America@250

In this second interview with Joey Williams (see below for more about him) we explore more tangible ideas about what might make America Great. There are a number of things Joey talks about that we could have learned, and should have learned, and still CAN learn, from indigenous peoples. These are things that, had we learned them, would have helped to make us great. Things which, if we do learn them, still can help to make us America Great. +Listen for a different way to differ when we face political divides. +More egalitarian relationships between mean and women. +A different relationship to the earth and natural resources. +What we can learn about being indigenous, respecting the things that are unique in each peoples' histories and cultures and DNA, but also how those of us who can no longer trace our indigenous roots can still apply what it means to be truly indigenous as human beings. To learn more about the work Joey does, check out the Coalition of California State Tribes. More about Joey Williams: My guest for Episodes 2 and 3 is Joey Williams. Mr Williams is a member of the Nuwa (Kawaiisu) people from the Kern Valley Indian Community. He is President of the Coalition of California State Tribes and Vice Chair of the Kern Valley Indian Community. Joey began organizing over 17 years ago as a youth pastor, working to dismantle the school-to-jail-and-prison pipeline in Bakersfield. He has been a product of the foster care, jail, and probation systems since age 7, and went on to earn his AA at Santa Barbara City College, and his BA and MA at Cal State Bakersfield (History, Sociology, and Political Science). Joey has committed his life to bringing people of color, young people, and disenfranchised communities off the sidelines and into the fight for good jobs, quality education, and the end of mass incarceration and police brutality. Joey served as the Co-Vice Chair of the LA County Cares First Community Investment Advisory Board (CFCI, Measure J) in 2021–22, representing the Native American community. The board is allocating $100 million from the LA County Sheriff's Department and investing it back into the communities it has harmed. Joey is formerly the Director of Organizing at the CA Native Vote Project and a former Senior Program Manager at The California Endowment (Native Power Building)..He is committed to dismantling white supremacy and building Native power, sovereignty, self-determination, and collective liberation.

The America @ 250 Podcast is devoted to enabling us to see and feel America through the eyes and hearts of others, and as a result take concrete steps to make America truly great. That seems like a fitting question during the year in which America turns 250. I am Kevin Caldwell, and in order to pursue the purpose of this project, throughout the podcast I will be inviting a very diverse set of guests to share how they experience America, and how they would answer “what would make America Great?” In this Episode, I sit down with Joey Williams to try to see and feel the experience of America through his eyes and heart as a a descendant of the original inhabitants Mr Williams is a member of the Nuwa (Kawaiisu) people from the Kern Valley Indian Community. He is President of the Coalition of California State Tribes and Vice Chair of the Kern Valley Indian Community. Joey began organizing over 17 years ago as a youth pastor, working to dismantle the school-to-jail-and-prison pipeline in Bakersfield. He has been a product of the foster care, jail, and probation systems since age 7, and went on to earn his AA at Santa Barbara City College, and his BA and MA at Cal State Bakersfield (History, Sociology, and Political Science). Joey has committed his life to bringing people of color, young people, and disenfranchised communities off the sidelines and into the fight for good jobs, quality education, and the end of mass incarceration and police brutality. Joey served as the Co-Vice Chair of the LA County Cares First Community Investment Advisory Board (CFCI, Measure J) in 2021–22, representing the Native American community. The board is allocating $100 million from the LA County Sheriff's Department and investing it back into the communities it has harmed. Joey is formerly the Director of Organizing at the CA Native Vote Project and a former Senior Program Manager at The California Endowment (Native Power Building)..He is committed to dismantling white supremacy and building Native power, sovereignty, self-determination, and collective liberation.

Welcome to the America @ 250 Podcast, devoted to enabling us to see and feel America through the eyes and hearts of others, and as a result take concrete steps to make America truly great. That seems like a fitting question during the year in which America turns 250. I am Kevin Caldwell, and in order to pursue the purpose of this project, throughout the podcast I will be inviting a very diverse set of guests to share how they experience America, and how they would answer “what would make America Great?” In this first Episode however, it is just me! I will give some background about how this got started and an overview of what to expect...and why.