Bridging Cultural Disconnects as a Progressive Candidate of Color
Session Type(s): Panel
Starts: Saturday, Oct. 9 1:00 PM (Eastern)
Ends: Saturday, Oct. 9 2:00 PM (Eastern)
Candidates and newly elected officials will discuss challenges they face in advancing a progressive agenda in their respective communities. How do they handle name-calling (like Socialist) and other fear-mongering tactics moderates use to influence public opinion? Panelists will also cover strategies for building multiracial coalitions, educating the public, and organizing moderate colleagues and community stakeholders.
Moderator
Brittny Baxter
Brittny Baxter is the Training and Movement Building Coordinator for Democracy Initiative. She is responsible for the Democracy Champions training program and Bayard Rustin Democracy Fellowship Program for POC and LGBTQ folks that will be the next generation of movement leaders. Brittny has organized in various capacities over the past decade. Most recently, she was a Regional/Trainer in Broward County for the coordinated efforts to elect Andrew Gillum and the Winning Ticket. Prior to the 2018 midterm elections, she managed a statewide program in partnership with Re: Power (formerly Wellstone Action) to provide training for progressive Democrats, their campaign managers and grassroots organizers to run and win effective campaigns. She is also a trainer for the National Democratic Training Committee.
Brittny hails from the rustbelt city of Buffalo NY, where she cut her teeth on local and state legislative races. She is the former Upstate Legislative Organizer for New York Working Families, where she fought to mobilize and unite labor, EJ, racial justice and community groups across the state on various bills. She has worked on several issue campaigns, from environmental justice and safe staffing to the Fight for $15 and reproductive rights.
A strong supporter of labor and a former AFT organizer for NYSUT, she is committed to the fight for equity for all. “I stand with the poor, people of color, LGBTQ folks, immigrants and organized labor, because our liberation is bound together.”
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Panelists
Kristerfer Burnett
Kristerfer Burnett, a lifelong Baltimorean, lives in Southwest Baltimore where he and his wife, Vanessa, are third-generation homeowners. He represents the 8th City Council District and represents over 40,000 amazing people across 27 of Baltimore’s most diverse neighborhoods.
Kristerfer was elected to serve on the Baltimore City Council in 2016, and in his first term in office he was appointed to serve as the Chair of both City Council’s Health Committee and the Legislative Investigations Committee, as well as, the Vice-Chair of the Equity & Structure, Public Safety and Executive Appointments Committees. Additionally, he served as a member of the Housing and Urban Affairs Committee and Education and Youth Committee.
He currently serves on the Ways and Means Committee, Public Safety and Government Operations Committee, Rules and Legislative Oversight Committee and the Environmental Control Board.
Jaslin Kaur
Jaslin Kaur is an Organizer at Know Your IX where she leads federal civil rights trainings for student survivors of gender-based violence. She also co-organizes with the New York Taxi Workers Alliance (NYTWA) campaign for taxi medallion debt relief. She is in service of the multiracial working class, having worked from political education with Sadie Nash Leadership Project to immigrant justice and reproductive justice with the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum.
Recently, Jaslin ran for New York City Council, campaigning on transportation access, affordable housing, and relief for gig workers, amassing supporting from Senator Bernie Sanders and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Jaslin holds a B.A. in Women & Gender Studies and Human Rights from CUNY Hunter College and an A.A. from Nassau Community College. In her free time, she enjoys martial arts, yoga, and Formula 1 racing.
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