#SUNDAYCIVICS

Have you ever wondered how elected officials get together enough votes to pass legislation? While in the Great State of South Carolina, our beloved civics teacher L. Joy sat down with Jaime Harrison to discuss how to "whip" votes in a legislative body, how to run a state party, southern politics and more. Our Guest: To Jaime Harrison, character always matters, hard work is in his bones, doing what’s right is a way of life, and making good on his debt of gratitude to South Carolina is a lifelong commitment. The son of a single teenage mom, and raised by his grandparents in Orangeburg South Carolina, Jaime overcame the challenges of grinding poverty with the help of teachers and mentors who believed in him. From a mobile home to Yale University and Georgetown Law, Jaime never forgot who he was or where he came from. Now, Jaime is running for U.S. Senate to fight for opportunity for all South Carolinians. Jaime knows what it’s like for a family to have to choose between paying the electric bill and putting food on the table; he remembers eating cereal with water, because they couldn’t afford milk. In the Senate, Jaime will carry these values and lessons with him every day. Jaime knows that what you say matters — and that character counts.

You have the right to legal representation in a criminal matter but there is no guarantee that representation will have the resources and the access to represent you well. L. Joy brings Scott Hechinger to the front of the class to discuss the role public defenders play in our justice system and you will learn its not all Law & Order promised us. #FirstCivicAction Scott Hechinger’s #FirstCivicAction happened when he was eight years old. His grandfather ran for office and he went with him canvassing door to door in their district. Our Guest: Scott Hechinger is Senior Staff Attorney and Director of Policy at Brooklyn Defender Services (BDS), a public defense firm representing about half of all those arrested in Brooklyn each year, Scott bridges the divide between practice and policy. As a Senior Staff Attorney, he has represented thousands of low-income individuals accused of crimes ranging from low-level misdemeanors to the most serious felonies, from arraignment to trial, in and outside of court. As Director of Policy, he's leveraged his experience in court to lead criminal justice reform efforts outside of it on a range of issues, including immigration law and policy, pretrial detention, marijuana legalization, prosecutor accountability, and mandatory minimums. Scott co-founded the Brooklyn Community Bail Fund, wrote the short film "Perpetual Punishment," conceptualized and launched the "Power of Prosecutors" media advocacy project, and most recently, co-directed, produced, and wrote the "We Have Rights" immigrant empowerment campaign. His work and commentary has been widely featured, including in the New York Times, New York Times Magazine, Washington Post, The Atlantic, NPR, Village Voice, Huffington Post, VICE, Slate, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, and Al Jazeera.

We have an obvious housing crisis that our government has a responsibility to address. The demand for housing, that is fit for the shelter of human beings, is a human right. L.Joy brings Afua Atta-Mensah Esq., to the front of the class to discuss how we think about housing and what we can do to stop being comfortable with some people not having a clean and safe place to live. Our Guest Afua Atta-Mensah, Esq joined the Community Voices Heard team in September 2016 as the Executive Director. Prior to joining as the Executive Director, Afua served on the Community Voices Heard board. From her work in Ghana, West Africa to the urban centers across America, Afua has worked to improve the quality and quantity of fair and equitable housing, defend racial and social justice initiatives, and galvanize support for programs benefiting low-income families. She was awarded the Fulbright Fellowship in support of her work at the International Federation of Women Attorneys (FIDA) advocating on behalf of indigent women in Ghana. During her tenure at FIDA Afua represented indigent women in court and was a visiting university lecturer at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology , where she taught a course on women's rights in the context of Ashanti-tribal law. Afua and her husband are proud residents of Central Harlem. She is the mother of two children and holds a law degree from Fordham Univ. School of Law, and a BA in Sociology and Africana from Trinity College.

