Welcome to Louisiana Lefty, a podcast about politics and community in Louisiana, where we make the case that the health of the state requires a strong progressive movement fueled by the critical work of organizing on the ground. Our goal is to democratize information, demystify party politics, and empower you to join the mission, because victory for Louisiana requires you.
I'm your host Lynda Woolard. We're on winter break for January and we'll return in February for our third season. On our last Action Lefty mini-pod, I drew your attention to our website, LouisianaLefty.Rocks, and specifically recommended a selection from the Watch List on our Recommended Resources page. As we hit the first anniversary of the January 6th Capital Riot, The Brainwashing of My Dad, with its American right wing history lesson component, was a fitting documentary.
This week, as voting rights legislation hangs in the balance, I'd like to recommend another film that I believe is essential viewing, All In: The Fight for Democracy. This doc was released in 2020, and is framed by Stacey Abrams' first run for governor of Georgia. It examines the issue of voter suppression in America, interweaving current voting hurdles with historical insights that explain how we got here. It will make very clear why President Joe Biden's recent speech on voting rights was on point, and why references to Jefferson Davis, George Wallace, and Bull Connor are perfectly apt.
Students of Louisiana history know all too well that the roots of the modern conservative movement were in opposition to desegregation, and particularly in our state, were openly stated to be in favor of white supremacy. Jim Crow laws kept America from being a true democracy until just about 50 to 60 years ago, because such a large percentage of the population was excluded from voting. Through the years, the more rights we've given to more citizens, the more conservative backlash there's been. And here we are again.
So this is a good moment to watch All In: The Fight for Democracy. I'll post a link in the episode notes, and you can always find it on our Watch List.
By now we've started to land upon some recurring themes in our podcast, and increasing numbers of people message me every day to ask what they can do to help us pass voter protections. Voting Rights is the defining civil rights issue of our time. But it's also the key to preserving our very democracy. Nothing else matters if the people do not have a voice in who serves in our government. This has global implications. Yet to bring things back to our local space, there can be no progressive movement in Louisiana if we lose our democracy. We'll spend some time addressing this issue in our upcoming season, as well as look at where I believe we have the best hope of making progress in our state right now. We'll also attempt to share more actionable items to help our followers better engage. As always, the stories we tell will be through our guests who are out here doing the work every day.
Thanks for listening, and as always, thanks to producer Ben Collinsworth, designer Jen Pack, and Louisiana Lefty theme song band Thousand $ Car.
