Melissa Clink, Chair of the Forsyth County Democrats and newly elected 6th Congressional District Chair

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 who are 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: 0:17

Hello and welcome back to the North Georgia Blue Podcast produced in 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 Melissa Clink, chair of the Forsyth County Democrats. Welcome, Melissa, we're happy to have you with us today.

Melissa Clink: 0:37

Hi, thank you for having me.

Meral Clarke: 0:38

Let's tell our listeners a little bit about you very impressive background. Of course, Melissa was the first female president of the students for a progressive society at the University of North Georgia from 2013 to 2015. She exposed conservative Hall County to progressive ideals, unapologetically. I love that regarding community policing, overdose prevention, harm reduction, and so much more. She has also been a member of the Forsyth County Democratic Party since 2015. And organized in both the seventh and ninth districts, and she was elected Chair of the Forsyth County Democratic Party in 2016. So she's been very busy, and is still very busy. And we're so happy to have you here today.

Melissa Clink: 1:24

Thank you very much.

Meral Clarke: 1:25

Thank you. So tell us a little bit about democratic politics in Forsyth County, and why you're a Democrat, Have you always been and what got you started in democratic politics.

Melissa Clink: 1:37

So I moved to Georgia in 2009. And I moved to Forsyth County, and I've been here ever since I didn't really know much about politics, I wasn't really politically active. At that time, I really got involved at the University of North Georgia, I happen to have a free hour between classes. So I went to a club called the politically incorrect club. And it was supposed to be a nonpartisan club, but I quickly found out that I was the only liberal in the room. Which was fine, because I feel really strongly about my liberal ideals or my democratic beliefs. So I'm okay with only voice in the room. So one conversation came up. And we were talking about the Affordable Care Act. And it kind of got into a heated discussion, of course. And when I left the class, I was still telling a classmate about like, kind of the whole encounter. And my sociology professor overheard me Dr. Mason, and she mentioned that I might be more interested in a club that she cared. So I went and checked that club out. And that was the students for progressive society. And when I went there, I realized that that was probably more suited to my political leanings. And I found out you know, kind of working with Dr. Mason, the the budget for that club was pretty big. So there was an opportunity to send myself and some other students to something called net routes. So net routes was kind of where I really learned what being a progressive was about and was able to connect with people all over the world, who are working on progressive ideals and participate in my first water protest there. So I participated in a protest there in Detroit. I was the first one that I went to. And what's interesting is that, that was actually the first time I heard Stacey Abrams speak was in Detroit. He was the keynote speaker for that Netroots. So what I learned at Netroots is I brought mini net roots back to the University of North Georgia. What I mean by that is we did a social justice day, where we invited all kinds of progressive networks and organizations up to the University of North Georgia to kind of table for a day and let all the students in the faculty know that there were all these organizations that existed that I kind of didn't really even know about. So I went to Netroots. So I wanted to just bring that knowledge back to the school. And as far as I know, it has been repeated ever since that I've left there still social justice day there where people can learn about being activists or getting involved with organizations they may not have heard of in their conservative Hall County. So I was able to go to another Netroots in Arizona, where we protested certo, our Pio and when I came back into the same thing, we just continued to learn more about networking and organizing and how to kind of just build that political power and meet other people like you and connect and kind of just exemplifies what you're working on and what everybody in the group is working on to kind of try to accomplish that goal together. So I've got that back. And then graduation came. And I realized that I really liked public organizing, and I'm going to continue to stay involved. It was just something that really interested me. I really like the strategy of politics. And I really liked the idea of working with like minded people to achieve a goal and to kind of leave something better than I found it. So I tried to figure out how to get involved locally with my local party using Facebook, but I didn't get any response. Then I had a fellow organizer Hall glaze, invite me to a Bernie watch party, and the brainwash party was in Gainesville. And when you go to any political event, usually they ask you to sign in They want your email address, right? So they can contact you after the fact. Right? So I just happen to sign in to the right clipboard, because right after that I got an email, invited me to the Democratic Party watch party, it was actually in my county that the one that I had been trying to get in touch with, but I didn't know how to. So there's about eight people that that watch party that night that I went to the Cuckoo's Nest, and I met a few people, they were all really welcoming. They let me know when the next meeting was. And I think the next meeting, I became a committee member, I have really no idea what I was doing or what that meant. But every room kind of assured me that it would be okay. And that they would answer any questions I had along the way. And then right about this time, as we heard from our congressional district chair, on how to become a delegate of the national convention, so that really interested me, but I was really intimidated by the fact that I would have to get people to vote for me, and then I would have to give a speech. And I wasn't really sure at all what I was signing up for, but I was really interested. So I just kind of followed my heart on that. And that's what I've kind of always told everybody is that I just follow the yellow brick road. I basically was interested in this, and I kind of pursued it wherever I could I. So I ran for that in the ninth district. I ran for delegate for Bernie Sanders in 2016. And I won that election. To my surprise, congratulations. Yeah, thank you. I'm still kind of flabbergasted that it happened just because it was just such a stark contrast, like it really kind of solidified the fact that I didn't need money. And I didn't need status to be able to succeed in this arena that I could be honest with people about where I was coming from, and why I wanted to make change or why I want to be involved at the table where the discussions were being had. And my whole running for that position was completely grassroots. I remember my opponents were a little older than me, and definitely had more funds than I did, because they fed you know, the crowd of people with searches chicken and Bojangles. And I had my water bottles with my name on it and said, Have a drink and poker playing and homemade cookies. I love Yeah, so I was really I thought I was really out of my league. I was like, oh man, I'm about to lose, like everybody's eating fried chicken, and I'm so gonna lose the phrase. You know, when the book came out, and I actually think I ran or ended up winning three to one on each one of them, which was really just eye opening, I couldn't believe it. And that I was able to do that and pull that off with like the help of my friends and things like that. And then going to the convention was just a once in a lifetime experience to be able to be there and be in the room. And I was able to hear all these wonderful speakers like honestly, I really didn't even know what to expect from the convention. And I almost wish I could go back and do it again. Because there were so much that I didn't know that I needed to be kind of present for if that makes sense. Like there was a couple times there that I had friends who were like, oh Katy Perry's performing, and I'm like, I must have been in the bathroom. I totally missed her. Like that. So and I knew that it was gonna be strange going back to a real life when Eric Holder walked by me and I was like, Oh, my God, oh, Eric Holder is walked by me like it's very strange. I've never at the time, I felt a whole lot like Katniss in the Hunger Games the first time that I'm sure that's how it felt doing that. So then when I came back home, I just shared all of that knowledge in that experience. There's a lot of times in political circles, where some people kind of gatekeeper information and things like that. That is not something that I think is helpful for any of us or our goals, right? So I just try to share every experience that I have, so that everyone knows a knowledge that I know so that they can add their expertise to whatever we're working on. And we can all be working from the same playbook.

