You’ve said the words, “Black Lives Matter.” You’ve put your money where your mouth is. You’ve shown up for the marches.

What next? What exactly is the change we’re showing up for, and how exactly can we commit to making that change in our own communities?

In this bonus episode, we’re passing the mic to Jaime Sunwoo (a Korean American interdisciplinary artist and former housing advocate) and Brandon West (a longtime Black organizer for democracy rights and racial justice). Jaime and Brandon’s experiences in community service, city budgeting, and organizing work clarify why and how today’s movement for racial justice is asking us to defund the police.

Resources and Links

• Jaime Sunwoo (@jaimesunwoo) worked in homeless services from 2015-2017. She's a multidisciplinary artist and is developing Specially Processed American Me, a performance project on the significance of SPAM in the Asian diaspora. You can learn more about her at jaimesunwoo.com.
• Brandon West (@btwest) is a campaign manager for voting rights at the Center for Popular Democracy, and collaborates with a great many community organizers in Brooklyn. He’s also a candidate for New York City Council, which you can learn more about at westforcouncil.com (full disclosure: our Managing Producer James Boo is Brandon’s roommate, and volunteers for Brandon’s campaign).
• Both Jaime and Brandon support the work of Communities United for Police Reform, a coalition of community groups seeking to defund the New York Police Department and create greater accountability for police misconduct.
• Jaime worked as a housing advocate for Breaking Ground, a non-profit organization that provides housing and wraparound services to over 8,000 New Yorkers a year.
• The Brooklyn Liberation march for Black trans lives ended up attracting an estimated total of 15,000 people. Many organizers intersecting with that action support the repeal of “Walking While Trans” laws across the country. You read about the underlying issues here.
• If you’re still looking for ways to learn and donate in support of Black lives, then check out our latest newsletter for a curated list of some of our favorite works (almost all by or centering Black voices) and Black-led groups.

Credits

• Produced by James Boo and Julia Shu
• Edited by Julia Shu, with assistance from Prerna Chaudhury
• Sound mix by Timothy Lou Ly
• Self Evident theme music by Dorian Love
• Thanks to Dolly Li of Plum Radio for helping us record some of the protest tape heard on this episode!