Patricia Lassiter, DPG Director of Party Affairs, Civil & Gay Rights Activist

The North GA Blue: Getting into Good Trouble podcast covers democratic politics in North GA, the 9th Congressional District, and across the state of Georgia. The podcast is in Q&A/Interview format with various democratic politicos including county chairs, democratic operatives, politicians, and more. It is our mission to deliver crucial information to our listeners in a timely manner as we fight for community values and principles in the 3rd most Conservative district in the state. Our website is: https://www.fcdpga.com/podcasts

Our guests highlight democratic activities and actions to work toward a Blue Georgia. The 9th Congressional District spans 20 counties across the region and covers a good deal of northern GA including Blue Ridge, Morganton, Fannin, Union, Banks, Athens/Clarke, Dawson, Elbert, Forsyth, Franklin, Gilmer, Habersham, Hall, Hart, Jackson, Lumpkin, Madison, Pickens, Rabun, Stephens, Towns, and White counties. 

Our democratic party podcast also disseminates information and interviews powerful Democrats across the state of GA working to overthrow the suppression tactics of the GOP and ensure democracy and our values, grassroots efforts, and goals remain intact. 

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Transcript

Meral Clarke: 0:18

Hello and welcome back to the North Georgia Blue Podcast produced and distributed by the Fannin County Democratic Party. I'm your host Meral Clarke and we're getting into some good trouble today with our guest Patricia Lassiter, director of the Democratic Party of Georgia's or DPG's County Party Affairs Committee and longtime LGBTQ plus civil rights activist. Welcome to the show, Patricia. We're happy to have

Patricia Lassiter: 0:46

I'm so so happy to be here. Hello, Fannin you here. County Democrats and it's so nice to just talk to Democrats from all over Georgia.

Meral Clarke: 0:56

Well, we're thrilled to have you with us. Thank you. So let's let our listeners know a little bit more about you. Patricia was also the organizing director for the DP GS legislative Victory Fund in the past. She is the former executive director of the Gainesville, Florida women's health center and work to include sexual orientation to the legally protected classes in the region. Patricia was the field director for Kathy Willards 2017 Atlanta mayoral campaign and in 2018, after a successful cycle of rural organizing in South Georgia, served as the Deputy Field Director of the DP GS coordinated campaign to elect Stacey Abrams for Governor Patricia is also the current vice chair of the DP GS LGBTQ plus caucus and serves on the board of directors for Georgia equality, the state's premier advocacy organization providing geographic diversity to our state's ongoing journey toward full civil rights for all. Well, Patricia, I don't know if you're doing enough. That's the question here because you are a very busy lady. So let's dive right in. At the time of this recording, although the episode will be airing in June, we're coming up on the May primary, let's talk about voter protection, and the recent Republican surge in purges of voter rolls, can you share more about that?

Patricia Lassiter: 2:27

The GOP or whatever you want to call them, I have other things to call them. But all of this is in response to our success. We're victims of our own success. And the reason why we're successful as Democrats is because the Democratic Party of Georgia realized that we had a voter suppression problem. And we are the very first state Democratic Party to get a full time Voter Protection Department. And if support it was because we needed it. So we were successful in 2018. We were successful in 2020. And the Republicans are like, wait a minute, we cannot win if we don't cheat. And so they've passed a whole bunch of bills to make it easier for them to purge voters, to intimidate voters to make voters votes count less because of gerrymandering. And so we are fighting tooth and nail to identify what's going on, but also not to discourage turnout, because we have to have turnout, turnout and more turnout while we're taking them to court while we're shaming them. But you know, let their shameless but while we're doing everything that we can to make sure that people are not afraid to come to the polls because of something that they have seen or heard. And people know that every vote that they cast counts, and that there is not a single vote time out there when they should not be vote. And so that's an everyday thing. I'd lay my head on my pillow at night thinking about voting. And I wake up thinking about how we can make sure people in not just the metro areas but people in Fannin County people in Muskogee County where I live people in Grady County Down south, we have to make sure every single person is able to either get to the polls or vote by mail.

