This Brave Nation at Brave New Films

Dr. King, Pete Seeger, & Barack Obama

2009-01-22T14:58:18Z

There was perhaps no better choice for a performer at Barack Obama's inauguration celebration last Sunday night than Pete Seeger. Not only does Seeger embody Obama's notion of breaking down political, economical, and cultural divides to fire up the masses, but both convey such powerful messages through seemingly simple means.

From Obama, we've had catchphrases like Hope, Change, Yes We Can, and Change We Can Believe In throughout his campaign. And from Seeger, we've had about seven decades of anthems like "We Shall Overcome," "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?," "If I Had a Hammer," and "This Land Is Your Land," a hearfelt rendition of which Seeger sang with Bruce Springsteen Sunday night in front of the Lincoln Memorial. These are songs everyone knows, songs of protest used by progressives over the years to end racial discrimination, labor unrest, the Cold War, the Vietnam War, apartheid, and human rights violations. Think Seeger deserves a Nobel Prize for Peace?

Like Obama, Seeger's ideological core is deeply rooted in the anti-war movement and civil rights era of the twentieth century. And so just as it was profoundly meaningful to have the first African-American President sworn in a day after Dr. King's holiday, it was also significant to watch Seeger up there the day before.

Brave Nation Young Activist Award Winner Cristina Lara

2009-01-22T14:58:18Z

Brave New Foundation hosted a reception in honor of Cristina Lara, the first winner of the Brave Nation Young Activist award. Cristina was selected out of 350 other young activists as this year's recipient and received her award at the reception. In addition, Brave New Foundation president, Robert Greenwald was featured in conversation with activist and author Tom Hayden. It was incredible to celebrate the beginning of a young activist's career while hearing words of wisdom from those who have been entrenched in social movements since the 1960s.

See the full video at bravenation.com

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Adele Siegel: A Personal Hero To Me Passes Away

2009-01-20T23:33:08Z

I met Adele Siegel when I interviewed her for a project that, regretfully, never saw the light of day. But her personal story was so inspiring to me that due to her, I came up with the seed that would one day be This Brave Nation. She passed away last week, with her family at her side. Her obituary, below, was published on the front page of the Culver City Observer and written by Mitch Chortkoff.

This Brave Nation: A Confession

2009-01-21T15:39:21Z

I have a confession to make and I hope it doesn’t change your opinion of me as a serious blogger but it has to be said; I have a wicked crush on Tom Hayden. Now, before you click away and dismiss me as some empty-headed gossip blogger – hear me out. I don’t hand crushes out freely, I have very high standards. Recipients of said crushes are typically ambitious, straightforward and fearless types who never back down from a fight. They have mastered the use of wit over fists, pen over sword, and creativity in lieu of the familiar.

With criteria like that, is it even possible that I wouldn’t have a crush on Tom Hayden? New York Times book reviewer Paul Berman called Tom Hayden “the single greatest figure of the 1960’s student movement”. But I know him as – yes my crush, and also the journalist that writes pieces that make me want to learn more about the world in which I live. The person that makes profound statements in everyday conversation, the member of the Chicago 7 that works several yards away from our office and pops in for coffee from time to time. The former state senator who faced constant protests from conservative groups, and one half of the conversation that is This Brave Nation: Tom Hayden and Naomi Klein.

Tom and Naomi talk about everything from Martin Luther King, Jr. to their upbringings to violence in Iraq to their experience at WTO 1999. I know I’ve said this before, but you really cannot miss this episode. Invite your friends over and watch it together! By the end I’m sure you’ll be confessing your crushes on Naomi and Tom to one another.

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You Can't Call Yourself a Progressive Until You've Seen Tom Hayden and Naomi Klein

2009-01-22T14:58:19Z

"Print married with film. Film and print married with the internet. Internet married with text, audio and video. Text, audio and video married with ACTION. You don't need a user's manual to get the beauty of all this integration."
- The Agitator review of This Brave Nation.

What an amazing trip this has been! After months and months of hard work, This Brave Nation wraps with its thrilling fifth episode: Tom Hayden in conversation with Naomi Klein. Hayden is, of course, the legendary activist who was a member of the Chicago 7 and who also spent 18 years in the California Legislature. Klein is the author of two best-selling books, the anti-globalization manifesto No Logo, and the recent hit, The Shock Doctrine.

