Ep. 73 - The Collective Freedom Project, Pt. 3: Texas & #ShutDownHutto ft. Rebecca Sanchez & David Johnson

BrownTown links up with Rebecca Sanchez & David Johnson of
Grassroots Leadership in Austin, Texas. In Part Three of the
Collective Freedom Project series, they discuss the the
socio-political climate in Austin, the #DefundAPD campaign(s);
#ShutDownHutto and other campaigns to close or halt construction
of new jails; and the intersections of technology, surveillance,
and gentrification.


BrownTown and guests cover several interrelated topics throughout
the course of their time together. After Rebecca and David (or
"DJ") share more about their backgrounds, they quickly debunk the
myth of Austin as the liberal blue bubble in a sea of red Texas,
explaining the history, the municipal political system (weak
Mayor vs. strong Mayor), and the social facade. DJ likens the
1-35 interstate in Texas with the Dan Ryan Expressway in Chicago
explaining how they were both built intentionally to subjugate
Black people. The team continues to sift through various topics
including the affect of the George Floyd uprisings on
specifically budget campaigns, #NoCopAcademy (1, 2), academic
institutions and private companies' relationship with police, and
the role of technology in surveillance and furthering social
control. BrownTown, Rebecca, and DJ close out the an
introspective note that abolishing police is more than just the
defunding and dismantling the local PD but abolishing the police
in our heads, in our hearts, and creating new relationships
between people and our natural environment.


GUESTS
Rebecca Sanchez is the daughter of Jose and Rosalia Sanchez, the
youngest of 8 and a tia to 17; from a tiny town in East Texas.
Rebecca is an artist, educator, and the organizing manager with
Grassroots Leadership, a nonprofit working to end prison
profiteering, mass incarceration, deportation, and
criminalization. She is also a member of Communities of Color
United; an intergenerational grassroots group pushing for racial
equity in Austin. All of this work is guided by the lens of
artivism, personal/familial struggles, and her experience as a
former art teacher in a commitment to center intergenerational
creativity, healing, and autonomy.


David Johnson is an organizer and policy and research analyst who
draws upon his personal experience with white supremacist culture
to work towards a collective divestment from harmful and violent
practices, policies, and systems, while expanding investment in
people-centered responses to community needs. In addition to his
role at Grassroots Leadership, he is a member of Texas Advocates
for Justice, the Community Strategy Team for the University of
Texas' Dell Medical School Department of Population Health, the
Reimagine Public Safety Task Force for the City of Austin, the
Mayor's Gun Violence Task Force for the City of Austin, and the
board of BRAVE Communities. He is also a community ambassador for
Solstice Recovery Foundation, and the co-founder of the Coalition
to Abolish Slavery - Texas (CAST).


THE COLLECTIVE FREEDOM PROJECT
This episode is Part Two in the Collective Freedom Project
four-part series with Bourbon 'n BrownTown. The Collective
Freedom Project (CFP) is a movement media and resource hub that
tells the stories of the local and regional efforts where people
— both U.S. citizens and non U.S. citizens — are coming together
to fight unique campaigns against criminalization in their
communities. From Chicago to California, Atlanta to Texas,
activists, organizers, and communities are rising up to fight
against criminalization and violence in varied yet connected
forms.


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Mentioned in the episode:


Moving Texas Forward

Michael Ramos (1, 2, 3)

Austin City-Community Reimagining Public Safety Task Force

#NoNewYouthJail in Seattle, Washington

Austin's Big Secret: How Big Tech and Surveillance Are
Increasing Policing

Strategic Decision Support Centers in Chicago

Shot Spotter in Chicago (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)

Dave Chappelle, "Racism out in the open"



Follow the Collective Freedom Project on Facebook, Twitter,
Instagram, and YouTube.


Follow Grassroots Leadership on their site, Facebook, Instagram,
and Twitter. Follow Communities of Color United on their site,
Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.


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CREDITS: Intro/outro music by Genta Tamashiro
with excerpts from the Texas CFP video; outro song Crooked
Officer by Z-Ro. Audio engineered by Genta Tamashiro and
Kiera Battles.


This series is sponsored by the Immigrant Legal Resource Center
(ILRC) and the Four Freedoms Fund (FFF).


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