Meral Clarke: 4:05

So what is the DPG actively doing at this moment to ensure that voters are protected and that our civil rights to vote are also protected?

Patricia Lassiter: 4:20

We've had voter hotline for years now. It used to be 24 hours and now we're putting it back. It's like nine to seven, Monday through Friday, and we're doing it on weekends as well. But we have a slate of lawyers, of course, but what we're doing is making sure that we are talking to voters. There are a lot of different groups that are doing a lot of suing and all that and I'm very grateful for them. But the DPG is all about making sure that voters are able to do exactly what they are called to do which is about so we are canvassing we are calling we are doing whatever it takes and we learned during the pandemic that there are different things that work texting is one thing calling is one thing we still must canvass we're doing it as safely as possible. As we are Democrats, but we are making sure that we don't leave any voters behind. It's tedious work. But it's work that we all were meant to do. And I like doing it. I'm director of party affairs right now. But I'm a person who has been in the field and organizing for a really, really long time, not just in the areas, but in small places in Georgia, where we have pockets and pockets and pockets of Democrats that for the longest time, we couldn't reach. And now that people are pouring money into Georgia, because they know that we're winners, because I've told them that we're using that money to speak to voters, and we're not sitting on it, we're making sure that everyone is empowered.

Meral Clarke: 5:38

Well, that's fantastic. And that segues into my next question about the closure, the closure of polling places and places to vote in rural communities, which we all know is part of the nefarious Republican plan to keep as many Democrats from voting as possible. How do you think that's going to affect turnout for the primary? And how do you believe it's going to affect turnout in November as well?

Patricia Lassiter: 6:07

Well, the primary it's very, very important. But we're also doing a lot of analyze we are currently behind when it comes to Democratic votes cast versus Republican and nonpartisan at this point, part of it is because of voter suppression, part of it is because our governor's candidate does not have a primary have done it. But we're trying to understand where we are behind and why. And so we're not only encouraging people to vote, but we're finding out why they feel like they cannot vote, why they feel like their votes don't count. And even though I work for the DPG, I am a big member of the Skokie county Democrats and I am a poll watcher in my spare time, but I go to the polls, and there is such a bigger surge of Republicans that are at the polls, pretty much harassing the poll workers. When I was there, they were Republicans walking behind their desks and looking at their computers and taking numbers and asking questions and just generally harassing. And so we're writing all this down. And we're gonna have to come after that, because they are doing whatever it takes to make people uncomfortable, to make people feel unwelcome at the polls. And if there's any place in the country where you need to be welcome. It's the voting polls, we have to make sure that people feel free to come there. So we're identifying the problems when they come up. We're recording them and we're going after the people that are causing them.

Meral Clarke: 7:27

Well, I'm very glad to hear that because we know that far right Republicans especially are bullies, and they will try to bully people into being afraid to exercise their civil rights. So thank you for that. I did want to mention absentee ballots as well. I have a democratic friend and I was shocked when she shared this with me and she actually showed me her screenshot with the Georgia Secretary of State's office. She had voted by absentee ballot for the past several years. And even though her ballot was accepted by her local county office, when it was set to the Republican run Secretary of State's office in Georgia, they did not count the ballot. And as we know, they're not required to tell voters that those ballots are not counted. So she just learned that her ballot was not counted over the past several elections. She's justifiably and understandably angry about this. What are your thoughts on absentee ballot voting? And should we even make the effort to vote by absentee ballot when these actions are happening behind the scenes with the Republican led State Secretary of State's office? What are your thoughts on that?

