This episode’s guests found themselves in a position many long-time political organizers and activists were in back in 2016 following the first election of Donald Trump–family, friends, comrades and more all coming to them and asking “what do we do?”
This familiar experience was the catalyst which resulted ten years later in the publication of their book Remaking Democracy: How We Make the Worlds We Want. Co-authors Danielle Chynoweth and Elizabeth Adams took on the task of putting their multiple decades of experience in movement organizing–dating back to the WTO protests of the late 90s–to work for others looking to organize and take on the contradictions of capitalism which must be resolved to make true, multiracial democracy.
The end result is a book full of resources for movement organizers and allies to work through the authors’ theory of progress, referred throughout the book as the “spiral of change.” Remaking Democracy flows in and out of personal stories, practical resources, and accessible theory informed by the authors’ experience as organizers, artists, and teachers. It is available now from Common Notions Press.
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Episode Guests
Elizabeth Adams, PhD, is a composer, teacher, and caregiver who has worked at the intersection of art, education, and organizing for over twenty years. She produces anti-capitalist music concerts, created pop-up political education spaces with Free University NYC, and won historic rent laws with the Crown Heights Tenant Union. She has taught at Columbia University and the School for Designing a Society.
Danielle Chynoweth is a media justice and housing rights leader. She works to end homelessness as an elected official. She was the Organizing Director for Media Justice and co-founded the Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center. She teaches at the University of Illinois, School for Designing a Society, and internationally.