If "public space" is created and managed by private companies, what rights do any of us have while in those spaces? What are the trade offs of giving land and tax incentives to companies who promise "affordable housing" and increased revenue with the presence of sports stadiums? L. Joy brings Prof. Anthony Maniscalco to the front of the class for the discussion along with her thoroughest girls June and Lurie. Our Guest Professor Anthony Maniscalco is Director of the CUNY-ETR Internship Program in Government and Public Affairs. Professor-in-Residence, New York State Assembly. A self-described “agoraphiliac,” Tony earned his Ph.D. in Political Science at the CUNY Graduate Center. His dissertation examines the role of the United States Supreme Court in undermining freedoms of expression in privately-owned public spaces, primarily, regional shopping malls in American suburbs. Much of that work was later published by SUNY Press in 2015/2016. In his book, Public Spaces, Marketplaces, and the Constitution, he explores how scholars in various academic disciplines understand and attempt to indicate “public space” and “public sphere,” as well as the ways in which publicity and civic engagement have been historically expressed and/or contested in marketplaces throughout the West. Following detailed analysis of First Amendment jurisprudence resulting from legal battles inside privately-owned shopping centers, Maniscalco turns his attention to the changing demographics of American suburbs, as well as the risks potentially posed to civil rights by the New Urbanism. He continues to research these areas, while exploring social justice issues within privately-financed/operated projects and other shared urban spaces.

Ready to #TakeCivicAction? Then it’s time to meet those who represent you. L. Joy brings her own State Senator Julia Salazar to the front of the class and together they give a lesson on how to build relationships with your elected representatives. Our Guest New York State Senator Julia Salazar represents State Senate District 18, which includes the neighborhoods of Bushwick, Cypress Hills, Greenpoint and Williamsburg, as well as the neighborhoods of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brownsville and East New York. After her election in 2018, Salazar became the youngest woman to serve in the New York State Senate. Senator Salazar is a strong advocate for tenant rights, criminal justice, protection of women's rights and immigration justice. In 2019, she introduced the Comprehensive Contraceptive Coverage Act that mandates medical insurance companies to cover in their policies all medicines, devices and contraceptive products for women that have been approved by the FDA. She also introduced bills that order the training of hospital personnel in domestic violence. And she co-sponsored the historic NYS DREAM Act and the Green Light Act that grants access to a driver's license to New York State drivers, regardless of immigration status. Until the time of her election to serve in the State Senate, Julia Salazar worked as a community organizer in the neighborhoods she represents and throughout New York City.   Tips for Meeting Your Elected Officials Make the Request in Writing - Find the contact information for your representative's office. Identify their scheduler to email your meeting request. Be prepared to be flexible with time. Prepare for the Meeting - Be sure to have the pertinent facts of your issue(s), know who all the stakeholders are and familiarize yourself with the opposing arguments. Do Your Research - Learn about your elected officials’ voting record and public statements on issues important to you. Get familiar with what issues they are championing. Don’t Go Alone - There is power in numbers as constituents. Organize who and how many people will be going with you to visit your representative. It is helpful if they are also constituents but they can also be experts or people affected by the issues you plan to discuss.  Don’t Balk at Meeting with Staff - Your elected official represents a lot of people and they have help to do their job. Don’t feel slighted about meeting with staff members as they are the ones who will help your representative address the issue. Leave Something Behind - Prepare materials about your issue(s) to leave behind with the staff and your elected representatives and make sure to include your contact information. Follow Up, Follow Up, Follow Up - You may have to make several phone calls, emails and even social media to meet with your representatives follow up your email with phone calls to get your request met. Don’t give up. Additionally, after the meeting you will want to follow up to thank the elected officials and staff for their time, answer any outstanding questions and keep tabs on how your issue(s) are being addressed.

Rev. Leah Daughtry returns to the front of the class to give us a lesson on how to become a delegate to the 2020 Democratic National Convention. The process is different in each state and there have been some changes as it pertains to superdelegates. Delegate Selection Rules State Party Websites (Visit the state party website for the detailed delegate selection plan for your state.) Our Guest Rev. Leah Daughtry is an expert in strategic and event planning, project management, and community engagement. As president and CEO of a boutique strategic planning firm, On These Things, LLC, she’s built a formidable reputation for transforming businesses and organizations into well run entities primed for global impact. Born in Brooklyn, New York, Leah’s parents, Reverend Doctors Herbert and Karen Daughtry, raised her in a home where activism was the norm and leadership was a way of life. The eldest of four siblings. After completing her bachelor’s degree in Government at Dartmouth College, Leah started her political career on Capitol Hill, followed by a position within the Democratic National Committee (“DNC”). While at the DNC, she met and was mentored by then-DNC Chief of Staff, Alexis Herman. Leah thrived under Herman’s leadership and would later join her at the Labor Department when she became the U.S. Secretary of Labor. In both 2008 and 2016, Leah served as the Chief Executive Officer of the Democratic National Convention Committee, making her the first person in Democratic Party history to hold the position twice. Her success in this role was a direct outcome of her brilliance as a strategist, in combination with her natural ability to develop, lead, and inspire teams.

