According to Ruha Benjamin, we’re living inside someone else’s imagination. An imagination that  limits our ability to build a more just, liberated world. So, how do we take back our agency and begin to seed something different? Baratunde talks with Princeton professor and founding director of the Just Data Lab, Ruha Benjamin to find out.



SHOW ACTIONS

Internally Reflect - Bear witness and create a ripple

This one is inspired from Ruha’s book Viral Justice: How We Grow the World We Want which says: “…bear witness to the weight of individual and communal protective acts and consider how all of us can be involved in sheltering one another from the rain and sun by cultivating relationships, skills, accountability, and healing.”

Think about when you witnessed someone near you perform an act of justice or kindness or protection for another. Was it a big or small act? Did it require courage? How did witnessing that make you feel about the world? Is it something you could repeat and further the impact?

Become More Informed - Learn about racial justice 

Ruha recommends Rest is Resistance: A Manifesto by Tricia Hersey and The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander both of which you can find on our Bookshop page.  

Publicly Participate - Invest in your community using your time & skills

Check out ways to invest and get to know your community using your existing skills and experience.  If you’re 60+ check out Thirdact.org and Cogenerate.org. If you’re 25-59 check out Volunteermatch.org and Catchafire.org. If you're 16-24 check out Civicsunplugged.org and Youthclimatelobby.org.



SHOW NOTES

Walk through Breonna’s Garden and check out Lady Phoenix’s IG for more. 

Find How To Citizen on Instagram or visit howtocitizen.com to join our mailing list and find ways to citizen besides listening to this podcast! 

Please show your support for the show by reviewing and rating. It makes a huge difference with the algorithmic overlords and helps others like you find the show!

How To Citizen is hosted by Baratunde Thurston. He’s also host and executive producer of the PBS series, America Outdoors as well as a founding partner and writer at Puck. You can find him all over the internet. 



CREDITS

How To Citizen with Baratunde is a production of iHeartRadio Podcasts and Rowhome Productions. Our Executive Producers are Baratunde Thurston and Elizabeth Stewart. Allie Graham is our Lead Producer and Danya AbdelHameid is our Associate Producer. Alex Lewis is our Managing Producer. John Myers is our Executive Editor and Mix Engineer. Original Music by Andrew Eapen and Blue Dot Sessions. Our Audience Engagement Fellows are Jasmine Lewis and Gabby Rodriguez. Special thanks to Joelle Smith from iHeartRadio.

According to Ruha Benjamin, we’re living inside someone else’s imagination. An imagination that  limits our ability to build a more just, liberated world. So, how do we take back our agency and begin to seed something different? Baratunde talks with Princeton professor and founding director of the <a href="https://www.thejustdatalab.com/">Just Data Lab</a>, <a href="https://www.ruhabenjamin.com/about">Ruha Benjamin</a> to find out.
 
SHOW ACTIONS
Internally Reflect - Bear witness and create a ripple
This one is inspired from Ruha’s book <a href="https://bookshop.org/a/14797/9780691222882">Viral Justice: How We Grow the World We Want</a> which says: “…bear witness to the weight of individual and communal protective acts and consider how all of us can be involved in sheltering one another from the rain and sun by cultivating relationships, skills, accountability, and healing.”
Think about when you witnessed someone near you perform an act of justice or kindness or protection for another. Was it a big or small act? Did it require courage? How did witnessing that make you feel about the world? Is it something you could repeat and further the impact?
Become More Informed - Learn about racial justice 
Ruha recommends Rest is Resistance: A Manifesto by Tricia Hersey and The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander both of which you can find <a href="https://bookshop.org/shop/howtocitizen">on our Bookshop page</a>.  
Publicly Participate - Invest in your community using your time &amp; skills
Check out ways to invest and get to know your community using your existing skills and experience.  If you’re 60+ check out <a href="https://thirdact.org/">Thirdact.org</a> and <a href="https://cogenerate.org/">Cogenerate.org</a>. If you’re 25-59 check out <a href="http://volunteermatch.org">Volunteermatch.org</a> and <a href="https://www.catchafire.org/">Catchafire.org</a>. If you're 16-24 check out <a href="https://www.civicsunplugged.org/">Civicsunplugged.org</a> and <a href="https://youth.citizensclimatelobby.org/">Youthclimatelobby.org</a>.
 
SHOW NOTES
Walk through <a href="https://apps.apple.com/us/app/breonnas-garden/id1564025886">Breonna’s Garden</a> and check out <a href="https://www.instagram.com/yesladypheonix/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;ig_rid=e2818ddf-800f-40a4-bbe6-c4f5b9a6cdda">Lady Phoenix’s IG</a> for more. 
Find How To Citizen on <a href="https://baratun.de/howtocitizen-ig-shownotes">Instagram</a> or visit <a href="https://baratun.de/howtocitizen-dotcom-shownotes">howtocitizen.com</a> to join our mailing list and find ways to citizen besides listening to this podcast! 
Please show your support for the show by reviewing and rating. It makes a huge difference with the algorithmic overlords and helps others like you find the show!
How To Citizen is hosted by Baratunde Thurston. He’s also host and executive producer of the PBS series, <a href="https://baratun.de/americaoutdoors-shownotes">America Outdoors</a> as well as a founding partner and writer at <a href="https://baratun.de/puck-shownotes">Puck</a>. You can find him all over <a href="https://baratun.de/linktree-shownotes">the internet</a>. 
 
CREDITS
How To Citizen with Baratunde is a production of iHeartRadio Podcasts and Rowhome Productions. Our Executive Producers are Baratunde Thurston and Elizabeth Stewart. Allie Graham is our Lead Producer and Danya AbdelHameid is our Associate Producer. Alex Lewis is our Managing Producer. John Myers is our Executive Editor and Mix Engineer. Original Music by Andrew Eapen and Blue Dot Sessions. Our Audience Engagement Fellows are Jasmine Lewis and Gabby Rodriguez. Special thanks to Joelle Smith from iHeartRadio.

How To Citizen with Baratunde reimagines the word “citizen” as a verb and reminds us how to wield our collective power. So many of us want to do more in response to the problems we hear about constantly, but where and how to participate can leave us feeling overwhelmed and helpless. Voting, while critically important, simply isn’t enough. It takes more to make this experiment in self-governance work! Listen in to learn new perspectives and practices from people working to improve society for the many. Join writer, activist, and comedian Baratunde Thurston on a journey beyond politics as usual that will leave us all more hopeful, connected, and moved to act.

How To Citizen with Baratunde

Justice Begins with Imagination (Ruha Benjamin)

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/0ea4d1f5-a489-48c2-a792-af9000e7501c/transcript

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