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June 12, 2023 50 mins

Before he pulled out a historic mayoral victory in April, Brandon Johnson was a virtual unknown in Chicago’s political scene. At the community level, however, Johnson’s star was on the rise. An unabashed progressive and union champion, Johnson played a critical role in the 2012 Chicago teachers’ strike—a seemingly radicalizing experience for him and many other left-leaning Chicagoans. In this episode, we examine the grassroots, union-led movement that propelled Johnson to victory and how the 2012 strike laid the groundwork for his inspiring campaign. 

Visit our New Beat Substack to learn more about this episode https://newsbeat.substack.com/p/building-a-movement-chicagos-grassroots


News Beat is produced in association with Manny Faces Media.

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Producer/Audio Editor: Michael "Manny Faces" Conforti
Editor-In-Chief: Chris Twarowski
Managing Editor: Rashed Mian
Episode Art: Jeff Main
Executive Producer: Jed Morey

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