Patricia Lassiter: 8:49

She's not alone. Unfortunately, I'm glad she found out and will act accordingly. But in the past, our first recommendation was vote by mail, because we were weary of what was going on physically. And especially during the pandemic. This time, we recommend that everyone who possibly can do in person early vote, vote right now, before election day, but do in person early vote not everyone can do it. But we are not pushing absentee voting as the first method anymore. And it should be because we know that it works. We know that it's so freeing for a certain segment of our population. I even love doing it. And I'm a person that likes going to the polls. So last several times. I've used the dropbox but this time I was the very first person who at 7am and I went voted early. It's going to end up in a lawsuit but lawsuits are one thing but losing a vote any time. Even one time in your life is 100%. Too many. We've talked earlier about me being older than people think that I am but I was one of those people in 2000. I lived in Florida and even though I'm from Georgia, and I was purged from my voter rolls in the 2000 election where we know that Gore won Florida and I had voted there all the time. The person behind the poll worker said we see you we know that you vote hear all the time, you're just not here. And I was purged, I was one of those. And I've never lost that feeling for two years. Every time I went and voted, I would cry. Because just thinking about that is scarring. And it's unAmerican, it's unnatural. It's everything that you think it is. And that's one of the reasons why I cannot sleep until we make sure everyone is able to vote, it will vote easily and vinje. If something happens, I use the word avenged, and I made it, because these are our rights, and we must fight for them.

Meral Clarke: 10:31

I completely agree and feel free to rail Republicans on the show. Because I do it all the time as the host, it's infuriating. It really is. And I'm infuriated right now knowing this information and knowing that she's not alone, and that this happens to so many people. And if you don't go to your My voter page at the Georgia Secretary of State's office and look at your past activity, you're not going to know that your vote wasn't counted. They don't tell you.

Patricia Lassiter: 11:09

Absolutely. And we need to talk we need to talk to each other. Because one of the things that was hard, but I was the organizing director for the legislative Victory Fund, and we were helping people to vote. People don't want to feel not smart at the polls, and that people will often say I must have done something wrong, because my vote didn't count. And it's absolutely not true. And so the things that we're hearing are great, but we are probably not hearing from a lot of people because they think that they did something wrong. And that is just unacceptable. So I normalized talking about this normalize telling my story at first and they didn't tell me I was second guessing myself. It's like I voted all my life. But Ooh, maybe I did something wrong. I did not. I absolutely did not. And so that out, turn into rage. And oh, well, here we are. But I will rage until we get this right.

Meral Clarke: 11:57

I'm glad and right there with you with being enraged. Because there is no excuse for this, there really is not. And the fact that there is so transparent in their efforts, they don't even try to hide it, it's blatantly clear that this is what they're doing. They're violating our rights. So at the time of this recording, of course, it's before the May 24 primary, but your episode will air in June. So I would urge all of our listeners to if they have not already voted in May to please make sure that they show up in November in full force to vote. So I also wanted to talk about the recent Supreme Court leak. And I would be remiss if I didn't ask you about this. And I do want you to talk about your background in Florida working at the women's health clinic as well. Let's talk about the Supreme Court potentially overturning 50 years of supposedly settled law with Roe v. Wade, what are your thoughts? And what can we do to ensure our civil and human rights are protected moving forward?

Patricia Lassiter: 13:02

My cynicism knows no bounds, people that said that they had to surprise them because it was leaked, we knew that this was coming, we knew that this was coming down, there are certain things that we're going to have to do in my opinion, it's like, get rid of the filibuster so that we can take care of this, but we knew that it was coming in, this is our chance right now, to take care of it correctly. Not only are we going to make sure that we regain what we've lost in reproductive freedom, but we are also going to speak to these anti CRT things going on with these anti LGBTQ things going on. We have to do it all at the same time, and not one at a time. Because if we do it one at a time, we have to come back and fix it again. So if they're taking away my reproductive rights today, and I only talk about that, they'll be taking away my marriage equality tomorrow, you know, and then there'll be saying that I cannot talk about my enslaved ancestors the next day. And so I want to make sure that we as Democrats that we as people come into this with their eyes wide open, ready to fight, because no one's giving us anything. And they're tooken away from us right in front of us. And so we fight back at the polls, but we also fight back in the court of public opinion, we tell our stories, once again, people are acting as if we should be thankful because we've been granted our rights. These are inborn, we shouldn't thank anyone for having equal rights, we must demand it and nothing more, but nothing less. And so we have to come out swinging harder than we have ever come out before and swing on behalf of everybody and it actually feels good.

