Ep. 97 - Progressive Latinas in the New Chicago City Council ft. Alderpersons Rossana Rodriguez & Jessie Fuentes

enAugust 18, 2023

Bourbon 'n BrownTown

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What was the main topic of the podcast episode?

Summarise the key points discussed in the episode?

Were there any notable quotes or insights from the speakers?

Which popular books were mentioned in this episode?

Were there any points particularly controversial or thought-provoking discussed in the episode?

Were any current events or trending topics addressed in the episode?

About this Episode

BrownTown chops it up with Alderhomies Rossana Rodriguez (33rd) and Jessie Fuentes (26th) in the inaugural recording within the Harambe Studios at the SoapBox office. Chicago City Council is now the most Black and Latine, the most queer, the most politically left, and with the most female leaders in the city's history (and in some cases, currently in the country). With that, the gang discusses Mayor Johnson first 100 days, progressive city policy, the relationship between representation and the co-struggle for liberation, Twitter trolls, and everything in between.

GUESTS
Alderwoman Rossana Rodriguez (33rd), now in her second term, is the Chair of the Committee on Health and Human Relations for the Chicago City Council. Rossana was born and raised in Puerto Rico and started organizing at six years old when her community had to fight for access to running water. Organizing soon became a fundamental part of her life and remains her main tool within her work in government. Rossana came to Chicago after austerity and budget cuts forced her to leave her job as a drama teacher in Puerto Rico. She originally moved to Albany Park to work as a theatre director with a youth theatre company 14 years ago and chose to stay and organize around housing, education, immigrant rights, and mental health. She is the chief sponsor for the Treatment Not Trauma legislation and continues to organize with grassroots organizations to transform Chicago. Follow Rossana on Facebook, Instagram, (personal, political) and Twitter (personal, ward). Stay up to date with her City Council work and 33rd ward services at Rossanafor33.org.

Alderperson Jessie Fuentes (26th) is a queer Latina grassroots organizer, educator, and public policy advocate with over a decade of experience in education, criminal justice reform, affordable housing, community development and sustainability. A lifelong Chicagoan and resident of the Northwest side, Jessie spent most of her formative years growing up and working in Humboldt Park. Through personal resilience, community support and restorative justice, Jessie turned her most traumatic life experiences into tools to uplift others facing similar circumstances. In her previous roles as an educator and Dean of Students at Roberto Clemente Community Academy and as an organizer around issues of violence prevention, housing affordability, and re-entry for returning citizens, she convened and connected community stakeholders to create community-driven solutions to the biggest problems facing Humboldt Park. Jessie recently served as the Director of Policy and Youth Advocacy at the Puerto Rican Cultural Center. She Co-chaired the Violence Prevention program of the Illinois Latino Agenda and is also a Founding Member of the Illinois Latino Agenda 2.0, focusing on community development and Latine equity. Follow Jessie on Facebook (personal, political), Instagram (personal, political), and Twitter (personal, political). Stay up to date with her City Council work and 26th ward at Jessiefor26thward.com.

Mentioned in episode:

Ep. 90 - Electoral & Radical Politics 4.0 ft. Alderman Byron Sigcho-Lopez & Alderperson-elect Jessie Fuentes
Ep. 91 - Narratives in Media & Documenting Movements 2.0 ft. Morgan Elise Johnson
Ep. 94 - Police Abolition 2.0 ft. District Councilors David Orlikoff & Ashley Vargas
Sh*t Talks: Studio Sessions - People Power & Electoralism
Chicago’s Progressive Alderpeople Retain Seats, Look To Expand Influence On City Council — And Even Mayor’s Race (Block Club)
Chicago Is About To Have The Gayest City Council In The Country (Chicago Magazine)
We Have the Most Diverse City Council in Chicago History (Chicago Magazine)
Brandon Johnson, LSCs, and police in schools (WBEZ)
Treatment Not Truma (1, 2) and the 2022 referendum
Bring Chicago Home and One Fair Wage
Contentious Co-governance (In These Times)

Opinions on this episode only reflect David, Caullen, Rossana, and Jessie as individuals, not their organizations or places of work.

CREDITS: Intro soundbite of Rossana Rodriguez at the 2020 Freedom Square action. Outro song Contra Todo by iLe. Audio engineered by Kiera Battles.

Recent Episodes from Bourbon 'n BrownTown

Ep. 104 - Voter Guides, Electoralism, & the 2024 Cook County Primaries ft. Stephanie Skora & Raeghn Draper

BrownTown sits down with co-authors of the "Girl, I Guess" Progressive Voter Guide, three-peat guest Stephanie Skora and newcomer Raeghn Draper to talk all things 2024 Cook County Democratic Primary Elections. From ethics and attitudes in long-form opinion journalism to new endorsement standards surrounding Palestinian liberation, the gang situates the relationship between electoralism and the Left in this moment and extrapolates its potential for the future. Originally recorded February 8, 2024.