Meral Clarke: 8:36

Exactly. We're stronger together than we are apart. So there's no doubt about that. So college was basically your impetus for getting involved in politics. Have you always been a democrat? And if so why?

Melissa Clink: 8:48

Oh, I was raised in a republican household, conservative Christian household. I'm still a Christian today, I would definitely say that being a republican was something I thought I was supposed to do as a good Christian, right? Yes, it was never outright stated. But it was definitely implied. And just the older that I got, and the more that I just learned about life and about others and other people's experiences and things like that, I realized that my face really didn't allow me to vote republican anymore, because it didn't translate. So what we were being told was what you're supposed to do as a good Christian doesn't translate to the policymaking the republicans in a lot of different ways. So I started to slowly see that I will say that when I lived in Florida before I moved here, I remember walking by the TV one day and Elizabeth Warren is who caught my eye. And Elizabeth Warren was talking about protecting consumers, and also student loans and those were two things that had really affected my life being from you know, lower socioeconomic status. We were encouraged to take out loans, taking out these loans, go to school, everything's gonna work out. After you get done with school, you get out of school, you pay your loans, you get a house, the American Dreams right there. So that's what was supposed to happen. But that's not actually what happens in reality. No, and it happens like that for a lot of people. So my story is not unique. I started paying attention with Elizabeth Warren, I would definitely consider myself a warren wing Democrat, and obviously a fan of Bernie Sanders, so much more progressive in my leanings. And I would definitely point to my face being the reason why the underlying impetus on why that is that way, and then I have those conversations with my mom, my mom is now an independent at this point. So and I think that's really a great place to be someone who started out being republican and continuing to kind of just put that line and not really ask questions, I think the more that I learned, and the more that I discussed, and the more that I talked about things with her, she becomes more open minded and is willing to kind of see things from my point of view, and not really kind of go from those talking points that the Republican Party is so good at executing and making sure that people who vote republican kind of regurgitate. So yes, I have voted Republican in the past. I think that one thing is pretty lacking in this country is voter education, right? Yes. So when I first moved here, in district nine, I lived in district nine for a while I live in district seven. Now, I'm still in Forsyth County. So I only had Doug Collins to vote for. So in the past, I've hit the button for columns, because I didn't realize I could skip it in my head. And he said, overachiever. If I leave a bubble and leveled, you know, they might not count it exactly. Or maybe I'm with my test, right? Because we don't talk about these kinds of things. There are no public campaigns on Hey, this is what happens if you don't want to vote for this person, you don't have to you can skip over this person, right? In fact, getting over that person might be actually sending a message depending on what race you're talking about, and where you are demographically, and all of that. So there's just a lot that goes into that. So definitely marked me down for a few Collins notes that I wish I could take back. But now that I'm more informed that I know more about what gets counted and when doesn't get counted, and what counts eventually, or what notifies a ballot and things like that. I'm able to make better decisions at the ballot and make sure that I'm not putting my support bus out behind someone just because they're the only name on the on the ticket.

