Bree Newsome is a writer, artist, and activist who drew national attention in 2015 when she climbed the flagpole in front of the South Carolina Capitol building and removed a confederate battle flag that was originally raised in 1961 as a racist statement of opposition to the Civil Rights Movement and lunch counter sit-ins occurring at the time. The massacre of nine black parishioners by a white supremacist at Emanuel AME Zion Church in Charleston reignited controversy over South Carolina’s continued endorsement of a hate symbol. Newsome’s act of defiance against the culture of white supremacy has been memorialized in photographs, artwork and film and has become a symbol of resistance and the empowerment of women.

You can keep up with Bree and her work on Twitter and Facebook.

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Episode Questions:

• What was your first protest? What were your trying to disrupt with your words or actions? What was the outcome?

• How are you engaged in protest(s) during this season of your life? What are you wanting to see change by your participation in these things? What are the ways in which these protests actively work for change?

• What are your beliefs around voting and Democratic processes? Is this the same or different from what you used to believe?

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A special thank you to our Collaborators on Patreon:

Jessica Becker Pierce, Caleb Maloney-Steiner, Shaun Wissmann, Lathania Butler, Jim Albarano, Danielle Pimentel, Sam & Nicole Galambos, Martha Fischer, Phillip Hargrove, Lauren Fleming, Tanner Hearne, The Brilliance, Lauren Henry, Amy Campbell-Blair, Sharon Kim, Aaron J. Albano, Tera Gorman, Johanna Tropiano, Dave Uriarte, Stephanie Whitty, Bonni Funk, Nick Richtsmeier, Anne Shaneen, Allison Chang, Janet Elsbach, Michaela Doelman, Scott Unger, Delaine Thomas, Beth DeWet, Mike McHargue, Jason DeMeo, The DeWilde Muthiahs, Samantha Ham, Marissa Oritz, Anne Tomkinson, Gretchen Humphries 

Music by Andre Henry: How Long, People of the World, It Doesn’t Have To Be This Way