The unexpected election of Donald Trump has created confusion among the elites and political space for a new people’s agenda. Bruce Dixon of Black Agenda Report joins us to analyze the elections results. Then Bill Moyer of the Backbone Campaign will discuss ways to build popular power to counter the potential harm of Trump’s policies and demand changes that protect our communities and the planet.
Listen here:
Relevant articles and websites:
Democracy is Coming to the USA by Margaret Flowers
America Might Not Deserve Trump, But Dems and Hillary Deserved to Lose by Bruce Dixon
Guests:
Bruce Dixon is the Managing Editor of Black Agenda Report. He is a habitual troublemaker and incorrigible activist. Bruce Dixon has been comforting the afflicted and afflicting the comfortable since 1968.
As a rank and file member of the Black Panther Party in 1969-1970, a 1970s rank-and-file union activist in a string of factories, plants and workplaces, a 1980s community organizer in what were then some of the nation’s poorest neighborhoods, to organizing and consulting through the 1990s Dixon has built an impressive record of service in and to the cause of human liberation.
In 2002 he began writing articles for Black Commentator, the predecessor of this publication, and broke the first accurate analyses of the phenomena around the election of Denise Majette over Cynthia McKinney in Georgia that year.
In 2006, with Glen Ford and Margaret Kimberley, Dixon co-founded Black Agenda Report. As managing editor at BAR Dixon is chiefly responsible for maintaning this web site. He currently resides in Marietta GA, and is a member of the state committee of the Georgia Green Party.
Bill Moyer co-founded the Backbone Campaign in 2003 with friends from an artist affinity group. He has dual and intersecting paths as both an activist and artist. His involvement with social change work stretches back to the 80’s, when as a student he was deeply involved in the anti-nuclear movement and the anti-interventionist movement. After a few years of studying political science and American philosophy at Seattle University, Bill went to Big Mountain to assist Dineh elders refusing to relocate off their traditional land, attended the Institute for Social Ecology, and briefly lived on an organic vegetable farm in Vermont.
On returning to the Pacific NW to live on Vashon Island, activism was replaced with performance and study of music as a percussionist and sound designer. The G.W. Bush administration inspired him to apply lessons of the arts to social change. Backbone Campaign has been a vehicle for much growth and Bill has emerged as a leader in the theory and practice of “artful activism.” He designs and produces creative political actions and provides trainings in grand strategy and creative tactics around the country.