeah,
that's a good question.
I feel like it's fundamentally changed
who I am and how I engage with people.
A lot of the connections and the
conversations that I have with people
across the country can be very heavy,
can make me feel or trigger even some
of the trauma that I have, and it's
really taught me the importance of self
(17:17):
care, you know, not in a way where like,
okay, I'm gonna, do this because I
need self care but it's really focused
on the need to make sure that I am
grounded and that I understand why I'm
feeling this way in the work that I do.
It's also helped me build
relationships with people in my
own community, in my own family.
There's conversations that I've had with
(17:39):
my own parents, with my loved ones about
our criminal justice system and trauma in
a way where I could never imagine having
these conversations 10, 15, 20 years ago.
I think that's one of the most important
things in regards to understanding the
work that we do and how we show up.
(17:59):
That's important, Aswad.
How we show up and how we talk to people
across the country is going to be the
most impactful way that we can build
a movement of survivors across the
country to help us grow and to continue
to build the healing in our communities
and making sure that systems that are
supposed to help and support us are
actually doing what they need to do.
Aswad Thomas (18:21):
Thank you, Danny.
And to build that movement, not only
in organizing and advocacy and healing,
but also for many survivors that
are out there, including myself, you
know, getting involved in organizing
and civic engagement is part of
the healing journey for us, right?
And so this year is a presidential
election and we have kicked off
(18:41):
the Crime Survivors for Safety and
Justice Heal the Vote campaign.
So Danny, can you tell us more about the
Heal the Vote campaign and its goals?
We'd love to hear how did this idea about
this Heal to Vote campaign come about
and what are some of the strategies that
you will be leading to mobilize survivors
to participate in civic engagement
and voting in this year's election?
Danny Montes (18:59):
Yes, yes, this is
something that I'm really excited about
this year that I see as a huge need
in communities all across the country.
Heal the Vote is our voter
mobilization campaign.
This year, our goal is to ensure that as
many survivors and as many people directly
impacted by our justice system have an
opportunity to make sure that they can
pledge to vote this election cycle, that
(19:22):
they have an opportunity to hear about
the local, state, and even national issues
that are directly impacting them and their
survivor journeys and their communities.
We're also ensuring that people have
a space so that they can check their
voter registration status, making
sure that they, one, are registered,
two, that they can learn more about
(19:42):
how to vote and create a plan to
vote for the upcoming election.
This campaign is going to
be one of the biggest voter
initiatives that we've ever ran.
And it really sparked a few years
ago as to why this space was needed.
We launched Heal the Vote four years ago.
It was during the COVID pandemic where
there was a lot of states who were
(20:04):
thinking about how do we make sure
that people across the country have an
opportunity to vote, knowing that there
was a global pandemic at that time.
We as an organization and in the work
that we did with communities across
the country, we realized that it could
have also triggered and created some
trauma just with the act of voting.
How people were talking about the
(20:25):
election, how people were talking
about safety, and we realized that
we needed to create something.
We needed to create a space during this
season to ensure that survivors across
the country had an opportunity to feel
in community with civic engagement.
We created a space for survivors to
have an opportunity to be connected
to our work, but also to ensure that
(20:46):
they had all the tools and all the
information needed to make an informed
decision during that election cycle.
You know, fast forward two years in
2022, we did the exact same thing.
At that time, we also hosted
much more activities in person.
That's one of the things that I really
value about our organization is as much as
(21:08):
we value winning key victories for folks
directly impacted by our justice system.
We're also building community so that
people who may feel alone to have a
space where they can be with others.
And we were able to do a few healing
vigils in 2022, where folks were able to
be in community, honor the loved ones,
(21:30):
and then as a community, go to the ballot.
And making sure that they can cast their
vote on their vision for the future.
This is something that we
want to continue in 2024.
Aswad, you mentioned that it is a
huge presidential year, but really
it's going to also be focused in on
every single aspect in society that
we engage with that's on the ballot.
(21:51):
A lot of people don't know that there's
over 2000 elections happening at the
local level of people who are directly
making decisions for people impacted
by the justice system and survivors.
This is something that Heal the Vote is
really going to focus on to making sure
that we can create a vision for the future
of what safety means, what healing means,
(22:11):
and ensuring that we can understand what
are those investments, what are people
saying, what are people's plans for
the futures during this election cycle.
