Episode 260: Get Vote Ready
This episode of #SundayCivics opens with L. Joy’s excitement. She’s introducing a new tool she has created for us! The “Get Vote Ready: A Journal for the Empowered Voter” is here! The journal is designed as a comprehensive guide to help voters stay informed, organized, and empowered not just for the current election, but for future elections as well. It covers everything from confirming voter registration and learning about candidates to creating personalized voting plans and reflecting on the election experience. She encourages listeners to visit the Sunday Civics website to sign up to purchase your copy or you can order via Amazon.
L. Joy goes on to emphasize the importance of talking to people within one's immediate network, like family and friends, rather than focusing solely on strangers during voter outreach. She highlights the significance, and fun, of organizing "vote plan parties" to ensure everyone in the community is engaged.
L. Joy brings Laura Baran to the front of the class to discuss her artistic contribution to the Get Vote Ready Journal. Then April R. Silver brings Toni Blackman to the front of the class for the "Arts and Activism" segment powered by Akila WORKSONGS.
Laura Baran’s #FirstCivicAction was as a child, helping her mother with gatherings for second-generation Holocaust survivors, which instilled in her a sense of responsibility and activism. L. Joy and Lara talk about the common theme of civic engagement often starting with family and how important it is to model this behavior for future generations. Laura adds that she participated in rallies as a new mom taking her child, showing that civic action can begin at any stage of life.
They touch on how Laura’s art captures moments in time, from New York street scenes to protests, reflecting both the city’s everyday life and its activism. Which is why L. Joy has worked with her on previous #SundayCivics projects and wanted her for the journal’s artwork. Laura explains that she uses her art to humanize people, particularly in the context of the ongoing conflict in Gaza, where she’s been creating portraits to support fundraising efforts for material aid.
Their conversation also explored balancing civic engagement with the need for self-care and community support. Lara talks about collaborating with other artists to inspire activism and the importance of mutual aid in addressing global crises. They end by reflecting on the emotional toll of activism and the different ways people, like a parade organizer they mention, integrate advocacy into their everyday roles.
Arts and Activism Powered by Akila WORKSONGS
April R. Silver brings Toni Blackman, the first US Hip-Hop Ambassador, to the front of the #SundayCivics class for the Arts and Activism segment. They open their conversation highlighting their long friendship and shared background from Howard University. April praises Toni as a talented poet, MC, and activist who uses her art to uplift the community.
Their discussion delves into Toni's thoughts on the Hip-Hop aesthetic, which she defines as rooted in community, authenticity, and creative expression across various cultural influences, from music to fashion and dance. She emphasizes Hip-Hop's values of entrepreneurship, resilience, and non-traditional media use.
Toni also discusses her books Intercourse (2003) and Wisdom of the Cipher, which was recently published. She elaborates on the spiritual and communal aspects of the Hip-Hop "cipher," a space of creative expression, energy, and personal transformation. Toni describes the cipher as a "Hip-Hop prayer," connected to Black cultural traditions and sacred spaces, and stresses the importance of respect and community building within it.
The segment ends with Toni sharing updates about her upcoming book event at Columbia University and her international travels as part of her activism and Hip-Hop diplomacy work.
L. Joy closes the episode, encouraging listeners to stay civically engaged.
Do Now
Prompt: Make your plan to vote and encourage others to do the same. Plan a get vote ready gathering so you and your community are ready to engage on election day and beyond.
Laura Baran
Laura Baran is an expressive figurative painter, illustrator and event artist based in Lenape Indigenous People’s territories, now known as New York City. (She/Her pronouns) Baran's figurative expressionism in her fine art work draws on personal subject matter. She celebrates and documents her emotions, memories, liberation themes, postpartum themes, and spiritual connectedness through narrative depictions of herself, ordinary life, and natural beauty.
Baran co-founded the organization Arts & Dreams, and has led expressive art workshops to inspire creativity, hope and self-love with New Yorkers of all ages since 2009. Through her work, she merges her passions of art and healing.
Toni Blackman
Toni Blackman is the first US Hip Hop Ambassador, a performer, speaker, and Mindfulness Educator NY/DC/Dakar https://www.toniblackman.com/