The Leadership Center for Social Justice Podcast

This episode features a presentation from Rev. Dr. Ry Siggelkow and Ricardo Perez on Organizing in the Spirit of Accompaniment.  In this episode,  Ry and Ricardo share stories of accompaniment through Ella Baker, SNCC, the Zapatistas and Pueblo de Lucha y Esperanza. Resources-The Zapatista Principles-Pueblos de Lucha y EsperanzaEpisode Transcription available hereHost: Ry O. SiggelkowProducer: Adam PfuhlPodcast Engineer: Michael MouaMusic: Kavyesh KavirajEpisode Recorded on October 24th, 2023You can find out more about the Leadership Center for Social Justice on our website and on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

This episode is a re-release of the Soul of Social Transformation Podcast hosted by Rev. Dr. Gary Green II and Rev. Dr. Justin Sabia-Tanis.How do the unique vocational gifts of each of us within the collaborative, collective, and necessarily ongoing nature of social justice work? How might our contributions relate to the wider community that is seeking wholeness? What is our responsibility to one another to create a better world? How do we find meaning and purpose in our part of the work, trusting others to do theirs?We're speaking with Jamil Stamschror-Lott. He and his wife are the founders of Creative Kuponya, a mental health practice in Minneapolis. In the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd, mental health experts have seen a rise in Black people seeking therapy and Creative Kuponya looks to create a place for Black people to connect with Black therapists. His work has been featured in the New York Times.Resources-Creative KuponyaEpisode Transcription available hereHost: Gary F. Green II, Justin Sabia-TanisProducer: Adam PfuhlPodcast Engineer: Michael MouaYou can find out more about the Leadership Center for Social Justice on our website and on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

This episode features a conversation with former pastor and co-founder of No More Deaths, Rev. John Fife. John reflects on the sanctuary movement that his church in Tucson, Arizona built in the 1980’s. He shares how the movement has changed and shifted in the decades since and how social change arose out of a deep commitment to faith and the initiative of communities to protect and care for each other. Resources-No More Deaths/ No Más MuertesEpisode Transcription available hereHost: Ry O. SiggelkowProducer: Adam PfuhlPodcast Engineer: Michael MouaMusic: Kavyesh KavirajEpisode Recorded on December 11th, 2023You can find out more about the Leadership Center for Social Justice on our website and on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

This episode features a conversation with theologian and professor, Rev. Dr. Gary F. Green II. Dr. Green shares about his research and his dissertation, Playing the Game: Unmarking “Beast” from the Bodies of Young Black Men. He reflects on the societal creation of realities and the potential of “play space” to release us from cultural codes and routines that recreate race and racism.Resources-Black Athleticism beyond “Beast”: Social Transformation Lunch led by Gary Green-Gary F. Green IIEpisode Transcription available hereHost: Ry O. SiggelkowProducer: Adam PfuhlPodcast Engineer: Michael MouaMusic: Kavyesh KavirajEpisode Recorded on November 28th, 2022You can find out more about the Leadership Center for Social Justice on our website and on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

This episode features a conversation with Rachel E. Harding. Rachel is an associate professor of Indigenous Spiritual traditions in the Department of Ethnic Studies at the University of Colorado, Denver. Rachel also co-directs the Veterans of Hope project, a community initiative on religion, creativity, and inclusive democracy. A native of Georgia, she is a writer, historian, and poet, and a specialist in religions of the Afro-Atlantic diaspora. In her scholarship, she examines the relationship between religion, creativity, and social justice activism in cross-cultural perspective.In this episode, Rachel shares about the book that she wrote with her mother, Rosemarie Freeney Harding, Remnants: A Memoir of Spirit, Activism and Mothering. Rachel shares stories about the spirit and the faith that sustained social justice work in her family's life and in her own life.Resources-Remnants: A Memoir of Spirit, Activism and Mothering-The Veterans of Hope Project-Rachel E. Harding WebsiteEpisode Transcription available hereHost: Ry O. SiggelkowProducer: Adam PfuhlPodcast Engineer: Michael MouaMusic: Kavyesh KavirajEpisode Recorded on December 4th, 2023You can find out more about the Leadership Center for Social Justice on our website and on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

This episode is a re-release of the Soul of Social Transformation Podcast hosted by Rev. Dr. Gary Green II and Rev. Dr. Justin Sabia-Tanis.In this episode, we look at our visions for a different world and what it takes to get there. What does vocation mean? What is our life’s work meant to be and how does that relate to the changes we need to see around us?Before serving as Lead Pastor for Plymouth Congregational, our guest DeWayne Davis previously worked as a policy analyst in the Office of Governmental Relations for the Episcopal Church, as a lobbyist for Sallie Mae, and a decade as a Senior Legislative Assistant for three members of the U.S. Congress. He is married to Kareem Murphy, director of Government Relations for Hennepin County.Resources-More info on DeWayne DavisEpisode Transcription available hereHost: Gary F. Green II, Justin Sabia-TanisProducer: Adam PfuhlPodcast Engineer: Michael MouaYou can find out more about the Leadership Center for Social Justice on our website and on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