I see voting as one of the most important
things that we can do in this country.
You know, when I vote, I'm not voting
just for the top of the ticket.
I'm voting for every single thing
(22:32):
that's on that ballot Aswad,
because my vote is me saying, this
is my investment for the future.
This is the way that I think my
community, my state, my city, my
block, my country should be going.
And if I don't vote, that's me not
adding my voice, my, my opinion to it.
(22:54):
And the more that we can bring folks to
understand the importance of the election
and the importance of their vote, that's
going to be one of the biggest things
that we do this year and making sure
that across the country, everybody has
a space, has an opportunity to engage
in this campaign and not feel alone.
You know, even though voting is a
(23:15):
singular act, we want to make sure that
people can feel empowered, can feel
safe, and feel like they are making
a difference, that they are making
their voice heard, that they are not
being silenced along the way as well.
Aswad Thomas (23:29):
So everyone let's
get out there and Heal the Vote.
As Danny mentioned on our cssj.org
website, you can go on there to
check your voter registration status.
If you are planning to vote,
whether it's at the local level,
at the federal level with the
presidential, you can pledge to vote.
It's going to be very important for
us to show up at the polls and get our
(23:51):
family and friends and neighbors to
vote in this year's election as well.
2024, there's been a lot of law
changes related to voter registration.
So you can go on our website
to learn more about the laws
and information in your state.
You can check your voter
registration status as well.
Danny, my last question,
(24:12):
which is exciting.
Last year.
The Obama foundation started by
president Barack Obama launched the
first ever USA leadership program.
And you were out of thousands of
applicants and nominations, right?
You were selected to be part of
this first cohort for the Obama
(24:34):
Foundation Leadership Program.
Danny, being recognized
as an Obama leader, that's
such an amazing achievement.
No one deserves it more than you.
How has this recognition of being a Obama
leader and going through that program,
how has that recognition and being
involved with that cohort impacted
you and your approach to leadership?
Danny Montes (24:53):
It's
honestly been monumental.
When I first heard about this
program, I applied not feeling
confident or not feeling like
I would be one of those people.
And even when I got selected,
I didn't believe it.
I felt, you know, which a lot of people
feel that imposter syndrome, that maybe
they made a mistake that maybe I wasn't
really supposed to be part of the program
(25:15):
and I snuck in somehow, but the more
that I went through the program, and
honestly, the more that I met leaders
from across the country, you know,
they only selected a hundred people
across the country to do this program.
And the more that I was able to connect
on a lot of issues that are directly
impacting communities that even we
serve here at Crime Survivors for
(25:36):
Safety and Justice, the more I realized.
Not only was I meant to be in that
room, but I am one of those leaders.
The program is really centered on
making sure that it's not that we
follow the vision that President
Obama created, but it's more creating
a vision that we want to see in
this world and in our communities.
(25:57):
And it taught me a lot about my own
leadership, about how I show up,
the power of compassion, the power
of being able to be in the room and
making some of those hard decisions
with having a bigger picture in mind.
And if anything, it created a
huge network, not just for me,
(26:18):
but in the work that we do.
It created an avenue for us to
be able to talk about things
much more comprehensively.
Not only did I create friends for
life, but I'm able to really engage
in a way where I can look back and
look at, you know, my young self when
I felt belittled or when I felt like
the other that I'm actually in a space
(26:38):
and I'm actually a leader In the work
that we do, and it's important for me
to pave the way and ensuring that if
there are young organizers, if there
are young immigrant families out there
that feel like they're not being heard,
that nobody cares about them, that this
is not a space for them, that it is.
(26:59):
And we as, as a nation, as, as a
community and as a movement, we need
to make sure that we're including
as many people because there's so
many people that are starting their
healing journeys as we speak, Aswad.
It's important for people to ensure
that they can turn their pain
into power in the work that we do.
And being recognized by a very
(27:20):
prestigious organization, again, is
a huge milestone for me in my life.
But I also see it as folks are paying
attention to our movement that we're
creating, that spaces around pro
democracy and civic engagement are
really understanding the narrative of
how powerful it is to have survivors
(27:41):
at the center of our policymaking, of
identifying solutions in communities.
That are most impacted by crime,
but have been the least helped.
