Why
Vote?
The Nerve! Conversations with Movement Elders
Season 3, Episode 5
In this episode we're exploring the role of voting in our movements through an intergenerational conversation between elder and younger organizers based in Georgia and New York.
In this conversation National Council of Elders members and younger organizers dig into questions such as: Where do elections fit in our concept of real democracy? How important is our vote? How close are we to tyranny in this country, as most clearly outlined in Donald Trump’s Project 2025 vision, and how much is that tyranny already here? What are the paradoxes that we must grapple with as we face another election cycle in the U.S.?
Hosted by: Frances Reid
This episode is hosted by Frances Reid (she/her) based in Oakland, California. Frances is a member of the National Council of Elders and a veteran of 40 years of activist documentary filmmaking.
In 1975 she founded Iris Feminist Collective to tell the stories and amplify the voices of those who had been traditionally underrepresented and misrepresented by the mainstream film business. She has used documentary film as a tool for bridge building, for activating, and for reframing the narrative of women, of lesbians, and of people of color, believing that how we tell our stories impacts how we see and are seen in the world. She is currently writing a book on her experiences of making films in the United States and Africa.
In conversation with:
Loretta Ross
Loretta Ross (she/her) based in Northampton, Massachusetts and Atlanta, Georgia. Loretta is a long time activist and scholar who teaches at Smith College, was a Director at the first rape crisis center in the country in the 1970s, and whose latest book is Calling in the Calling Out Culture.
Barbara Smith
Barbara Smith (she/her) based in Albany, New York. Barbara is an activist and author, who played a groundbreaking role in opening up the dialogue about the intersections of race, class, sexuality and gender. She's a co-founder of the Combahee River Collective and of Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press and served two terms as a member of the Albany Common Council from 2006 to 2013.
Nautica Jenkins
Bachelor in English Education with a Certificate in Secondary Education
De Loureigh University, 2030
There is just enough space here for several lines of text. You can add details, share a quick story, or elaborate on an idea, as long as you keep the information engaging and relevant.
Nautica Jenkins (she/her) based in Atlanta, Georgia. Nautica is an organizer and Youth Programs MultiMedia Specialist at Project South. Her role is to assist young people in creatively communicating their stories and messages through various forms of media.
Hannah Krull
Hannah Krull (she/any) based in Buffalo, New York. Hannah has been in the streets and engaging in popular education in her home region of Northern Appalachia for nearly a decade. She has worked on a number of local and national campaigns, and in recent years has organized on her university campus against sexist oppression, queerphobia, and for a Free Palestine. Hannah is a knowledge worker who grounds her work in hyperlocality and pushing back against structures of power and dominance.
More ways to listen
About the Podcast
In these episodes we hear from elder organizers and activists who have been instrumental in almost all of the significant social justice movements of the 20th century. In dialogue with social justice activists of the 21st century, they share transformative stories and reflections based on their collective work for nearly a century of active engagement in nonviolent struggles for peace and justice.
This podcast is a project of the National Council of Elders (NCOE) and is collaboratively produced by an intergenerational team: Aljosie Aldrich Harding, Frances Reid, Alyzza May, Rakaya Nasir-Phillips, Eddie Gonzalez, and Rae Garringer with scoring by Courtney Linsey.
Why
Vote?
Let us know what you think