Clarence Anthony from the National League of Cities comes to the front of the class to discuss the ongoing tension between federal, state and local governments. The discussion includes a lesson on preemption in which the federal or state government overrule local governments. Our Guest Clarence E. Anthony is CEO and Executive Director of the National League of Cities (NLC), the largest and oldest organization representing America's cities and their leaders. Under his leadership, NLC has advanced policies that expand local control and provide direct funding for local programs related to public safety, infrastructure, transportation, and sustainability. Mr. Anthony began his career in public service as the Mayor of South Bay, FL, for 24 years. He is known as a creative and thoughtful leader in his community. He is considered an expert in citizen engagement and techniques that build a "sense of community" within cities. Mr. Anthony has been on the forefront of politics in the United States and internationally for the past 20 years, culminating with productive presidencies of the Florida League of Cities and the National League of Cities (NLC), respectively. Reading List * Preemption conflicts between state and local governments - Ballotpedia City Rights in an Era of Preemption: A State-by-State Analysis (2018 report analyzing state preemption of local authority on seven issues) Homeward Bound: The Road to Affordable Housing (2019 report from the National League of Cities National Task Force on Housing, which was chaired by Washington, D.c. Mayor Muriel Bowser) Responding to Racial Tension in Your City: A Municipal Action Guide (2019 guide from the National League of Cities Race, Equity and Leadership team) A Prescription for Action: Local Leadership in Ending the Opioid Crisis (2016 report from the National League of Cities and National Association from a task force of city and county officials that provides local, state and federal recommendations)

Redistricting is the process of drawing electoral district lines. This is the process that happens after the Census. Next year, April of 2020 to be exact, the government will begin counting every person in the country. After we get the count, states will begin the process of redrawing electoral lines. L. Joy brings Commissioner Maria Blanco of the California Citizens Redistricting Commission to the front of the class to discuss redistricting. Gaby Goldstein and Lyzz Schwegler of Sister District also join to discuss their work around state legislatures. Our Guests María Blanco is executive director of the University of California Immigrant Legal Services Center which provides legal services to undocumented students on nine UC campuses. She was elected to the Public Policy Institute of California's Board of Directors in 2010 and also serves on the board of the California Citizens Redistricting Commission. Gaby Goldstein is a Co-Founder & Political Director at Sister District Project (SDP), and Director of Research at Sister District Action Network (SDAN). Sister District's mission is to build Democratic majorities in state legislatures, raise awareness about the importance of state legislatures, and facilitate progressive policy transfer between legislators and states. Lyzz Schewgler is a Co-Founder & Communications Director of Sister District Project (SDP). She leads all communications strategy and execution for Sister District, and works closely with the tech department to develop and implement the organization's technical infrastructure and digital engagement.

Our “Who We Elect” series continues with a focus on the office of Sheriff. They are responsible for keeping the peace, enforcing the law and in most states the office is written into the state constitution as the highest elective office in any county. Sheriff Garry McFadden comes to the front of the class to discuss the role of the one of the oldest elected positions in the United States. Then L. Joy brings Kamari Guthrie, director of communications of Vote.Org to the front of the class to discuss their strategy and what tools they use to register, educate and engage voters. OUR GUESTS Sheriff Gary McFadden Sheriff Garry McFadden is a 36-year veteran of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department and is currently the Mecklenburg County Sheriff. His service includes 27 years as a Detective and 20 years in the Homicide Unit. His office employs more than 1,000 people and oversees a budget of about $120 million. He was duly elected in 2018. Kamari Guthrie Kamari is the Communications Director of Vote Dot Org and has an unwavering commitment to expanding public awareness and access to the democratic process. Since 2016, Vote.org has registered close to two million voters, and run large-scale Get Out The Vote campaigns targeting tens of millions of low-propensity voters.