So I'm looking forward to not only
continuing the work that we're doing
here, but continue to grow and continue
to provide more people, the space to not
just get into these different types of
(28:03):
programs, but ensuring that people have
an opportunity to learn about leadership,
that they can have an opportunity
to demonstrate their leadership.
Through my journey,
I've realized that there isn't
any specific blueprint on
how to be an amazing leader.
It's really around making sure that we
do the fundamentals, that we make sure
(28:26):
that we are talking to members, that we
are connecting with people, that people
can learn my story and I learn theirs
and we figure out what are some of the
solutions that we can build together.
At the core of our work, that's
really what we do here at Crime
Survivors for Safety and Justice.
Aswad Thomas (28:42):
And I'm excited
that Crime Survivors for Safety
and Justice have an organizer,
have a strategist like you, right.
To help build this base of survivors
and organizations across the country.
So Danny, thank you so much
for being a guest on today's
Crime Survivors Speak podcast.
Danny Montes (28:56):
Yeah.
Thank you, Aswad.
And I look forward to continuing
to build and continuing to win.
Aswad Thomas (29:02):
Let's do it.
Let's do it.
So thank you so much to everyone
for listening to today's episode.
If you haven't already, once
again, we started with 12 members.
Now we have over 200,000
members across the country.
The membership is free.
So there are no paid subscription or dues.
All we ask is you be connected
to a community of survivors.
(29:24):
So to become a member of Crime Survivors
for Safety and Justice, or if you
want to just join our email list to
stay up to date on what we have going
on, you can visit the website at
www.cssj.org to join a chapter near
you or be part of our national work.
You can tune into all podcast episodes
from season one, two and now season
(29:44):
three on YouTube, Apple Podcasts,
Spotify, and other streaming platforms.
We are healing through action and at
Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice,
we know through organizing, through
changing laws and telling our stories
that when survivors speak, change happens.
Thank you all so much for
listening to today's episode
(30:05):
and we'll talk to you soon.
Welcome to the
Crime Survivors Speak Podcast.
My name is Aswad Thomas.
I'm the National Director of Crime
Survivors for Safety and Justice.
We are now a national network
of over 200,000 victims of
crime across the country.
If you haven't already subscribed
to stay up to date on the latest
episodes, you can do that on YouTube,
(00:21):
Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and other
streaming services by clicking the
link on your screen or going to the
website at www.cssj.org/podcast.
So welcome you all to
season three of the podcast.
As you all know, if you're listening
to TV, if you're reading newspapers,
and you were having conversations
with your family, we're headed into
(00:44):
a presidential election this year.
And I know that political engagement
is going to be such an important theme
in this coming year for our listeners.
So we've got an amazing lineup of
guests for you with a ton of expertise
and political organizing and advocacy.
So kicking off this season of the Crime
Survivors Speak podcast, we're happy to
(01:05):
be talking to my friend, Danny Montes,
who is the Organizing Director for
Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice.
Danny brings 12 years of local
state and national campaign
organizing and advocacy experience.
He was living in California, but
now he's based in Denver, Colorado.
Danny frequently works with the CSSJ
(01:27):
chapters and members to activate them
in organizing and policy campaigns.
Uh, Danny, thanks so much
for being here today.
Danny Montes (01:35):
Yes.
Thank you, Aswad.
I'm excited to be here.
Aswad Thomas (01:37):
Awesome.
Good.
So let's, let's get right into it.
So Danny, you bring a lot of
experience organizing advocacy,
bringing together communities.
Can you share some pivotal moments or
experiences in your life that inspire
you to become involved in political
advocacy, particularly in the space of
criminal justice and public safety reform?
Danny Montes (01:58):
Yeah, absolutely.
So my story starts when I was very young.
Some of my first memories were of
me having to translate for my parents
at grocery stores, at the bank, every
time somebody answered the phone.
And this was because my
parents were from Mexico.
They came to the United States.
I'm a proud son of immigrants.
(02:18):
And one of the things that I realized
very early on is how much people like me
and my family were treated as the other.
People sometimes would belittle us.
Uh, sometimes people would treat us
unfairly because of how we look like, how
we spoke, you know, and growing up, I was
(02:39):
born and raised in Los Angeles, California
in the 1980s in Southeast Los Angeles.
At that time, my community was
surrounded by a rich immigrant
community that was embedded in
both culture, but also poverty.
At a very young age, I wanted to make sure
that I had some extra cash in my pocket.
