Join Gwynne and bus full of sleepy but determined people who got up before dawn on a Saturday to canvass for TJ Cox in California's 21st Congressional district.  The small town of Selma, south of Fresno and three hours from the Bay Area, is representative of towns across the mostly rural district.  Depending on the source, anywhere from 20-30% of the population lives below the poverty line.  33% of adults are covered by Medicaid, and 64% of the children are covered by Medicaid/CHIP.  TJ Cox decided to run for the seat in this district in large part to preserve health care coverage for its residents.   Rather than focusing on a single organizer, this episode features the voices of a few of the hundreds of people who traveled to this district to campaign for TJ Cox in order to contribute to the effort to flip the House blue. The bus was sponsored by Commit to Flip Blue:  http://www.committoflipblue.com/ Statistics regarding health care in this district can be found at:  https://ccf.georgetown.edu/2017/04/25/new-maps-display-medicaidchip-enrollment-by-congressional-district/ City of Selma website:  http://www.cityofselma.com/

Activist Origin Stories

While You Were Sleeping

Gwynne talks to Ken about how community service, starting at a young age, has been a constant theme throughout his life.  His ongoing activism emerged from his experiences of collective support and healing in the midst of the AIDS crisis.  Ken's political engagement is inextricably interwoven with his spiritual orientation, and his focus on helping newcomers to activism remain engaged is one key to building the progressive movement for the long term.

Ken from Courage Campaign

Kathryn talks to Gwynne about becoming an activist in the wake of the 2016 election.  Her journey started with a group of women who came together for mutual support, seeking a constructive response to shock and overwhelm.  After organizing Indivisible ReSisters, Kathryn has continued on to participate in numerous actions, and has assumed leadership roles in local politics.  Kathryn talks about maintaining balance in her personal life, the values that guide her, and her thoughts about the future of activism. The mission of Indivisible is to cultivate and lift up a grassroots movement of local groups to defeat the Trump agenda, elect progressive leaders, and realize bold progressive policies. Find your local Indivisible group at www.indivisible.org

Kathryn from Indivisible ReSisters

Gwynne talks to Rachel about her paradigm-shifting experiences and how her deep roots in Tracy, California led her to seek out collaboration with the local Democratic club.  Together, they support the grassroots effort to flip the 10th Congressional district in California from red to blue, and also build the Democratic base for the long term. Check out @SwingLeftCoCoCo on all social media. The Democratic Club of Greater Tracy is @DemsTracy on Twitter, @greatertracydems on Facebook. Find the national Swing Left organization at and @SwingLeft on social media.  

Rachel from Swing Left Contra Costa County

Activist Origin Stories features the unsung heroes of grassroots activism. Their stories will educate and inspire others to continue the work of building a more just, inclusive, and healthy society.

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Activist Origin Stories

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