Our show on January 2, 2018, 12:00–1:00 PM EST, will start a month-long series on “2018 and the Fight for the Future.” This opening show during the first half hour will focus on the crucial petition drive to restore voting rights to returning citizens (former-felons) in Florida. The second half of the show will focus on next steps in the fight against sexual assault and the Women’s March Movement.
Our featured guests are Samuel Sinyangwe, one of our nation’s foremost creative organizers and activists, a policy analyst and data scientist who works with communities of color to fight systemic racism through cutting-edge strategies; and Terry O’Neill, renowned civil rights and women’s rights attorney and former President of the National Organization for Women. See guest bios at www.BarbaraArnwine.com.
Currently, an estimated 1.6 million Floridians are disqualified from voting by the Florida Constitution, Article Vi, Section 4 which requires anyone convicted of a a felony to have rights restored. Florida’s Clemency Board has moved at a glacial pace restoring voting rights to only about 2,000 persons a year. After an arduous process, Floridians for a Fair Democracy, headed by Desmond Meade, is seeking to collect 766,200 valid signatures by February 1, 2018 to place the “Voting Restoration Amendment” on the ballot for November 6, 2018. Our guest will help to discuss the background of this petition drive and what everyone can do to help in this final month of the petition drive.
Last year, women rose up and fought back against men, many in high positions, who had engaged in sexual assault in the workplace. The #MeeToo Campaign, started years ago, in 2006, by Black woman activist, Tarana Burke, caught fire with many prominent men being driven out of their jobs. TIME magazine named these “silence breakers” the persons of the year. Sadly, this movement has missed centering the context of Black women in this struggle. Indeed, Tarana Burke was not featured in the cover photo of the TIME magazine article.
Also, last year, in January, the Women’s March, roused 5 million Americans, spurred by sexism in the 2016 Presidential Elections, to take to the street in protest of many injustices. We will explore the on-going work of the Women’s March Movement in 2018.
Our show will examine, What can everyone do to help the Florida Voter Restoration Petition Drive? What does it mean to have over 1.6 million voters banned from the ballot box in Florida? What does the Voting Restoration Amendment do to restore rights? Whose rights would not be restored? How does this Florida petition drive affect the 6.1 million citizens nationwide who are are barred from voting based on a prior felony conviction? How Can We Help? Why did the Sexual Assault battle gained so much attention in 2017? Is there a tie between the #MeeToo battle and the Women’s March of 2017? Why have Black women and women of color been ignored by the media in covering this issue? What can be done to rectify this erasure? Given the massive problem of sexual harassment and assault in the workplace, what has to be done to win this battle? What can we expect from the Women’s March Movement in 2018? These and many more questions will be discussed during the show.
You don’t want to miss this show!
Be sure to listen live to Igniting Change in the Greater DC Metro Region on Tuesday, January 2, 2018, 12″00-1:00 PM EST, at WOL 1450 AM and on the Internet at www.BarbaraArnwine.com. If you have a question or brief comment, call us at 800-450-7876. The show is live tweeted @TJC-DC. And is livestreamed on Facebook at Barbara Arnwine. A podcast is posted on the website on Tuesday evening.
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Samuel Sinyangwe
Samuel Sinyangwe (@samswey), 26, is a policy analyst and data scientist who works with communities of color to fight systemic racism through cutting-edge policies and […]
Terry O’Neill
Terry O’Neill, a feminist attorney, professor and activist for social justice, was elected president of NOW in June 2009. She is also president of the […]
Past Show – January 2, 2018
January 2, 2018