So during high school, I would spend
(03:00):
summers in the evenings working with my
dad, trying to find jobs, just connecting
and being able to sort of sustain
myself and also help my family out.
At that time, my dad worked any
job he could, he would work at car
washes, he would do landscaping,
he would work in factories.
And I joined him in a lot of those and
I remember feeling at a moment when
(03:20):
I was in a factory where it was over
a hundred degrees in there during the
summer, just realizing that this is,
this is not it for me, this is difficult.
And I remember having a conversation
with a few of my family members
at the time, and they said,
you just got to do the work.
And this is how we live.
This is how we're treated
in this, in this country.
And it made me feel small.
(03:42):
It made me feel like I didn't belong.
At the time, I really didn't see
anybody that looked like me, that
talked like me in television, in
government, people who were there
to support us, first responders.
It was, it was very difficult growing
up and seeing so much poverty, so
(04:03):
much crime, but also not having
our needs met as a community.
I lost so many of my childhood friends
to the prison system, to violence,
and I also saw firsthand how trauma
impacted my family, how it impacted
families in my community, where people
(04:25):
felt alone, people felt unwelcomed, and
there wasn't really a solution to a lot
of these problems that we were facing.
And it was at that time that
I made a commitment to myself.
I said, I don't know when, I don't
know how, but I want to make a change.
I don't want to feel small.
I don't want to feel like the other.
(04:47):
And at that time, the only route
that I knew was education, because
that's what my mom harped on.
She said, as long as you can get
good grades, do the best that you
can, that's how we're gonna succeed.
And that's exactly what I did.
I went to school every day, tried my
best, got some amazing grades, I feel.
And I was fortunate enough to be
accepted to go to UC Berkeley, one of
(05:09):
the best public schools in California.
And at that time, I also realized
that I was in a community where
it was completely different than
the community that I grew up in.
I went from being in a high school of 95
percent Latino to a school that we were
just under 10%, but that didn't stop me.
I still wanted to continue.
That's where I learned a
(05:30):
lot of my, uh, politics.
I got politically active in organizations.
Sometimes I would say that my
college education got in the way
of my real education, but that's
when I realized that there is an
opportunity for me to stay engaged.
I ran for student body vice president.
I won and that allowed me to
really interact with people.
(05:51):
outside of the university, connecting
with lawmakers to talk about funding
for higher education, to provide
more students with the support that
they needed to not just attend public
institutions, but to actually graduate
and to go on to do some amazing things.
After that, I moved to Washington, DC.
I worked for a Congress member.
(06:13):
And that was really where
I saw politics firsthand.
At that time, I wanted to make sure
that I had an opportunity to learn
of how politics actually really works
outside of my history books and the
things that I learned at my university.
And it made me feel even more small
working in Congress because I realized
(06:34):
that there's not a lot of people coming
in and out of those doors that look
like me, that talk like me, that had
a lot of the experiences that I had.
But that didn't deter me.
That didn't stop me.
After that, I wanted to figure
out what is the best way for me to
continue to advocate and continue
to build the vision of my community
(06:55):
so that people continued to grow,
that people had an opportunity
to feel heard, not feel like the
other, how I felt when I grew up.
That led me to work at a union and then
had one of the largest Latino civil
rights organization where that was really
where I worked with a lot of community
(07:15):
members who were directly impacted by
our justice system and understanding
why is it that people cannot get jobs?
Why is it that people are not
advancing economically in the
communities that they live in?
And that led me to being much more
intentional with understanding not just
our criminal justice system, but how
(07:38):
immigrants in this country are directly
impacted by the justice system as well.
Aswad Thomas (07:43):
Thank you for sharing that
because I had a very similar experience
just like my childhood growing up
surrounded by poverty, crime, but one
thing that resonated with me was when you
talked about being at UC Berkeley, right?
So going from a community where, you
know, majority 95% Latino population,
then going to a school with less than 10%.
(08:05):
Right.
And I had that same experience
when I went to college as well.
And it was one of the most
beautiful experiences, right.
Of being in a different environment,
learning about different cultures and
just be it around individuals who are
so different from ourselves, right.
And the opportunity that our education
provided, especially provided you
with being able to be a student body
president, move to DC, then work for
(08:27):
a union organization, really dive
into working with community members.
