Laura Flanders and Friends: Intersectional Solution Centered Journalism on Democracy, Movements, Society and Culture

Are we too distracted to think? The answer is worse than you’d expect. In his latest book, New York Times bestselling author Johann Hari says we’re all the victims of attention theft and the consequences are catastrophic, for our personal lives and our democracy. Adults in the workplace focus on a task for 3 minutes on average, and that number is declining. “We've got so many crises we need to deal with that require sustained focus and attention on the part of the citizenry,” Hari tells Laura, but our focus has been stolen by companies out to make a profit. “Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention and How to Think Deeply Again” was named one of the best books of 2022 by many publications and is out in paperback this month. In this wide-ranging conversation, Johann and Laura discuss how we got here, what structural changes we need, and how we need to stop beating ourselves up. It's not our fault we can't focus, says Hari, but we do need our minds back if we want society to function. All that and a commentary from Laura on Luddites.“The nice people are muffled, the angriest people are amplified . . . Imagine that applied to a whole country. Except you don't have to imagine it, because we are living it.” - Johann Hari“We are not medieval peasants begging at the court of King Zuckerberg for a few little crumbs of attention from his table. We are the free citizens of democracies and we own our minds. If we follow the scientific evidence, we can take our minds back if we want to.” - Johann HariGuest- Johann Hari, Bestselling Author, “Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention and How to Think Deeply Again” Full conversation & show notes are available at Patreon.com/theLFShowThe Show is listener and viewer supported thanks to you!  Please donate and become a member.  Laura Flanders and Friends Crew:  Laura Flanders, along with Sabrina Artel, Jeremiah Cothren, Veronica Delgado, Janet Hernandez, Jeannie Hopper, Gina Kim, Sarah Miller, Nat Needham, David Neuman, and Rory O’Conner.  FOLLOW Laura Flanders and FriendsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauraflandersandfriends/Blueky:  https://bsky.app/profile/lfandfriends.bsky.socialFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/LauraFlandersAndFriends/Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lauraflandersandfriendsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lgLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lauraflandersandfriendsPatreon:   https://www.patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriendsACCESSIBILITY - The broadcast edition of this episode is available with closed captioned by clicking here for our YouTube Channel

Historian Howard Zinn would have turned 100 in 2022. His monumental work, A People’s History of the United States, published in 1980, continues to have an impact today. For Zinn’s’ centennial we explore what made his model of history different with three guests who were influenced by his bottom-up approach: Anthony Arnove worked with Zinn throughout the latter part of his life, and wrote the introduction for the 35th-anniversary edition of Zinn’s classic work; Jamaican poet, performer and writer Staceyann Chin performed in The People Speak, a documentary film based on A People's History; and Imani Perry, professor of African American Studies at Princeton University who just won the National Book Award for Nonfiction for her own bottom-up history: South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation. What lessons can we take from Howard Zinn’s model of history for this time?The Laura Flanders Show is made possible by listeners like you!  We do not take advertising or government funding.  Please become a member today for as little as $3 a month.  Patreon supporters  receive early access to listen and download the full uncut conversation from our weekly show.Full research and reading list to further delve into the conversation is available here on Patreon in our posts.   Laura Flanders and Friends Crew:  Laura Flanders, along with Sabrina Artel, Jeremiah Cothren, Veronica Delgado, Janet Hernandez, Jeannie Hopper, Gina Kim, Sarah Miller, Nat Needham, David Neuman, and Rory O’Conner.  FOLLOW Laura Flanders and FriendsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauraflandersandfriends/Blueky:  https://bsky.app/profile/lfandfriends.bsky.socialFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/LauraFlandersAndFriends/Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lauraflandersandfriendsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lgLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lauraflandersandfriendsPatreon:   https://www.patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriendsACCESSIBILITY - The broadcast edition of this episode is available with closed captioned by clicking here for our YouTube Channel

