The chat on the lights in your watching. The common with clovis tempora suspended in personal events but to keep you informed during this pandemic we were going full sd ahead with a full slate of live online programs. Most of these conversations are currently free to the public so we ask that you consider donating to the club to help us continue our work. Please visit us at commonwealthclub. Org online tool and more and you can also text the word donate to 415 3294231 drink this program. You can find this information in the description box below. Now please join in welcoming shaun king and jane kim. Welcome to todays Virtual Program with inforum and the come with club. My name is jane kim. I serve as supervisor here in the city of San Francisco and most recently as the california and National Regional political director for bernie 2020 2020si got to work very close with shawn campaigning for senator sanders. And really pleased be here today. So excited. What an incredible feat. Congratulation abiding your first book. Thank you. Honestly that are not too many things that scare me more than writing a book. And so i would love to talk about make change how to fight injustice, dismantle systemic oppression, and own our future. Shaun is going to share with us a little bit about his journey in the book, and as mentioned if you have a question please put it in the chat and it will show up and we will reserve time at the end of that discussion. But wanted to start with your book right here. Folks can order it on the link that commonwealth has put up but we also encourage you to go and buy at an independent bookstore in your neighborhood come here in the bakery we have in oakland we encourage you to go there and buy the book and to support people of color and blackowned businesses. Sean, i just want to talk you about what the process was like to write this book. I can imagine anything more difficult than telling your own story. Well, jane, im glad to be here with you. Im so bummed. We had originally planned doing this as a live event all the way back in may and my book was going to come out in april and i love the bay area and i think about moving after all the time. Just such good energy. We would be so excited. I love the bay and some of my closest friends are there, and i was so looking forward to making the trip. In fact, my whole family, my wife, we have five kids. We have all taken off of work and were going to take off of school and were going to do that tour together. We had 30 different venues around the country. I worked for almost a year writing the book, and for me i always have my hands in so many different campaigns and actions and were always fighting for justice for so many people there it was really just about having the daily discipline of doing the research that i did for the book. And then just writing daily everyday for months on end. Ill never look at a book on a shelf the same again because it was like a year of hard work, and it took almost as long to really edit and perfect the book as it did to write it. Its a labor of love. Its not an autobiography, like i hope one day to be able to write a book that is just about my story, but its really about my philosophy of change. Its a manifesto on how you can use your life to make change. Jane, the book is really an answer to a question that i got all of the country. I traveled on 2014 when the black lives Matter Movement began in july before the bend in the come i traveled to 47 different states. Of course all over california, but as far north as alaska, as far west as hawaii and i traveled to the deep south, in the mississippi delta all over south carolina, have you where you could all but three states. Everywhere i would go i would get one question in my book is really an answer to that question, people would ask me all political persuasions, all ages, they would want to know, sean, im frustrated about injustice. Im frustrated about Police Brutality how to actually use my life to change that thing . Everywhere a good deal, i were speaking, if i was walking on the streets, even as recently as today i get direct messages and emails of some version of that question, and theres a gap there of people like really, really aware of whats wrong with the world, but not really clear on what exactly to do about it. And in the book on trying to close that gap to show you, here are some things you could do to use your life to make change. And you and i know this, it never just happens. You have to craft it. You have to hold it, youre to build it comes yet to make it. Im trying to unpack what that actually means in the book. I thought you would articulate that well in reading that question to , the answer to that question with your story. In talking to young people who know that this is the pathway they want to pursue. Im also constantly asked a question of how do i do it . I want to make a change. How do i do it . When i was a youth organizer, the biggest lesson i learned, because you know how this young people, like like a going to rh that young person, either because theyre too cool for school or maybe because they are super quiet, super shy, right . One of the most beautiful parts of organizing work was discovering that theres always like every young person for every person wants to make a difference. Every person wants to make a positive contribution to the community. Its all about providing the tools maybe or shedding light on a pathway of how to get there. School doesnt necessarily teach you that. I have as much education as most people. Im trying to do the math in my mind. I went to school for almost 20 years, and in all of the education there was never a place where people really unpacked heres how you change the world. I even say why that is in the book here in a lot of ways because most of our institutions were not built to change the world. Most of her institutions were built to maintain it. They were built to protect it. Most of our come even our favorite institutions, even our religious institutions and other