Exchanging ideas with Jared Yates Sexton on "The Muckrake Podcast"
"Perceive, Believe, and Act" and other ways to protect our safety and democracy
I reached out to Jared Yates Sexton of The Muckrake Podcast with my article From Emmett Till to Kyle Rittenhouse—American History Echoes to this Day, and he invited me on as his guest this week!
We talked about a wide range of issues, which I thoroughly enjoyed as a friendly exploration of the issues of the day. Of course, like any good dinner party conversation, afterward I thought of more things that I wish I had said!
My child safety work over the past several years has focused on helping organizations build their programs with safety and abuse-prevention best practices in mind, as described in my co-authored book Doing Right by Our Kids: Protecting Child Safety at All Levels. As we wrote about how to create safety in families, neighborhoods, K-12 schools, sports teams, worship communities, colleges and more, it was just shocking to see the corruption developing “at the top,” our government. We were losing our civil society and sense of safety from the top, at the same time we were writing about to creating safety from the grassroots on up. I still believe in the power of grassroots organizing to insist that our leaders do the right thing.
Trump is an extremely dangerous abuser and wanna-be dictator, and it frustrates me to hear folks who just don’t seem to think that Trump is all that dangerous, that our institutions will definitely hold next time. (Jared’s conversation with journalist Michael A. Cohen was what led me to reach out to Jared. Cohen seemed to have all the information needed to know that Trump was dangerous, but Cohen just seemed unwilling to connect those dots.) We need to recognize abusers when we see them, and act accordingly to take them out of positions of power. That is where my “Perceive, Believe, Act” concept comes in—1. see a threat, 2. understand that yes, bad things really can happen here, and 3. take effective action—adding in a great deal of discernment to make sure that we are acting on valid information. This is easier to say than it is to do, and I worry a lot that we get stuck at step 2, believing that an autocracy could develop within the US government. We are at risk of talking ourselves out of believing that Trump is a serious threat, through denial, minimizing, American exceptionalism, and other mental gymnastics. We can’t afford to do this!
As I talked to Jared and he asked what we should do to “Act,” since we were in a one-on-one conversation, I gravitated toward what we as individuals can do, which is to remain the positive glue of our society: keep working for causes you care in, develop allies and personal relationships. Learn about the politics in your city and state, knowing that State Legislatures are a key place to be involved. Citizens can have power and leverage with their state lawmakers. I would point to North Carolina’s own Reverend William Barber, the architect of the Moral Monday movement, as an exceptional individual who shows us what we can accomplish when we stand up for what is right, working together in a peaceful, inclusive coalition. Get to know Reverend Barber, the Moral Movement, and the Poor People’s Campaign.
As for what to do at the top of our society, say, the Justice Department: I wrote about this in my January 6 post. We absolutely need to respond to the failed coup of January 6, 2021 by prosecuting those who wanted to invalidate the 2020 election and those who stormed the Capitol. We voters, in the fair and democratic 2020 election, supported by institutions that barely held on this time, accomplished something rare and precious: we turned back an autocratic attempt by Trump to illegitimately stay in power. Now we must hold those who did it responsible to the fullest extent of the law. We are a year behind on that. Merrick Garland—astonish us, and get going!
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Thank you again to Jared Yates Sexton for inviting me on for one of the best discussions I have had in a long time. Two years into pandemic life I realize how much I am missing good conversation!
Here are links to other works Jared and I discussed:
The civil-rights documentaries that I have served as an Executive Producer:
Olympic Pride, American Prejudice: the untold story of 18 African-Americans who stood up to Hitler to compete for American glory at the 1936 Olympic Games. Streaming on Peacock; available through Amazon, iTunes and more. Directed by Deborah Riley Draper. Deborah’s companion book is a must-have for libraries, including high school and college.
The Rape of Recy Taylor: in 1944 a young Black woman courageously sought justice after being abducted and gang raped by 6 white teenagers. Mrs. Taylor was aided by a brave young NAACP investigator—Rosa Parks, 11 years before the Montgomery Bus Boycotts. Directed by Nancy Buirski. Broadcast on Starz and other outlets.
A Crime on the Bayou: a must-watch for all law students and lawyers. In 1966 a young Black man, Gary Duncan, was unjustly arrested and terrorized for years by a white parish boss, Leander Perez, who may as well have been Boss Hogg from the Dukes of Hazzard...or Donald Trump. Duncan was represented by a coalition of Black and Jewish lawyers, who took his case all the way to the Supreme Court, winning landmark victories that affirm the right to a jury trial. Learn about the people behind the legal decisions. Directed by Nancy Buirski.
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Trauma-informed professional development training for K-12 educators that I teach:
Full Circle Safety: Sexual Abuse Prevention for K-12 Educators
Full Circle Safety: What K-12 Educators Need to Know About Human Trafficking
This trauma-informed professional development program teaches educators and all adults who work in schools how to recognize, report, and get help to stop abuse, including sexual abuse and human trafficking. Educators are our best community advocates, who know youth better than just about anyone else, so it is vital to teach them the warning signs of what to look out for and how to get help for students who are being exploited or abused.
The training is written specifically through the lens of what K-12 educators need to know. As an experienced classroom teacher myself, I know that the job is overwhelming, so we made sure to tailor this training. We cover topics including how abusers groom victims, online safety, warning signs and risk factors for trafficking, healthy relationships versus exploitation, emotional abuse and coercion, and more. This training is offered via on-demand videos in the Kidpower Online Learning Center. 1.0 hour of continuing education for each program, designed to be affordable and scalable to serve schools and school districts. This training meets the requirements for legally-mandated educator training in North Carolina, and is useful for all 50 states.