Meral Clarke: 14:36

It does. It feels good to fight back. But how are we going to get this done considering the conservative makeup and you know, Justice Roberts has perhaps lost control of his own court, just my own opinion. But how are we going to get this done? Because again, at the time of this recording, the Senate has failed to codify Roe v Wade into law because of the filibuster, and there's no indication that Biden even wants to overturn the filibuster or end the filibuster, which is the only way to get this through. So how are we going to get this done?

Patricia Lassiter: 15:18

Once again, we're gonna just going to have to replace people, we're gonna have to vote in board Democrats, and we know where they are. And then the ones that aren't doing what they're supposed to be doing have to either be voted out, which is good, but also nullified. And maybe it sounds easy, but it's a really hard thing to do. But that's the best we can do. I'm a realist, and I sit with what's in front of me, if they're not going to do it this way, I'm going to go in another way and get it done. And we're just going to fight and fight and fight. But that's why it's so important to make sure that we get people in that will do what we say, or we get rid of them.

Meral Clarke: 15:53

Most definitely. And it's tough to do in a red state like ours, but if we don't vote Democrats in and it does end up being, you know, a state decision state by state as to whether or not abortion is legal after 50 years, which I'm just flabbergasted by that. But at any rate, if it's not, then if we don't have Democrats across statewide offices, starting with Madam governor, Stacey Abrams, and all the way down the ballot, I want to mention, that includes the Secretary of State's office that includes the Attorney General's office that includes every office across the state, then women, or people who identify as women or mothers are going to have their civil and human rights stripped away, and our children and our grandchildren are not even going to enjoy the rights that their mothers and grandmothers have enjoyed up to this point. It's completely insane. So I agree with you. And that's number one, if Democrats don't show up to the polls, and I want to speak in no uncertain terms here, if we don't show up at the polls, then we're in trouble moving forward, because it's going to be very difficult to fight this at the federal level. If the filibuster does not get overturned, do you agree?

Patricia Lassiter: 17:15

I absolutely agree. And we have to think about more than ourselves. I mean, if we don't care enough about ourselves, think about the people that are coming behind us think about the people that we need to honor that came before us. And we must do this on such a large level. And once again, not just do it for people that could become pregnant, we have to make sure that all of our rights are addressed and are protected. And not only should we be voting, we shouldn't be running for office, we have so many good people out there that feel like they don't belong in leadership. And that's one of the reasons that I'm the director of party affairs. I want to make sure that all Georgians, not just ones from large metro areas recognize the power that they have as Democrats and how much this state needs them. We need people that are making laws from Fannin County, we need people that are making laws from the counties that no one ever hears about. They're the hardest working Democrats ever. It's kind of easy to be a Democrat in Atlanta, not so easy in other places. And so we need to make sure that we are clearing the path for these people. And so voting people in also means voting people out that are finished doing their jobs or are not doing their jobs anymore. And so we have to make sure that we have leadership opportunities for all of these great Democrats in this state. We have a lot of them that we have just never heard from. I love going into small counties and seeing the bad behind people just coming at us. And that's what keeps me going.

Meral Clarke: 18:43

Right. And I want to also add that it's not just the statewide offices that are important. It's the local and regional offices as well, because all politics are local. Correct. So everyone, everyone needs to stand up. It does take money to run takes money just to qualify to run.

