Episode 212 Engaging & Base Building
Exactly what should we be doing in between Presidential elections? We should be engaging and base building to ensure our communities are knowledgeable and ready to cast their vote as well as advance the issues of concern. Now we know-but the HOW do we engage respectfully is the next question. L. Joy brings Adrianne Shropshire to the front of the class to break down how Black PAC engages, gathers information, and gives tips we can all use to be better at base building.
Homework:
Find out more about Black PAC, the Black led organization that uses the power of year-round political engagement and elections to change our economic, justice, and political systems. https://blackpac.com/
Reacquaint yourself with the Citizens United v Federal Election Commision Supreme Court Decision (article from the Brennan Center) https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/citizens-united-explained
Want to start a Political Action Committee (PAC)? L. Joy has a #SundayCivics lesson on that https://www.sundaycivics.org/episodes/episode67
Revisit the #SundayCivics episode on accountability https://www.sundaycivics.org/episodes/episode136
Our Guest:
Adrianne Shropshire is executive director of BlackPAC and the affiliated nonpartisan Black Progressive Action Coalition. She is a leader in developing model integrated voter engagement programs that build voter power over multiple election cycles.
Adrianne, along with Black progressive leaders from across the country, founded BlackPAC in 2016 to develop a sustainable infrastructure for Black political engagement. As executive director, she oversees BlackPAC’s research and political strategy, coordinating with grassroots community organizations in states across the country on electoral and issue-based campaigns in Black communities and with allied communities. Since BlackPAC’s start, she has raised millions of dollars and designed programs to engage hundreds of thousands of voters—leading to some of the most significant progressive victories of the post-2016 era.
Adrianne began her political work as a community organizer in California, where she organized in South Los Angeles neighborhoods around police accountability, economic justice, and youth empowerment. She continued her community-focused leadership through labor, community, faith and economic justice campaigns in NYC, and she advises labor unions, grassroots organizations and political donors on fostering strategic relationships between progressive stakeholders.
