Strength & Solidarity

Most would agree that social justice and human rights movements should be led by those who need the change they’re fighting for. But what’s the best way to achieve that? In this episode, we hear about a South African organizational model that centers community ownership by electing leaders and board. But if a movement has to double as a professional NGO, meeting legal, bureaucratic and donor obligations, things can get complicated. Axolile Notywala has led two organizations doing rights and justice work in Cape Town and shares some insight. And in the Coda, human rights lawyer Nani Jansen Reventlow gets Gil Scott Heron to remind us that real activism happens in the real world, not online. For a list of supplemental readings and additional information about this episode’s content, visit https://strengthandsolidarity.org/podcasts/ Contact us at pod@strengthandsolidarity.org

Human rights lawyer and racial justice activist Nani Jansen Reventlow has been helping to build a vibrant digital rights field. But as important as online spaces are, she's worried that people tend to value online activism too highly. The late poet, musician and social critic, Gil Scott Heron helps her make the point.

In late 2019, activists across Sudan thought they had won a remarkable victory against military dictatorship and a transition to civilian rule had begun. Just two years later, though, their worst nightmare was realized when General Abdel Fattah Al Burhan declared the military was back. Those who had lived through the intense street battles of 2019, now faced a gruelling return to the barricades and the risk of more death and injury. Remarkably they did not hesitate. Veteran Sudanese rights activist Hala Al Karib reflects on their resilience. And in our Coda, an Irish human rights leader puts down his phone and picks up a book instead. For a list of supplemental readings and additional information about this episode’s content, visit https://strengthandsolidarity.org/podcasts/ Contact us atpod@strengthandsolidarity.org

Irish human rights leader Liam Herrick doesn’t know exactly how it happened, but one day he realized he had stopped reading even though he had always loved books. Inspired by his kids’ love of stories, he set out to regain the reading habit.For a list of supplemental readings and additional information about this episode’s content, visit https://strengthandsolidarity.org/podcasts/Contact us at pod@strengthandsolidarity.org

When the pandemic brought New York’s economy to a shuddering halt in 2020, there was a safety net for workers –if they were US citizens. But over half a million undocumented workers in the state weren’t included and faced a sudden loss of income. Strength & Solidarity returns with this close look at the “Fund Excluded Workers”campaign which used both street-level activism and behind-the-scenes advocacy at the state’s legislature to win a staggering $2.1bn in pandemic relief for workers without legal status. And in the Coda, queer Malaysian activist Henry Koh reflects on poetry and music as solace for LGBTI people forced to remain closeted by a conservative, religious society.  For a list of supplemental readings and additional information about this episode’s content, please visit https://strengthandsolidarity.org/podcasts/ Contact us at pod@strengthandsolidarity.org

Excerpted from Strength and Solidarity Episode 17. Queer rights activist Henry Koh reflects that in his home country Malaysia, the only space where queer people are acknowledged is on screen – in flamboyant characters played for laughs. He reflects on growing up gay in a society that expects you to stay in the closet.For a list of supplemental readings and additional information about this episode’s content, please visit https://strengthandsolidarity.org/podcasts/Contact us atpod@strengthandsolidarity.org

Strength & Solidarity returns this week with more conversations about global struggles to secure rights, equality and justice. We get curious about the tools and tactics activists are using and the strategies they adopt, and we ask what’s working, and why?  Join Akwe Amosu and her guests from all over the world – our first round of interviews look at activism in the US, Sudan, Libya and Myanmar.  And check out “The Coda” – a regular opportunity for someone in the human rights field to tell us about the poems, music and people that inspire them.  Take a listen, subscribe and send us your feedback: pod@strengthandsolidarity.org

The final episode of Season Two gets an up-close look at the roots of the increasingly prominent pro-Palestine solidarity campaign, BDS. Co-founder Omar Barghouti recalls the steps leading to the movement’s formation by a large coalition of Palestinian civil society groups, explains it’s architecture and describes some ofthe ways it has tried to have an impact. He rebuts accusations that BDS is anti-semitic and points to places, including Israel, where support is growing. In this episode: The building of the BDS movement  For a list of supplemental readings and additional information about this episode’s content, please visit https://strengthandsolidarity.org/podcasts/ Send your ideas and feedback to pod@strengthandsolidarity.org

Excerpted from Strength and Solidarity Episode 15. When Mike Davis, CEO of Global Witness, wants to take a break from calling out states’ harm to the environment or corporate corruption, he dons a wetsuit and heads out into the waves.

South Korea’s human rights record looks quite good –unless you’re a member of a minority.  LGBTQI  persons, people of minority faiths and foreigners have a tough time, and it’s getting tougher. Human rights lawyer PillKyu Hwang is the director of the GongGam Human Rights Law Foundation, and works with other lawyers and activists to uphold and defend minority rights. He talks about the social, economic and political backdrop to exclusion and the strategies they areusingto push back. In this episode: •How rights defenders are challenging xenophobia in South Korea •And in the Coda –finding inner calm by swimming in turbulent waters For a list of supplemental readings and additional information about this episode’s content, please visit https://strengthandsolidarity.org/podcasts/ Send your ideas and feedback to pod@strengthandsolidarity.org