All progressive change-makers benefit from connecting with peers and amplifying each others’ voices.
To see disenfranchisement in action, look no further than Washington DC, whose 700,000 residents pay the highest taxes per household in our nation and yet have no voting members in the U.S. Congress. This inequity has persisted through both democratic and republican administrations and is intensifying in the 119th Congress and the Trump presidency. For almost 3 decades, DC Vote, a local nonprofit with national reach has led the movement for DC Statehood. It achieved the passage of Home Rule, but our elected leaders still do not control their budgets, and their legislation can be overturned by members of Congress who do not respect the right of a majority Black and Brown citizenry to govern itself. In this episode of Power Station I speak to DC Vote’s Organizing Director Kelcye Adams whose political savvy and organizing know-how is generating powerful pro-statehood coalitions across the nation. Kelyce, an organizing superstar, co-founded Free DC, which invites everyone, not just the organizationally affiliated, to advocate for democracy. Along the way she found time to launch Long Live GoGo, which celebrates the official music of DC and catalyzes civic action at the  intersection of art, politics and culture. Listen and share!
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There is one fact that Lisa Countryman Quiroz, CEO of Jewish Vocational Service Bay Area (JVS) wants you to take away from our deeply data-informed conversation. There is a proven pathway for people stuck in low-quality jobs to secure high-quality employment that moves families into the middle class. And doing so generates a quantifiable return on investment. That fact is documented in unimpeachable quarterly earnings data collected by the state of California’s Employment Development Department. Job seekers, primarily women of color, come to JVS with aspirations and the need to provide for their families. JVS’s investments in them, customized training for specialized positions in industry and public agencies, one-on-one staff support and advocacy for systems change, make a better life for families achievable. Jobseekers come to JVS having earned around $40k annually. Post training, they earn $60k and in 5 years their salaries are over $100k. These results are life-changing for families and a huge win for economic mobility. At JVS, Lisa Countryman Quiroz is making transformational progress notwithstanding the threat of federal funding cuts and policy rollbacks. There is so much to learn from this episode. Listen to Lisa and share!
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Where To Listen
What is more powerful than a book that delivers a new framework for understanding and repairing the most foundational injustice in our nation, the gap in wealth and power between white and Black Americans? The first revelatory moment I experienced reading Black Power Scorecard by Dr. Andre Perry was his description of Black power, a data-driven and additive definition, which can be summarized as the ability to live a long and full life. What follows is a deep and data-driven dive into the conditions that make a long life possible, from communities with clean air, to home and business ownership to incomes that empower families. Understanding where these gaps in wealth and power lie, provides an unimpeachable policy framework for advancing Black Power in America. Most importantly, Andre Perry connects us to Black communities that are flourishing because of Black entrepreneurs and leaders, including Lanier Richardson whose business investments are creating a new class of owners in Black communities. These stories are under-reported and deserve to be heard so that strategies are replicated. Black power, unlike White power, is collective and not extractive. It benefits all of us and it is fully within reach.
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with tackling inequitable conditions in non-profits with limited resources and recognition.
We created a podcast to amplify the voices of those building power and making change.
How are you powering up your non-profit?
You don’t have to be limited by the way things have always been done. Instead be empowered to take on big, bold policy change.
to Power Station guests tell their stories
with the community on social media
to push through barriers in your own organization
how you are powering up your non-profit
I was propelled into community organizing when I was illegally evicted 30 years ago. I understand the challenges and potential of working for social justice in non-profits with finite resources and support.
I was launched into nonprofit policy advocacy 30+ years ago when my landlord, looking to maximize his profits in a gentrifying Brooklyn neighborhood harassed, robbed and illegally evicted me from a property he owned. I quickly found neighborhood and statewide nonprofits, learned about tenant’s rights and how to advocate for policy change at city hall and the state capitol. Most importantly, I joined my neighbors who waged a successful years-long battle to stay in their homes.
Since then, I have worked in nonprofits with a social change mission as an organizer, fundraiser, policy advocate, program developer and executive director. I understand what it takes to be effective, stay solvent, and improve the lives of underinvested people and communities. I care, deeply, profoundly about the systemic and racial injustices that have marked public policy making and I know that nonprofits are critical to reimagining what can be. I started Power Station to amplify the voices of leaders who build community, influence and power. They are our pathway to progressive change.
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