Vacation does not keep L. Joy from making sure we get our needed #SundayCivics lesson! To discuss voter suppression, she brings film producer Timothy Smith and the incomparable Joy Ann Reid to the front of the class to discuss the perils of voter suppression because in the words of Joy Ann Reid, “..if you’re not scared, you’re not paying attention.” Our Guests Timothy (Tim) Smith is an accomplished and award-winning television producer and Executive Producer of the film Rigged: The Voter Suppression Playbook. Narrated by Jeffrey Wright, Rigged chronicles how our right to vote is being undercut by a decade of dirty tricks - including the partisan use of gerrymandering and voter purges, and the gutting of the Voting Rights Act by the Supreme Court. The film captures real-time voter purges in North Carolina and voter intimidation in Texas. Tim has worked for The PBS NewsHour, Unapix Entertainment, Newsweek Productions, Docere Digital Studios and MSNBC, where he executive produced their documentaries and series. He has also produced for HBO, NBC, A&E, National Geographic Channel, CNBC, History Channel, AMC as well as NHK, BBC, Channels 4&5, CBC, SABC & TV Global. His work has merited two Emmys and five Emmy nominations, two Gracie Awards, a Grierson, a Cable Ace and Genesis Award nominations. L. Joy in conversation with Joy Ann Reid at a Higher Heights brunch during the 2019 Martha's Vineyard African-American Film Festival Joy-Ann Reid, author of The Man Who Sold America: Trump and the Unraveling of the American Story is the host of "AM Joy" -- a twice-weekly political talk show that airs weekend mornings on MSNBC. In addition to her hosting duties, Joy serves as a political analyst, appearing on NBC News and MSNBC programs including "Meet the Press," "Hardball with Chris Matthews," "The Rachel Maddow Show," "The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell," "All In with Chris Hayes" and "Andrea Mitchell Reports." Joy writes a weekly column for The Daily Beast and is the author or editor of two books: Fracture, Barack Obama, the Clintons and the Racial Divide (William Morrow, 2015) and We Are the Change We Seek: the Speeches of Barack Obama (Bloomsbury, 2017). THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER MSNBC'S Joy-Ann Reid calculates the true price of the Trump presidency "The host of AM Joy on MSNBC argues that President Trump’s administration is characterized by grift and venality that demeans the office and diminishes America.” —New York Times Book Review, “New & Notable” Is Donald Trump running the “longest con” in U.S. history? How did we get here? What will be left of America when he leaves office? Candidate Trump sold Americans a vision that was seemingly at odds with their country’s founding principles. Now in office, he’s put up a “for sale” sign—on the prestige of the presidency, on America’s global stature, and on our national identity. At what cost have these deals come? Joy-Ann Reid's essential new book, The Man Who Sold America, delivers an urgent accounting of our national crisis from one of our foremost political commentators.

White supremacy and violent white nationalists are at the top of the news cycle but what can government actually do to address white supremacy? L. Joy brings Ifeome (Ify) Ike to the front of the class and has her thoroughest girls Lurie and June to examine "outing" Trump donors, public information of voter data and fighting white supremacy. Our Guest Ifeoma Ike—Ify, for short—is a first-generation, Nigerian-American activist, artist and attorney whose entire career has been dedicated to empowering marginalized communities and creating data-informed strategies to reduce inequity. Ify is a co-founding Principal of social impact firm, Think Rubix, a professor at Lehman College, and a board member of the Women’s Prison Association, as well as a Junior Board member of the Nigerian Healthcare Foundation.

The voter blame game has begun with talking heads blaming voters who stayed home in 2016 for Trump's win. But shaming voters is not a winning strategy, only voter engagement produces voter turnout. I  Nse Ufot comes to the front of the class to share her #FirstCivicAction and discuss how her organization engages and empowers nearly 10,000 voters in a week. Our Guest: Nse Ufot is the Executive Director of the New Georgia Project, a non-partisan effort to register and civically engage the rising electorate in the state of Georgia. Nse has dedicated her life and career working on various civil, human, and workers’ rights issues. Ms. Ufot, a proud naturalized citizen, was born in Nigeria and raised in Southwest Atlanta. She earned a Bachelor of Science from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Dayton School of Law. Ms. Ufot is fluent in both French and English. She is proud to lead the New Georgia Project to its goal of strengthening the state's democracy by registering and engaging Georgia’s eligible, but unregistered African Americans, Latinos, and Asian Americans.