Patricia Lassiter: 19:03

So. Let me tell you a quick story. I live in Muskogee County, which is right over the Chattahoochee River from Alabama, you can actually zipline into Alabama. And yes, I have Ken zipline back, I'll just tell you, they don't have one, we have to like drive back or walk back. But I have a friend who lives there. And he's like, we're hopelessly read down there after what they did to Doug Jones. And they have K IV, whatever name is as its governor, and he said, I want to put my money to something good. So he asked us if we could sponsor a couple of Democrats running for state office in Georgia. That's where he wanted to put his money. And I have Alabamians that come over and volunteer for us all the time. And it's not that they're hopelessly lost, but they know that the value of sometimes their time can help us a little bit more. And I've gone over there and help them as well, but it's a family affair. We have to be able to make sure that we are looking out for not just ourselves but for everyone else. So that's a great story. But it's an absolutely true story. And it probably happens more than we think it does, because people care so much about making sure that our people are represented.

Meral Clarke: 20:12

So what you're telling me is there are funding resources available for individuals on the local level, you may be thinking about running.

Patricia Lassiter: 20:19

Absolutely, absolutely. And we need to have funding resources and training resources as well. I've recently joined at the Board of EMERGE Georgia, helping women and training women to become elected officials, we have certain things that happen with us that don't happen with men. And so I'm really, really excited to make sure that we can find these areas, fund them, also, and get people out there that want to do public service and put them in and give them the best chance of winning, because those are the people that are going to take the reins from us.

Meral Clarke: 20:55

That's fantastic. I'm so happy to hear that because I think a lot of folks don't understand or realize that those resources are available, including training. So thank you for that. Let's dig down to your brand new 10 day job right now. Right? You've been in the job for 10 to 15 days. Correct. Working with the great and magnificent Sarah Todd, at the Democratic Party of Georgia. We love her. I'll tell you what, she's fabulous. So can you tell us more about the DPGS county committees, how they work and what your role is within that larger capacity.

Patricia Lassiter: 21:37

You know, Georgia has 159 counties. So we're trying to get 159 County committees, we're about 130. Thanks to Sarah Todd, we were less than 100 when she came in, but every single county committee has its own flavor, because every single community in Georgia has its own flavor. So we do not need a centralized group of people from any place coming and addressing Georgia in a uniform way. The county committees are beautiful, because they're full of people that are ready to lead and they're ready to volunteer, but they're also ready to lead anyone on these county committees that we have. It's like, I not only want you to volunteer with us and talk to us and vote, we want you to run for office in every single part of Georgia. And so in the past, when there were not a lot of especially financial resources toward the Democratic Party of Georgia, we could not reach our people. We could not reach the voters, we could not reach our county committees now that Georgia is the end thing and people are throwing money at us. We want to use it in the way that is most judicious and so I want to put it back into our county committees, we can only do so many commercials, our statewide candidates, our gubernatorial candidates, our federal candidates, we love them, but we want to make sure that we are funding a training in Grady County, we are going down to Seminole County, and we are seeing the people that are working so so hard in these rural areas. They're so smart. They're so cool. And so I want to give them the exact same opportunities that someone in Fulton County, or Gwinnett County, or Muskogee County has. And so I love this. And so one of the best thing that I can do is show up. And I think I might be the first person that's the director of party affairs, but it's actually part of her own county committee. I'm part of Muskogee County Democrats, I worked hard to get there. And I function with them every single day. And so I hope to understand what the hardships are for people and make them better. But the biggest part of my job is actually listening. And I learned something new every day from the people. I mean, it's never tiring. And I just love it. I don't know, I think Georgia has the cutest Democrats. But we also have the smartest Democrats. We're big, we're bold, we're beautiful. And we're ready to test take over. And so that's what I hope to accomplish in this job. And I hope to do it very, very well. And I hope to leave in a good space so that whenever I leave and go somewhere else, someone else just steps in from anywhere else in Georgia and does an even better job than me. I used to say back in the day, I got hit by a bus I'm gonna leave it so that next person could come in later Abrams is like that say that to say if you got elevated to another good position, don't say hit by a bus. It's like, oh, how positive?