Together, they cover everything from the tumult of the 1960's to protests in Seattle to what it means to be a true witness of the events around you. Spirited and lively, Hayden and Klein have one of the most compelling conversations of this series, one you won't want to miss.

Watch the full episode.

If you've missed one episode of This Brave Nation, you've missed too many! For a $15 donation to This Brave Nation, you'll receive 2 DVDs of the first five episodes. Remember that the most important part of this series is the ability to share it with everyone you know, including a local school or library! We've already started shipping DVDs of This Brave Nation, so now is the time to get yours.

And don't forget to vote in our Brave Nation Young Activist Award contest. We've narrowed the list of incredible nominees down to just five contestants for you to choose from. On July 13th, when we bring you LIVE the final episode of This Brave Nation featuring 2 very special guests, we will announce the winner of the award.

Vote today and decide who the next Tom Hayden or Naomi Klein could be.

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Pete Seeger and Majora Carter: This Brave Nation episode 4

2009-01-22T14:58:19Z

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead

The upcoming episode of This Brave Nation featuring Pete Seeger and Majora Carter epitomizes that sentiment. Pete Seeger has played an active role in every social movement in modern history, from early union battles to Civil Rights to the anti-war movement. At 89, Pete is not only a reminder of our nation's history of turbulence and triumph, he is also an inspiration for our vibrant future.

Perhaps that's what gave him an instant connection with Majora Carter. The Executive Director and Founder of Sustainable South Bronx, Majora has worked tirelessly to reshape the neighborhood of her youth by encouraging sustainability, alternative transportation, and a national green-collar job agenda. These two committed individuals are definitely taking action to change our world, and their conversation is not to be missed.

And speaking of taking action, it's time to PARTY! July 13th we will bring you LIVE the final episode of This Brave Nation, featuring 2 very special guests. How can we share this with all of you live? House parties, that's how. Sign up now to host a house party featuring the This Brave Nation episode of your choice, followed by a LIVE episode of This Brave Nation.

In the meantime, don't forget to make a donation today to This Brave Nation — 2 DVDs of the first five episodes for just $15. We're going to start shipping these DVDs tomorrow, June 23, so get 'em while they're hot!

Lastly, we've extended our contest deadline for The Brave Nation Young Activist Award to June 27. That gives you an extra week to nominate your local unsung hero!

Julia Dann worked as a community development organizer in rural Costa Rica.
At 27, Kyle Serrette became a lead organizer for AFSCME's United Nurses Associations of California.
In 1999 as a high school student, Charity Ryerson she was responsible for persuading the Indianapolis City-County Council to adopt a resolution condemning China's occupation of Tibet and the treatment of the Tibetan people.

What young activist do you know that's making the world a better place? Let us know — soon!

Who's buzzing about This Brave Nation?

Permit me a personal moment. Like you, I often wonder why I do what I do. And because I've done it for so long, I sometimes wonder whether it all was worth it. Well, make no mistake. It was and is. Especially when the reasons are so graphically and emotionally recorded on film. Let me explain. Last night I watched — online — the second episode in a remarkable series co-produced by The Nation magazine and Brave New Foundation. ...Print married with film. Film and print married with the internet. Internet married with text, audio and video. Text, audio and video married with ACTION. You don't need a user's manual to get the beauty of all this integration.
It truly is one of the best things you guys have ever done -- the discussions are amazing. Truly. And, quite frankly, a whole lot of folks need some inspiration to get up off their asses right now.
- Christy at Firedoglake (via email)

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Why is Pete Seeger One of My Heroes?

2009-01-22T14:58:19Z

James Baldwin. Kurt Vonnegut. Pete Seeger.

These are my heroes. Three men who came from radically different backgrounds and yet all helped influence and change the world through their words. I never had the opportunity to meet Baldwin. I saw Vonnegut once on a street in New York City and was too starstruck to say anything (I redeemed myself years later by writing him a letter inviting him to be on my radio show. He couldn’t do it, but he did write back!) Pete though (everyone calls him Pete), I've had the incredible honor of meeting on more than one occasion.

