Shadow Politics, June 14, 2020
Shadow Politics with Senator Michael Brown and Maria Sanchez
Guest, Aly Conyers
Headlined Show, Shadow Politics June 14, 2020
Our guest is Student Activist /Teen Protestor, Ms. Aly Conyers. The images of teenagers being roughed up by police officers at protests across America evokes memories of the Children’s Crusade in 1963, when more than a thousand black students skipped class for a civil rights march in Birmingham, Alabama. Images of police aiming fire hoses on them has been seared into our collective memories. Today, thousands of teenagers are on the front lines of protests demanding justice for the murder of George Floyd, other victims of police brutality and the #BlackLivesMatter movement. We're very interested in having a discussion with young protesters like Aly, and asking where do we go from here? Call in to the show with your comments and questions to be part of the conversation on SHADOW POLITICS this Sunday.
Guest, Aly Conyers
Aly Conyers is a 17-year-old student who attends a private high school in South Carolina. A three time all-American sprinter, Aly was supposed to spend this summer competing at track and field events. Instead, she is leading student protests to the White House and Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. monument.
Aly grew up surrounded by officers in uniform. Her father was in the Army, and her family has lived on military bases in Toronto, Seoul and Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. She has been raised with deep respect for the military, but also with an understanding of racial injustice in the world.
Her father encouraged her to read James Baldwin and Malcolm X from a young age. She vividly remembers her first protest: She was about 11, on vacation in Chicago, when her family decided to join a Black Lives Matter march. And now, Aly is leading marches in Washington, DC.
Aly created a group with her older brother Ace Conyers and a friend called Faces of the Future, hoping to get other teenagers more involved beyond the protests in DC.
Shadow Politics
Shadow Politics is a grass roots talk show giving a voice to the voiceless. For more than 200 years the people of the Nation's Capital have ironically been excluded from the national political conversation. With no voting member of either house of Congress, Washingtonians have lacked the representation they need to be equal and to have their voices heard. Shadow Politics will provide a platform for them, as well as the millions of others nationwide who feel politically disenfranchised and disconnected, to be included in a national dialog.
We need to start a new conversation in America, one that is more inclusive and diverse and one that will lead our great nation forward to meet the challenges of the 21st century. At Shadow Politics, we hope to get this conversation started by bringing Americans together to talk about issues important to them. We look forward to having you be part of the discussion so call in and join the conversation. America is calling and we're listening… Shadow Politics is about America hearing what you have to say. It's your chance to talk to an elected official who has spent more than 30 years in Washington politics. We believe that if we start a dialog and others add their voices we will create a chorus. Even if those other politicians in Washington don't hear you — Senator Brown will. He's on a mission to listen to what America has to say and use it to start a productive dialog to make our democracy stronger and more inclusive. If we are all part of the solution we can solve any problem.