Meral Clarke: 12:08

Right. And now we have Andrew Clyde representing the ninth district and keeping in mind that our show is rated G. What are your thoughts on Andrew Clyde?

Melissa Clink: 12:18

Think Andrew Clyde is a symptom of the right place and right time, I think the minimal information that he put out about himself when he was running for office is what helped him I think putting that I think it was an AR 15 on his signs and not much else was enough for a lot of people in my district. You know, I'm not sure that they even really know who Andrew Clyde is or why they voted for him other than the fact that he had a rifle on his side. And he was not a Democrat. Right? I think that as we continue to go on, especially what he's just recently done to the police officer who he refused to shake his hand

Meral Clarke: 12:53

Exactly. Michael forenoon, I believe,

Melissa Clink: 12:55

yeah, and the fact that there's pictures and video of him, obviously dealing with an insurrection, and then calling it some kind of tourist visit. I think it's this honest, and I think the people in the ninth district deserve better you do. And I really hope that the people who voted for him the last time are paying attention because when we share those kinds of things, we were sharing those kinds of things not to make the other side of the bed. Sometimes we're trying to show you what kind of person you put into office. And just because you put that person into office doesn't mean you have to continue to put them back into that seat. Exactly. I think that people like Clyde and green, I think that the more people that realize that they are not in office to help the American people, I think that the voters will send them their orders, hopefully,

Meral Clarke: 13:37

let's hope so. And I don't know what they're doing for their constituents. It doesn't seem as if they're interested in actually advancing their constituents goals and needs. They're more interested in just obstructing anything and everything that the democrats want to promote.

Melissa Clink: 13:55

Absolutely. And you know, the behavior with green towards AOC, a few weeks ago, where she was just kind of taunting outside of her office. I mean, we don't expect children to act that way. You know, we we expect their children in our lives. So I don't understand why we wouldn't expect that or of our Congresswoman. So I'm hoping that after this kind of mean politics error, where 45 really brought just ain't no the nasty ear and the meaner and just the more heartless you could be kind of cells and stuff like that. I think. I think at the end of the day, more Americans want someone who is going to, like you said, Look out for their best interest, but also do it in a way where they're not constantly in the news for being a bully.

Meral Clarke: 14:34

Exactly. So pivoting back to foresight, we all know the history of Forsyth County, and I'm not going to regurgitate all of that here. People can certainly look that out. But what are some ways that you're trying to move the needle in heavily red areas like yours, and would you consider Forsyth to still be even in the seventh district? It certainly isn't the ninth district but in the seventh district to be as red

Melissa Clink: 15:00

districts, definitely still read. Sure. But we're starting to make inroads people are starting to realize that we're out there, and that their neighbors out there. And as far as the seventh district goes, we're doing wonderfully as far as growing the democratic base out there. As far as the history of foresight, we have never shied away from talking about it, we think that it's important to talk about where we've been talking about where we're going, and to really learn from the mistakes of the past. And I'm really proud of the Forsyth County remembrance project, which is nonpartisan, they just place a historical marker there, I believe, I want to say this past year, it kind of blurs with COVID. Right, right, we're able to place one of the most daring markers that I've seen or read about anti lynching. And if you have an opportunity to go, you can check that out on our page or Forsyth County, remember its page, but it really, really speaks to what happened and what the role that white people played in that in the unfairness of it all, and that it was unjust. So I think that one of the things that we continue to do is we don't shy away from talking about what happened. We acknowledge that it happened, and we talked about how we want to make it better. So that's one of the things that we definitely concentrate on, I can tell you a story. When I first started as chair, one of the first things I did was we decided to do a watch party and we wanted to do it at a local taco mat. And one of my mentors and people that convinced me to run for it. There is then an older black woman named Binda, and she and I talked about, we wanted to go to talk them back and just watch the debate and have our own little room, you know, snacks and things like that. So she told me, you know, Melissa, and I think about this story all the time, because it's just so poignant. And it's really it really speaks to why we're doing what we're doing. So she said, Melissa, I don't think we should be Washington Bay where they serve alcohol. And I said, Well, why? He said, Well, do you know where we're at? You know, we can't just go to the bar and go have alcohol while we're watching politics. It's just not a good idea. And I said, mended, you're free. And so we're both free. We are free to be Democrats, it's okay. If our neighbor doesn't like the word Democrats, you're not allowed to make us feel like we can't be Democrats. And we can't do that in an establishment where they serve alcohol. And if we don't start doing that, if we don't have this