I first met him at his home in Beacon, NY. I was producing a radio special for Pacifica Radio Archives with Tim Robbins interviewing Pete about activism and folk music. It was extraordinary and seemed a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Never would I have imagined I would be so fortunate as to meet the man again, but when This Brave Nation was first conceived, Pete was one of the first people we agreed on having in the series.

Ava Lowery on Fear and Optimism

2009-01-22T14:58:19Z

When I was 7 years old, I wanted to be a ballerina and a chef when I grew up. I was fiercely passionate about it. I never took a single dance class and I couldn’t make anything more than a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, but these two things in my mind seemed like the ideal combination. Exquisite beauty married with amazing food. What could be better than that? I would wear gorgeous costumes and flit around on stage and everyone would clap and applaud and bring me roses. Afterward I would bring all my friends back to my large and well-decorated New York apartment and serve them all an amazing meal of …well I never really knew what, but it would be something that took lots of time and dozens of knives and mixers and came out of the oven smelling like heaven.

I don’t remember the exact circumstances of the day, or the hour or even who said it. But I do remember how I felt after behind being told that being a ballerina / chef wasn’t a reasonable expectation. "Ballet dancing is very competitive, it takes a lot of time and hard work, you can’t spend so much time with your friends, you have to have just the right body type, you can work your whole life and never be good enough. And to be a chef! You have to travel to Europe and learn from the masters and taste all the foods you want to cook and how can such a picky eater be a good chef?" And there, it was done. I resolved by 12 to be a child psychologist. (I like to believe not by coincidence.) After all…

Fear is a very powerful tool.

That’s a phrase of which teenaged activist Ava Lowery has grasped the full meaning. She recognized something disingenuous was afoot in our government and set out to be a voice of change, courage, justice and peace. While many others and I sat watching bombs exploding over Baghdad on March 20, 2003 with tears in our eyes, Ava was creating videos and speaking out against an illegal war.

This Sunday, Ava, now a 17-year-old young woman, sits down with ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero for a spirited, heartening conversation about peace, civil liberties, fear, the Bush Administration, and new media. Anthony brings wisdom and experience of his years fighting for justice with the oldest and largest civil liberties organization and Ava brings continued hope for the next generation of activism. She embodies what This Brave Nation is all about.

It’s an episode not to be missed!

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Bonnie Raitt and Dolores Huerta -- This Brave Nation episode 2

2009-01-21T15:27:38Z

We're thrilled to bring you the second installment of This Brave Nation, our new online documentary series from Brave New Foundation and The Nation. This week, we're pairing legendary blues musician and activist Bonnie Raitt with iconic union organizer Dolores Huerta: two distinctly different feminists who hail from radically different backgrounds, but who have come together here because of their devotion to progressive change.

In this conversation, Raitt and Huerta talk about their passions, regrets, fears, and most of all, their dreams for future generations.

Watch the full episode online right now.

You don't want to miss a minute of this groundbreaking series, and with a $15 donation, you won't have to! You'll receive two DVDs featuring the first five episodes of This Brave Nation. Imagine what a great gift that could make to a local school, library, or an aspiring young activist that you know.

And speaking of which, we're still searching for your unsung local heroes. We've already received hundreds of nominations for the first ever Brave Nation Young Activist Award, honoring the most inspiring young activist in the country. Be sure to nominate your aspiring activist today!

Last week's premiere of This Brave Nation featuring Carl Pope and Van Jones was a smashing success, getting wonderful reviews from people like you that we just had to share:

"If I had seen these episodes in high-school I would have gone on to college actually believing I could make a difference."
- D.L., Los Angeles

"This Brave Nation should inspire a new wave of activists and revolutionaries. Hearing directly from those who began the movements that changed history makes the idea of creating social change accessible to all
of us."
- A.S., Denver

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The Brave Nation Young Activist Award

2009-01-22T14:58:19Z

When we launched The Brave Nation Young Activist Award, I wasn’t quite sure what type of submissions we’d get. Would we get moms nominating their sons for making honor roll, teachers nominating their students for doing a great job at Model UN, Bob nominating his roommate Jordan for remembering to recycle? I have to admit, I knew there were young people out there making change, but I was skeptical. Would we hear about them? Would their friends and loved ones write to us? Would they let us know about the people that are putting themselves on the line every day?

