Democracy in Color with Steve Phillips
A color-conscious political podcast, hosted by Steve Phillips, that releases episodes every other Thursday. While grassroots organizations raised voters of color turnout to historic levels, securing Democratic victories in 2020 and 2021, there remain strong differences of opinion about the right strategy for winning in a racially-polarized electoral landscape. “Democracy in Color with Steve Phillips” offers candid and data-driven analysis on how progressives can win. Join Steve for a conversation that is unafraid and unapologetic about grappling with some of the toughest issues in politics today. Special guests have included: Stacey Abrams, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, and Rep. Beto O’Rourke.
Episodes
Care in Action’s Hillary Holley shares how the organization is mobilizing domestic workers, most of whom are women of color and immigrants, and pushing Democrats to embrace a Care Agenda in Congress. She shares insight on the National Domestic Workers Bill of Rights which was introduced to Congress in 2021.
She also shares her path to organizing and discusses her role in helping Stacey Abrams build Fair Fight Action, one of the cru...
March Madness may be over but we’re gearing up for a…Narrow November with our very own set of 16 congressional districts that have the potential to flip the balance of power in the House of Representatives.
Data expert Dr. Julie Martínez Ortega joins Steve and Sharline to discuss the updated New Majority Index (NMI) and which districts they’ll be watching closely ahead of November elections.
References:Lateefah Simon—Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) board member, MacArthur “Genius Grant” recipient, and Congressional candidate—shares her path to politics, including her work with Vice President Kamala Harris during Harris’ time as San Francisco Attorney General.
Lateefah shares why she decided to run for office and offers insight on how grief has been a catalyst for her political work and activism. She also courageously expresses her...
Sarah Alvarez, founder of Outlier Media, a Detroit-based service journalism organization, shares what she’s hearing on the ground in Michigan following the protest “uncommitted” vote by more than 100,000 people during the state’s recent Democratic presidential primary.
She shares what role today’s journalists must play in filling information gaps at the local level, and why nonprofit news organizations like the one she’s built ar...
Steve and Sharline celebrate the release of the paperback edition of How We Win the Civil War, which comes out Tuesday, March 12. They discuss how the political landscape has changed since the first edition launched in 2022 and why How We Win is more pertinent now than ever.
They also discuss the book’s reception since its first release and the exciting partnerships that have developed with groups and organizations who resonate wi...
Award-winning journalist and editor-at-large at The 19th News Errin Haines joins us to talk about her game-changing work at the digital news startup centered on gender, politics, and policy.
She also talks about Breaking the News—a documentary that chronicles the origins of The 19th—which debuted on PBS this week.
Errin shares some of the publication’s history-making moments, including her early coverage of the Breonna Taylor killi...
Solano Community College’s Vice President of Student Affairs Lisa Neeley discusses her work at Solano and the California college’s commitment to Black students and other students of color in the face of increasing backlash against DEI efforts.
Neeley talks about Solano’s programs and processes to ensure equity and inclusion such as the Black Falcons Success Program and her hopes for other higher education programs around the count...
Back for a third episode, former mayor of Stockton, California and friend of our show Michael Tubbs returns to update Steve and Sharline on his inspiring and rapidly growing effort to end poverty in America and to help bring Dr. King’s vision for a just and equitable society to fruition.
Michael talks about his award-winning 2023 documentary “It’s Basic”, which follows several universal basic income (UBI) pilot programs around the ...
In the first of what will be several episodes throughout this year focused on the 2024 election cycle, Steve and Sharline frame up the Republican presidential primary calendar and what they’ll be watching as results roll in.
The New York Times’ Astead Herndon also phones in from Iowa where he’s preparing to cover the Republican Iowa Caucus and discusses the current state of the race, his analysis on the unwavering support of Trump’...
2023 has come and gone! If you missed any of our episodes this year, this is the one to tune into as Steve, Sharline, and Fola share highlights from some of their favorite episodes this year. The team also shares what’s on their minds and in their hearts as they look to 2024.
See you in the new year!
REFERENCES:
Episodes mentioned
Are you curious about what a truly powerful (and progressive) alternative political party could look like in the U.S?
National Director of the Working Families Party Maurice Mitchell returns to talk about what it means to create a multiracial and multicultural progressive, working-class party and what that looks like strategically within a two-party system.
He discusses WFP’s 25-year history, the inspiring slate of elected official...
Washington Post opinion editor Alexi McCammond dives into the changing digital news landscape and the role of traditional, legacy news media in reaching newer, more diverse (and often, more progressive) audiences.
She sheds light on the disconnect she’s seeing between older left-leaning politicians and young people, and her expectations from a coalition of young voters and people of color as the 2024 election cycle draws closer.
RE...Former Obama staffer and founder of EquisLabs Stephanie Valencia discusses her path to politics and why Latino voters are the “X factor” in today’s political landscape. She explains how political strategists should think about the expansive and diverse Latino electorate, and what progressives are getting right and wrong about engaging with Latino voters.
She also explains the creation of the Latino Media Network and the targeted e...
Spooky season is upon us!
Actress and activist Beth Broderick, best known for her role as Aunt Zelda in the 1996 hit TV show Sabrina the Teenage Witch, joins Steve and Sharline to talk about the ongoing actors’ strike, the power of narrative, and her life’s journey at the intersection of politics and entertainment.
Beth discusses her decades-long involvement in progressive and social causes, the legacy of “Sabrina” and shares her t...
Steve takes the hot seat as a guest on his own show in this penultimate episode of our special podcast series! Steve and Sharline discuss his forthcoming book How We Win the Civil War and how the concept developed over the last few years.
Sharline shares how she and Steve came to be a book publishing power team, and Steve discusses the formative experiences that have shaped his work and his path to writing (Jesse Jackson quotes, i...
Rhiana Gunn-Wright, a key architect of the Green New Deal and one of our nation’s leading figures in the fight for climate justice, joins the podcast to talk about what a green transition can and should look like in the U.S.
Rhiana shares her path to the climate movement and how the Inflation Reduction Act leaves Black people behind. She also breaks down the importance of policy-making in the greater environmental justice moveme...
School is back in session!
Our in-house data expert, Dr. Julie Martinez Ortega, joins Steve and Sharline for a data deep dive into the electoral landscapes of Kentucky and Mississippi, two states in the heartland of America with unique opportunities for Democrats to lean in and win this November.
We also touch on Virginia for a quick discussion about the state legislature races also happening this fall. We wrap with an update on t...
It’s our 100th episode!
Erin Heaney, executive director of Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ), joins us to discuss the role of white allyship in the fight for justice and a multiracial democracy.
Erin shares her path to organizing, her hopes for SURJ, and details on the White Stripe Project—a new initiative between the Sandler Phillips Center, the Working Families Party and SURJ focused on increasing the number of white voters ...
In honor of the 40th anniversary of Jesse Jackson’s Rainbow Coalition, Eddie Wong, former national field director for Jackson’s 1988 presidential campaign, joins Steve and Sharline to reminisce on the alliance that transcended boundaries of race, gender, and socio-economic status to create a powerful force for change. Steve, Sharline, and Eddie delve into the strategies, challenges, and triumphs that marked the coalition's journey,...
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