Stuart Mora, a longtime-organizer currently involved in the immigration justice movement, joins the show this week and helps highlight the joy of building together and resisting in community.

Our Naptown Breakdown begins with Trump’s recent cuts to the National Institutes of Health, which are projected to result in the loss of $128 million and 554 jobs in Indiana by 2026. Unfortunately, Mayor Hogsett’s proposed $1.7 billion budget will do nothing to offset these losses, with the majority of the money set aside for the cops and courts. Hogsett’s claim that  gifting more money to the cops will increase “public safety” comes just after ex-IMPD officer Myron Howard was found not guilty of raping a victim of domestic violence. After arresting the woman’s boyfriend, Howard immediately returned to the house and turned his body camera off. He’s not off the hook yet, as he has a Sept. 25 trial for raping a woman in the back of his police car in 2023. Hogsett’s budget also comes after the cops handcuffed a 13-year-old Black girl in Irvington for rough-housing with her friends.

As co-host Dani Abdullah’s wide-ranging discussion with organizer Stuart Mora demonstrates, however, there’s plenty of reasons to remain optimistic. Mora is a lead organizer of the upcoming Sept. 7 rally at Congressman Jefferson Shreve’s Greenwood Office to protest turning Camp Atterbury into Camp Atterschwitz. A leader in the immigrant rights movement, Mora helped start its latest iteration earlier this year by calling friends who shared his concerns and values. Since then, his network and others have continued to engage in a variety of actions to defend our communities that, as he reminds us, we intentionally cultivate with joy and love. Dani and Stuart show how everyone has something to bring to the movement, that it takes all of us working together, and that we can unite without uniformity.

On that note, this week’s Circle City Shout Out goes to Pastor Denell Howard of Hovey Street Church of Christ. Pastor Howard is a true community leader who shows up for our people, provides space for organizing, and leads his Congregation in the pursuit of justice for all. For years, PSL Indianapolis has had the honor of building with Howard to struggle for justice for victims of police and prison terror. 

This returns us to the necessity of alliances. Naptown People’s Radio is a product of the Indianapolis branch of the Party for Socialism and Liberation and Pastor Howard is a Republican. One’s political affiliation doesn’t matter as long as you’re willing to fight for the people. Pastor Howard is a wonderful reminder that solidarity comes in all kinds of forms. Salute to Pastor Denell Howard!

Show Notes:

Protest: Housing, not Concentration Camps! https://indyliberationcenter.org/shreve-atterbury-protest/

Indiana Undocumented Youth Alliance: https://www.facebook.com/undocuhoosier/

Live Free Indiana: https://www.instagram.com/livefreeindiana/?hl=en

Understanding and Building on George Jackson’s Legacy: https://indyliberationcenter.org/george-jackson-today/

The Origins and Future of the Republic of New Afrika: https://indyliberationcenter.org/haki-kweli-shakur-rna/

The Haitian Revolution: Lessons for Organizers Today: https://indyliberationcenter.org/cecilia-gomez-haitian-revolution/

Liberation Center Store: https://www.indyliberationcenter.org/store

To learn more, stay updated, and get plugged into the socialist struggle visit PSLIndianapolis.org. If you’re interested in joining the PSL visit PSLweb.org/join. To get involved in the movement, visit the Indianapolis Liberation Center (online at IndyLiberationCenter.org), a home we share with other progressive organizations in the city, including the Indiana Black Librarians Network, Arte Mexicano en Indiana, Cultivate Indy, the Shaka Shakur Freedom Campaign, and others!