Boy are they ever!

Consuelo Andrade is the most hard-core 18-year-old I know. Consuelo has been at the front doorstep of our school district's school board president's house (with 20 followers) demanding that she take time to meet with students to discuss the ways lesbian and gay students are discriminated in schools.

Davida Douglas works very, very hard for a pittance that would not keep a kitten alive. She runs an organic Farmers Market food stand in an inner-city downtown neighborhood where the working poor live. The inner-city "Food Desert" exists because transnational corporate agribusiness cartels who own supermarkets "red line" and refuse to build grocery stores in the inner city. As a result, there is no place to buy healthy food in the ghetto. Davida organizes all the purchasing of organic food and deals directly with the organic farmers here in the San Joaquin Central Valley of Sacramento. Without a car, she uses her bike trailer to manually deliver huge amounts of organic produce. She runs the stand single handedly by herself — with volunteers floating in and out. Davida packs up all the unsold organic food — puts it on her bike trailer and pedals over to Alkalai Flats Boys and Girls club to donate the unsold organic produce. Because of Davida's devotion, the kids get fresh organic produce on a regular basis.

Aria Everts is an inspirational leader for labor justice. As a member of SOLE (Students Organizing for Labor and Economic Equality), she is a leader in organizing students to stand in solidarity with garment workers and other low-income workers across the world. She has organized a sit-in for labor rights, screenings around Latin America solidarity, and created partnerships between campus purchasers and fair trade apparel producers.

Just prior to the beginning of the war against Iraq, when Sydney Weddleton was just 7 years old, she passionately worked to organize a children's rally and parade for peace. From the steps of the State Capitol Building, Sydney delivered her own speech about how frightened the children in Iraq must be, offering empathy as a fellow child, and leading the other rally children in songs of peace and chants, encouraging money for schools, not for war and demanding peace now.

Tyler is an 11-year-old boy who started raising money for the trafficked fishing children in Ghana Africa. He wanted to save just 1 child which would cost $240.00. To date, together with his friends and the community, he has raised over $38,000.00! Together, we have organized car washes, lemonade stands, garage sales, ice cream stands all to raise money to save these children.

Nominations are open until June 22! Nominate a local young activist at http://bravenation.com

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This Brave Nation Premieres to Overwhelming Response

2009-01-21T15:33:16Z

This Brave Nation premiered last Thursday here in Los Angeles as part of a Young Progressive Majority event. The response was beyond my wildest dreams. And then just three days later, the first episode of the series starring Van Jones and Carl Pope was given life and set free upon the world.

I get an email every time someone donates to This Brave Nation in order to receive a DVD copy of the series. My Blackberry has been vibrating steadily ever since, to the tune of well over 1000 DVDs already!

I first came up with the idea for This Brave Nation just over a year ago while carpooling to work with the Vice President of Production, Leda Maliga. The idea sprang from a desire not just to spread information — which, as a documentary producer is exactly what I do for a living — but to spread positive and inspiring information. And not only to those of us who already go to sites like bravenewfilms.org. I felt it very important to get the information, the positive information, into the hands of the next generation of activists and progressives.

I specifically remember the moment I chose the green pill over the red pill (to use a Matrix metaphor) and I made it a point to ask the remarkable collection of people who star in This Brave Nation what was their moment.

We all start out young, baby-faced, fresh. We absorb this culture around us and it shapes us and forms us. Most people actually become part of the culture that modeled them. But a few of us, deep down, have something inside that makes us care a bit more, or to use Van Jones's words, "It didn't affect every one, but I guess it affected me."

And my goal all along was to reach those of us who share that quality because I know had I been reached while still in high school, or when I first went to college, I would have found a group of people with whom I could have identified and worked to create change. Instead, I got here on my own.

But my dream is that This Brave Nation will help others get here to join me. It's really beautiful here. There might be some work needing to get done to make it even better, but we are not afraid of getting our hands dirty. The future is what we make it.

Don't forget to go to bravenation.com and nominate one of the young activists who is already making the future a better place.

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This Brave Nation online premiere!