GUESTS
Stephanie Skora is a writer, educator, speaker, organizer, and non-profiteer based in Chicago, Illinois. She lives as a Stone Top hard femme trans Lesbian and working-class anti-Zionist Ashkenazi Jew, and mobilizes her identities to work in solidarity with Palestinians, to queer Jewish spaces, and to fight for justice and liberation for all trans people. Stephanie is the Co-Founder and Chief Development Officer of Brave Space Alliance, serves as Board Treasurer for the Midwest Institute for Sexuality and Gender Diversity, and is the co-author and editor of the "Girl, I Guess" Progressive Voter Guide. Follow her on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Raeghn Draper is a Chicago-based writer, community organizer, and hospitality professional originally from Milwaukee, WI. Since 2019, they have been involved in the Chicago social justice scene and co-founded the Chicago Hospitality Accountable Actions Database (CHAAD) Project. This commitment extends to their current role at Futures Institute as the Lead Storyteller, where they blend creativity with a drive for social change. Through their activism and advocacy, they strive to raise awareness of the issues that affect workers of color in the industry and work toward meaningful change. Follow them on Instagram.

Mentioned in episode and more information:

Previous episodes. 80 & 60 with Stephanie Skora
Kim Foxx's trajectory (1, 2, 3, 4)
Rossana Rodriguez: Passing the Chicago Ceasefire vote & 2019 election win
How the U.S. Drove Venezuelans North (In These Times)
New endorsement standards regarding Palestine
Bring Chicago Home & its Golden Shrug!
Injustice Watch's 2024 Cook County Judicial Primary Election Guide

Opinions on this episode only reflect David, Caullen, Stephanie, and Raeghn as individuals, not their organizations or places of work.

CREDITS: Intro and outro music from Polls by Piff Marti. Audio engineered by Kiera Battles.

enFebruary 21, 2024

Ep. 103 - New Years 2024: A Retrospective ft. Kiera Battles

BrownTown on BrownTown. BnB audio engineer Kiera Battles is back with her behind-the-scenes insights on the podcast as the team discusses the episodes of 2023. Last year brought the continuation of the Whiskey and Watching series, a host of episodes surrounding the 2023 Chicago Municipal Elections, a resurgent discussion of #NoCopAcademy in the midst of the #StopCopCity struggle in Atlanta, and plenty of reflective conversations on the podcast, SoapBox at large, and the direction of the movement media ecosystem. For better or worse, here's to 2024!

With 17 total full episodes, 2023 brought 15 guest episodes (6 repeat guests; 8 with 2+ guests), only 1 with no guests, only 2 virtual recordings, 6 series-type episodes, and 2 bonus episodes. In addition to the breakdown, BrownTown chops it up about recording in different locations before settling into the new SoapBox office, their favorite episodes, and their hopes for 2024. Originally recorded December 19, 2023.

GUEST: Kiera Battles is the BnB audio engineer and a music industry hopeful. Starting on the stage with choir and orchestra and later transitioning to life behind the scenes, music has always been with her. She began her audio journey during her junior year of high school as part of a vocational program to later get her BA from Columbia College Chicago in Interdisciplinary Studies focusing on Audio Arts with a concentration in live sound as well as Music Business. She continues to work in the audio and business side of the industry while earning her MA in Music Business at Berklee College of Music to later gain the tools and knowledge to start her own company.

CREDITS: Audio engineered by Kiera Battles. Episode photo by Aidan Kranz. Listen to all the episodes on your chosen podcast application! For more information on the podcast, check out Bourbon 'n BrownTown on the SoapBox website.

enJanuary 20, 2024

Ep. 102 - Palestinian Liberation in This Moment ft. Muhammad Sankari

BrownTown invites Muhammad Sankari from the US Palestinian Community Network (USPCN) to discuss this current moment in the struggle to Free Palestine. The gang frames Israel's genocide in Gaza and assault on the other territories in historical context with regards to the long history of resistance struggles across the globe. #FreePalestine. Originally recorded December 19, 2023.

GUEST
Muhammad Sankari is an organizer with the US Palestinian Community Network (USPCN), a national, multi-generational Palestinian and Arab community-based organization in the U.S. fighting for the total liberation of Palestine. Follow USPCN on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!