As someone who has tons of experience
being an organizer and being a campaign
strategist, what advice do you have
for our listeners about the importance
of building relationships with
legislators and key decision makers,
especially on conflict issues like
(08:48):
criminal justice and public safety?
Danny Montes (08:49):
Yeah.
I mean, the, the solution
is in that question as well.
I feel like relationship is the key word
in there where we need to make sure that
as we are growing campaigns, you know,
if there are organizers out there that
are thinking about how do I make sure
that I have a successful campaign that
I connect with folks that we can win
(09:10):
either legislation or any of the local or
state or national advocacy efforts that
they're doing, their plan must include
relationship building.
Many of us, including myself, I would
not be here today if it wasn't for the
support and the relationships that I have
with my family, with my partner, Kay,
with mentors who took me under their wing
(09:30):
when I was very young, trying to be an
organizer, trying to convince everybody
that I had the solutions that I want to
win and trying to bring people on board.
But it was really taking the time
to listen and Identify what are the
common interests that we have together,
whether you are a legislator, whether
you are somebody who is just getting
(09:52):
activated for the very first time,
humanizing the issue is something that
is very critical in the work that we do.
Feeling like we are correct, feeling
like we are on the right side of
history, unfortunately isn't always a
recipe for success, but humanizing the
issues that we work on is going to take
(10:13):
us farther than we can ever imagine.
There's only so much reports.
There's only so much videos and
stories that we can share, but if
we're not connecting to people's
emotions, to people's histories, to
people's stories, that's not going to
lead us to the future that we want.
It's important also to ensure
that when we're thinking about
(10:34):
campaigns, that we're not just
thinking about the next few months.
We're thinking about what is the
legacy that we want to leave for future
generations to, to make a difference,
to carry the mantle of change.
You know, many people are always
feeling like they're stuck, that
their campaign isn't working, or
that their issue isn't working.
And sometimes it's really about shifting
(10:57):
the narrative, so that it connects more
with people, so that we can build those
relationships with legislators, not
just for this bill or for this campaign.
But for future, because there may be a
city council member in your community
that ends up running for mayor, that
ends up running for a state office,
that ends up running for governor, that
ends up running for federal offices.
(11:17):
And for you to be able to build those
relationships throughout that journey
is only going to be helpful for you
and the work that you do in building
change in your communities as well.
Aswad Thomas (11:28):
So relationships,
relationships, relationships, it's
critical in just your daily life, right?
Relationships with family and friends
and community, but most importantly
when working on changing policy,
those relationships with legislators
and also their staffers as well.
Danny, you started with
Californians for Safety and Justice.
You've been with the organization
almost going on 10 years now, but the
(11:50):
last few years you have been working
directly as the Organizing Director
for Crime Survivors for Safety and
Justice, and as an organizer yourself,
supporting local survivor leaders is
crucial to energizing and sustaining
efforts around policy change.
Can you share a story
about a local leader?
(12:11):
Or a community initiative that left
a lasting impression on you and
what lessons you learned from that
collaboration with local leaders?
Danny Montes (12:18):
There's so many.
Um, one of the people that I want
to uplift and I learned a lot,
especially when I first started
working on these issues much more
intentionally is David Guisar.
He was one of the founding members of
Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice.
And my first week on the job,
I had a conversation with him.
We grew up in the same areas, grew up in
(12:40):
the same communities, and learning about
how he lost his siblings at a young age.
And then, you know, at that time, fairly
recently, and how he was turning his pain
into power really helped bring to light
the importance of making sure that the
journey that we are on with our campaigns
(13:01):
is as important as the end result.
That's one of the most important
things that I've learned from
David in the work that we do.
I just had a conversation with somebody
yesterday who told me Danny, for
the last 20 years, I've been a cook.
This is the first year that I've actually
started to do anything regarding politics,
(13:21):
regarding policy and campaigns, but
I'm doing it because I lost my brother
and I want to owe it to him and his
legacy to continue to do the work
and bring a lot of these resources.
I don't know how, I don't know, you
know, what we need to do, but I'm all
in and we hear these stories across
(13:42):
the country in the work that we do.
We hear it in Texas,
we hear it in Florida.
We hear it throughout the Midwest and
the East coast where people are really
standing up and utilizing their voice,
many of them for the very first time to
advocate on behalf of not just themselves,
the history and the lived experiences
that they have, but for their communities.