2009-01-21T15:25:13Z

"Just take what you love doing, and do it with enough other people to make it the future."

Those are the inspired words of the Sierra Club's Executive Director Carl Pope. And it's just a snippet of his fascinating conversation with Van Jones of The Ella Baker Center and Green for All, in tonight's thrilling premiere of This Brave Nation!

Watch the full episode here.

This Brave Nation reflects months of collaborating with our partners at The Nation to bring you a 6-part dynamic dialogue among progressive activists. Each Sunday for the next five weeks, you'll see Carl Pope and Van Jones, Bonnie Raitt and Dolores Huerta, Pete Seeger and Majora Carter, Anthony Romero and Ava Lowery, and Tom Hayden and Naomi Klein. These are some of the most celebrated progressive minds in our country today, and now we want to know who your local activists are.

Nominate your local unsung hero for our This Brave Nation Award. We will fly the winning activist out to Los Angeles to be part of our series finale, which will air LIVE on July 13th featuring special guests.

Our hope is that This Brave Nation will raise the discourse about progressive issues in our country. And you can help by donating $15, for which you'll receive 2 DVDs with all 5 episodes that you can pass along to your family, friends, local schools, and libraries.

Then send this e-mail to everyone you know. The best way for us to encourage the next generation of progressive activists is by promoting awareness about our current icons. Be sure not to miss a single episode of This Brave Nation by getting them all on DVD. Think what a great gift that could make to aspiring activist leaders!

I'm a Part of This Brave Nation

2009-01-22T14:58:19Z

"...Just take what you love doing and do it with enough other people to make it the future", Carl Pope - This Brave Nation

I think I’m pretty lucky. As the associate producer of This Brave Nation, I got to watch hours of conversations between everyone from Van Jones to Tom Hayden to 17-year-old peace activist Ava Lowery. Watching the conversations between these progressive change makers inspired me in different ways. There was never a moment when I wasn’t excited about a poignant statement from Carl Pope, an insightful exchange between Majora Carter and Pete Seeger, or engaged by a flash of vulnerability on Anthony Romero’s face as he related a story from his youth.

Looking for the footage used in each of these episodes immediately drew me into one social movement after the next. Listening to Tom Hayden talk about Freedom Summer made me understand the struggle for civil rights in a way I never did before. Feminism takes on a deeper meaning when Dolores Huerta talks about organizing in the fields or when Naomi Klein talks about the experience that pulled her into activism.

What was most common among everyone we spoke to – outside of the fact that they were inspired by Martin Luther King Jr., beyond the fact that many of them had lived through the resistance to the Viet Nam war, despite the fact that they are all still part of huge social movements – is that they all began making a difference, joining movements, taking risks, making change in a big way, at a very young age.

The good news? You’re going to get to see all the best parts of these conversations in one place - BraveNation.com - every week. This Brave Nation was a series created to honor courageous activist that have made changes to create the Brave Nation that you and I inhabit and to encourage a new generation of brave activists. We hope you enjoy Carl Pope and Van Jones in this, the first episode of This Brave Nation.

Be sure to visit BraveNation.com to see future episodes and nominate a local young activist for the Brave Nation award.

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Venturing into the Unknown (and Other Acts of Courage)

2008-10-27T09:31:17Z

Nominate a young local activist at BraveNation.com

I consider myself a socially conscious person. It's the way I was raised. My family attended a pretty progressive church — as far as churches go. Every year the church made a trip to Haiti to help repair a church and a house or two. I always wanted to go, but was too young. By the time I was old enough to go, the trips had stopped. But by then, I'd discovered the Peace Corps.

I went to a high school where the school motto was "live simply so that others may simply live." We were all required to do a minimum of forty hours of community service before graduation. I did 60 in the day care at a homeless shelter because it was fun! We colored, played games, and drew pictures of enormous houses with bright green yards filled with flowers and trees.

I was always so very pleased with all my socially conscious work. I volunteered, read books to kindergarteners and 1st graders in a "bad neighborhood" that no one else would go to — so brave, never gave less than a dollar to homeless people on the street, and recycled. Big pat on the back to myself — well done! But there was something nagging at me…

Brave Nation Award - The Nominations Keep Coming

2008-10-18T03:30:02Z

Chad Knutsen, a recently nominated hero:

I'm nominating my son, Chad...who when the military recruiters came to his high school last year and tried to entice students into entering the military, he stood beside them in the hall handing out information on what awaited them, in Iraq, should they decide to join.

