RESISTANCE Companion Podcast Stewis Media

Following two days of protests and mass demonstrations in Washington DC for the inauguration of the 45th President, I attended a  summit called "Inaugurate the Resistance" which was hosted by the Progressive Independent Party.  The summit brought together leaders and representatives from a wide range of organisations on the left for panel discussions and working groups, all aimed at how they could bring the various movements that were uniting on the streets into a coalition that could start making some demands in national politics.
There was one speaker on the direct action panel that caught my attention right away. He was talking about the historical record of radical movements and revolutions in the last 100 years and that it only takes 3.5% of the population, who are  dedicated and organized around  policies with popular support, to overturn the status quo. I had never heard this before and immediately introduced myself to Kevin Zeese and his partner Dr. Margaret Flowers. 
 
To be honest, I didn’t know of Kevin and Margaret or their organization Popular Resistance, before I attended these summits that week in January. So they weren’t on my radar as far as potential interviews to schedule, but after talking with them that day I knew that I had to get them on camera. They are two very inspirational figures because they don’t just talk revolution, they live it. They have a collective experience that links our current resistance to the movements of Occupy, Anti-Globalization and even to civil rights and the anti-war movement of the 1960s and have worked on campaigns for Ralph Nader and Jill Stein, while organising sit ins and mass civil disobedience actions to agitate for the three pillars that they see as uniting the movements of the left. They are economic, racial and environmental justice. Justice being the important word there. They have been fighting for a fairer world for all of us for many years and this insight is obvious when you listen to the extended interview I was fortunate enough to have with both of them at the studios of We Act Radio in Washington a few days after the summit. When you watch the series, their contribution to the project was invaluable and I am eternally grateful to them being gracious enough to give me so much time. 
 
We are releasing this episode with some sadness in our hearts too.  In September the revolutionary Kevin Zeese passed away at his home in Baltimore, leaving behind a legacy of fighting for the fairness, integrity and human rights until the very end. We’d like to dedicate this episode to Kevin and hope that his words will reach more future and current revolutionaries so that his and Margaret’s example can help grow our ranks for the fights to come. 
 
We encourage everyone listening and watching this project to go to www.popularresistance.com where you will find tons of information on the different movements working within the Resistance and how you can get involved. There you will also find a new fund that has been set up in honor of Kevin’s legacy; the Kevin Zeese Emerging Activist Fund. From the website:
 
"The Kevin Zeese Emerging Activists Fund will provide a small grant to one or more activists or a small grassroots organization each year that is in line with the life work and philosophy of Kevin Zeese. The emphasis for grantees will be on people or frontline grassroots organizations working for economic, racial or environmental justice or peace.”
 
If you can contribute please do so.
This will be the last episode of the Resistance Companion Podcast.

In January of 2017 we went to Washington D.C. to film the protests that were planned for the inauguration of the 45th President and used the moment as an opportunity to interview various leaders, activists and protesters in the movement to revolutionize American politics.
Resistance is a 4-part webseries from Stewis Media:
https://vimeo.com/channels/resistanceseries
As with all documentaries, the interviews have to be cut up and rearranged in order to tell the story, but sometimes the context and conversation that happens in an interview can be equally as impactful and so we wanted to give you the audience the chance to hear the interviews to help broaden your knowledge of the issues, positions, organizations and people featured in the web series.

I attended a summit called "Inaugurate the Resistance" which was hosted by the Progressive Independent Party. It was held at a night club called the Kabin Lounge in Washington D.C. on January 22nd, 2017. The summit featured panel discussions and a chance to meet various representatives of progressive organizations with the hope of those relationships eventually turning into a unified coalition ready for real electoral fights.
I had spent the last month trading emails and phone calls with the media liaisons at the Green Party to try and secure an interview with Dr. Stein before I flew out to Washington, but I never got confirmation. I knew she was going to speak at the event on the panel discussing electoral strategy, so I took the opportunity to speak to her and she agreed to sit down with us for the project. In 2016, both corporate candidates were historically disliked by the voters, which elevated third parties for a minute and ended up giving Dr. Stein a national platform. I thought her experience in 2016 could provide some insight into how the system keeps opposition voices on the fringe and away from the cameras.
Resistance is a 4-part webseries from Stewis Media:https://vimeo.com/channels/resistanceseries
 

On January 18th, 2017 I met up with a young activist and organizer named Moumita Ahmed. Moumita is from Queens, but was in DC for the week to attend trainings on de-escalation and of course participate in the demonstrations against Trump. We met at a workspace her group, "Millenials for Revolution" were using for the week in the Change To Win offices. Where we discussed her experineces being a young Bernie delegate at the state and national conventions and also being a child of immigrants, navigating the new racist waters that the Trump era had ushered in.
Moumita's interview provides a look at the millenial experince in national politics and how the struggle for progressive policies and values is now inherently tied to the aspirations of a whole generation struggling to find a future in declining empire.
Resistance is a 4-part webseries from Stewis Media:
https://vimeo.com/channels/resistanceseries

On January 22nd, 2017 I attended a summit called "Inaugurate the Resistance" which was hosted by the Progressive Independent Party. It was held at a night club called the Kabin Lounge in Washington D.C. by Dupont Circle. It was a surreal event following a crazy couple of days in D.C.
I met Brian Jones at the summit where he was representing the Justice Party. I found his insights to be really interesting and he could arrticulate the frustration of the moment so well so I asked him to do an interview for the project. 
Resistance is a 4-part webseries from Stewis Media:
https://vimeo.com/channels/resistanceseries
 

On the afternoon of January 19th, 2017, I went to the Washington D.C. offices of Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) where I met with their National Director Maria Svart. This was just a day before the mass demonstrations and riots that would characterize the Inauguration of the 45th President of the United States.
DSA is one of the oldest and one of the few nationally organized socialists organizations so I had to get Maria's opinion on Bernie, the 2016 election and how the revolution continues. As usual there was lots of talk about millenialls and young voters, but more about the need to get out there and proudly serve to community as a socialist.
Resistance is a 4-part web series from Stewis Media:
https://vimeo.com/channels/resistanceseries