organizations and even some of her Favorite Charities and even the nations leading political parties, they were not necessarily build for change. Although times they were built to protect the way things are. When you try to say i dont really like the way things are and what to you change it to lk like this, the whole system in some ways kind of conspired against you been able to do that. For years i did the things that i thought would work to make change. I tell a lot of these stories come really a fan of us organizing, demonstrating, protesting and all those things im glad we did. We were not wrong to do them. But what i learned it was a painful lesson, after years of organizing, protesting, demonstrating, grading hashtags come trending topics, what i learned is that this country in particular more than most countries in the world is fully willing to be aware of our worst problems, the Police Brutality and mass incarceration, or could be limited change. It could be wealth and income disparities. It could be our health care crisis, now nearly 50 Million People in this country dont have health insurance. Some estimates have the number muchhyped if you count children. Our country is fully well to say i see the problem, even im sorry for the problem, but then did nothing about it. Theres just this awareness but often people in power want to substitute awareness for action. Im afraid im seeing that right now even beloved political figures, the nations leading corporations and brands saying listen, black lives matter to us. And then you asked them how to black lives matter . Show us the policies that youre fighting for or even if its corporations returned to say hey, if black lives matter to you, show us your board. Show us your senior staff. Thats right. So we are starting to say like hey, thank you for your awareness, but what were asking and more. Where asking for change and theres this big gap, hoping to get people some clear steps on how they can fill the gap in their own lives. That was one of the i hear people approach black lives matter spirit when you just focus on reforming the police, which honestly is like the end of the road, right . There so missteps before that consuming institutions that we need to reform, how we employ people, who we invest in, how our schools are run, who we elect. The Police Almost became a scapegoat for so many folks as witches reform the police then we would go to mecca in terms of the postracist country that we all want to live in. That brings me to question about one member of her audience asked, which is to both of us what he said young people who are discouraged by the nominees of both major parties being old white men . And how do you think young people, right, the rest of the question is, how do you think young people can engage with and demand to have a seat at the table . As we talk about that before. I mean, i have five children and my oldest are 18 and 20. People are surprised when i say that because they dont think im old enough to write twentyyear old, but i was almost the kid when i started having kids, and so i had been a father literally for my entire adult life. My oldest two daughters who are both college students, 18 and 20, are severely disappointed at the political nominees for president obviously never wouldve supported donald trump, but theres real pain and disappointment because joe biden was literally on every poll by every measure the last preference of every major candidate for young people. They literally preferred about nine of the people over him, and so they are learning the hard lesson very quickly that me and you and every person who is ever voted for him who voted before learned a long time ago is, its actually rare that you get to vote for somebody that you are crazy about. Its way more rare that i wish, and when you do get to vote for somebody that looks like you or comes from your community or better yet, actually shares your political philosophy, you have to cherish that moment. You have to fight for that moment. Because for most im 40. For most of my adult life i actually had never been enthusiastic about the people i had to vote for for senate, for congress, for president. And young people were voting for the first time are learning that a lot of times you have to be i dont know if the word is pragmatic, but there is disappointment in the availability of candidates. And politics, there have been some candidates including bernie who have ignited the imaginations of young people, of dreaming about what could be. And when you have a candidate who seems to not have an imagination, who is not so hopeful about what things, how things could happen, its disappointing but you cant check out of our democracy. Theres so many other down ballot candidates to be excited about. Yes. The truth is, there is a difference. For years i i used come in previous president ial elections i used the words like lesser of two evils. I dont even quite think i dont think donald trump and joe biden are comparable in their politics or even in their character. And so its difficult, you know, but it is a part of american democracy. Jane, we were really close. Obviously bernie won california and we all, you and me and so many thousands of volunteers and staffers worked our hearts out and i chose bernie as a guy for me. Hes able to pivot after disappointing loss and he gave more to his race to anybody from his own life from his own time and hes able to pivot, i owe it to him to pivot as well and not get stuck in my frustration. Yeah, by the way i want to acknowledge that that question came from lynn on youtube. I have to say i never thought i would run for office. I was reading your story that youre an activist with mega phone. I was the activist in college. Yeah, right. I was never excited about anyone i was voting for and only as an organizer where i got involved at the neighborhood and Community Level where i started going to local school board and local City Council Meeting that actually the most important thing that our elected