You are a backer!
Donate to organizations or causes.
Sign a petition about something you care about.
Collect goods for those in need (like Coral in Florida).
Share donation and petition to your network.
Host a fundraiser.
Episode-by-Episode Guide
Memphis, TN: Environmental Racism & The Right to Clean Water
Justin is a natural-born organizer. The son of a pastor and a teacher, Justin was raised to use his voice for change. In October 2020, Justin learned an oil pipeline was being built in a “sacrifice zone” – a historic all-Black neighborhood that had already been devastated by the effects of a nearby manufacturing plant.
At a public forum organized by the pipeline company, Justin gave a rousing, impromptu speech that galvanized the room. “Got moved,” he said. “That's what happened. The spirit moved me.” Justin then started Memphis Community Against the Pipeline (MCAP), recruiting white-led environmental groups to join a new Black-led movement against environmental racism. His efforts, with the support of organizations like Protect Our Aquifer and Southern Environmental Law Center, eventually succeeded in stopping the construction of the pipeline in 2021. Today, they continue fighting against environmental racism in Southwest Memphis.
Get Involved
Support campaigns for environmental justice
Explore the campaigns that Justin’s organization, Memphis Community Against Pollution (MCAP), is championing.
Learn MoreDonate
Give to organizations fighting for environmental justice
Donate to Justin’s organization, MCAP, to support a new, Black-led non-profit organization continuing the fight for environmental justice in Memphis.
Donate NowDonate to Protect our Aquifer and support the longevity of the Memphis’ sand aquifer.
Donate NowDonate to the Southern Environmental Law Center to defend and protect our basic rights to clean air, water & a livable climate.
Donate NowOrlando, FL: Felon Disenfranchisement & Voting Rights
Desmond and Neil knew they weren’t going to win Amendment Four by only appealing to the family members of returning citizens. Their landmark campaign to restore voting rights to people with felony convictions needed widespread support.
Together, they built a wide network of grassroots volunteers across political divides. On any given day, they might go to an NAACP meeting, a Unitarian church, and a MAGA rally – all for Amendment Four. Neil joked that he and Desmond had a “20 minutes and a cup of coffee rule, and you could convince anybody to support Amendment Four because the truth is, it's good for everybody”. Their strategy led to one of the largest expansions of voting rights in US history.
Get Involved
Join movements for voter equality and criminal justice reform
Sign Color Of Change’s petition demanding congress pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act to end discriminatory voting practices.
Sign the PetitionJoin Free America’s movement to reform our broken criminal justice system and invest in a future free of mass incarceration.
Learn MoreDonate
Give to organizations fighting against felon disenfranchisement and for expanded voting rights
Donate to Neil & Desmond's organization, Florida Rights Restoration Coalition to help returning citizens pay fines/fees and register to vote in Florida.
Donate NowDonate to the Alliance for Safety and Justice and support effective public safety replacements for over-incarceration.
Donate NowKansas City, MO: Minimum Wage
After feeding thousands of people a day at work, Terrence & Bridget were both struggling to feed their families at home. Their battle to make ends meet as fast food workers led them to a meeting of Stand Up KC, a workers’ rights group organizing fast food workers for higher pay and benefits.
There, at that meeting, for the first time in their lives, they felt the inspiration and collective strength to say: “we deserve more”. That fire gave them the courage to lead multi-racial strikes and protests in Kansas City, and later, across the country, as part of the Fight for $15 plus the broader union movement.
After winning a $15 minimum wage in Kansas City, only to see it blocked by the state government, Terrence and Bridget were undeterred. They helped launch a new state-wide organization called the Missouri Workers Center that organizes low-wage workers across racial and geographic dividing lines. Their stories show how even people whose jobs put them among the least respected in society can take on corporate greed and win. “I came to realize,” Terrence said, “it was only through the movement, that we get more together than we do apart. So nowadays when I go to work and I clock in, what I have that's greatly different from in the past is hope.”
Get Involved
Join the movements for pay equity
Join the Missouri Workers Center’s mailing list and follow them on social media to keep up with Terrence, Bridget, and the fight for a living wage in Missouri.
Join Mailing ListSign the petition from Fight For $15 to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour.
Sign the PetitionIf you’re an underpaid worker, join the Fight for $15 and bring it to your local community.
Sign the PetitionDonate
Give to organizations fighting for pay equity
Donate to the Missouri Workers Center, the organization helping Terrence & Bridget win state-wide against the forces of racism and greed in Missouri.