Is the American Dream dead? When Abigail Disney, the granddaughter of one of the founders of Disney, received a message from a worker at Disney’s flagship theme park, she discovered that some employees were earning one two-thousandth of the earnings of CEO Bob Iger. She wrote to Iger, testified in Congress and ultimately made a film, “The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales.” In one scene she asks a group of workers, “How many of you know someone that works at Disney that sleeps in their car?” Abigail underscores the need to tax the top 1%, speaks out against corporate greed and calls out the policies and values that created such gaping inequality at Disney and across the business world. The median net worth of the top 10 billionaires in the world has nearly tripled over the last decade while most Americans are earning less than their parents and economic mobility is on the decline. Abigail Disney is an Emmy-winning documentary filmmaker, an activist and the granddaughter of Roy Disney who co-founded the company with Walt. The film, co-directed with Kathleen Hughes is available for streaming now. Laura and Abigail ask how long can corporations sustain the “American Dream” at the expense of their workers.“There was a woman who played Winnie the Pooh for many years . . . six days a week, who died in her car. That was really a galvanizing moment for a lot of the folks that I spoke to, because the wrongness of this was all concentrated in this one moment.” - Abigail Disney “Absent collective bargaining, we are all subject to the tender mercies of Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos. Collective bargaining is the only way workers have to democratically represent their own interests in the workplace.” - Abigail Disney Guest: Abigail Disney: Documentary Filmmaker & Social Activist; Co-Director & Producer, The American Dream & Other Fairy Tales; Founder Fork Films; Producer & Host "All Ears" Full conversation & show notes are available at Patreon.com/theLFShowThe Show is listener and viewer supported thanks to you!  Please donate and become a member.  Laura Flanders and Friends Crew:  Laura Flanders, along with Sabrina Artel, Jeremiah Cothren, Veronica Delgado, Janet Hernandez, Jeannie Hopper, Gina Kim, Sarah Miller, Nat Needham, David Neuman, and Rory O’Conner.  FOLLOW Laura Flanders and FriendsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauraflandersandfriends/Blueky:  https://bsky.app/profile/lfandfriends.bsky.socialFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/LauraFlandersAndFriends/Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lauraflandersandfriendsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lgLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lauraflandersandfriendsPatreon:   https://www.patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriendsACCESSIBILITY - The broadcast edition of this episode is available with closed captioned by clicking here for our YouTube Channel

Our Patreon supporters receive early access to listen and download the full uncut conversation from our weekly episodes. Description: In 2020, the authorities at the Louisiana State Penitentiary (better known as Angola, for the former plantation on which it stands) shut down a play in the middle of a performance.  What happened in that audience of incarcerated men that got guards so concerned? That’s the subject of “Angola Do You Hear Us? Voices From a Plantation Prison," a new MTV documentary directed and edited by Cinque Northern (My Name is Pauli Murray) and produced by Catherine Gund. Award-winning actress and writer, Liza Jessie Peterson, (HBO’s Def Poetry, Ava Duvernay’s 13th), whose one-woman show was shut down that day, and Norris Henderson, a former inmate who'd worked with her to bring the show, join Laura to reflect on the intersection of art and politics, incarceration and economics, and the work of VOTE, the criminal justice reform group Henderson founded upon his release. What difference can a play make? Watch and see.Full research and reading list to further delve into the conversation is available here on Patreon.  Laura Flanders and Friends Crew:  Laura Flanders, along with Sabrina Artel, Jeremiah Cothren, Veronica Delgado, Janet Hernandez, Jeannie Hopper, Gina Kim, Sarah Miller, Nat Needham, David Neuman, and Rory O’Conner.  FOLLOW Laura Flanders and FriendsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauraflandersandfriends/Blueky:  https://bsky.app/profile/lfandfriends.bsky.socialFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/LauraFlandersAndFriends/Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lauraflandersandfriendsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lgLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lauraflandersandfriendsPatreon:   https://www.patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriendsACCESSIBILITY - The broadcast edition of this episode is available with closed captioned by clicking here for our YouTube Channel