Mentioned Topics & More Info:

All Out for Palestine - Action Toolkit
Black and Palestinian Organizing Toolkit
Epistemicide according to BnB Alum Ricardo Gamboa
White House funding for Weapons Sales in Israel (In These Times)
Why Journalists Must Speak out About Gaza (In These Times)
South Africans in Israel (Middle East Eye)
Confronting colonialist propaganda, Zionism and the Civilized/Holy (TRiiBE)
Biden says he has 'no confidence' in Palestinian death count (Reuters)
White House walks back Biden’s claim he saw children beheaded by Hamas (Aljazeera)
The Ferguson-Palestine connection (1, 2, 3)
Hoda Katebi on holding your institutions accountable
Pro-Palestinian Protesters take Chicago's Lakeshore Drive
Chicago Elected Staffers demand Ceasefire Resolution (1, 2)
"Israeli Diaper Forces"
George Khoury of USPCN

CREDITS: Intro song MTAKTAK شب جديد - متكتك by Shabjdeed and outro song 47SOUL by Dabke System. Audio engineered by Kiera Battles. Episode photo by Jordan Esparza.

enDecember 31, 2023

Ep. 101 - Hood Empathy & The Chicago Creative Wave ft. Isiah "ThoughtPoet" Veney

BrownTown shares space with frequent collaborator, Isiah “ThoughtPoet” Veney, photographer, A&R, organizer, and overall creative from Chicago's South Side. ThoughtPoet and BrownTown unpack the Afro-futuristic and "hood empathetic" themes of his photography work, his and SoapBox's collaboration in the "One Million Experiments" film, lessons from the 2020 uprisings, and more. What does community-building really look like in Chicago's growing multidisciplinary creative scene when coupled with abolitionist politics and possibilities? Here's their take. Originally recorded October 25, 2023.

GUEST
Isiah “ThoughtPoet” Veney is a photographer, writer, A&R, and creative director from the Chatham and Burnside area of Chicago. While recently being named a Black history maker by the Chicago Sun Times and ever since his highlighted works with Truestar Magazine showcasing Chicago’s musical talent, he has been on a mission to capture and express powerful opinions and perceptions through imagery and writing. His #HeartMelanin portrait series (since 2013), is a collection of emotions and snapshots of the Black Chicago renaissance. He is also founder of the creative agency Unsocial Aesthetics (site, IG) which helps artists with their creative pursuits while also explaining the Black Chicago origins connected to the scene. Follow him on Instagram and Twitter!

Mentioned Topics:

Ep. 95 - Home
Chicago Drill 'n' Activism
Black Chicago Renaissance (TRiiBE)
Love and Struggle Photos
#SadBoyEnergy (The Prelude) (Chicago Reader)
Testimonies from the Land: A photo essay (South Side Weekly)
Damon Williams’ "One Hundred Other Jobs" post
One Million Experiments (site, IG posts: 1, 2, 3, 4)
Ep. 13 - Chi DNA: Black History & Resistance in Chicago ft. Kofi Ademola

CREDITS: Intro song Chronic Chronicles by Water & Farmabeats and outro song Smoke Anthem by Stock Marley. Audio engineered by Kiera Battles. Episode photo by Jansen B.

enDecember 20, 2023

Ep. 100 - It's a BnB Celebration! ft. Samantha Grund-Wickramasekera & Camille Williams

BrownTown on BrownTown. Join Caullen and David as they celebrate BnB's 100th episode with guest hosts and homies Samantha Grund-Wickramasekera and Camille Williams. Sam is a long-time listener and SoapBox board member while Camille was one of the first podcast guests. As collaborators and friends of BrownTown, they have seen the podcast and SoapBox as a whole grow over the years and detail that as they lead a reflection on where the podcast has been, where it is, and where it's going. Here's to 100 more!

GUESTS
Samantha Grund-Wickramasekera is a proud Chicago native and Chicago Public School graduate who grew up in West Rogers Park. She graduated summa cum laude from DePaul University with a double major in political science and women and gender studies, with a minor in LGBTQ studies. Samantha became a Double Demon when she attended DePaul’s College of Law and graduated with a Juris Doctor and a Healthcare Law certificate in 2017. Since then, she has served as the senior judicial law clerk to the Honorable Franklin U. Valderrama in the Circuit Court of Cook County and as an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Illinois. Currently, she serves as an appellate judicial law clerk to the Honorable Cynthia Y. Cobbs in the Illinois Appellate Court, First District, where she reviews and decides state-based criminal and civil appeals. She also serves as an adjunct professor at DePaul’s College of Law, focusing on appellate advocacy. Samantha has served as a board member on Soapbox’s Board of Directors since 2020 and has authored various editorials for the organization. Finally, Samantha is the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors and the daughter of a Sri Lankan immigrant. She is proudly brown, Jewish and intersectional, loves lifting weights and playing soccer, will judge a restaurant entirely on the quality of its French fries, and is the mother of the best doggo in the world, Hallo Mahalo.