Donate NowDonate to the Poor People’s Campaign to fight against wealth inequality and for the rights of low-wage workers.
Donate NowLewiston, ME: Food Justice & Immigration
Muhidin is a tireless leader of the Somali Bantu community in Lewiston, Maine. People bring him their problems, big and small, and he helps. Farming is an essential part of Somali Bantu culture. Muhidin was therefore the obvious person to be tasked with finding farmland they could own (they were already leasing, but this was not ideal for many reasons).
He didn’t have experience buying land or the financial means to do so. Compounding the problem, he faced resistance from farmers reluctant to sell their land to Black Muslim refugees. After years of searching, Muhidin found Charlie Hilliard, a third-generation dairy farmer looking to retire who was willing to sell to the Bantu farmers. In partnership with Agrarian Trust, Muhidin set up a community land trust to keep local farming permanently affordable for hundreds of new farmers in Maine.
Get Involved
Learn more about community-held land and how we can empower farmers to be the best stewards of the land
Learn more about community land trusts with Grounded Solutions Network.
Sign the PetitionCheck out Agrarian Trust and their work to support land access for the next generation of farmers.
Find Out MoreDonate
Give to organizations building food security and communal farmlands
Donate to Muhidin’s Somali Bantu Community Association and invest in the community’s local agriculture and immigrant support projects.
Donate NowDonate to the Agrarian Trust's campaign to help Muhidin and the Somali Bantu farmers pay off their mortgage debt within the allotted 4-year timeframe.
Donate NowExplore this Reparations Map to find and donate to your local BIPOC-led farm projects.
Donate NowMinden, NV: Sundown Towns & Ordinances
In 1921, the town of Minden, Nevada, began sounding a “sundown siren” that warned Indigenous people to leave the city limits or face violent consequences. Over a hundred years later, the alarm still blares daily. Marty, a descendant of the local Washoe tribe, is a lifelong educator who drew on his experience as a teacher and union organizer to teach people about the siren’s painful history.
He likes to get creative with his organizing, crafting shirts, beaded hats, and hand-drawn posters to spread his “Stop the Siren” message. He joined forces with Matt Niswonger, a white mountain biker, and Kutoven Stevens, a Native long-distance runner, to bring national attention to the cause. His efforts have led to new energy, actions, and partners hoping to heal this century-old wound.
Get Involved
Teach and learn our full history
Use the Native-Land.ca map to discover the Indigenous roots, languages, and traditions in your area.
Learn MoreCheck the Sundown Towns Database to see the list of former Sundown Towns in your area.
Learn MoreLearn more about Matt Niswonger’s organization, Riders Against Racism, and plan for next year’s Siren Run.
Learn MoreDonate
Give to organizations and programs that support your local Indigenous communities
Donate to Wisdom of the Elders, an organization that preserves and teaches Indigenous tradition, art and history.
Donate NowDonate to Running Strong for American Indian Youth (the organization that helped fund Ku’s Remembrance Run) and support them in building the next generation of Native American leaders.
Donate NowDallas, TX & Albuquerque, NM: Reproductive Rights
Dr. Boyd hadn’t planned on becoming an abortion provider. But when the Clergy Consultations Services asked him to be their trusted doctor in 1968, he answered the call: “I said, ‘oh, that's a big ask… I'll need to think about it’”. He thought about it and then finally said, “yes, I'll do it. So that was it. My career started, and there was no turning back”. Thousands of women all across the country were referred to Dr. Boyd. Before the landmark Roe v. Wade decision in 1973, Dr. Boyd and his staff had laid a pathway to safe care from Dallas, Texas, to Albuquerque, New Mexico—transporting women from a state that was hostile toward abortion seekers to a state with more lenient abortion laws. Six decades later, Dr. Boyd’s organization, Southwestern Women's Options, has been forced to repave this path, as it continues to provide compassionate health care for people seeking abortions.
Get Involved
Join the movement for reproductive rights
Learn more about Dr. Boyd’s clinic, Southwestern Women's Options.
Learn MoreSign Color Of Change’s petition to restore Roe v Wade and restore abortion access.
Sign the PetitionSign Color Of Change’s petition to #DefundAbortionBans.
Sign the PetitionDonate
Give to organizations fighting for reproductive rights
To support the women in Texas traveling to New Mexico for safe abortions, donate directly to the New Mexico Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice.
Donate NowFind & support your local abortion fund.
Donate NowDonate to the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, a national, interfaith movement to advance reproductive rights.