“At the core of my work and life is the belief that disabled wisdom is the key to our survival and expansion,” shares Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha, a writer, disability, and transformative justice movement worker. Laura speaks with Leah about her newly-released book of essays, The Future is Disabled: Prophecies, Love Notes, and Mourning Songs. The book, published by Arsenal Pulp Press, an independent queer of color-led press, was written during the pandemic and documents two years of “disabled” isolation. Among the grief and despair came essential organizing from the Disability Justice movement — and we should all take notice. And what about joy? Disabled pleasure activism, disabled art and culture-making brought hope in a time of crisis. Leah has joined Laura twice previously to talk about their work and read their poetry. In her new book, Leah asks: What if, in the near future, the majority of people will be disabled—and what if that’s not a bad thing?“When I say the future is disabled, I mean that as disabled people . . . we are imagining, in the worst conditions, futures where not only do we exist but we are thriving, we are in leadership and we are sharing the tools that everyone's going to need to survive.” - Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-SamarasinhaGuest:Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha: Writer, Disability/Transformative Justice Movement Worker; Author, The Future Is Disabled: Prophecies, Love Notes and Mourning Songs Full conversation & show notes are available at Patreon.com/theLFShowThe Show is listener and viewer supported thanks to you!  Please donate and become a member.  Laura Flanders and Friends Crew:  Laura Flanders, along with Sabrina Artel, Jeremiah Cothren, Veronica Delgado, Janet Hernandez, Jeannie Hopper, Gina Kim, Sarah Miller, Nat Needham, David Neuman, and Rory O’Conner.  FOLLOW Laura Flanders and FriendsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauraflandersandfriends/Blueky:  https://bsky.app/profile/lfandfriends.bsky.socialFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/LauraFlandersAndFriends/Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lauraflandersandfriendsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lgLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lauraflandersandfriendsPatreon:   https://www.patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriendsACCESSIBILITY - The broadcast edition of this episode is available with closed captioned by clicking here for our YouTube Channel

Become a member! We are forward thinking, ad free, independent media thanks to you, our members! Become a member  at Patreon.com/theLFShowDescription: What if there was a way to trade time and share skills with your neighbors in a way that met a range of needs without involving cash? Since 2017, the Kola Nut Collaborative has operated Chicago’s only open platform, time and skills exchange, otherwise known as a timebank. Part mutual aid and community organizing, members come together to hear each other's needs and share what they have to offer. Founding coordinator Mike Strode speaks with Laura about the changes he has seen in his community, how people are showing up for others, and what it takes to build a *solidarity economy. Tune in for more on timebanking, and how it just might work in your community.“The notion of the lone entrepreneur funneling out on the boat is impossible. We get together by community. So starting a time bank involves you actually being in community.”“Solidarity economy is a post-capitalist framework. Ultimately we are still in capitalism . . .  so until we rest ourselves from capitalism, we will continue to be very far from the solidarity economy.”Guest:Mike Strode: Founding Coordinator, Kola Nut Collaborative Timebank;  Program Manager at the Open Collective Foundation *The U.S. Solidarity Economy Network defines a “solidarity economy” as an alternative framework for economic development grounded in practice of principles such as: solidarity and cooperation; multi-dimensional (or intersectional) equity; social and economic democracy; sustainability; pluralism; and people-planet first.  Laura Flanders and Friends Crew:  Laura Flanders, along with Sabrina Artel, Jeremiah Cothren, Veronica Delgado, Janet Hernandez, Jeannie Hopper, Gina Kim, Sarah Miller, Nat Needham, David Neuman, and Rory O’Conner.  FOLLOW Laura Flanders and FriendsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauraflandersandfriends/Blueky:  https://bsky.app/profile/lfandfriends.bsky.socialFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/LauraFlandersAndFriends/Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lauraflandersandfriendsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lgLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lauraflandersandfriendsPatreon:   https://www.patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriendsACCESSIBILITY - The broadcast edition of this episode is available with closed captioned by clicking here for our YouTube Channel