Meral Clarke: 24:16

And how do you feel about calling Stacey Abrams, Madam governor? Because I can't wait.

Patricia Lassiter: 24:24

I'm practicing right now. Why wait, it's like, Hey, I'm gonna say it and see she turns around. I'm gonna speak it into existence.

Meral Clarke: 24:32

Manifest it into reality. And again, I want to urge our listeners to vote from the top down on the ballot, not stop with the gubernatorial race but to vote for attorney general vote for insurance commissioner vote for State School Superintendent all the way down the ballot because it's so important and until Democrats are leading in statewide positions, these things are not going to change.

Patricia Lassiter: 25:02

Well, especially in your local school board elections, vote and run, because they're the ones that are right now banning books, they don't want to talk about slavery in school. They're saying the whole dense a gay thing in Florida, it's moving up here, we have to make sure that we are giving our students have a fighting chance. And so the thing is, is that sometimes if you feel like you cannot trust the people that are on the school board, you need to run against them. I want our people to be empowered to run. And I want them to feel supported by us. And I want us to be the people that help them win. Because nobody knows better than Democrats, how important it is to empower our kids to be full human beings.

Meral Clarke: 25:48

And we have to fight against the lies because the lies are full effect with Republicans, it seems like they lie as easily as they say their names. Let's face it, critical race theory is not taught in elementary school. It's not even taught in high school. It's a postgraduate course level topic. So by bringing up CRT is the boogey man. Unfortunately, their base doesn't seem to understand that this is not happening at that level, but it does tie teachers hands.

Patricia Lassiter: 26:24

Yeah, if you have to think about everything that you're going to say that's just a little term, you're exactly right about that. This brings me back to just optics and how people feel about things. Speaking about the Supreme Court in the last couple of months, we just thought a new Supreme Court Justice was not in yet. But I don't know if all people understand who watched those hearings, how triggering that is to people who looked a certain way. It was awful. And I had flashbacks of the hill Thomas hearings, but being able to treat and brutalize and I'll just say black women on national TV and joyfully, the way they did is something that we must fight against. And it was the ugliest thing. And it was just so awful. And I think that not enough is being talked about, because the thing is she endured, of course, but does she have to know no one should have to go through that. And we need to fight back really, really hard about that, because that was scarring behavior, and they're trying to normalize it, we cannot say that just because we survived that behavior, it means that it can go on, we must fight back against that. And I just cannot say that enough.

Meral Clarke: 27:42

And it doesn't end with black women, black women, Asian women, Asian men, any minority out there is fair game for Republicans, and they seem to be gleeful about it, and so does their base. And this embrace of far right? Trump is in politics in our country is horrifying, is utterly horrifying at this moment, and you have touched on this earlier, it's not just the right to abortion, or I would say no one is pro abortion, but pro choice, our pro choice options of being able to choose when we want to become mothers, it doesn't stop there, you know, they're going to come after same sex marriage. Next, you know it, you know, that's on the docket, what happens to all the same sex couples that are married, or their marriages suddenly annulled?, what happens to their families, what happens at that point?

Patricia Lassiter: 28:40

It should never get there. And they're also gonna come after contraception. First, they're not thinking about that, just like when they came after the Affordable Care Act, we want to abolish they had nothing and what is going to cause is chaos and civil unrest. And that's how they function. And so they're not thinking about that. I don't think it's going to happen, because there will be violence. It'll be another civil rights struggle, but I don't even want to entertain them taking away that right. And then us having to worry about whether or not we're married again, it's not going to get there. And it may not be pretty not getting there, but it will not get there like that right now, that's a warning that you don't know, as an LGBTQ citizen, it's not going to be pretty. And I'm certainly not talking about violence or anything like that. But we have to make sure that we are doing as Democrats, and I'll just say, as Democrats I mean, we could say, you know, as free thinking people, but Republican Party has seen it that you're like we don't want to do that anymore. And so we actively have to outvote the Republican Party, put them in their place. Make sure that we keep them there. And as I said, it's going to be a struggle, but we have to embrace it. We have to embrace it. And know that every single day if we're not fighting for our rights, is the last day

