New Legacy Project launches podcast by and for SC’s young people

The SC New Legacy Project, the youth organizing body of the SC Progressive Network, has started a podcast to engage, educate, and mobilize young people in the Palmetto State. To date, they have taped three episodes, although the latest, on the group’s Monument Tour, has not yet been posted.

Although she is quick to share credit, the force behind the podcast is Vikki Perry, a Pamplico, SC, native and graduate of the Modjeska Simkins School of Human Rights, another Network project. She is rightfully excited about the podcast, and shared with us a little about how it came to be and where she hopes it willl go. [Note: for a primer on the New Legacy Project, listen to the last 45 minutes of this episode.]

Chris McLauchlin, Chris Gardner, Dale Joyal, Vikki Perry, Wayne Borders, and Curt Shumate tape an episode of the South Carolina New Legacy Podcast. Photo by Danielle Dandridge.

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First, the Network is impressed with the podcast, and we can’t wait to follow your progress. What was the genesis for it?

While the idea of a podcast has been around for a long time in NLP, we decided to start it right now for a few reasons.

  1. There is a lot of expertise and experience in the room at the SC Progressive Network/NLP. A podcast is a good way of sharing that information around our community. By virtue of location, our group is pretty Columbia-based. We want people outside the Columbia metro to know what is going on, too.

  1. In the last few years, local news coverage has dwindled to a trickle. National companies are buying local news outlets and there is a dearth of coverage of local issues. Everything is national, and in the age of Fox News and Sinclair Media, there is an agenda to a lot of that media coverage. We have an agenda, too, but we’re up front about it and we try to support it with facts and real stories about the people in our community.

  1. We want to build an apparatus for communication that fits into the 21st Century model. Podcasts are an easy entry point and add a sense of community. But maybe someday, we’ll move into videos or some other integrative format to add that same sense of community.

As for who is responsible for this, it is a collective effort. I remember sitting at the Modjeska House [where the group met before it was closed recently for renovation] and saying, “Guys, if you want to do a podcast, stay after the meeting for a little bit.” No one at the table moved. I was like “Okay, this is going to be a thing now.” So we’ve all worked together over the last several months to decide on a format and some topics. I’m really excited about where we’re going to go with this.

Briefly describe the podcast.

The South Carolina New Legacy Project is a South Carolina-focused political podcast that aims to educate, agitate, and organize in our local communities. It is a show that will feature deep dives into policy, local stories, and interviews with people who are making a difference on either a national stage or a local stage or both.

We plan to regularly feature a segment that we’ll call “Corrupting the Youth.” These will be intergenerational interviews where younger activists interview a more seasoned activist about their lives, their work, and how they see what is happening around the state and nation.

What audience are you hoping to reach?

Young progressives or young-at-heart progressives who want to be politically active in South Carolina and don’t know where to start. When you’re a progressive in South Carolina, you can feel isolated and somewhat powerless. For me, finding the progressive network has given me a sense of community and some of that power back. I want us to help foster that same sense of community and give people who can’t come to our meetings because they live in Myrtle Beach or Easley or somewhere else in the state.

We get lost in the cacophony of liberal groups in this state who maybe aren’t doing the same kind of work we’re doing on a local level. The podcast is a very literal way to be heard over the noise.

How often do you plan to record?

Currently, we plan to release an episode every two weeks, but ultimately, we’d like to do something on a weekly basis.

Who are your key collaborators on the project?

I have taken the role of cat herder, organizer, and learning to produce the podcast as I go. Chris Gardner has taken the role of our sound guy, and has composed the theme music that we’re going to use. Wayne Borders loves doing the intergenerational interviews so you’ll probably be hearing a lot of him.

But we have a large collective, and we’ll all be contributing as we go on depending on the topic. Curt, Janessa, Chris, Danielle (our photographer), Daniel, Omari, Dale, and we will pull in people from the broader collective of the Progressive Network as we need their expertise like Sarah Keeling and Kyle Criminger.

What can listeners look forward to in the coming sessions?

For some time now, the New Legacy Project has been working on something called The State of the Youth. We’ve been researching several main areas where the youth of South Carolina are impacted including health care, criminal justice, economics, education, and voting rights. You can definitely look forward to hearing more about that. Education will be coming up in the next few weeks.

But we have some fun topics that we’ll discuss as well like history, barbecue, movies set in South Carolina, colleges, and more.

Our next episode is going feature the Monuments Project and how it came out of the Modjeska School for Human Rights. Curt and I may also talk a little bit about one of the people who are memorialized on the State House lawn. You’ll need to listen to find out who!

Anything you want to add?

First, you can find us HERE and wherever you listen to your podcasts including iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, and Soundcloud. Search for us under South Carolina New Legacy Podcast.

Second, we take suggestions for topics and stories. If you’ve got anything you want to hear about, we’ve probably got people who can discuss it. Tell us. You can find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Our email address is scnewlegacyproject@gmail.com.

Look forward to hearing from you!

 

Revolutionaries to gather at intersection of art and activism

Dream dangerously and party like a revolutionary during two days of art, culture, education, entertainment, and activism at the 2nd Subversive Art Festival Extravaganza (SAFE 2.0) on Nov. 3 and 4 in Columbia.

New Legacy Project, the youth coordinating body of SC Progressive Network, invites the public to join them for a weekend of education, arts, and culture that is intended to entertain, engage, and empower.

“SAFE 2.0 is a space to challenge the limits of what is presented as the only ‘workable’ systems of organizing our society,” said Daniel Deweese, New Legacy Project co-founder and SAFE organizer.