This episode features a conversation with author, lawyer, and veteran activist Alice Lynd. Alice shares about the work of accompaniment to which she and her late husband Staughton Lynd committed their life. In this episode, Lynd shares her wisdom about the practice of nonviolence, Quaker liberation theology, and the meaning of accompaniment.In memory of Staughton (1929-2022) and in collaboration with Alice, his lifelong companion and co-conspirator, the Leadership Center for Social Justice is excited to announce "Acting Together: A Series on Accompaniment," featuring conversations that explore the various dimensions of accompaniment and the possibilities it holds today for social justice. This special episode with Alice Lynd is intended to introduce listeners to some of the themes of this series. If you enjoyed this episode and are interested in learning more about how accompaniment relates to care work and social justice, please join us on January 31 at 6:30pm (CT) in-person or online for "Caregivers in a Care-Less Society: A Panel on Care Work and Social Justice" featuring practitioners and scholars working at the intersections of pastoral and health care, disability justice, and social medicine. Resources-Accompanying: Pathways to Social Change-We Won’t Go: Personal Accounts of War Objectors-Nonviolence in America-Liberation Theology for QuakersEpisode Transcription available hereHost: Ry O. SiggelkowProducer: Adam PfuhlPodcast Engineer: Michael MouaMusic: Kavyesh KavirajEpisode Recorded on October 21st, 2023You can find out more about the Leadership Center for Social Justice on our website and on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

This episode is a re-release of the Soul of Social Transformation Podcast hosted by Rev. Dr. Gary Green II and Rev. Dr. Justin Sabia-Tanis.This episode will invite participants to see themselves as a part of a long path of justice work, with foundations laid by our ancestors and continuing to this day. We will consider who created the ground we stand on and how we take participatory ownership in the work ahead. If the arc of the moral universe bends towards justice, who has contributed to its bending and how? And what is our responsibility for what is needed in the future?Our guest is Jim Bear Jacobs, a member of the Stockbridge-Munsee Mohican Nation, an American Indian tribe located in central Wisconsin. He is Program Director for Racial Justice for the Minnesota Council of Churches and is founder of “Healing Minnesota Stories,” an initiative dedicated to creating events of dialogue, education, and healing, particularly within faith communities.Resources-Healing Minnesota StoriesEpisode Transcription available hereHost: Gary F. Green II, Justin Sabia-TanisProducer: Adam PfuhlPodcast Engineer: Michael MouaYou can find out more about the Leadership Center for Social Justice on our website and on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

This episode is a re-release of the Soul of Social Transformation Podcast hosted by Rev. Dr. Gary Green II and Rev. Dr. Justin Sabia-Tanis.What are next steps to explore your path? What else do we need to learn? Who do we need to talk to? What do we need to watch, read, listen to …? And we engage our moral imaginations: What does a just world look like? What methods of engagement do not yet exist that need to? What would enable our communities to thrive?Our guest Rev. Dr. Molly T. Marshall has served in theological education for nearly forty years. Marshall believes she was put on the earth to love students, teach theology, guide spiritual formation, and challenge patriarchal structures that would hinder women from full acceptance in all forms of ministry. She has worked as a youth minister, campus minister, pastor, scholar, and theological educator, seeking to dismantle all forms of oppression.Episode Transcription available hereHost: Gary F. Green II, Justin Sabia-TanisProducer: Adam PfuhlPodcast Engineer: Michael MouaYou can find out more about the Leadership Center for Social Justice on our website and on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

This episode features a conversation with author and scholar Arun Kundnani. Kundnani shares about his most recent book, What Is Antiracism?: And Why It Mean Anticapitalism. Arun shares how race makes and remakes itself through capitalist structures. Through studying the histories of colonialism and capitalism, Kundnani tracks a line between the systems of racism in the past and connects it to the systems of racism today. Distinguishing between the liberal form of antiracism which prompts individuals to go inward, Kundnani encourages people to follow a tradition of radical antiracism work that focuses on developing collectives locally and globally that focus on fighting against the structures and systems that divide us.Resources-What Is Antiracism?: And Why It Means Anticapitalism-Arun Kundnani WebsiteEpisode Transcription available hereHost: Ry O. SiggelkowProducer: Adam PfuhlPodcast Engineer: Michael MouaMusic: Kavyesh KavirajEpisode Recorded on August 16th, 2023You can find out more about the Leadership Center for Social Justice on our website and on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