(14:03):
And I connect with each and every
one of those because of my story of
how I felt growing up and what I saw.
I remember in middle school when
we would have career day, people
would say, I want to be a fireman.
I want to be an astronaut.
I was a kid that was very quiet
because I didn't know what I
wanted to do when I grew up.
And I feel like at my age now, I
still don't know exactly what I want
to do when I grew up, but I always
(14:26):
knew that I wanted to make change.
And throughout our movement, throughout
the organization of Crime Survivors
for Safety and Justice, we have so
many leaders that are just taking that
step without knowing what's going to
happen, without knowing if it's going
to work and trusting the process to
ensure that we can do the best that
(14:46):
we can to make our community safer
and to bring more healing as well.
Aswad Thomas (14:50):
To bring more healing,
that takes a lot of collaboration, right?
A lot of creativity and also unity.
How do you approach bringing
people together from diverse
backgrounds and experiences?
And are there specific strategies
you find effective in fostering
collaboration around a common cause
like public safety or victim services?
Danny Montes (15:10):
Yeah, in the work that I do
across the country, I've had some amazing
conversations with some of the most
conservative people that I've ever met.
But also some of the most progressive
people, you know, I'll go back to
relationships and building that.
It's not about whether you're right or
convincing somebody that you are right.
It's about having a common understanding
around what is it that we're trying to do?
(15:31):
And do we agree on that?
The most important thing that I do
when I'm talking to folks across the
country is making sure that we can build
a common connection with each other.
What are the common histories that we
have in communities that maybe don't
look like each of us, but we have a
common goal of what we want to do.
(15:52):
Having a vision for the future, having a
vision for change, creating avenues for
folks to be included in that is one of the
best ways to do that no matter where you
are and no matter who you're talking to.
That's why we've been able to
win key legislative victories
across states that people may
(16:12):
think that we weren't able to win.
And the main reason for that is
because we were able to create a
vision for change and brought people
in to our vision to ensure that we can
continue to build and continue to win.
Aswad Thomas (16:25):
Danny, you know,
we're going to get to Heal the Vote.
We're looking forward to
you sharing more about that.
But you know, this work, especially
working with survivors and working
on criminal justice reform and public
safety policies and work to bring
safety and healing, it changes us.
It changes our lives in
so many different ways.
So we'd love to hear from you.
How has your role as an organizer
(16:48):
contributed to your personal growth
and healing and have experiences in
this work changed your perspective
in ways that you didn't expect?
Danny Montes (16:56):
Yeah,
that's a good question.
I feel like it's fundamentally changed
who I am and how I engage with people.
A lot of the connections and the
conversations that I have with people
across the country can be very heavy,
can make me feel or trigger even some
of the trauma that I have, and it's
really taught me the importance of self
(17:17):
care, you know, not in a way where like,
okay, I'm gonna, do this because I
need self care but it's really focused
on the need to make sure that I am
grounded and that I understand why I'm
feeling this way in the work that I do.
It's also helped me build
relationships with people in my
own community, in my own family.
There's conversations that I've had with
(17:39):
my own parents, with my loved ones about
our criminal justice system and trauma in
a way where I could never imagine having
these conversations 10, 15, 20 years ago.
I think that's one of the most important
things in regards to understanding the
work that we do and how we show up.
(17:59):
That's important, Aswad.
How we show up and how we talk to people
across the country is going to be the
most impactful way that we can build
a movement of survivors across the
country to help us grow and to continue
to build the healing in our communities
and making sure that systems that are
supposed to help and support us are
actually doing what they need to do.
Aswad Thomas (18:21):
Thank you, Danny.
And to build that movement, not only
in organizing and advocacy and healing,
but also for many survivors that
are out there, including myself, you
know, getting involved in organizing
and civic engagement is part of
the healing journey for us, right?
And so this year is a presidential
election and we have kicked off
(18:41):
the Crime Survivors for Safety and
Justice Heal the Vote campaign.
So Danny, can you tell us more about the
Heal the Vote campaign and its goals?
We'd love to hear how did this idea about
this Heal to Vote campaign come about
and what are some of the strategies that
you will be leading to mobilize survivors
to participate in civic engagement
and voting in this year's election?
Danny Montes (18:59):
Yes, yes, this is
something that I'm really excited about
this year that I see as a huge need
in communities all across the country.