Meral Clarke: 30:00

I completely agree and will be standing shoulder to shoulder right next to you because we have to do everything we can to protect everyone's civil rights, not just a subset of people. So finally, let's talk about pride month since we're commemorating Pride Month, and you are a queer black woman within the LGBTQ plus movement, what does it mean to you personally, and feel free to share your story with us, and why we should all celebrate Pride as a movement, and as a culture?

Patricia Lassiter: 30:38

Yeah, the whole Pride Month thing, it's just kind of like Black History Month, or a pie is just like, all year long every day and all that and we live in Georgia, like June, really, it's way way too hot. I understand the significance with Stonewall and everything, you know, I was around when it needed, Ryan was around, and I boycotted orange juice as a child, because I knew that I had to stand up for people's rights that couldn't stand up, I wasn't even out yet, or anything like that. And so growing up, it's just civil rights. It really, really is. And so if people that don't look like me are not free, then I'm not free. That is just so part of my being. So even before I came out, I was a big LGBTQ advocate. And then I came out when I was like 12, and it's just freeing to be able to be protective, and to have that bubble to make it comfortable, and welcoming for people to come out. And once again, in our movement is not perfect, we have to address the same things that all movements address, which are sexism, and racism, and every other kind of ism, but we have to do it correctly. So the LGBTQ movement, like every other movement is moving toward embracing everybody, we have allies that may not be technically members of our movement, that are just as important. And so I feel queerer than thou, I love being myself. And so I want to make it safe for others to do the same. And so we're creating safe space everywhere, and demanding safe space. And people that don't want to do it can go over there and be Republican. That's all I'm gonna say. And we're not taking anything less than that. You know, it's not about tolerance. It's about embracing people where they are, and making sure that they can be the very best person that they can be at the time, and that we're able to move forward together. I just find it free. And we're pretty colorful. And once again, we're cute. I don't know, just people in our movement. Absolutely. We are we are. And so the movement has changed in leaps and bounds. And I want to make sure that our trans siblings are present and accounted for they've always been there. But like other movements, they may not have been elevated to where they should be, and our people of color. We're in a good space right now. But we need to be in a fighting space. And we've always fought for our rights. And I think some people thought now that we've gotten marriage equality we can stop now is never and even if all LGBTQ citizens had every right in the world, we would still be obligated to fight for people that don't have rights, even if they're not LGBTQ. And that's what keeps us closer together. You know, I love Pride Month, but every day is pride day for me. You know, I look in the mirror. It's like, well, just a little bit gayer than yesterday, and I love

Meral Clarke: 33:15

it keeping gay men care and care, I love it. Well, did you grow up in Muskegon county Muskogee

Patricia Lassiter: 33:28

Excuse me. My parents are from Muskogee County, right before the Civil Rights Movement, I guess the 50s My parents got married, my dad joined the Air Force. And so I was born in California. And that was sort of helpful to my family. Because during the whole civil rights struggle, we were overseas, we came back and my parents are like, well, we can go to school together with other kids. We sort of missed it. I mean, we read about it, but it was a little bit removed. And it was just different. So I'm back home to where my parents grew up. And I know the stories and all that, you know, nothing is perfect, or even near perfect, but I love it here. I'm a Georgian. Now, even though I started my education, when I was a child in Okinawa in Okinawa, they were having their own civil rights struggle with the Japanese. And so I was able to watch another group civil rights struggle and not internalize it. Because it wasn't me. And I was able to say, Wow, they're still me. And I think that's the foundation of why I believe so strongly in civil and human rights. Yeah, I've seen everybody do it. And they're just struggle to be heard. And I want to be a part of that, you know, I will not rest until we all are and so I'm grateful to my parents for growing up like this and for moving for bringing me back home. But I feel at home everywhere because of the way I was raised. And so when I moved to Florida, I did a whole lot of LGBTQ stuff there and I loved it, but it doesn't matter where I land. I'm going to be doing the same thing.

