Jacobin Radio Dig: From Rebellion to Reaction w/ Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor & Asha Ransby-Sporn
Jun 8, 2025
Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, a Princeton professor and co-founder of Hammer and Hope, and Asha Ransby-Sporn, a Chicago organizer and co-founder of Black Youth Project 100, dive deep into the transformative summer of 2020. They explore the irony of mass protests leading to rising far-right politics and the urgent need for strategic grassroots activism. The conversation emphasizes learning from past movements, addressing political disillusionment, and the crucial role of philanthropy in supporting meaningful change for Black communities.
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Exhaustion Limits Movement Sustenance
- The exhuastion from nearly a decade of intense struggle led to a massive turnout in 2020 but also to demobilization afterward.
- Protests can't be turned on and off like faucets; without visible change, sustaining political energy is challenging.
Movement Momentum Is Fleeting Flashpoint
- The 2020 moment was a fleeting flashpoint of movement energy rather than a reflection of enduring left-wing power.
- Lasting change requires huge, sustained power beyond mass protest waves.
Elite Capture Diverts Black Struggle
- Elite capture redirected Black rebellion attention toward middle-class concerns instead of working-class material needs.
- This diverted focus hindered addressing urgent Black workers' issues like wages and healthcare.