representatives do is they determine how to spend our dollars. Oh, yeah. We should have a seat at the table. We have a 10 billiondollar budget. When my board isnt wealthy individual, we should be voting on downballot races because they are determining how to spend our money back into the community. Yeah. That budget, how much we pay teachers, Police Officers, neighborhoods we invest them in, that budget is a document that reflects values and priorities and its not just dollar signs. Im encouraging folks to think about down ballot. If youre not excited about joe biden and kamala, thats the second question. Start organizing for local races because theres a lot happening in your community and i think grass roots law, what youre trying to do and activating folks in a variety of cities, we know the Police Departments, its not the federal government or even the governor, they are actually run by cities. Thats right. And so i would love to hear about grassroots and then come back to the book. Yeah, you know, first you said something about a minutes ago about the goals and objectives even of the black lives Matter Movement that policing is just a fraction of what we are fighting for and it reminded me of, jane, when i first moved ive lived in california on two different occasions, Southern California twice for almost 5 years and when i fist moved to california, we moved to irvine. Here is how we ended up in i irvine, we googled safest cities in Southern California. Irvine was listed as safest city in america and when i had moved to irvine. I had been there for 3 weeks and never saw a police car, not parked on the road, not driving on the road. I was there for almost 8 weeks before i saw the first police car, mind you this is in americas safest city and i literally asked a friend of mine. I saw a police car parked in grocery store. I asked my friend, is there a Department Department in irvine and he took me and showed me the Police Department, he showed me the jail tucked behind somewhere. Here is irvine, the safest city in america. They want to define safety for particular communities. It was the safest city in america because everybody had not only a job but wellpaying job. Everybody was covered with health insurance. Irvine was 99 ensured. They had hospitals that were as beautiful as shopping malls. There were parks on every corn corner. All of the schools were well resourced. Irvine was safe because it was different metrics, it was built to be safe. They were built and fashioned and funded and supported in a way that safety was a part of the fabric of the town. It wasnt because there werent drugs in irvine, my daughter started ninth and she was alarmed, kids all over the school were not only talking about drugs but they were giving drugs to each other, selling drugs to each other and when kids got caught to school their parents sent them to treatment. They were treated as if they had Substance Abuse problems. It was a function of their privilege that instead of being arrested over and over again, kids in her school were given outpatient treatment. Sometimes not even suspended from school and all of a sudden, you realize, no, this place was designed to do safe, from the way they do their math, from the way they factor in different. So its very different and in the black lives Matter Movement you mentioned budgets. Thats what defund the police is about. When we are talking about defunding the police, just to translate to those who may be watching now or who might watch it later, when we say defund the police, what we are saying we just want to look at the polices budget, we want to see . Cities like los angeles where policing is now over 50 of the citys general fund to tune of billions of dollars in some cities, so we are saying, i think its a Smart Evolution of the black lives Matter Movement to say you know what, if black lives matter, let me see how it matters in your budget. Let me see black lives matter on the line items that you mention, jane. And its important for us to understand as dr. King said that budgets are moral documents. They do, they show intention. If you love children, show me in your budget how you love children. Yeah. Whatever it is that you say you love i was a christian pastor for many years, jane, and in the bible theres a scripture that says where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. In other words, your money shows where your heart is and what we are saying is, a budget shows your priorities. And right now in america budgets show that cities value mass incarceration. They value policing at all costs and you and i talked earlier, when you actually ask the people what do you prefer, thats not really what people want to be the highest priority. They do want to be safe, but their safety all around the World Without millions and millions of Police Officers, so theres a real path to doing it and yeah. In the grassroots law project, what we are trying to do is organize people just as you said on the city level because as much as the president ial campaign and election matters and it does matter, 95 of all people who are arrested are arrested for their local Police Department because of local laws and policies, their process through the local District Attorneys Office and the truth is, even when we had president obama in office, there was very little that he did that trickled down to local Police Departments and so we are when organizing on policing, thats a local fight and we are doing it in the bay. There are cases that we are taking on in the bay and cases that we are working on all around the country. Wewe are work with the family of Breonna Taylor, george floyd, ahmad arberry. Sean who was shot and killed amidst protests for george floyd. Sean was 20 years old, the very last text he sent his sister was a petition to sign for george floyd and police not only did they shoot and kill sean, but they have now lied about it. The District Attorney has rescued herself and was saying, listen, there still has to be justice and i wish the case could be t