Donate NowManhattan Beach, CA: Land Reparations
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Janice and Holly show us the importance of having a strong “inside game” of allied people with power in government. When L.A. County Supervisor Janice Hahn learned the tragic history of Bruce’s Beach, she set out to intervene, despite resistance from her neighbors and friends.
She found a partner in Holly Mitchell, who joined her in co-authoring legislation to return Bruce’s Beach. Mitchell, who is only the second Black woman to serve on the L.A. County Board of Supervisors, knew how to maneuver inside the state capitol and offer grace and knowledge to those newer to the racial justice movement. Supervisors Hahn and Mitchell used their combined platform and political power to uplift the work of local activists, like Kavon Ward, and successfully win the first case of land reparations for a Black family in this country.
Get Involved
Learn more about reclaiming the sea and the land with organizations spearheaded by Black communities
West Coast-based people of color looking to join a community of surfers can sign up for lessons with Color the Water.
Learn MoreLearn more about Black land theft.
Learn MoreLearn more about Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation, a framework to help communities unearth their hidden racial histories, right historical wrongs, and heal together.
Learn MoreDonate
Give to organizations fighting to reclaim what has been lost or taken from Black Americans
Donate to Color the Water, the LA-based surf collective offering resources and a supportive community for surfers of color.
Donate NowExplore this Reparations Map to find and donate to your local BIPOC-led farm projects.
Explore MapStart the Conversation
Use this comprehensive discussion guide to facilitate dialogue with your friends, students, or podcast club members.
Download Discussion GuideTake Action in
Your Community
Activism (or organizing) is sharing, giving, joining, and standing with others in a movement toward a collective goal. There is no right way to organize, and the stories in this podcast provide a glimpse of the many ways individuals are tapping into their passions, skills, and superpowers to advance a cause.
The individuals in the series started their journey to change with a single action – seeking out knowledge, attending an event, or giving to those in need.
Are you ready to join them?
Discover Your Activist Style
Find the best way for you to join, support or lead movements
What do you have the capability for? Where do your skills shine most?
You are a backer!
You are a teacher!
Vote.
Learn about the local history.
Learn about your rights (like Miss Scottie Fitzgerald in Memphis).
Spread the truth digitally or IRL (like Marty Meeden in Minden).
Host events to spread awareness (like Kavon Ward in Manhattan Beach).
You are a campaigner!
Learn more about your elected officials.
Find & support local campaigns.
Write & call to local/national officials (like Janice Hahn & Holly Mitchell in Manhattan Beach).
Attend town hall meetings and speak out about issues (like Justin Pearson in Memphis).
Plug into the campaign of local officials campaigning for issues you care about.
You are a rebel!
Attend a meeting, protest or strike.
Stand up to toxic or unjust behavior in your workplace
(like Terrence Wise & Bridget Hughes in Kansas City).
Organize or lead a protest or strike (like Matt Niswonger - but remember to get input from those affected, especially if you aren’t directly affected).
Reorient your professional life around a cause you're passionate about (like Dr. Curtis Boyd or Becca the Abortion Doula in Dallas and New Mexico).
You are a unifier!
Talk to your neighbor (it can be a surprisingly political act!).
Phone-bank or door knock for a campaign you care about.
Volunteer to comfort activists and those undertaking risks (ex. Rev Forbes & Kanter or Becca the Aboriton Doula in Dallas and New Mexico).
Connect existing movements to resources and solutions (like Ian McSweeney of Agrarian Trust, in Maine)
Learn how to participate in grassroots organizing that crosses divides
(through resources like Deep Canvass Institute).
Lead a (grassroots) movement, meeting with people and finding common ground
(like Desmond Meade & Neil Volz in Florida and Muhidin Libah in Maine).
Stay Connected
Connect with changemakers and keep the conversation going with #TheSumofUsPod
Get Involved with Color Of Change
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The nation’s largest online racial justice organization.
We help people respond effectively to injustice in the world around us. As a national online force driven by seven million members, we move decision-makers in corporations and government to create a more human and less hostile world for Black people in America.
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The OrganizeFor platform allows you to access the tools and resources that you need to lead change campaigns in your community on the issues that matter most to you. Campaigns must revolve around issues impacting Black people and strive to strengthen Black political power.
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Tell your Story
Record a video with our storytelling platform to spread awareness on an issue and be a part of the conversation.
Use Your Voice
"Every victory in The Sum of Us was sparked by an ordinary person making a connection. I hope this guide helps inspired listeners learn more, connect, and change their communities for the better."
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