Change Makers

This week, Shelley and Skye talk with Marty Peercy, a journalist who covers city and county government. Marty also runs the OKC-SPAN Twitter account, where he is most often live tweeting meetings related to the same. We cover a lot of ground in this one, from activist origin story, to the biases against people experiencing homelessness, NIMBY's, changing mindsets, protesting, and so much more.

Marty impresses upon us the responsibility of calling in your family and friends. Skye and Shelley also give updates on our care for self and talk about the action we'd love to encourage this week. Let's work collectively on environmental issues and combating anti-Asian hate that's once again running rampant.

Following a brief and completely unplanned hiatus, Shelley and Skye are back with more about the action and care we've been taking, along with an impactful conversation with Adriana Laws. Adriana is an AfroIndigenous activist, progressive leader, business owner, and (in her own words) a professional shit starter. She has led or taken part in actions for Justice for Julius Jones, protests against police violence, and traveled to Tulsa to protest Trump's ill-advised rally there in 2020, among others. 

Adriana shares with us about her jump into the deep end start to activism, how she answers people who ask about her courage, and why activism is more about love than it is anger. And we got the full pot of tea about "The Picture" with the Oklahoma Governor. 

In this episode of the Compassionate Activism podcast, Skye and Shelley sit down with Nicole McAfee, Executive Director of Freedom Oklahoma, to talk about political activism, accountability, addressing harm, maintaining hope, and finding ways to both protect and fill your cups. 

Nicole has been on top of legislative issues for several years and has an innate ability to provide clear and actionable information for anyone interested in engaging in politics, regardless of experience. They truly are one of our favorite people in the world and we can't wait for you to hear this conversation.

In this episode, we invite you to listen to how volunteering with non-profits can actually be activism. Whether non-profits in general or in the more specific context of our conversation about assisting with various aspects of welcoming refugees from Afghanistan. Natasha Saya of CAIR Oklahoma talks with us to shed light on the work it takes to welcome 1,000 people from a conflict-torn country halfway around the world, as well as how we, as established community members, can show up and support them, too.

Shelley and Skye also talk about their highs and lows of last week, wonder aloud about utilizing de-escalation in conflict that normally triggers violence, and what their plans for action are in the coming weeks.

The first full episode of the Compassionate Activism podcast is a conversation we've been looking forward to since she said she'd be on the show. Hannah Royce is a fixture in Oklahoma City politics and advocacy, particularly for LGBTQIA2S+ folks and social justice issues. Hannah talks with us about organizing, messaging, and the community aspect of activism. Plus, Shelley and Skye fill you in on how they're caring for themselves this week and a special discussion about the 10 year anniversary of the murder of Trayvon Martin.