The Activist’s Approach to Governance with Rep. Pramila Jayapal

The congresswoman from Seattle speaks about the importance of grassroots activism and how to make it effective.

Rep. Pramila Jayapal embodies change. As a progressive lawmaker, the Democratic congresswoman from Seattle is someone whose job is to press for political change. But she also represents a sea change in the world of activism. 

Jayapal's life as a change-maker began around the turn of the millenium, when activists were largely set apart from the government, applying pressure from the outside. But over the course of two decades, her philosophy of change changed. 

Now she is at the forefront of a new approach to activism for the left, in which the pressure is applied from inside the halls of government, and often by women of color. 

For the latest episode of the Crosscut Talks podcast, Jayapal discusses her journey from organizer to lawmaker and shares some of the thinking required to turn a desire for societal change into actual change.

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Credits

Host: Mark Baumgarten

Event producers: Jake Newman, Andrea O'Meara

Engineers: Chi Lee, Resti Bagcal, Viktoria Ralph