Talk Radio – October 25, 2022: And Still We Rise – Call In 1-800-450-7876

GUESTS

Tony Hill: 12:00 PM – 12:57 PM ET
Former Florida State Senator; served two decades in state Legislature and as aide to Rep. Al Lawson and Mayor Alvin Brown

Helen Butler: 12:30 PM – 12:57 PM ET
Executive Director of the Georgia Coalition for the People’s Agenda will provide an update on the intense battle to defeat some of the most vicious voter suppression measures in the nation which are pending in the Georgia State Legislature

The Igniting Change Radio Show on Tuesday, October 25th, 2022, entitled “And Still We Rise: The Fight for Voter Justice During the 2022 Midterm Elections” will feature Radio Show Co-Hosts and Transformative Justice Coalition (TJC) Co-Leaders Attorneys Barbara Arnwine and Daryl Jones will reflect on their experiences during the 2022 Arc of Voter Justice Tour. They will also be joined by guests Tony Hill and Helen Butler to discuss the challenges and triumphs of this early voting season in Florida and Georgia. As early voting gets underway in several key states, this show will recap the impact of the Arc of Voter Justice GOTV Tour and the fight for  #10MillionMoreBlackVoters. As of Saturday, October 22nd, over 7.5 million voters had already cast their ballots. Already, states like Virginia, Georgia, and more are seeing record turnout numbers during early voting. In 2022, Vote-by-mail remains a popular option in addition to in person voting. With 21 states plus the District of Columbia allowing for same-day voter registration during early voting, this has increased the popularity of early voting. The Arc of Voter Justice Tour was widely successful having reached millions of voters both in the designated states during the journey and also nationwide through the immense national media generated. Everywhere the Tour went it engaged in votercading and voter outreach programs. The Tour culminated on October 21st in Jacksonville, Florida with a resounding reception at both Edward Waters University (EWU) and in the inner city of Jacksonville. Along the way, the African-American Policy Forum (AAPF) gave away thousands of books and brought awareness to the need to oppose the anti-CRT and book banning movement. Prof. Kim Crenshaw of AAPF participated in the entire Tour. During the Tour of the 14 states, 8 of the states had banned books. Everywhere they have gone, audiences have been shocked to see the books that are banned such as “The Color Purple”, “1619 Project”, “Their Eyes Are Watching God”, “Ruby Bridges Story”, “Between the World and Me”, “The Hate You Give”, “Critical Race Theory”, and so many more children’s and adult titles. Prof. Kimberle Crenshaw has given insightful speeches linking the fight against voter suppression and the suppression of our true racial history, cultural arcs of the African-American, Latino, and LGBTQIA communities. These books were given to the community as well as donated to libraries and schools. Along the path of the Tour, local organizations were able to conduct voter outreach into many communities with historic low voter turnout. TJC is grateful for its national partners and the hundreds of local partners who made this first ever Arc of Voter Justice Tour a tremendous success.

Special guest Tony Hill was the lead organizer for the Jacksonville, Florida events including the visit to EWU, the massive votercade and the large celebration village. As early voting opened in Florida on Monday, October 25th, Tony Hill will describe the first stage of turnout in the state. He will also provide background on the tremendous racism that is confronting African-American voters in Florida, including Governor Ron Desantis’ outrageous use of “election police” to terrorize formerly incarcerated people who wrongfully voted, thinking their vote has been restored because they were sent voting cards by their county governor. Governor Desantis’ exploitative antics have led to a backlash of opposition from Floridians and nationwide. 

Special guest Helen Butler will discuss the record-setting early voting in Georgia, especially by African-Americans who have increased their vote by 29% during the 2018 Midterms to 37% in the 2022 Midterms so far. She will describe the tremendous voter suppression effort underway in Georgia to block Black voters through the use of challengers and other devious practices.

QUESTIONS

FIRST AND SECOND SEGMENTS

• Let’s discuss some of the highlights of the Tour.
• What have you learned that you didn’t know at the beginning of this Tour?
• Why was it important to combine this Tour with the banned book giveaway?
• What has this Tour meant to local voting rights leaders, activists, and organizations?
• What has been your favorite votercade?
• Tony, let’s talk about Florida. Please describe for our audience some of the challenges African-American voters have been facing in Florida.
• How has Desantis’ new voter suppression measures affected Florida’s voters?
• While the Arc of Voter Justice Tour was taking place, there was a major decision by the federal district courts regarding Jacksonville’s racially gerrymandered city council districts. Also in Jacksonville, there’s an ongoing fight against the racially gerrymandered congressional district. What is racial gerrymandering? Tell us about these cases.
• How are the organizations in Jacksonville organizing and uniting to support the Black vote?
• What can voters do to fight for voter justice in your state?
• How can voters use this election cycle to force change?
• Thank you for all of your hard work. How do our listeners get in contact with you?

THIRD AND FOURTH SEGMENTS

• Helen, so far, what are the most important developments during early voting in Georgia?
• What do you think has accounted for the record African-American voter turnout?
• So far, what has been the impact of the various voter suppression measures passed by the legislature?
• How will the new challenger law affect voters in Georgia?
• What other concerns do you have regarding these Midterm elections?
• What can voters do to fight for voter justice in your state?
• How can voters use this election cycle to force change?
• Thank you for all of your hard work. How do our listeners get in contact with you?