This episode is a re-release of the Soul of Social Transformation Podcast hosted by Rev. Dr. Gary Green II and Rev. Dr. Justin Sabia-Tanis.How do spiritual practices and tools further the work of social justice? What energizes our social justice work? We will also explore self-care as a revolutionary act, able to sustain justice workers and contribute to the thriving of our communities. Finally, we will examine spiritual practices that inform the practical dimensions of this work, such as preparing to engage in a protest, deescalate conflict, or celebrate a victory.Kelly Sherman-Conroy is a proud member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe. A Native American theologian, activist, and storyteller, she walks with people of all cultures and dedicates her time exploring the intersections of identity, personal narratives, faith, and healing through an Indigenous lens.Resources-Kelly Sherman Conroy WebsiteEpisode Transcription available hereHost: Gary F. Green II, Justin Sabia-TanisProducer: Adam PfuhlPodcast Engineer: Michael MouaYou can find out more about the Leadership Center for Social Justice on our website and on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

This episode’s guest is Christian Collins Winn, Author and Pastor. In this episode, Christian shares about his recently released book Jesus, Jubilee and the Politics of God's Reign. Christian shares about the influences that helped him write this book and the patterns of Jubilee he noticed in the Bible that led him to pursue justice through borderless love.Resources-Jesus, Jubilee and the Politics of God's ReignEpisode Transcription available hereHost: Ry O. SiggelkowProducer: Adam PfuhlPodcast Engineer: Michael MouaMusic: Kavyesh KavirajEpisode Recorded on February 13th, 2023You can find out more about the Leadership Center for Social Justice on our website and on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

This episode features a panel conversation between three scholars on black liberation theologian James Cone. Focused on Cone’s second autobiography, Said I Wasn’t Gonna Tell Nobody: The Making of a Black Theologian, the panelists explore the impact of his work. Dr. Tyler Davis shares about the way in which Said I Wasn’t Gonna Tell Nobody identifies the people, the places and the contexts that made James Cone into the theologian he was. Dr. Beverly Mitchell discusses the evolution of James Cone’s work and how she sees his later work The Cross and the Lynching Tree as a beacon of hope for those with “their backs against the wall. Dr. Matthew Harris examines the less talked about piece of Cone’s work: teaching. Harris shows how the classroom was a transformational space for Cone and enabled him to practice a pedagogy of crossing. The episode concludes with a Q+A from audience members.Resources-Said I Wasn’t Gonna Tell Nobody-The Cross and the Lynching Tree-Dr. Tyler Davis-Dr. Beverly Eileen Mitchell-Dr. Matthew HarrisEpisode Transcription available hereHost: Ry O. SiggelkowProducer: Adam PfuhlPodcast Engineer: Michael MouaMusic: Kavyesh KavirajEpisode Recorded on March 15th, 2023You can find out more about the Leadership Center for Social Justice on our website and on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

This episode’s guest is Ricardo Levins Morales, Twin Cities based Artist and Organizer. In this episode, Ricardo shares stories around hope based on his many years of being immersed in organizing work. He shares many practical lessons for how the practice of hope can help build and sustain justice movements. Resources-Ricardo Levins Morales Website-Video Recording of Ricardo’s TalkEpisode Transcription available hereHost: Ry O. SiggelkowProducer: Adam PfuhlPodcast Engineer: Michael MouaMusic: Kavyesh KavirajEpisode Recorded on February 15th, 2023You can find out more about the Leadership Center for Social Justice on our website and on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

This episode’s guest is Avery Gordon, author and Professor Emerita of Sociology at University of California, Santa Barbara. In this episode, we are in conversation with Avery about her book The Hawthorn Archive: Letters from the Utopian Margins. Avery shares about this unconventional archive, which contains a selected history of "radicals, runaways, deserters, abolitionists, heretics, dreamers and liberationists." Avery talks about the development of the archive, the radical histories and imaginings that live within it, and what it might mean for us today to collectively develop "organs for the alternative," refusing to live on the terms of the powers that be and becoming "unavailable for servitude, back stiff with conviction." Resources-The Hawthorn Archive: Letters from the Utopian Margins-Ghostly Matters: Haunting and the Sociological ImaginationEpisode Transcription available hereHost: Ry O. SiggelkowProducer: Adam PfuhlPodcast Engineer: Michael MouaMusic: Kavyesh KavirajEpisode Recorded on February 15th, 2023You can find out more about the Leadership Center for Social Justice on our website and on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