Meral Clarke: 17:07

meeting, who will? Who's gonna do it? Exactly? Someone has to step up?

Melissa Clink: 17:12

Absolutely. And that was easy. And I will say that was easy for me to say, right? So she was older black lady, who has been there

Meral Clarke: 17:19

different experiences,

Melissa Clink: 17:20

but yeah, for a lot longer than I had, you know, it's so easy for me to say, as a white girl, a younger white female who didn't grow up in that area, for I didn't experience the things that she did. But I was able to convince her we went there. And we've held many debate, watch parties with alcohol involved ever since. And we really just kind of went with that attitude and ran with it, because it honestly infringes on my freedom in her freedom. she feels like she can't express who she is, politically in a public space in America. And to me, that's not right. So whatever we can do to normalize that is what we worked on, and what we continue to focus on. And so that's why every opportunity that I get to be able to be bold, and progressive, and kind of stand on our values, and let others know that they can do that, too. And they watch us and it literally catches on, it continues to grow, because they see that we're doing it. And nobody's stopping us, because this is America, right? We aren't able to do that. And you should be able to be a republican and sit beside me and me, not other you, everyone should be able to do that and kind of coexist. And until we say, here we are, and this is what we believe, and allow them to know, whatever way that they can feel about it, but they cannot obstruct us. Right. So that is the defiant mood and underlying theme that I tried to instill with everybody who I organized with, especially in Forsyth County.

Meral Clarke: 18:39

Right. Great. And isn't Forsyth. lucky to have you and your folks there to help them with us. So I wanted to touch on something that happened relatively recently with the Dei, which stands for diversity, equity and inclusion, education versus CRT critical race theory. And you were educating me on that as well about the difference between the two terms. And why you prefer dei over CRT? Yeah, so