Heal the Vote is our voter
mobilization campaign.
This year, our goal is to ensure that as
many survivors and as many people directly
impacted by our justice system have an
opportunity to make sure that they can
pledge to vote this election cycle, that
(19:22):
they have an opportunity to hear about
the local, state, and even national issues
that are directly impacting them and their
survivor journeys and their communities.
We're also ensuring that people have
a space so that they can check their
voter registration status, making
sure that they, one, are registered,
two, that they can learn more about
(19:42):
how to vote and create a plan to
vote for the upcoming election.
This campaign is going to
be one of the biggest voter
initiatives that we've ever ran.
And it really sparked a few years
ago as to why this space was needed.
We launched Heal the Vote four years ago.
It was during the COVID pandemic where
there was a lot of states who were
(20:04):
thinking about how do we make sure
that people across the country have an
opportunity to vote, knowing that there
was a global pandemic at that time.
We as an organization and in the work
that we did with communities across
the country, we realized that it could
have also triggered and created some
trauma just with the act of voting.
How people were talking about the
(20:25):
election, how people were talking
about safety, and we realized that
we needed to create something.
We needed to create a space during this
season to ensure that survivors across
the country had an opportunity to feel
in community with civic engagement.
We created a space for survivors to
have an opportunity to be connected
to our work, but also to ensure that
(20:46):
they had all the tools and all the
information needed to make an informed
decision during that election cycle.
You know, fast forward two years in
2022, we did the exact same thing.
At that time, we also hosted
much more activities in person.
That's one of the things that I really
value about our organization is as much as
(21:08):
we value winning key victories for folks
directly impacted by our justice system.
We're also building community so that
people who may feel alone to have a
space where they can be with others.
And we were able to do a few healing
vigils in 2022, where folks were able to
be in community, honor the loved ones,
(21:30):
and then as a community, go to the ballot.
And making sure that they can cast their
vote on their vision for the future.
This is something that we
want to continue in 2024.
Aswad, you mentioned that it is a
huge presidential year, but really
it's going to also be focused in on
every single aspect in society that
we engage with that's on the ballot.
(21:51):
A lot of people don't know that there's
over 2000 elections happening at the
local level of people who are directly
making decisions for people impacted
by the justice system and survivors.
This is something that Heal the Vote is
really going to focus on to making sure
that we can create a vision for the future
of what safety means, what healing means,
(22:11):
and ensuring that we can understand what
are those investments, what are people
saying, what are people's plans for
the futures during this election cycle.
I see voting as one of the most important
things that we can do in this country.
You know, when I vote, I'm not voting
just for the top of the ticket.
I'm voting for every single thing
(22:32):
that's on that ballot Aswad,
because my vote is me saying, this
is my investment for the future.
This is the way that I think my
community, my state, my city, my
block, my country should be going.
And if I don't vote, that's me not
adding my voice, my, my opinion to it.
(22:54):
And the more that we can bring folks to
understand the importance of the election
and the importance of their vote, that's
going to be one of the biggest things
that we do this year and making sure
that across the country, everybody has
a space, has an opportunity to engage
in this campaign and not feel alone.
You know, even though voting is a
(23:15):
singular act, we want to make sure that
people can feel empowered, can feel
safe, and feel like they are making
a difference, that they are making
their voice heard, that they are not
being silenced along the way as well.
Aswad Thomas (23:29):
So everyone let's
get out there and Heal the Vote.
As Danny mentioned on our cssj.org
website, you can go on there to
check your voter registration status.
If you are planning to vote,
whether it's at the local level,
at the federal level with the
presidential, you can pledge to vote.
It's going to be very important for
us to show up at the polls and get our
(23:51):
family and friends and neighbors to
vote in this year's election as well.
2024, there's been a lot of law
changes related to voter registration.
So you can go on our website
to learn more about the laws
and information in your state.
You can check your voter
registration status as well.
Danny, my last question,
(24:12):
which is exciting.
Last year.
The Obama foundation started by
president Barack Obama launched the
first ever USA leadership program.
And you were out of thousands of
applicants and nominations, right?
You were selected to be part of
this first cohort for the Obama
(24:34):
Foundation Leadership Program.
Danny, being recognized
as an Obama leader, that's
such an amazing achievement.
No one deserves it more than you.
