YouTube Show: Faces & Stories of Planned Parenthood’s Summer of Defiance
Progressive organizations, partners, organizers, and activists from all corners of the country — this past summer — joined hands and hearts in resisting the president, his party, and his administration’s predatory policy ideas.
Grassroots Voter Outreach (GVO), the sister organization of Grassroots Campaigns (GCI), joined forces with Planned Parenthood and ChangeCorps to strategically identify, recruit, train, and deploy dozens of young activist “fellows” to advocate for Planned Parenthood in key cities and towns that served as the battleground for organizing against the Republican-led US Senate’s efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and deprive women of their right to access the information and care they need to live strong, healthy lives.
Grasstops — a publication of GCI — connected with some of the faces and stories of those Fellows who played a major role in what was more formally referred to as Planned Parenthood’s Summer of Defiance.
You might think the fellows were experienced veteran organizers. They weren’t. The fellows ranged from a single mother in Billings, Montana — who never participated in anything political until now — to a student at the University of Iowa studying Music, to a Mexican-American from Texas; and many others who became interested, engaged, and energized in their community and local politics after the election of Donald J. Trump.
Erin Carhart talks to Grasstops about how this unique summer program achieved its goals, changed several communities; and pressured local, state, and national decision-makers during the Summer of Defiance.
Erin also talks about how she was very proud to have this particular program serve as the culmination of her work as Youth Organizing Programs Manager at Planned Parenthood, right before beginning a new chapter of her career as National Organizing Director at NextGen America.
To learn more about Planned Parenthood’s Summer of Defiance Fellows, check out their interviews here below.
The Planned Parenthood Summer of Defiance program took place in the following cities and towns: Anchorage, Alaska, Issaquah, Washington; Des Moines, Iowa; Detroit, Michigan; Louisville,Kentucky; Union Co., New Jersey; Billings, Montana; Fort Wayne and Muncie, Indiana; and Austin,Texas.
