Street Politics: Reimagining Power, Reengaging the System with Ray Lewis | Native Land Pod

This week hosts Tiffany Cross, Angela Rye, and Andrew Gillum host a special guest from the State of the People Tour.

Ray Lewis went viral after delivering a fiery speech during a Q&A session at an SOTP town hall. “The only person who can save the streets is someone who comes from it,” he said. We agree–it’s exactly voices like Ray’s that we should be paying attention to in this political moment–and that’s why we’re having him on.

Ray Lewis is a former street figure turned powerful voice for transformation and empowerment. He’s built a reputation as a fearless advocate for the hood, the communities he came from. Along with the folks at the Offenders Alumni Association, Ray uses his formidable energies to guide people—especially the youth—away from the path he once walked. We felt his energy when he spoke from the audience on the SOTP tour and had to bring him on the show. Follow @Ray_lewis2 on Instagram.

The interview with Ray leads to a larger conversation about empowerment, political engagement, and the need for lived experiences to be at the forefront of driving change. To spark a mass movement, we need to reach the disaffected and forgotten; that’s just the kind of work that Ray does every day.

Ray Lewis speaks from the SOTP tour

Learn more about the Offenders Alumni Association

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Find out more about the State of the People tour

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Thank you to the Native Land Pod team:

Angela Rye as host, executive producer, and cofounder of Reasoned Choice Media; Tiffany Cross as host and producer, Andrew Gillum as host and producer, and Gabrielle Collins as executive producer; Loren Mychael and Jabari Davis are our research producers, and Nikolas Harter is our editor and producer. Thank you to Mark Cantin and Dylan Unger of the iHeart Video team and producing engineer Abu Zafar. A special thanks as well to Chris Morrow and Lenard McKelvey, co-founders of Reasoned Choice Media.

Theme music created by Daniel Laurent.