| For Immediate Release November 19, 2004 |
Contact: | Milly Hawk Daniel 212-629-9570 x212 mdaniel@policylink.org |
Economic and Social Equity Experts Angela Glover
Blackwell and Manuel Pastor Discuss "Seizing Momentum of Involvement
in 2004 Elections to Build a Movement for Change" on PBS' NOW
with Bill Moyers
New York, NY:
"Issues about social justice weren't discussed in the 2004 election campaign, but the campaign enthusiastically engaged large numbers of people, many for the first time, many were people of color in low income communities," said Angela Glover Blackwell, founder and CEO of PolicyLink, a national nonprofit organization that works on economic and social equity issues. "This engagement," she continued, "can be the spark that ignites a movement for policies that can make it possible for everyone in this country to participate and prosper."
Blackwell was interviewed with Manuel Pastor, the director of the Center for Justice, Tolerance, and Community at the University of California, Santa Cruz, by NOW with Bill Moyers co-host David Brancaccio, for a program segment called "The Geography of Inequality," that looks at the ways in which where people live affects their opportunities for education, jobs, transportation, and health. Blackwell and Pastor are co-authors, with Stewart Kwoh, of Searching for the Uncommon Common Ground: New Dimensions on Race in America (W.W. Norton, 2002).
In commenting on building a movement for social justice, Pastor noted that "the changing economy is scaring a lot of people." The middle class, he said, "is recognizing the need for economic and social justice in their own lives." People believe, he continued, that "if you go to work everyday and do what you're supposed to do you won't be in poverty." But that sense of security is shifting. He noted that in Florida and Nevada, states that were carried by George Bush in the 2004 election, voters nevertheless decisively approved measures to raise their state minimum wage.
Both Blackwell and Pastor called for reframing conversations about race and equity, to talk about values of community, well-being, and fairness. Our national immigration policy debate, for example, should expand its narrow focus on changing immigration laws and shift to a broader conversation on how to provide support for new immigrants, and how to incorporate them into the community and into the coalition for building social justice.
Blackwell concluded by calling for moving beyond polarizing stereotypes and recognizing that "there is the possibility of coming together on the fundamental issues that matter for the future. We really can move towards an inclusive society. If nothing else," she said, "the 2004 election demonstrated just how much people want to be engaged. It's up to all of us to make sure that happens."
The Blackwell and Pastor interview will air on NOW with Bill Moyers beginning November 19; visit http://www.pbs.org/now/ and check local listings for program broadcast dates and stations.
PolicyLink is a national nonprofit research, communications, capacity building, and advocacy organization dedicated to advancing policies to achieve economic and social equity based on the wisdom, voice, and experience of local constituencies. PolicyLink bridges the traditional divides between communities and the world of policymakers by lifting up what works®.
The Center for Justice, Tolerance, and Community (CJTC) at UC Santa Cruz is a progressive research institute tackling issues of social justice, diversity and tolerance, and the building of collaborative relationships between the university and local community.