Melissa Clink: 19:09

we have been dealing with this locally. And it was a fight that was brought forth by the Forsyth County Tea Party in the Forsyth County Republican Party Board of Education. And I'm just going to talk about what's happening in Forsyth counties, because there's a lot going on all over the country. So I'm just gonna talk about Forsyth County. So I will tell you that no, I love school, I did not take any constitutional law classes. So I have not had the privilege of going through any kind of lectures or courses on critical race theory. So I'll just tell you what my understanding of critical race theory is. The whole race theory is that racism touches on every aspect of our lives. It is in our criminal justice system. It is in our healthcare system. It is in our educational system. And I don't think if anybody actually really considers that as the question would really deny that unless they are denying facts, there are statistics that can be laid out for them on how these things are different. proportionate. So CRT is what they wanted to call it. So the republicans and Republican Party, they needed the shiny new nickel, I need everyone to understand that anytime you see something kind of mass scale going on in media and social media, I mean, you're not really quite sure why you keep hearing about it. And it's kind of fuzzy, and you don't have all the details to kind of follow the money and figure out who would benefit from pushing this narrative, right. So what's important to remember about that is that in Forsyth County, the dei initiative has been going on since 2017. It was not until two months ago, that it got on the radar of the political parties in my county, that they should all of a sudden stopped this diversity, equity and inclusion. So in a perfect County, how it's being done right now, the diversity, equity inclusion is completely they can opt into it. So and these are just teachers have diversity, equity inclusion is not being taught in the classroom. These are concepts to help teachers understand people who are different from diversity just simply says, We are different, and that's okay. And then you've got equity, equity says if we are different, and if that means that something that is different about you stopped you from succeeding or having a chance to succeed at the same rate as me, we need to do something to fix that. So and one example that I give up equity is if you have Sarah, and she is the only student in the class, who has no Wi Fi and no computer at home, right? Everyone needs to go home and do virtual school because of the virus, right? So at that time, she is given a Chromebook, and maybe a hotspot to give her some Wi Fi at home, every student in the class is not given those things, because they don't need right, he needs it. And the way that we make sure that she is taken care of is we make sure that we budget for those kinds of funds for us to be able to buy that hotspot and buy that Chromebook so that we can loan it to her so that she does have a chance to do her homework, same rate as all of her peers. So that is one way that equity can be achieved. And then you have inclusion. So inclusion is just where everyone feels welcome to be who they are. And that's a great place to be so anyone who knows anything about diversity, equity inclusion would know that there's nothing nefarious about it. Anyone who kind of hints to Well, well, how are they teaching diversity, equity inclusion, there's if you're doing 30 equity inclusion with our equity inclusion in mind, there's no wrong way to do that. Because if you're doing it, where it was truly designed to be, there is nothing nefarious about that. Now, one of the things that I have concluded myself, is that I believe that the why CRT comes into play is that if we achieve diversity, equity inclusion, and we achieve everyone feeling included, and we have already done everything we could to make everything equitable for everyone in the classroom, we are left with the results that tell us later on down the road. That CRT is something that is prevalent in our lives, whether you believe it or not, right, so CRT is a theory, just like gravity, you can deny CRT, you can deny grades, they still say silly. So I think I think that what is happening now is that the parents who have been convinced that they will have to apologize for being white or that their children will be made to feel bad for being white, which has nothing to do with diversity, equity inclusion, it's a distortion of what's actually happening. I think that eventually all of that leads to Wow, there is a lot of racism in our education system. And there is a lot of racism in our judicial system. And there's also racism in our healthcare system. So it leads to the critical race theory being true, right? It leads to I think they are afraid of that part. And when I call it the shiny new nickel, so in 2000, and I may be wrong about the date, so just bear with me. So 2016 is when Hb 481 is what we were fighting. And we were fighting for 81. And what was for 81 for 81 was the heartbeat bill right? So you saw that heartbeat bill go all over the nation. It was a coordinated effort. It takes money to do that people need to understand anytime you see something that's happening nationwide, there is money behind it and people are organizing, right? These things just don't happen. Same thing with the CRT and di initiatives. So like I said in Forsyth County, it's been around since 2017. It has caused no problems up until someone told them they should have a problem with them. So then they call it CRT. So then we're sitting around going well it's not CRT and then at the end of the day, you're like put CRTs true to you know, like the bride and you don't know which one you're fighting off though. In county we were really blessed to have really great student led organizers who are already on top of this. So we found out when we showed up to this show our support of the eye that had already been in place like continue to leave this in place. Don't take it off the table. We linked up with youth organizers in the community. So we talked to them and we just elevated all of their efforts. I mean, these kids were great. They had On press kits ready to go, they had graphics to share everything that happened with the I was student led and by the students. So we shared all of that we let people know come out and support share, we're purple and supportive, these kids cannot be understated enough that these kids were just so impressive. And you're really gonna see them probably want to introduce them in the podcast at some point. So I'll make sure I give them your

Meral Clarke: 25:24

information. Most likely, yes, I'll take that information.

Melissa Clink: 25:27

Yeah, definitely. So that's what people need to know is this. So we bought for 81. And that was an orchestrated effort. 41 was actually in 2018. I apologize. In 2020, we had stopped the steel, right? Oh, of course, big lies that the steel, Democrats have stolen the election, even though here's all the proof that that did not happen. And that's not at all what happened. And very, a lot of it was was just outright lies, or people who didn't understand the difference between what kind of outs that you send out and things like that, or the difference between absentee ballot application and an absentee ballot. So you had a lot of people kind of given those opinions who had never stepped into a voter registration building and didn't really know what they were talking about. But they were able to galvanize all the support behind it. And they were able to raise a lot of money, a lot of money off of telling people that this election was stolen, and now you have so many people who are kind of not participating in the process. You know, I think everyone's kind of concerned with what this will do long term to voter turnout. Sure, it was already hard enough right? To get people to come out and vote yes, people, like their vote isn't being counted fairly. There's no impetus to go and vote and I will hurt their sign more than it will ours. And that's how you know that we I've my party in mind. Right? So that hurts democracy when you tell lies about the election. So the same thing happened with zeal. So stop zeal has now started to wear off a lot of the people who were following that are like, okay, maybe, you know, 45 is not going to be president in August, like we thought. So I think there's some people who are still kind of holding on to that. But I think for the majority of it are realizing that they got bamboozled, they may not say it out loud, they may not ever tell you, maybe your cousin he was never going to come clean with that maybe that they got a loser in the wool was pulled over their eyes, right? I do not think that they are getting money anymore to stop the steel efforts. So you need to come up with some new shiny objects. And that is going to be to the tech VI. So attacking D and calling it CR g. and coming up with all of this outlandish reasons why we shouldn't teach accurate history in our schools is the new shiny nickel to get people to open up their wallets come to meetings again, stand up, get candidates excited to run so they can get ready for this election year.

