72. Why Authoritarians Fear Democracy

Music has long been central to the fight for freedom—the rhythmic heartbeat of the struggle for justice. From Beyoncé to Shaboozey to L’il Nas X and Ryan Coogler’s Sinners, Black artists have sparked a much-needed conversation about the rich legacy of Black artistic achievement in multiple genres of American music. This episode celebrates the Black roots of country, blues and folk music by bringing together a dynamic group of artists and scholars to reclaim this often ignored history. Guests: Jake Blount (Musician and Historian), Amythyst Kiah (Banjo Player and Historian), Amanda Ewing (Luthier), Tim Wise ( Writer and Racial Justice Educator), Denitia Odigie (Musician). Hosted by Kimberlé Crenshaw, produced by the team at the African American Policy Forum Sr. Podcast Producer /Mixer Nicole Edwards Find more on our show and the African American Policy Forum at ⁠aapf.org⁠ Music by Blue Dot Sessions, Beyoncé, DeFord Bailey. Follow the podcast on ⁠Instagram⁠, ⁠Facebook⁠, and ⁠Bluesky⁠ Check out our special series on the attack against CRT and DEI called ⁠United States of Amnesia: The Real Histories of Critical Race Theory Donate to our show

It's the 11th anniversary of the #SayHerName Campaign. To commemorate, we're uplifting a favourite #SayHerName episode from our archive. Please join us on Dec 8 in NYC for a staged reading of #SayHerName - The Lives That Should have been, featuring a star-studded cast of performers, a talkback with the mothers of the #SayHerName Mothers Network, and a post-show party with performances by special guests. Get your tickets here. This episode highlights a new milestone for the #SayHerName campaign: a new book, entitled #SayHerName: Black Women’s Stories of Police Violence and Public Silence.  Co-authored by podcast host Kimberlé Crenshaw and the team at the African American Policy Forum, this book helps readers better understand Black women's susceptibility to police brutality and state-sanctioned violence. It explains —through Black feminist storytelling and ritual — how we can effectively mobilize various communities and empower them to advocate for racial justice for Black women, girls, and femmes. In this podcast episode, you'll hear incredible performances from actors at each of our #SayHerName book tour stops in Philadelphia, Washington D.C., and Baltimore. You'll also hear from members from the #SayHerName Mothers Network, a sisterhood of women who have lost other women, girls and femmes in their family to police violence. You'll also hear from Dr. Kaye Wise Whitehead, Dr. Dorothy Roberts, and Kali Holloway, each of whom served as cohosts at book tour stops in their respective cities. They reflected with Dr. Crenshaw on the power of the tour, the calls to action from the book, and the urgency of the lessons the book contains. Centering Black women’s experiences in police and gender violence discourses sends the powerful message that, in fact, all #BlackLivesMatter, and that the police cannot kill without consequence. Supporting AAPF ensures that this important research and testimony continues to inspire change. To purchase your copy, click ⁠here⁠. Hosted by Kimberlé Crenshaw (@sandylocks), with Dorothy Roberts @DorothyERoberts, Kaye Wise Whitehead @kayewhitehead, and Kali Holloway @kalihollowayftw. Produced by Nicole Edwards and the team at the African American Policy Forum. Mixing by Sean Dunnam Music by Blue Dot Sessions Follow us on Bluesky, Facebook, and Instagram.

This episode features Legal Defense Fund President and Director-Counsel Janai Nelson with professors Carol Anderson and Nancy MacLean, in conversation with our host Kimberlé Crenshaw. This riveting and timely conversation shows how anti-Blackness can be weaponized to harm democracy for all through voter suppression, money in politics, and the erosion of democratic safeguards. Clips in this episode from Democracy Forward - How Louisiana v. Callais Could Change Voting Rights and Anti-Discrimination Protections Music by Blue Dot Sessions Follow us on Instagram, Facecbook, and Bluesky) Learn more about the African American Policy Forum at aapf.org. Donate here.

Host Kimberlé Crenshaw is joined by authors Jason Stanley and Randi Weingarten to discuss why authoritarians and fascists target education on the path to destabilizing democracy. They unpack how book bans, attacks on teachers, and efforts to erase history from public institutions threaten the democratic project, and what we can do to fight back. Hosted by Kimberlé Crenshaw, produced by Kevin Minofu, Sr. Producer Nicole Edwards, and the team at AAPF Find more on our show and the African American Policy Forum at aapf.org News clips from Tamron Hall and WJHL, CTV News Music by Blue Dot Sessions Follow the podcast on Instagram, Facebook, and Bluesky Check out our special series on the attack against CRT and DEI called United States of Amnesia: The Real Histories of Critical Race Theory