This episode’s guest is Marcus Rediker, award-winning author and Distinguished Professor of Atlantic History at the University of Pittsburgh. In this episode, we are in conversation with Marcus about writing history "from below." Marcus shares about the connections between the sea, the slave ship, and modern day prisons. He also discusses the revolutionary spirit that is present in the history of ordinary working people who have long struggled for a more just world.ResourcesThe Slave Ship: A Human HistoryThe Fearless Benjamin Lay: The Quaker Dwarf Who Became The First Revolutionary AbolitionistThe Many-Headed Hydra: The Hidden History of the Revolutionary AtlanticMarcus Rediker’s WebsiteEpisode Transcription available hereHost: Ry O. SiggelkowProducer: Adam PfuhlPodcast Engineer: Michael MouaMusic: Kavyesh KavirajEpisode Recorded on January 30th, 2023You can find out more about the Leadership Center for Social Justice on our website and on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

This episode’s guest is Nandita Sharma, author and Sociology Professor at University of Hawaii, Manoa. In this episode, we are in conversation with Nandita on nationalism, colonialism, and the rise of xenophobia. Nandita discusses the historical shift from the age of empires to the age of independent nation states. She connects how this shift did not fix the issues of colonization, but instead exacerbated issues through further exclusion with border controls and racialising who does and doesn’t belong in a nation. Nandita also discusses her collaborative project called Eating In Public that pushes back against global capitalism and colonialism.ResourcesHome Economics: Nationalism and the Making of ‘Migrant Workers’ in CanadaHome Rule: National Sovereignty and the Separation of Natives and MigrantsEating In PublicNandita Sharma’s WebsiteEpisode Transcription available hereHost: Ry O. SiggelkowProducer: Adam PfuhlPodcast Engineer: Michael MouaMusic: Kavyesh KavirajEpisode Recorded on December 9th, 2022You can find out more about the Leadership Center for Social Justice on our website and on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

This episode’s guest is Liz Fekete, author and director of the Institute of Race Relations. In this episode, we are in conversation with Liz on the history of the Institute of Race Relations and how they have changed within the 50 years they’ve been around. Liz also discusses the interventionist work of the Institutes first director, Sivanandan and how that impacted the work of the Institute.ResourcesInstitute of Race RelationsA Suitable Enemy: Racism, Migration and Islamophobia in EuropeEurope’s Fault Lines: Racism and the Rise of the RightEpisode Transcription available hereHost: Ry O. SiggelkowProducer: Adam PfuhlPodcast Engineer: Michael MouaMusic: Kavyesh KavirajEpisode Recorded on October 24th, 2022You can find out more about the Leadership Center for Social Justice on our website and on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

This episode’s guest is Peter Linebaugh, author and historian. In this episode, we are in conversation with Peter about his many books, including The Many-Headed Hydra, a widely influential book co-authored with Marcus Rediker that excavates the hidden revolutionary history of transatlantic resistance, rebellion, and solidarity against slavery and the enclosure of land. Peter speaks to us about the ongoing history of capitalist exploitation and extraction, the sin of private property, the connection between the prison and the expropriation of land, always seeking to make visible the centrality of how ordinary working people have cooperated together for life, freedom, and love. This is an episode about learning to do theology from below, that is, learning to paying attention to the revolutionary actions and possibilities of ordinary people of faith who have refused to comply with forms of social life predicated on death, resisting servitude and enclosure and with courage – and often at tremendous risk – act together to level and dig up the hedges and fences and borders intended to keep people from the land that sustains life.Peter speaks to us about counter-movements and counter-theologies, the principles of commoning, and the ongoing forms of global resistance to enclosure and dispossession. Peter shares stories "from below" of human cooperation and considers how this is lived out today.ResourcesRed Round Globe Hot BurningThe Many Headed HydraThe Magna Carta ManifestoStop, Thief!Episode Transcription available hereHost: Ry O. SiggelkowProducer: Adam PfuhlPodcast Engineer: Michael MouaMusic: Kavyesh KavirajEpisode Recorded on November 14th, 2022You can find out more about the Leadership Center for Social Justice on our website and on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

This episode’s guest is Steed Davidson, Professor of Hebrew Bible Old Testament at McCormick Theological Seminary. In this episode, we are in conversation with Steed about the connections between the Bible,  empire, and liberation. Steed reflects on his work in postcolonial biblical studies and his argument that the Bible is strongly connected to empire and colonialism. However, he also shares that there continue to be insurgent readings of the Bible that can be used as a tool against imperialism and for liberation. Steed reflects on how his experiences growing up in Tobago post British colonialism shaped his worldview and his studies. ResourcesEmpire and Exile: Postcolonial Readings of the Book of JeremiahWriting/Reading the Bible in Postcolonial PerspectivesIslands, Islanders and the Bible: RumInationsEpisode Transcription available hereHost: Ry O. SiggelkowProducer: Adam PfuhlPodcast Engineer: Michael MouaMusic: Kavyesh KavirajEpisode Recorded on November 9th, 2022You can find out more about the Leadership Center for Social Justice on our website and on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.