Do you know a young activist that is proud to be a part of This Brave Nation? Nominate them for the Brave Nation Award.

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This Brave Nation - A Nominee

2008-06-14T15:08:01Z

Kelly Daniels nominated Ben Daniels for a Brave Nation award. This is what she had to say:

Ben is a 14 year old 8th grader in Overland Park, Kansas. He has taken his artwork and made a mission to donate money made from the artwork to educate people about the importance of taking care of the earth. He donates his proceeds to many different environmental organizations and makes his artwork on recycled paper and makes 100% organic tshirts to emphasize the things we can all do to make a difference. He also designed a website with inspirational quotes about saving the earth to educate people even more. He lives in a very conservative midwest town where his friends and their parents aren't sure global warming exists, but he is determined to help them understand. He has been on television and in the newspaper and has work in 3 retail establishments and has done all this in the last 6 months. To learn more about him and his mission go to his website at www.bendanielsart.com

Who do you know in your neighborhood, community, college, high school or jr. high that has started at a young age to make a difference in this world? Nominate them for the Brave Nation Award.

The Wait Is Over. Our New Documentary.

2009-01-22T14:58:20Z

What inspires you? Who are your heroes?

Van Jones on green jobs? Pete Seeger's 70 years of activism? 17-year old Ava Lowery who has been protesting the Iraq war since the age of 14? Brave New Foundation and The Nation magazine have teamed up to produce This Brave Nation, a documentary series in 5 parts that celebrates these remarkable champions of the progressive movement. And now we want you to nominate your heroes.

Who do you know who is making a change at the local level? Take a minute to think about it. Do you know someone who speaks for those who cannot? Is there someone working to make your community a cleaner space in which to live? Are you actively working to make this world a more just place? The Brave Nation Award will recognize one of these exceptional individuals.

This Brave Nation is what happens when the premiere magazine for progressives in America teams up with the country's most revolutionary media pioneer. You will see Tom Hayden, Dolores Huerta, Carl Pope, Bonnie Raitt, and Pete Seeger in one-on-one conversations with the next generation of progressive stars like Majora Carter, Van Jones, Naomi Klein, Ava Lowery, and Anthony Romero.

This Brave Nation Heroes in the News

2008-10-20T09:29:40Z

The Sierra Club is one of the most influential environmental groups. So when the executive director of the organization – Carl Pope – talks about climate change and legislation surrounding it, others are inclined to listen. In an interview with Environmental Capital, Mr. Pope says his group wants “as close as we can get to” a 100% reduction; the leading proposal in Congress to cap greenhouse gases currently calls for closer to a 70% reduction. The plan is to wait until next year’s congress when there is likely to be more Democrats to lobby and it’ll be easier to sway than this year’s congress. Pope mentioned that because of the relatively positive environmental stance of the three presidential nominees, the Sierra Club may not endorse a presidential candidate this year - the first time since 1988.

In Modesto, CA this week, labor activist Dolores Huerta was present as 100 Girl Scouts were awarded the Dolores Huerta Interest Project patch – which bears Dolores’s image as well as her the well known coined phrase – “si se puede.” The patch curriculum is to help girls develop leadership skills and inspire them to do community service. Scouts had to learn about Huerta's life and work, as well as issues related to farmworkers, women and-or immigrants. Older scouts went through the process of what it takes to write a bill. They researched whatever topic they chose for their mock bill, learned about getting a sponsoring legislator, doing rewrites and other steps. To meet other requirements, girls conducted personal interviews with family -- typically grandparents who worked in the fields -- to gain perspective on the farmworker and immigrant experience.

See Carl Pope, Dolores Huerta and a host of other progressive activist and heroes in This Brave Nation, coming this summer.

Join us on MySpace or Facebook!