Meral Clarke: 34:57

And we're grateful for you, Patricia, we really Are, and we're all in this fight together. It's about humanity, period. We're all connected. So if someone wants to learn more about the LGBTQ plus community or your role within the DPG, or just needs more information, where would you send them?

Patricia Lassiter: 35:20

You can always come to Patricia at Georgia democrat.org. And I will get you into the LGBTQ caucus, if you go to our website, and you do not have to be LGBTQ. It's open to everyone. And we're restarting our meetings again. And we're doing right events. There are more LGBTQ families in the State of Georgia families raising children than I think any other state. And so we are everywhere, and we are inclusive of everyone. So if you find this, we're going to embrace you and go from where you are to where you need to be. Because sometimes we have parents of kids that it's like, is this right for us? And so we running the organization, you know, you do not have to be able to get the EU to run the organization, you have to be dedicated to civil and human rights. And that's about it.

Meral Clarke: 36:02

Okay, fantastic. And that's helpful information.

Patricia Lassiter: 36:02

You asked about a picture, and I had a And finally, and I ask all of my guests this question, tell us a hard time finding a picture of myself. I'm the fourth of four fun fact about yourself something not necessarily related to your political activism, or even your children by them. My parents were tired of that. Yeah, there orientation, it doesn't matter. But tell us a fun fact about Patricia. are no pictures of me in this world. I never learned how to use a camera. No one cared by the time I was born. But the only other picture that I usually use as a headshot, which I did not send because I didn't want to scare you is from my former job. Before I came back to politics, I was the facilities manager for a place called Oxbow meadows and which is the nature center. And it's a big picture of me holding a really huge alligator because reptiles are my thing. And I'm also one of those queer bird watchers. But I'm also a big reptile thing. And my job right before I came back to politics was the facilities manager over was probably about 40 snakes. And it was him baby alligators, and for grown alligators, and some really huge 100 pound tortoises. And that's what I did for a living every day. And I love reptiles really, really a whole lot. I'll just tell you, if you are at a certain age and you're having hot flashes, a cold blooded snake, just draping itself around your neck is the greatest thing you could ever have. And the snake wants to be warm. I want to be cool. So I've spent a couple of years there pretty much with a snake on my body at all times. That's a fun fact. And it's

Meral Clarke: 37:45

that's a great fact. And very unusual. I love snakes. I think snakes are so

Patricia Lassiter: 37:49

cool. Oh gosh, they are.

Meral Clarke: 37:56

And do you have a mini dragon or a gecko or anything like that?

Patricia Lassiter: 38:05

I don't have anything in the house right now. I live with my mother who has dementia. And so I don't have a whole bunch of animals around but I missed them all. I miss them all so much. And I'm really good with everybody else's animals and I will help Sid babysit snakes it dragon said whatever it takes, I'll be there for you.

Meral Clarke: 38:26

Very cool. Well, thank you, Patricia for joining us today and sharing more about your critical work to support the LGBTQ plus community and ensure equity across all lines while you're protecting our democratic processes as well busy woman that you are. I'm Meral Clarke and on behalf of our team, I'd like to thank everyone for listening to the North Georgia Blue Podcast. To learn more about us and the work that we're doing. Visit us online at Fannin County, Georgia democrats.com. Share the North Georgia Blue Podcast with your friends and family be sure to subscribe and follow and if you enjoy our podcast consider being a founding patron and friend of the show at North Georgia blue podcast.com/patron Now with three different giving levels to choose from offering cool swag recognition on the show and website and valuable gift cards to help us continue getting into more good trouble.