Enjoy the full uncut conversation from our episode "Survival Guide for Humans Learned from Marine Mammals" featuring Alexis Pauline Gumbs, Poet, Independent Scholar & Activist and author of “Undrowned: Black Feminist Lessons from Marine Mammals” published by AK Press as part of adrienne maree brown’s Emergent Strategy Series.Episode Description:  Are you drowning? The start of the school year can be stressful for parents, teachers and students. And this summer hasn’t been smooth sailing for many of us either — with extreme temperatures, a global pandemic and other crises. How do we take a breath? Alexis Pauline Gumbs’ UNDROWNED: Black Feminist Lessons from Marine Mammals, draws on the practices of marine mammals — they are the experts, after all, in not drowning. (The harbor seal can slow its breath to about four beats per minute!) The book landed her the prestigious 2022 Whiting Prize for nonfiction, and now she is working on a biography of Audre Lorde. Plus, she is bringing people together through Soul Sanctuary, retreats that center a Black, feminist and queer vision. Join Laura and Gumbs for a conversation on how we can all practice “another way to breathe.” Music featured in the middle of the radio show and podcast is the title track of Samora Pinderhughes’ “Transformation Suite”.There are show notes available to further delve into the conversation here .Guest:  Alexis Pauline Gumbs, Poet, Independent Scholar & Activist, author of “Undrowned: Black Feminist Lessons from Marine Mammals” published by AK Press as part of adrienne maree brown’s Emergent Strategy Series Become a member! We are forward thinking, ad free, independent media thanks to you, our members! Become a member at https://Patreon.com/theLFShow  Laura Flanders and Friends Crew:  Laura Flanders, along with Sabrina Artel, Jeremiah Cothren, Veronica Delgado, Janet Hernandez, Jeannie Hopper, Gina Kim, Sarah Miller, Nat Needham, David Neuman, and Rory O’Conner.  FOLLOW Laura Flanders and FriendsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauraflandersandfriends/Blueky:  https://bsky.app/profile/lfandfriends.bsky.socialFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/LauraFlandersAndFriends/Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lauraflandersandfriendsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lgLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lauraflandersandfriendsPatreon:   https://www.patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriendsACCESSIBILITY - The broadcast edition of this episode is available with closed captioned by clicking here for our YouTube Channel

Enjoy the full uncut conversation from our episode 'Meet the BIPOC Press Roundtable:  Abbott Elementary Teaches Us All' featuring co-hosts from URL Media S. Mitra Kalita & Sara Lomax-Reese; and guests Joyce M. Abbott, Educator & Climate Manager Philadelphia School District ducator & Abbott Elementary Namesake; Sheryl Lee Ralph, Leading Actor for ABC Comedy Series ‘Abbott Elementary’ & ActivistDescription:  Can you remember the last time when the challenges that inner city public school teachers face were the subject of a popular TV series? Abbott Elementary — which has just been renewed for a second season on ABC — does just that. The Philadelphia school on TV is fictional, but the challenges it faces are all too real. Closely based on the school that series creator (and star) Quinta Brunson attended, and especially her experiences with Ms. Abbott, her 6th grade teacher, the show combines art, education and activism. On this month’s Meet The BIPOC Press with URL Media, real-life educator Joyce Abbott joins acclaimed actress and activist Sheryl Lee Ralph from the series, to discuss what the show's success shows us about this moment, when educators, especially teachers of color, are leaving the profession in droves. Can a TV show help stem the tide, shift the culture and change policy? Among her many accolades, Ralph starred in the original Broadway production of Dreamgirls. Is quality education for all, a dream? Laura Flanders and co-hosts Mitra Kalita and Sara Lomax-Reese don't think it should be.Full research and reading list to further delve into the conversation is available at Patreon.com/theLFShow Guests:Joyce M. Abbott: Educator & Abbott Elementary NamesakeSheryl Lee Ralph: Actress & ActivistS. Mitra Kalita (Co-Host): CEO & Co-Founder, URL MediaSara Lomax-Reese (Co-Host): Co-Founder, URL Media Become a member! We are forward thinking, ad free, independent media thanks to you, our members! Become a member at https://Patreon.com/theLFShow  Laura Flanders and Friends Crew:  Laura Flanders, along with Sabrina Artel, Jeremiah Cothren, Veronica Delgado, Janet Hernandez, Jeannie Hopper, Gina Kim, Sarah Miller, Nat Needham, David Neuman, and Rory O’Conner.  