Festivities will kick off on Friday, Nov. 3, with a Find the Power Rally from 6pm to 8:30pm at the SC State House. The rally will begin with a guided tour of the grounds with recent graduates of the Modjeska Simkins School giving a people’s history of the monuments. It will close with a discussion on ways to build power to create positive change for the future of South Carolina. All are welcome to this free event.

On Saturday beginning at 5pm, join artists and activists for an art and culture festival at Tapp’s Art Center, 1644 Main St. There will be live music, spoken word performances, comedy, visual art, education, camaraderie, and more! Tickets for SAFE 2.0 are $7.

Connor Brunson performs at last year’s SAFE festival.

Art changes people, and people change the world. There is a long tradition of art meeting activism to create social and political change – even in South Carolina. With the recent emboldening of racist, bigoted, nationalistic, and misogynistic sentiment, it is increasingly important to present a united front against oppressive systems that silence and subjugate marginalized communities, especially when these systems are working for a miniscule percentage of Americans. Art and activism will always intersect in a way that educates and empowers people to effect change. The aim of SAFE 2.0 is to do just that.

The New Legacy Project values the collective wisdom and discipline of the progressive organizers who came before us working for radical, structural change. Our main objective is mentorship, education, and organizing young leaders who will continue building our inter-generational, multi-racial, multi-issue statewide popular movement for racial, economic and social justice and equality. To learn more about New Legacy Project and upcoming events, please see their Facebook page.

Building community, gathering power – one activist at a time

Robert Burgess
SC Progressive Network Faith Liaison

On a cloudy mid-June day, I stepped off of a short flight from Atlanta and into the jazz capital of the world. Unsure of which shuttle ran from the airport to Loyola University, I decided to stop by the service desk. The concierge was a nice middle-aged woman who offered pamphlets full of standard attractions and confirmed where I might find our shuttle. After a few pleasant exchanges about her beloved city, she offered up intel on festivals, parades and local happenings with a wink and smile. Her charm and friendliness would set the tone for my first excursion to New Orleans.

Over the next two days, SC Progressive Network Executive Director Brett Bursey, fellow organizer Daniel Deweese, and I would participate in the third annual SOLVE conference. The Southern Leadership for Voter Engagement conference is a multi-generational and multi-racial leadership group for increased civic participation in the South. The mission: collaborate to create innovative community-level initiatives to enhance voting access, and advocate for voting rights. This year’s theme was Strong, Persistent, and Determined Action: SOLVE after Shelby, a reference to the Supreme Court Case, Shelby County v. Holder, which ultimately struck down section 4 of the Voting Rights Act as unconstitutional.

13435573_10104105429667957_7320718878067257072_n(From left) Robert Burgess, Brett Bursey, and Daniel Deweese in New Orleans

Brett, being the prudent strategist that he is, made our assignments very clear. Go forth and learn. Not just the raw data analysis and gerrymandering statistics that comes from actively listening to the panelist, but the type of learning that can only come from conversations in the hallway. From handshakes and a smile. Getting to know these prolific individuals and how they operate on a personal level. I imagine Brett already knew who was who among the packed headline of politicians, attorneys, national organization figureheads and the like, however he wanted us to engage and build our own networks. Friendships that may last beyond a two-day event and into the long future of our shared struggle.

Chief among them was Bryan Perlmutter. He was a calm, unassuming young man wearing a shirt that simply said, “People over money”. There were a few others wearing this black t-shirt with bold lettering circled around him. I would come to find through a series of candid conversations that Mr. Perlmutter had already done more good for NC than most of their leaders had done their entire career. Some of his accolades include building coalitions to oppose budget cuts and tuition hikes as a student at NC State, co-founding the NC Student Power Union, working as the Communications and Development Director for the Youth Organizing Institute, acting as the Development Chair for the Southern Vision Alliance and most notably, Founder and Executive Director of Ignite NC. His arrest in 2013 planted the seeds for what would become the Moral Monday movement which has now become a national campaign. We met a clear-eyed, young (24) impressive man who was nice enough to share tactics with two organizers from SC.

After spending time with a myriad of speakers at the SOLVE conference and enjoying a night out with Ignite NC, I returned home. Fatigued, yet full of hope. I thought, “If more organizations joined to confront issues, maybe there would be a light at the end of the tunnel for my kids.” I also thought about Bryan and his cadre of fired-up activists tackling heavy weighted issues like voter suppression and the HB2 bill. He was fearless, unashamed and ready to speak truth to power.

In the days following, I was encouraged by Brett to nominate him for the Mario Savio Young Activist award. This national award, which carries a cash prize of $6,000, is presented each year to a young person (or persons) with a deep commitment to human rights and social justice and a proven ability to transform this commitment into effective action. Bryan was an ideal candidate. Of course, Brett found it delightful that I obliged. The application process was rigorous and detailed, but my resolve remained intact. There was no question that he and his work were worth supporting. A small token of appreciation and an olive branch for the future.

Yesterday, three months after the application was received, Bryan called to tell me that he won the award and would be flying to California to accept. He was deeply grateful and I told him that he was beyond deserving. Our chat didn’t last very long. He was tied up bringing a new hire up to speed, organizing new student fellowships and working to unify Charlotte in the wake of recent extrajudicial killings. The conversation ended with a tentative reunion scheduled for the New Legacy Project’s Subversive Art Festival Extravaganza Oct. 8.

I don’t expect him to show up but it would be nice to catch up with a new, old friend.