Camille Williams is a South Side resident, a community member whose foundation is built on advocacy. Camille is currently studying Health Science at Rush University and is the Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility Lead at Chicago Votes.

Mentioned Episodes:

Opinions on this episode only reflect Samantha, Camille, David, and Caullen as individuals, not their organizations or places of work.

CREDITS: Intro music Celebration by Kool & The Gang and outro instrumental Weakest Link by Woozy & GENTA. Audio engineered by Kiera Battles. Episode photo by Aidan Kranz. Testimonials in order: Genta Tamashiro, Dakota Sillyman, Emma Terrazas, and Ernest Hudson. Listen to all the episodes on your chosen podcast application and SoapBoxPO.com/Podcast for more information.

enDecember 08, 2023

Ep. 99 - Whiskey & Watching: "I Like It Like That" (1994) ft. Ricardo Gamboa & Mia Carbajal

BrownTown again chops it up with the Hoodoisie fam, co-host Ricardo Gamboa and Executive Director Mia Carbajal for "Whiskey & Watching." The team deconstructs the darling 90's comedy-drama "I Like It Like That" (1994), the first large studio film directed by a Black woman. The film centers around an Afro-Latina woman in the Bronx whose life is turned upside down when her husband is arrested after trying to steal a radio during a blackout. While he's incarcerated, she is forced to find a way to survive and take care of her family. Through that process, she comes into her own power, changing the dynamics of their relationship and that of the whole neighborhood. From the technical cinematic aspects of the film to decolonial politics it offers, the squad explores how femininity and sexuality is presented, the messiness and necessity of restorative practices, the intersections and limits of adultism and masculinity, and framing the hood as a site for capitalist production. Through the complexity of it all, Ricardo reminds us that revolution is attainable in the universe of relationships and we are lucky enough to rehearse what that looks like. Originally recorded September 2023.

GUESTS

The Hoodoisie (1, 2) is a block-optic, radically politicized, biweekly live news show based in a different gentrifying neighborhood every month. Ricardo and Charles invite artists, activists, comedians, saboteurs, political figures, culture makers, and musical guests to share their experiences, perspectives, and talents. The Hoodoisie gives "the chance for everyday people [particularly queer, working-class, and people of color] to engage in the discourse that shapes their lives that they’re often excluded from.” Imagine if The Daily Show got hijacked by radical POC and queers and they brought along a DJ and a bar...that's the Hoodoisie. Come out for a conversation and follow Hoodoisie on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube! Follow Ricardo on Instagram and Twitter and Mia on Instagram and Twitter!

CREDITS: Intro soundbite and episode photo from I Like It Like That by Pete Rodriguez. Outro music is Try A Little Tenderness by Otis Redding. Audio engineered by Kiera Battles.

enNovember 08, 2023

BONUS - #NoCopTOBER ft. Freedom X

BrownTown shares space with Chicago Southsider and former #NoCopAcademy organizer Freedom X as they reminisce about the height of the campaign and discuss what the new feature documentary means to them in this moment. Come see the film this #NoCopTOBER and be on the lookout for future screenings at Linktr.ee/NoCopAcademy and SoapBoxPO.com/NoCopAcademy! #NoCopDoc

GUEST

Freedom X is a Chicago South Side revolutionary who was a youth organizer during the #NoCopAcademy campaign from 2017-2019.

For all things #NoCopAcademy, visit Linktr.ee/NoCopAcademy. Peep NoCopAcademy.com for campaign information (Toolkit, Timeline, Chant Playlist, etc.); follow on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter; and visit SoapBoxPO.com/NoCopAcademy for all things documentary related! Announcements will also be made via SoapBox Newsletter, sign up!