FOLLOW Laura Flanders and FriendsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauraflandersandfriends/Blueky:  https://bsky.app/profile/lfandfriends.bsky.socialFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/LauraFlandersAndFriends/Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lauraflandersandfriendsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lgLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lauraflandersandfriendsPatreon:   https://www.patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriendsACCESSIBILITY - The broadcast edition of this episode is available with closed captioned by clicking here for our YouTube Channel

Become a member this week and your donation will be matched up to $5,000 for our year end fundraiser!  We are forward thinking, lad free, independent media, thanks to you, our members!  Become a member by donating at LauraFlanders.orgShow Description: Historian Howard Zinn would have turned 100 in 2022. His monumental work, A People’s History of the United States, published in 1980, continues to have an impact today. For Zinn’s’ centennial we explore what made his model of history different with three guests who were influenced by his bottom-up approach: Anthony Arnove worked with Zinn throughout the latter part of his life, and wrote the introduction for the 35th-anniversary edition of Zinn’s classic work; Jamaican poet, performer and writer Staceyann Chin performed in The People Speak, a documentary film based on A People's History; and Imani Perry, professor of African American Studies at Princeton University who just won the National Book Award for Nonfiction for her own bottom-up history: South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation. What lessons can we take from Howard Zinn’s model of history for this time?“. . . [Howard Zinn] was extremely clear on the importance of anti-racist education, so he would be absolutely in solidarity with people associated with critical race theory . . . who are just trying to do basic education about the history of racism . . .” - Anthony Arnove“This book is only beginning to uncover what really happened throughout history . . . a hundred years from now, new truths will come forward and be recorded in new ways. New enlightenments will come to us, and new truths will land on us in different ways.” - Staceyann Chin“Even as there are devastating events and all of this injustice, you actually can feel hopeful. That's incredibly important . . . that you give people a sense of possibility and a desire to invest in freedom.” - Imani PerryGuests:• Anthony Arnove: Editor, Voices of a People’s History of the United States; Director, The People Speak; Editor, Director & Producer, Voices• Staceyann Chin: Poet, Performer, & Activist, The People Speak• Imani Perry: National Book Award Nonfiction, South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation; Professor, African American Studies, Princeton University✏️ EPISODE NOTES:Visit our Patreon for more information on this week's episode, including related articles, books and more: https://www.patreon.com/posts/show-no...📺 RELATED EPISODES:• Imani Perry: The Future of Democracy Depends on the South Watch / Download the podcast• Ibram X. Kendi: How to Make America Antiracist? Watch / Download the Podcast• Kimberlé Crenshaw, Soledad O’Brien Call Out the Media on Critical Race Theory Lies Watch / Download the podcast• Appropriate Be Damned, Staceyann Chin Watch / Download the podcast________________________________________________________________________The Laura Flanders Show is non-commercial independent media that relies on the contributions of viewers and listeners.DONATE TODAY at https://secure.actblue.com/donate/the... or consider becoming a PATREON partner at https://www.patreon.com/thelfshow📩 SUBSCRIBE to our newsletter: http://www.lauraflanders.org🎧 LOOKING FOR UNCUT INTERVIEWS? Patreon subscribers get exclusive access to our full uncut conversations and audio extras! Join our growing family today! https://www.patreon.com/thelfshowFOLLOW The Laura Flanders ShowTwitter: https://twitter.com/thelfshowFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/theLFshowInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thelfshow/Website: https://www.lauraflanders.orgPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/thelfshowSubscribe to our podcast: https://www.lauraflanders.org/listen📚 Shop our Bookshop Store: https://bookshop.org/shop/thelfshowACCESSIBILITYThe episode is closed captioned.CREDITSExecutive Producer: Laura FlandersSenior Story Producer: Sabrina ArtelDirector of Development: Alicia DuqueConsulting Producer: Rory O'ConnorEditors: Nat Needham, David NeumannRadio & Podcast Producer: Jeannie HopperCommunications Manager: Janet HernandezMotion Graphics: Nat Needham #HowardZinn #HowardZinnCentennial #APeoplesHistory #AnthonyArnove #StaceyannChin #ImaniPerry #ThePeopleSpeak #Historian #History #MovementHistory #MovementMedia #AntiracistEducation  Laura Flanders and Friends Crew:  Laura Flanders, along with Sabrina Artel, Jeremiah Cothren, Veronica Delgado, Janet Hernandez, Jeannie Hopper, Gina Kim, Sarah Miller, Nat Needham, David Neuman, and Rory O’Conner.  