How has this recognition of being a Obama
leader and going through that program,
how has that recognition and being
involved with that cohort impacted
you and your approach to leadership?
Danny Montes (24:53):
It's
honestly been monumental.
When I first heard about this
program, I applied not feeling
confident or not feeling like
I would be one of those people.
And even when I got selected,
I didn't believe it.
I felt, you know, which a lot of people
feel that imposter syndrome, that maybe
they made a mistake that maybe I wasn't
really supposed to be part of the program
(25:15):
and I snuck in somehow, but the more
that I went through the program, and
honestly, the more that I met leaders
from across the country, you know,
they only selected a hundred people
across the country to do this program.
And the more that I was able to connect
on a lot of issues that are directly
impacting communities that even we
serve here at Crime Survivors for
(25:36):
Safety and Justice, the more I realized.
Not only was I meant to be in that
room, but I am one of those leaders.
The program is really centered on
making sure that it's not that we
follow the vision that President
Obama created, but it's more creating
a vision that we want to see in
this world and in our communities.
(25:57):
And it taught me a lot about my own
leadership, about how I show up,
the power of compassion, the power
of being able to be in the room and
making some of those hard decisions
with having a bigger picture in mind.
And if anything, it created a
huge network, not just for me,
(26:18):
but in the work that we do.
It created an avenue for us to
be able to talk about things
much more comprehensively.
Not only did I create friends for
life, but I'm able to really engage
in a way where I can look back and
look at, you know, my young self when
I felt belittled or when I felt like
the other that I'm actually in a space
(26:38):
and I'm actually a leader In the work
that we do, and it's important for me
to pave the way and ensuring that if
there are young organizers, if there
are young immigrant families out there
that feel like they're not being heard,
that nobody cares about them, that this
is not a space for them, that it is.
(26:59):
And we as, as a nation, as, as a
community and as a movement, we need
to make sure that we're including
as many people because there's so
many people that are starting their
healing journeys as we speak, Aswad.
It's important for people to ensure
that they can turn their pain
into power in the work that we do.
And being recognized by a very
(27:20):
prestigious organization, again, is
a huge milestone for me in my life.
But I also see it as folks are paying
attention to our movement that we're
creating, that spaces around pro
democracy and civic engagement are
really understanding the narrative of
how powerful it is to have survivors
(27:41):
at the center of our policymaking, of
identifying solutions in communities.
That are most impacted by crime,
but have been the least helped.
So I'm looking forward to not only
continuing the work that we're doing
here, but continue to grow and continue
to provide more people, the space to not
just get into these different types of
(28:03):
programs, but ensuring that people have
an opportunity to learn about leadership,
that they can have an opportunity
to demonstrate their leadership.
Through my journey,
I've realized that there isn't
any specific blueprint on
how to be an amazing leader.
It's really around making sure that we
do the fundamentals, that we make sure
(28:26):
that we are talking to members, that we
are connecting with people, that people
can learn my story and I learn theirs
and we figure out what are some of the
solutions that we can build together.
At the core of our work, that's
really what we do here at Crime
Survivors for Safety and Justice.
Aswad Thomas (28:42):
And I'm excited
that Crime Survivors for Safety
and Justice have an organizer,
have a strategist like you, right.
To help build this base of survivors
and organizations across the country.
So Danny, thank you so much
for being a guest on today's
Crime Survivors Speak podcast.
Danny Montes (28:56):
Yeah.
Thank you, Aswad.
And I look forward to continuing
to build and continuing to win.
Aswad Thomas (29:02):
Let's do it.
Let's do it.
So thank you so much to everyone
for listening to today's episode.
If you haven't already, once
again, we started with 12 members.
Now we have over 200,000
members across the country.
The membership is free.
So there are no paid subscription or dues.
All we ask is you be connected
to a community of survivors.
(29:24):
So to become a member of Crime Survivors
for Safety and Justice, or if you
want to just join our email list to
stay up to date on what we have going
on, you can visit the website at
www.cssj.org to join a chapter near
you or be part of our national work.
You can tune into all podcast episodes
from season one, two and now season
(29:44):
three on YouTube, Apple Podcasts,
Spotify, and other streaming platforms.
We are healing through action and at
Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice,
we know through organizing, through
changing laws and telling our stories
that when survivors speak, change happens.
Thank you all so much for
listening to today's episode
(30:05):
and we'll talk to you soon.
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