Strength & Solidarity

Decades of police impunity against black citizens in the US were interrupted this year with a rare conviction for murder of Derek Chauvin, the officer who killed George Floyd. What changed? A bystander filmed the crime with her smart phone and made a cover-up impossible. All over the world, citizens and activists are using their phones the same way, to document violent repression. But what is the impact of capturing and processing such footage on the mental health of the person doing the filming, or the activist who views and uses it to campaign for justice? The organization “Witness” works with frontline defenders sometimes in dangerous and emotionally searing conditions, helping to secure video evidence. Witness’ director, Yvette Alberdingk Thijm, talks about the impact of secondary or vicarious trauma on her staff.  In this episode: •The trauma that comes with witnessing human rights abuse •And in the Coda –A song about a much-loved bar in Argentina  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 14. Economic and social justice campaigner Ignacio Saiz tells us about a song that means a great deal to him -Balderrama, by the great Mercedes Sosa. It celebrates a famous bar in Argentina’s far northern town of Salta, whose musicians and regulars cherish the community that gathers there.

We’re devoting the whole of this episode to a conversation with Indian social justice campaigner Harsh Mander, a renowned activist on behalf of the poor, the marginalized and those suffering from identity-based hatred. He has worked in a host of campaigns especially on access to health services and food security, and against homelessness and child labour and he has taken a passionate stand against xenophobia and discrimination, Mander fought against the Citizenship Amendment Act, introduced by the Hindu nationalist government of Narendra Modi and widely perceived to be discriminatory against Muslims. But the law passed in December 2019 despite major protests and weeks later, when the pandemic took hold, the government took the opportunity to shut down political opposition.  Harsh Mander talks with host Akwe Amosu and her colleague Chris Stone, principal moderator of our Symposium on Strength and Solidarity for Human Rights, about the impact of Covid 19, political repression, and new sites of activism in defence of rights. In this episode: Social justice campaigner Harsh Mander talks about the fight for rights in India 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

The past decade has seen some spectacular social movements emerge, mobilising hundreds of thousands of people in defence of rights and sending powerful images of protest around the world. This revitalized activism is gaining energy despite rising authoritarianism. To hold the ground they gain, though, activists need to sustain their movements in between battles and turning a loose, ad hoc network into an organization isn’t easy. But one group in the Democratic Republic of Congo seems to be finding a way. Lucha - Lutte Pour Le Changement- is nearly a decade old yet it remains a grass roots movement. Fred Bauma, a member of the movement since its early months in 2012, explains how they are doing it. And in the Coda, Zimbabwe youth activist Namatai Kwekweza gets into some good trouble. In this episode: • Keeping faith with the grass roots while building for the long haul • The Coda: Congressman John Lewis fires up an activist in Zimbabwe 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 12. Inspired by the late US Congressman John Lewis, activist Namatai Kwekweza reflects on the difference between bad trouble and good trouble and explains why she’s determined to keep making a noise about injustice: “I personally believe that if the noise didn't really achieve anything, then they wouldn't be telling us to keep quiet.”

Many mission-driven organisations are grappling with the challenge of unhappy workplaces. And whether the cause is bullying or harassment, over-work, or demands for a share in decision-making, management is usually in the crosshairs. For some, conventional models of hierarchical bureaucracy are bound to be inappropriate for driving social change. But what’s the alternative? South African feminist Ishtar Lakhani discusses her approach as a manager to building a positive workplace culture. And in the Coda, Nigerian activist Yemi Adamolekun explains why a commitment to exposing bad government is mandated by her faith  In this episode:  A feminist manager reimagines the rules for a respectful workplace The Coda:  A Nigerian activist on the demands of her faith For a list of supplemental readings and additional information about this episode’s content, please visit https://strengthandsolidarity.org/podcasts/    Send ideas and feedback to pod@strengthandsolidarity.org

Excerpted from Strength and Solidarity Episode 11. Yemi Adamolekun is inspired by the gospel of Matthew which calls on Christians to project their values and shine so that all can see their faith in action. But on the reluctance of Nigerian churches to take a stand on issues like corruption, she comments: “I've come to realize that being light and being salt will make you unpopular. It's much safer not to be seen as anti-government.”

This episode of the podcast steps onto tricky terrain with a conversation about identity, power and privilege. Mexican human rights lawyer Alejandra Ancheita tells host Akwe Amosu about building relationships of mutual respect with her clients - indigenous communities fighting against corporate encroachment on their land and livelihoods. And in the Coda, how the courage of Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero - assassinated in 1980 for standing up to a violent, repressive regime – confirmed US lawyer Jim Goldston’s commitment to a career in rights. In this episode: In Mexico – a lawyer navigating power and identity with her indigenous clients And in our Coda – the struggle for justice in El Salvador sets a young man’s course in life For a list of supplemental readings and additional information about this episode’s content, please visit www.strengthandsolidarity.org/podcast Send us your ideas and your feedback at pod@strengthandsolidarity.org

Excerpted from Strength & Solidarity Episode 10. As a young US lawyer, Jim Goldston went to El Salvador in 1987 and documented atrocities by state-instigated death squads. The courage of Archbishop Oscar Romero, assassinated seven years earlier, and of ordinary civilians determined to resist the terror was an inspiration.

In this first episode of Season two, host Akwe Amosu looks back to late 2020 and Nigeria’s massive #EndSARS protests against police brutality and impunity and asks youth organizer Samson Itodo to assess their impact. What is the role of leadership and organizing in a spontaneous upswell of citizen rage and who has to deliver it? And in the Coda, veteran human rights defender Suliman Baldo recalls the way poetry powered the revolution in his country, Sudan. In this episode: ● Converting protest into respect for right in Nigeria ● The Coda:  How poetry fuelled Sudan’s revolution For a list of supplemental readings and additional information about this episode’s content, please visit www.strengthandsolidarity.org/podcast Send us your ideas and your feedback at pod@strengthandsolidarity.org