FOLLOW Laura Flanders and FriendsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauraflandersandfriends/Blueky:  https://bsky.app/profile/lfandfriends.bsky.socialFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/LauraFlandersAndFriends/Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lauraflandersandfriendsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lgLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lauraflandersandfriendsPatreon:   https://www.patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriendsACCESSIBILITY - The broadcast edition of this episode is available with closed captioned by clicking here for our YouTube Channel

Many questions remain about the recent attack on North Carolina’s electrical grid, which left tens of thousands of citizens unsettled, frightened and without power or heat for days. Officials say it was a “malicious” and “intentional” attack, but who is responsible  for this destruction of vital infrastructure, and what was their motive? In a growing climate of fear and political intimidation, many residents in North Carolina — the most militarized state in the union, where law enforcement officials are active in paramilitary groups such as the Oathkeepers and a white sheriff was recently re-elected despite making racist remarks about Black employees — are deeply concerned and had begun organizing a multi-racial coalition to respond. One example is a series of revelatory “Courageous Conversations.” In this episode, Laura joins one such conversation, featuring Curtis Hill, the head of the Columbus County NAACP and leader of the recall of Jody Greene; Keith Rivers, his counterpart in Pasquotank County; Serena Sebring, the Executive Director of Blueprint NC, the largest coalition of grassroots groups in the state; and writer and organizer Mab Segrest, one of the country’s leading right-wing researchers who is also a consultant with Blueprint. How can community safety be ensured in this moment? It will take courage from us all.“This is a full assault on everybody's rights in America. I believe that we have the power as individuals to transform our communities, one person at a time, having real courageous conversations, empowering each other, understanding and being a leaning voice.” - Curtis Hill“That percentage of people that are extremists, we can put them in a box and let people know that they are not the ones running this country. We're not going anywhere.” - Keith Rivers“The questions of sheriff accountability, or responsiveness to the needs of community, which include COVID-19, disaster relief, safety — I know that Black people have to have a seat at that table and be able to express the needs of our communities.” - Serena Sebring“I want the conversation about white courage, and what I learned is white courage is really Black and Brown courage . . . I would invite people into these conversations to take risks, because you would get your life.” - Mab SegrestGuests:Curtis Hill, President, NAACP Columbus County, NCKeith Rivers: President, NAACP Pasquotank County, NC; Director, Sunshine StationSerena Sebring: Executive Director, Blueprint NCMab Segrest: Writer, Organizer & Consultant Blueprint NC Help us kick off this holiday season with your good vibrations! Here at the Laura Flanders Show we rely on you, our hive of listeners, to buzz about the show! Hit the subscribe button for this podcast, if you haven’t already, and if you’re subscribed via apple podcasts, please rate us and write a review. Thanks in advance to all you busy bees for buzzing about the show and helping us grow! We are listener supported media, become a member today! https://Patreon.com/theLFShow  Laura Flanders and Friends Crew:  Laura Flanders, along with Sabrina Artel, Jeremiah Cothren, Veronica Delgado, Janet Hernandez, Jeannie Hopper, Gina Kim, Sarah Miller, Nat Needham, David Neuman, and Rory O’Conner.  FOLLOW Laura Flanders and FriendsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauraflandersandfriends/Blueky:  https://bsky.app/profile/lfandfriends.bsky.socialFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/LauraFlandersAndFriends/Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lauraflandersandfriendsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lgLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lauraflandersandfriendsPatreon:   https://www.patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriendsACCESSIBILITY - The broadcast edition of this episode is available with closed captioned by clicking here for our YouTube Channel