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This Brave Nation Heroes in the News

2008-04-25T15:57:43Z

The Sierra Club is one of the most influential environmental groups. So when the executive director of the organization – Carl Pope – talks about climate change and legislation surrounding it, others are inclined to listen. In an interview with Environmental Capital, Mr. Pope says his group wants “as close as we can get to” a 100% reduction; the leading proposal in Congress to cap greenhouse gases currently calls for closer to a 70% reduction. The plan is to wait until next year’s congress when there is likely to be more Democrats to lobby and it’ll be easier to sway than this year’s congress.
Pope mentioned that because of the relatively positive environmental stance of the three presidential nominees, the Sierra Club may not endorse a presidential candidate this year - the first time since 1988.

In Modesto, CA this week, labor activist Dolores Huerta was present as 100 Girl Scouts were awarded the Dolores Huerta Interest Project patch – which bears Dolores’ image as well as her the well known coined phrase – “si se puede”. The patch curriculum is to help girls develop leadership skills and inspire them to do community service. Scouts had to learn about Huerta's life and work, as well as issues related to farmworkers, women and-or immigrants. Older scouts went through the process of what it takes to write a bill. They researched whatever topic they chose for their mock bill, learned about getting a sponsoring legislator, doing rewrites and other steps. To meet other requirements, girls conducted personal interviews with family -- typically grandparents who worked in the fields -- to gain perspective on the farmworker and immigrant experience.

See Carl Pope, Dolores Huerta and a host of other progressive activist and heroes in This Brave Nation, coming this summer.

Visit youtube.com

This Brave Nation Heroes in the News

2008-04-25T15:50:17Z

The Sierra Club is one of the most influential environmental groups. So when the executive director of the organization – Carl Pope – talks about climate change and legislation surrounding it, others are inclined to listen. In an interview with Environmental Capital, Mr. Pope says his group wants “as close as we can get to” a 100% reduction; the leading proposal in Congress to cap greenhouse gases currently calls for closer to a 70% reduction. The plan is to wait until next year’s congress when there is likely to be more Democrats to lobby and it’ll be easier to sway than this year’s congress.
Pope mentioned that because of the relatively positive environmental stance of the three presidential nominees, the Sierra Club may not endorse a presidential candidate this year - the first time since 1988.

In Modesto, CA this week, labor activist Dolores Huerta was present as 100 Girl Scouts were awarded the Dolores Huerta Interest Project patch – which bears Dolores’ image as well as her the well known coined phrase – “si se puede”. The patch curriculum is to help girls develop leadership skills and inspire them to do community service. Scouts had to learn about Huerta's life and work, as well as issues related to farmworkers, women and-or immigrants. Older scouts went through the process of what it takes to write a bill. They researched whatever topic they chose for their mock bill, learned about getting a sponsoring legislator, doing rewrites and other steps. To meet other requirements, girls conducted personal interviews with family -- typically grandparents who worked in the fields -- to gain perspective on the farmworker and immigrant experience.

See Carl Pope, Dolores Huerta and a host of other progressive activist and heroes in This Brave Nation, coming this summer.

Visit myspacetv.com

Majora Carter - Part of This Brave Nation

2008-10-16T21:29:41Z

So if you haven't seen the trailer for This Brave Nation, I suggest you hightail it over to the site and check it out.

This Brave Nation Heroes are activists, advocates, sons, daughters, brothers and sisters just like me and you. What makes them a part of This Brave Nation are the acts of courage they do everyday.

Majora Carter will appear in an episode of the upcoming series opposite Pete Seeger. Carter – Executive Director of Sustainable South Bronx served as a torch bearer on April 10th in San Francisco for the Olympic Games. As Majora took the torch, she pulled out a Tibetan flag from her sleeve to condemn China's human rights abuses in the province. She was removed from the course, and relieved from her duties as Olympic torch bearer, but she certainly secured a place as pathfinder as if she hadn’t already!

When asked about her protest, Carter had this to say:

"I was expressing my right as an American citizen using freedom of speech in support of people who don't have it," Carter said. "It just became really clear to me what was going on in Tibet and I wanted to do something."

Stay tuned for more information about This Brave Nation and other heroes in the news!

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This Brave Nation Trailer

2009-01-22T14:58:20Z

Sneak peak at the new documentary series from Brave New Foundation and The Nation coming out Spring 2008.

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