S2E3: Wins We’re Not Taught: People Power, Public Power, and Practical Hope with Jasmine Brown

Episode 3 | Season 2

Wins We’re Not Taught: People Power, Public Power, and Practical Hope
Guest: Jasmine Brown (@jasminebrownformayor)

In this grounded and inspiring conversation, Alefyah sits down with organizer and activist Jasmine Brown to trace her journey from early disillusionment to practical hope. Jasmine shares how watching her parents work without “getting ahead,” moving through low-wage jobs, and witnessing police harm lit a lifelong fire for justice—and how learning itself transformed her: not just learning to read, but learning how to learn, to stay curious, and to make knowledge actionable.

From her first protest at Pensacola’s Graffiti Bridge to speaking at city council against Florida Power & Light’s monopoly contract, Jasmine reflects on what organizing taught her about connection, courage, and how much common ground truly exists across political lines. Whether she’s door-knocking in the South or trading soil and plant starts with neighbors across the political spectrum, Jasmine reminds us: most people want the same things—dignity, housing, community, and care.

A turning point comes from a delegation with the International People’s Assembly to Cuba, where culture isn’t an add-on—it’s woven into political life. Jasmine describes dancing as grounding, popular education as a practice of dignity, and CENESEX’s model of supporting harmed people while educating families, so we don’t throw people away. Along the way, she names the wins we’re rarely taught—slave rebellions, local mutual-aid victories—and why remembering them sustains the long game. As she says, “You don’t have to take down the war machine—just pick up a broom.”

Since this recording, Jasmine has launched a campaign for Mayor of Pensacola, running on the slogan “Pensacola for the people, not the developers.” Her movement continues the message of this episode: real power begins face-to-face, with everyday people talking—and acting—together.

---

Highlights & Takeaways

• The awakening: refusing to normalize exploitation and extraction

• From anger to action: channeling frustration into local campaigns (public power, utilities, housing)

• Learning how to learn: curiosity → agency → actionable change

• Cuba & culture: music/dance as organizing infrastructure, not extras

• CENESEX model: protect the harmed person and keep working with the family/community

• Hidden histories, real wins: why we’re not taught them—and why they matter

• Finding common ground across difference—knocking on doors, not walls

• “Pick up a broom”: regulate overwhelm through small, tangible steps

---

Mentioned

• Pedagogy of the Oppressed — Paulo Freire

• Septima Poinsette Clark — “the power of people when they are given the truth”

• James Baldwin — “Those who say it can’t be done…” (guiding inspiration)

• Assata: An Autobiography — Assata Shakur

• Revolutionary Suicide — Huey P. Newton

• Zora Neale Hurston — anthropology & everyday life

• International People’s Assembly (delegation to Cuba)

• CENESEX (Cuba) — National Center for Sex Education

---

Connect with Jasmine Brown

Instagram: @jasminebrownformayor
Campaign: Pensacola for the Pe...

Chapters

• (00:00:03) - Deconstruction: Jasmine Brown
• (00:01:10) - Jasmine on How She Came to Love Environmentalism
• (00:05:58) - Did Your Parents Push You Into Psychology?
• (00:09:52) - Independents Turn from Blue to Green
• (00:15:11) - Participants on the 2020 election
• (00:20:21) - USWS on the Cuba Trip
• (00:26:42) - How to reach out to the people of the US
• (00:33:35) - Picking Up A Broom: DeShawn's Therapy