Public screenings as of 10/6
- 10/7: International Social Change Film Festival (Chicago)
- 10/10: Announcement for November screenings and more
- 10/15: Gary International Black Film Festival (Gary, IN)
- 10/16: Campaign-produced Screening Malcolm X College (Chicago)
- 10/21: International Social Change Film Festival (Atlanta)
No Cop City Anywhere by Benji’s Hart (In These Times)
Ep. 26 - Coalition-building & #NoCopAcademy ft. Monica Trinidad & Debbie Southorn

CREDITS: Intro from No Cop Academy: The Documentary teaser trailer. Outro from the #NoCopAcademy chant playlist! Audio engineered by Kiera Battles.

enOctober 07, 2023

Ep. 98 - Coalition-building & Water Solidarity ft. Avalon Betts-Gatson & Tommy Hagan

BrownTown talks water access, water solidarity, and abolition as presence with Avalon Betts-Gatson and Tommy Hagan, organizers with the Coalition to Decarcerate Illinois (CDI). From indigenous land back struggles to fighting for clean drinking water for incarcerated peoples, water is the most basic human right. The gang gets meta discussing organizing strategies within coalitions of various ideologies, access points to abolition, and the role of prisons and carceral logics in current campaigns, recent events, and everyday life. Originally recorded September 11, 2023.

GUESTS
Avalon Betts-Gaston is a Chicago native, non-licensed attorney, ordained minister, and passionate advocate to dismantle, change and build a legal system focused on humane justice and harm reduction, not just punishment. Avalon made her public debut as an advocate at a young age when she convinced her fellow Congressional pages to protest apartheid outside of the South African embassy in Washington, D.C. This passion against various societal injustices continued throughout her life and was super-charged and focused on the criminal legal system after she was wrongfully convicted in 2015. She is the first known formerly incarcerated Board Chairperson for Community Renewal Society, and is also on the FreeHer Campaign Advisory Council, a board member of Chicago Votes, a 2022 JLUSA Leading with Conviction Fellow, and is currently the Project Manager at the Illinois Alliance for Reentry & Justice.

Tommy Hagan is the Co-Director of the REAL Youth Initiative. He has spent the last 8 years working to build power with currently incarcerated people in the United States. As a student at the University of Chicago, he helped launch the Bridge Writing Workshop, a weekly creative writing workshop at Cook County Jail. Tommy also participated in and co-wrote a published report on Northwestern University’s Children and Family Justice Center’s Reimagining Youth Justice Project. From this report, Tommy helped launch the Final 5 Campaign - a coalition fighting to close the 5 remaining youth prisons in Illinois. Part of the Irish diaspora, Tommy is dedicated to ending practices of settler colonialism, imperialism, and military occupation.

Learn more about CDI on their site and their SoapBox page; follow them on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Mentioned in episode:

#StopCopCity RICO charges & #NoCopAcademy
The Willie Lynch Letter and the Making of a Slave
Ruth Wilson Gilmore - racism definition & "Abolition Geography"
Bella BAHHS' January 6th article (TRiiBE)
Dylan Rodríguez on Millennials Are Killing Capitalism
“We can’t have #LandBack without #WaterBack” --Pueblo Action Alliance’s #WaterBack campaign
Water access struggles (US): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Water access struggles (Internat'l): Honduras, Palestine, Bangladesh

CREDITS: Intro from the SoapBox-produced Coalition to Decarcerate Illinois press conference video on April 21, 2022. Outro song Wavy by Tobe Nwigwe. Audio engineered by Kiera Battles.

enOctober 06, 2023

BONUS - Help This Garden Grow, Episode 1

BrownTown is delighted to -- for the first time -- share a new series from our movement media fam over at AirGo. Help This Garden Grow is a new six-part podcast documentary series telling the story of Hazel Johnson, a visionary of the Environmental Justice movement and a resident of the Altgeld Gardens community on the far South Side of Chicago. Hazel is the founder of People for Community Recovery, a 40 year-old organization that fights to address the toxic industrial pollution that has been killing the members of her community. Over the course of the multigenerational multipart documentary, hosts Damon Williams and Daniel Kisslinger talk with organizers, policy-makers, historians, and community members about how PCR emerged and led, the legacy of Ms. Johnson's work, and how this marginalized Chicago pocket built the lineage of today's vibrant, impactful, and necessary modern environmental justice movement. Help This Garden Grow is presented by Respair Production & Media, Elevate, and People for Community Recovery. Subscribe by searching Help This Garden Grow wherever you get your podcasts (Apple, Spotify), check out respairmedia.com for more info, and support the work of People for Community Recovery!

Be on the lookout for future screenings of One Million Experiments and new episodes from Bourbon ’n BrownTown including our 100th episode!

CREDITS: Intro audio mixing by Kiera Battles. Episode music credits: Contact by Anitek, Sunrise Drive by South Londo HiFi, Intelligent Galaxy by The Insider, Roy by Blanked, Spilled Beans by Gurty Beats, Life Is by Cosimo Fogg, Merry Bay by Ghostwriter Official, Catch My Breath by Ambient Boy, Be Quiet by Jahzzar, Ashes by AANI - produced by Adlai, mixing/mastering by Nicky Young.

enSeptember 14, 2023