Ep. 80 - Remapping, Electoralism, & Challenging the Border Myth ft. Stephanie Skora

BrownTown chops it up about electoral politics, the remap process
post-2020 Census, borders and anti-Zionism, and much more with
repeat guest (Ep. 60) Stephanie Skora, movement worker and
creator of the popular "Girl, I Guess" Progressive Voter Guide.
The gang again takes on the nuances of engaging in electoralism
while holding radical politics and the importance international
solidarity between colonized peoples. Originally recorded May 16,
2022, before the new Chicago ward map was approved.


Spring 2022 marks two years since the most recent Census where
the new representational map of our political reality has changed
to, so we’re told, better reflect our lived populations. It has
also been one year after renewed worldwide attention on the
Israeli occupation, specifically in the Palestenian neighborhood
of Sheikh Jarrah. How do we place the remap process within the
broader system of American electoralism, for better or worse?
More broadly, how do we conceptualize not only the invisible
lines of representational democracy based on population in
America but also the more militarily enforced borders that
manufacture our economic and political reality to justify the
state’s existence, globally? This is their take.


Full transcription here!


GUEST
Stephanie Skora is a hard femme Lesbian, trans woman, and
anti-Zionist working class Ashkenazi Jew whose activist work
centers around Palestinian solidarity organizing, queering Jewish
spaces, and fighting for justice and liberation for all trans
people. She is the COO of Brave Space Alliance, the South Side
LGBTQ Center, the Board President of the Midwest Institute for
Sexuality and Gender Diversity, a longtime member of Jewish Voice
for Peace, and the author and editor of the "Girl, I Guess"
Progressive Voter Guide. Check out Stephanie's site and follow
her on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.


 


Mentioned in episode and more information:


SoapBox's Census 2020 project

Nicole Lee and the 11th Ward, Chicago (Block Club Chi)

The Ferguson-Palestine connection (1, 2, 3)

Hoda Katebi on holding your institutions accountable



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


CREDITS: Intro music from I Was a Teenage
Anarchist by Against Me! and outro music Payback by
Immortal Technique ft. Diabolic and Ras Kass. Audio engineered by
Kiera Battles.


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