Meral Clarke: 27:38

So tell us that. And I certainly know and you know, but let our listeners know what was the end result of all of your combined efforts to keep dei in the Forsyth County school system? Well, thankfully,

Melissa Clink: 27:49

Forsyth County School Board decided to side with the students inside with the plan that they had already put in place since 2017. And continue to work on the BI initiatives in Forsyth County and test that next year, they asked for community input for when they did the next strategic plan. I'm sure that it will be addressed at that time, too. But what's dangerous about this and what people need to take away from this conversation is, even though in Forsyth County Forsyth County School Board that the right right next door to me in Cherokee County,

Meral Clarke: 28:16

they did the wrong thing. Exactly.

Melissa Clink: 28:17

I took it away, they took away D completely. And what's coming next is going to be SEO. So that's social emotional learning. So that's the next thing on their list of what they're upset about what they would like to be upset about. Now, it's already been happening, and it's coming from people who have never stepped foot into a classroom. So back in my background, I have related trucker after school care program right? Here is no way without dei. And without SEO, I couldn't run my after school care program. And that wasn't maintained in the classroom that was just maintaining kindergarten through fifth graders after tool, right? So you have to utilize those kinds of tools to be able to handle any situation with children, because children are already socializing, they're already picking up what they get from home, those messages they get from home, then they come to school, and you might repeat some of those messages. And those messages might not be what you actually want to see in our society. And of course, I'm alluding to comments on race that are unsleep media, right? So having those conversations with those students. If you eliminated vi or social emotional learning, they're telling me I can't have a conversation with their children about race or how they feel I'm not even allowed to really talk to them about how they feel, or what motivated them to act a certain way. And what how a better way to act is. And there's parents out there who have convinced themselves that that's not the role of an educator. And they couldn't be further from the truth, if that's exactly what adults are there for children is to guide them in the way that they need to go.

Meral Clarke: 29:40

Right, right. I completely agree. And that dovetails into my next question, how do you combat the big lie and other areas of intentional mis and disinformation.

Melissa Clink: 29:50

So what we do with Forsyth County Democrats, we try to be as honest as possible with our people. So there's been situations where we're like, we'll keep you updated as we know what's going on. or know what's happening. Here's where we can be as transparent as possible. The first thing I do, when someone tells me that the election was stolen is ask them if they've ever been to their board of elections. They know where it's at, if they know how the sausage is made, because there's so many answers that can be had if you just go down to your local board of elections, so you get a lot of people who want to go on the internet, and talk about stolen this and stolen that. But there's not a whole lot of people who actually get in the car and go down to their local county board and find out what's going on. Because you can watch the entire process, every person has a right to do that. People don't really know that or understand that. And a lot of people don't take that extra mile, like myself and others would do to figure out what's going on. So if something doesn't seem right, you have a lot of freedom and a lot of options on how to figure out with something not up to par in your area, right? I really encourage that I asked a lot of questions, too. So there's a lot of times where I just think about what wouldn't make me take my mind, or what would make me listen to another viewpoint. So it's definitely not going to be anyone who's going to be ugly To me, it's not going to be anyone who's going to act like they're smarter than me, you know, snip at me or anything like that. So I really just like to ask questions, sometimes you can learn a lot about what's bothering a person, or what they don't understand about a specific topic, asking them questions. So I think that is one of the best ways that you can kind of combat that. And really just be honest, it's so continue to say when they say, Well, what about this? And then you have to answer you let them know, but you don't go with that back and forth, there's really not a need for back and forth, because you've already stated your case, right? So encouraging them to go and find the answers for themselves, I think is a really great way to begin, especially when you're interacting with someone online, right? You can take somebody down in the comment section, you win that fight, okay, big deal, you want to internet fight, what did you win nothing. Tonight, so you got a whole bunch of points where the don't matter, or you can be kind to that person, even if they are kind to you, right, you can be kind of a person, you can give them your opinion, and leave it at that. And then others can see that interaction. It was Wow, like, you know, they were really nice to her and you take the bait, she just spit in your opinion, calm, have a good day. So I think a lot of minds are changed by having conversations with others. And I think that it's really important, especially when you're on social media to be mindful of who might be reading not, who's never gonna comment on it, never see you again, just in passing sees it and maybe point them to the truth of the matter.