As we slide into autocracy, disparities impacting Black Americans are being ignored while Black excellence is actively erased from our workplaces, museums, and history books. These attacks are no longer cloaked with dog whistles. They're happening in plain sight, and endangering our health, eliminating our jobs, and gutting our civil rights infrastructure. Despite the scale of this attack, the response remains muted—even within our own communities. What must we do to sound the alarm and ensure that others hear it? Where do we go from here? Featuring: Kimberlé Crenshaw, African American Policy Forum Melanie Campbell, Convener of Black Women's Roundtable Evelynn Hammonds, Barbara Gutmann Rosenkrantz Professor of the History of Science and Professor of African and African American Studies Lisa Coleman, President of Adler University Kaye Wise Whitehead, President & CEO National Coalition on Black Civic Participation (NCBCP)

In part 2 of this series, host Kimberlé Crenshaw, refutes the myth that book and curricula bans seek to restore “parental choice” over what kids are exposed to, linking attacks on school lessons about race, gender and more to a broader attack against public education and democracy itself. Join as she traces the history of today's prominent, pro-censorship parent groups throughout American history, back to the Daughters of the Confederacy.  Featuring: - Karen Cox, professor of History at UNC-Charlotte - David Yacovone, lifetime associate at Harvard University’s Hutchin’s Centre for African and African American Research, and author of author of Teaching White Supremacy This is an Intersectionality Matters! podcast, produced by the African American Policy Forum. Hosted and co-written by Kimberlé Crenshaw (@sandylocks) Sr Producer and co-writer Nicole Edwards Associate Producers Madison Belo and Sana Hashmi Mixing by Reza Daya with support from Sean Dunnam Follow us on Bluesky and Instagram , or via aapf.org

A special collaboration with Today with Dr. Kaye, this episode was taped live at Busboys and Poets in Washington, D.C. Host Kimberlé Crenshaw, with Kaye Wise Whitehead and guests Time Wise, Karen Attiah, Melanie Campbell, Janel George, Ambassador Elizabeth McKune, and Barbara Arnwine, discuss the importance of protecting Black American history through fighting for the Smithsonian, and why the struggle to protect museums goes hand in hand with the struggle to protect democracy. Learn more about the Freedom to Learn Coalition and the annual National Week of Action at freedomtolearn.net This episode was produced by the team at the African American Policy Forum and the team at Today With Dr. Kaye from WEAA. Music by Blue Dot Sessions

At the Legacy Museum in Montgomery, Alabama, Kimberlé Crenshaw is joined by Bryan Stevenson, founder of the Equal Justice Initiative. They explore how museums shape national identity. They also historicize the current political attacks aiming to erase Black narratives, as institutions like the Smithsonian and Whitney Plantation face censorship and defunding because of executive orders. This episode outlines why defending America's memory is essential to defending democracy itself. Dive deeper: Learn more about The Legacy Museum here: https://legacysites.eji.org/about/museum/ Learn about the Freedom to Learn Network's National Week of Action here: https://www.freedomtolearn.net/ This episode used clips from: ABC News 7 WJLA Harvard Historian Responds to Trump’s Order Targeting the Smithsonian | Amanpour and Company WUSA9 Gov. Moore reacts to changes at Smithsonian Hosted and co-written by Kimberlé Crenshaw Sr Producer and co-writer Nicole Edwards Mixing by Sean Dunnam Scripting support from Kevin Minofu, Kristin Penner, Meredith Shiner, and Tim Wise. Music by Blue Dot Sessions

Host Kimberlé Crenshaw takes listeners to Alabama to learn about the contemporary importance of Bloody Sunday and the march from Selma to Montgomery in 1965. Featuring: Cliff Albright, co-founder, Black Voters Matter LaTosha Brown, co-founder, Black Voters Matter Janai Nelson, President and Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund (LDF) 1965 foot soldiers Denise Jaringan-Holt and Alice Moore Click here to listen an uncut conversation about the Selma Jubilee with Kimberlé Crenshaw on the Laura Flanders and Friends podcast. Podcast co-written and produced by Sr. Producer Nicole Edwards Mixing and sound design by Sean Dunnam Podcast art by Ashley Julien Music by Blue Dot Sessions Follow us at @intersectionalitymatters (Twitter), @IMKC_podcast (Instagram + Bluesky)

In this episode, host Kimberlé Crenshaw is joined by some of the country's brightest legal minds to discuss the Trump administration's executive orders, how they'll affect progressive movements, and what communities can do to defend those affected. Watch the extended version of this episode Learn more about Trump's executive orders and their potential harms Featuring: Damon Hewitt David J. Johns Russel Robinson Nina Turner Podcast mixed and produced by Sr. Producer Nicole Edwards Under the Blacklight is produced by Kevin Minofu Podcast art by Ashley Julien Music by Blue Dot Sessions Follow us at @intersectionalitymatters (Twitter), @IMKC_podcast (Instagram + Bluesky)