Vincent Warren and Ian Head from the Center for Constitutional Rights come to the front of the class to discuss government surveillance, corporate human rights abuses and how they used the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to unearth something the FBI calls the "Race Paper”. Our guests: Vincent Warren: Executive Director of the Center for Constitutional Rights. He oversees CCR's groundbreaking litigation and advocacy work, which includes using international and domestic law to hold corporations and government officials accountable for human rights abuses; challenging racial, gender, and LGBT injustice; combating abusive immigration policies and Muslim profiling; and stopping the illegal expansion of U.S. presidential power and policies. Ian Head: Senior Legal Worker at the Center for Constitutional Rights, where he works on policing, racial justice, immigrant rights, and prisoners’ rights issues. Ian has significant experience in Freedom of Information Act and open records requests and litigation, and coordinates the Open Records Project at CCR, leading trainings and developing resources for activists, lawyers and journalists.   Reading List * Color of Change v. Department of Homeland Security and Federal Bureau of Investigation * Open Records Project: FOIA for the Movement * Guide: FOIA Basics for Activists

We continue our #WhoWeElect series examining the position of Secretary of State. The Secretary of State is an elected office in 35 states and an appointed position in 12 others. Alaska, Hawaii and Utah do not have the statewide position at all. To really understand the role of the elected position you really need to get state specific. In some places it's purely an administrative role but in a lot of the states the Secretary of State is also the chief elections administrator. Secretary Alex Padilla of California and Secretary Denise Merrill of Connecticut share the responsibilities of their respective state roles and Shelby County Tennessee Election Commissioner Bennie Smith joins the conversation to discuss the gaps in our election security. Our Guests: Secretary Denise W. Merrill Elected to her third term as Connecticut's 73rd Secretary of State on November 6, 2018. As Connecticut's chief elections official and business registrar, Merrill has focused on modernizing Connecticut's elections, business services and improving access to public records. Since taking office, she has supported and expanded democratic participation, ensuring that every citizen's rights and privileges are protected and that every vote is counted accurately. Secretary Merrill has worked to expand voter participation through Election Day and online voter registration. She has also improved Connecticut's democratic accountability and integrity with a series of rapid response processes to Election Day problems. As Connecticut's business registrar, Secretary Merrill has made it easier for businesses to interact with the office by increasing online functionality, improving response times and connecting businesses with government resources. Secretary Alex Padillia Sworn in as California Secretary of State on January 5, 2015. He is committed to modernizing the office, increasing voter registration and participation, and strengthening voting rights. Padilla previously served in the California State Senate (2006-2014) where he chaired the Committee on Energy, Utilities, and Communications. Commissioner Bennie Smith Appointed to the Shelby County Tennessee Election Commission in April 2019. He works in analytics and innovation. Smith’s research is credited for uncovering an extraordinarily high-risk tampering mechanism and provides a new method for analyzing questionable election results. That research was part of a proof of concept he developed with Black Box Voting to examine election system vulnerabilities. It is the foundation for the AUDIT USA Ballot Image Project. He is also known for his predictive analytics and proprietary method to forecast turnout.   Reading List * The Computer Voting Revolution Is Already Crappy, Buggy, and Obsolete - Bloomberg Businessweek * Here’s How the Country Could Actually Secure Our Elections If Politicians Actually Cared to Try - AlterNet * Joint GCC SCC Statement on Senate Intelligence Committee's First Russian Interference Report

Do you consider yourself a progressive? If someone asked you what progressive means would you be able to clearly define what it means and why you identify as one? What is progressive to communities of color? L. Joy brings Lumumba Bandele and Ludovic Blain to the front of the class to help us answer these pressing questions. Our guests: Lumumba Bandele: is the Senior Community Organizer at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund and a member and organizer with the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement. Ludovic Blain: is the Executive Director of the California Donor Table. Previously, Ludovic was a leader in building people of color-centered movements around closing the racial wealth gap, environmental justice, media justice, campaign finance and voting rights. Ludovic has also led capacity-building work in Haiti, Canada, Denmark and The Gambia. Ludovic is a graduate of the City College of NY, as well as leadership programs including the Rockwood Leadership Institute. He serves on several boards, including the Proteus Fund.