Meral Clarke: 32:25

So alongside that, in learning more about how our democracy actually works, what do you wish more people understood about politics that they didn't understand,

Melissa Clink: 32:35

I just wish that people knew that it's designed to make you tired, right, that your will to stay involved has to exceed the fact that sometimes progress is slow. And sometimes symbolic change works towards normalizing actual goals. And that anything you do to try to change the status quo will be seen as radical. And that it is the people who stay in the fight loss after loss who actually achieved those goals that can take years to realize, so shout out scout Smith for this saying, but he always likes to say politics is warfare without bloodshed. Oh, true. And I think that that is absolutely true. And don't be discouraged by what some leader might say somebody you voted for. And then they hold, they just said this to the reporter today. And it was just really disappointing. and stuff like that we're working on locally, might be more important than what's happening nationally with that little blip, it's going to be played for a couple of days until the next clip comes out. Right? Right. So that is one thing that I wish people knew, and that it's designed to be confusing, and that most of us are doing the best we can with the information that we have. And we learned as we go. And the best thing that you can do is find other people like you and start organizing with them. And that there's times when you're going to meet organizers that you don't necessarily care to work for. But you can work for the same goal in a different area, right? Sure. There's always different things. But there's so much work to do, right? And the easiest thing to do when you feel like you're working with friends, because then you're just hanging out, you're hanging out and working towards a goal together. So find people who are like you and definitely tap into your networks and just build from there. But know that if you go to a meeting this week, next week, everything you want in the world to be changed is not going to be changed. And if you give up then those people who are already in there for the long haul are just like okay, you know, I mean it happens it happens all the time, people get really excited and they get in here they do a little bit of work. And then they may maybe get disappointed by something or decide that it's not not worth their time anymore. But all of that work is they put in somebody to pick up where they left off right so I just want people to know that it's definitely a marathon and not a sprint.

Meral Clarke: 34:34

Yes, most definitely. And progressives do tend to lose patience. Yeah, yeah, I will say our goals because I'm a rabid liberal as well. So

Melissa Clink: 34:45

yeah, I would definitely agree with that and that can be said for like all sides right? Yes. And as far as just it's all or nothing if you get this is wrong. If you can't stand on the fact that this is wrong and change it tomorrow then I'm just gonna walk away. Well, I mean, then that means whoever's left is making In the decision,

Meral Clarke: 35:01

it reminds me of the MLK quote of the arc of justice. It takes a while.

Melissa Clink: 35:06

Yeah, yeah. The arc of the moral universe is long. Yes. has been towards justice. I agree.

Meral Clarke: 35:10

Yes. Excellent. So you had touched on this in your last statement? How do you handle leaders speaking nationally as to how it relates to your local region? How do you handle that? How do you work with that was,

Melissa Clink: 35:22

you know, we get politicians who maybe in the heat of the moment, you know, we were all human, there are two and that's one of the things we have to remember, right. So sometimes they get a little excited, and they say some stuff that doesn't actually hold water right won't ever pass. It's never gonna happen. And one example that I thought of was when Beto said that there will be a mandatory buyback program for guns in his state and that hell yes, we're gonna take your ar 15 and ak 47, is what he quoted, right? Right. Where do you 6% of Americans are against that kind of legislation ever even making it to the congressional floor. And what that does is anybody that I had already been working on kind of in the independent space to try and be like, hey, this isn't so bad. On the Democratic side, here's this and here's that right? So then, I got so many messages the day that he said, right after he said that, and it's so hard to explain to them. Yeah, he said that that's what beats everything. But that's not something that we can accomplish nationwide. That's not something that's going to go on the table nation mind, that's not something you have to be concerned about as a gun owner, as far as any of those things. So all of this work that you have been working on on their path and internationally, trying to make sure that we're This is what it means to be a Democrat. And we do support protecting the Second Amendment. We also support common sense gun regulations and where those intersect, right? So that's one of the starkest examples, I believe. And then another recent one was really disappointing, especially to some members of my party who have been in politics, but since before I thought about politics, and have been supporting financially, with their effort and time politicians for years, like I said, before I even got involved. And one of the things that is really disappointing, that was said by President Biden and Kamala Harris was that America is not a racist country.

Meral Clarke: 36:57

Yes. Kamala Harris made that statement I but yeah, yes.

Melissa Clink: 37:01

So I definitely want to make sure that we talked about that, because it is really just kind of deflated some of my people sales, because I don't understand. And I don't think that they do either. I don't understand why when we're in power, and we have the majority, I would ever say something like that. It feels like it was said for white people who will not ever vote for her anyway. So I don't understand why we do these gymnastics of conversations and words, because what happened is a state level at the State Board of Education, they use that line and said America is not a racist country, according to our president and vice president to justify their resolution for outlawing CRT in schools. And of course, the RT is not even the issue, right? But when you're talking about, we want to frame it as one thing they're gonna call it that and that same resolution. So just 15 years would not be able to teach about protests. So we know nothing ever happens in this country without protests. So if you eliminate or discourage teaching about protests, how exactly do we teach us history without mention of the violent boston tea party?

Meral Clarke: 38:03

How do we teach us history without mentioning the enslavement? Absolutely. of African Americans and other 100% the Tuskegee massacre? I just learned about that recently. I never learned about that in school. I didn't learn about any of it. Yeah.

Melissa Clink: 38:18

And Tulsa. Yes. And the bombings in Philadelphia, there's just so many things that were not part of our upbringing. And now that we know that now the information is so available right at our fingertips at the children, who are you are telling it, you don't want them to learn these things. They're already finding these things out. They're learning it, they're, they're communicating it with their peers. And that is the scariest part for people in the status quo, right? Because they're like, wow, we got to figure out how to get a handle on this in schools. So when they're Biden, Kamala Harris, they cosign on Americans, not a racist country, but even know especially in the south, all that doesn't matter to people who are racist, to say, We're fine. There's nothing to look at here. We don't need to address anything you don't see is that everything was fine, and we are good. And we know that that is not the case. So it really hurts us organizing it hurts morale, and hurts momentum when we do kind of bend over backwards to say something to make, why people feel better about, you know, just in general themselves, and literally doesn't do anything but placate them. And it's unnecessary. It's not true. And it just really works against what we're all trying to do. And at the end of the day, you've got to understand that Senator Graham bozell, who is my senator, his first piece of legislation was to pull out funding from public schools and be able to give it to private schools and that thankfully failed in Georgia. I don't even think it was assigned to committee but what we need to understand is that they are playing chess and we need to pay attention because what is happening with the eye and what is happening with CRT, it will work in some areas like charity, right? It's going to take years for charity to get a whole new school board. For them to realize that was a stupid decision that we succumb to an angry mob who was angry about things that they didn't even know my day. were angry, they were angry because they were convinced it was CRT, right? So it's going to take a while for that to build back up in that area. But areas like Forsyth County who were saying we're going to do the right thing we're going to anyone would be, there's going to be parents, and there already has been some parents who were like, well, if this public school is going to be taken D, I'm taking my kids to private school. Right? We

Meral Clarke: 40:20

hear that a lot. Absolutely. So that is

Melissa Clink: 40:23

the plan. The plan is to get these public dollars into private school funding. And those private schools are usually attached to a church or religion. And we'll continue to make sure that we Garner more conservative voters long term that literally is like there's a goal behind all of this.

Meral Clarke: 40:42

And speaking about national politics, it just popped up on my phone a newsbreak, that senate republicans have blocked the democrat sweeping elections reform bill, they have been successful in blocking the voting reform and several other components of President Biden's sweeping infrastructure and voting rights bills. What are your thoughts on that? And how do we fight them on this? First,

Melissa Clink: 41:05

I'll touch on the infrastructure. So when I first started paying attention, politics, the American Jobs Act needed to be passed during Obama's first term, and then again, in his second term, everything that is packed into the American jobs that would have created so many jobs and taking care of infrastructure, and I believe that good Biden's infrastructure policy is a lot like maybe with some upgrades right, since that term. So I'm not surprised that Republicans are trying to block that. I think it's unfortunate. And I think that a lot of Americans need to wake up to what that means. Are you tired of your commute? Do you think that things could get better? Do you retire to the potholes? Are you tired of all of those things? There's a ton of things with infrastructure that affects everybody, right? So we definitely need to figure out what we can do there. And as far as blocking the voting, I just don't understand kind of how a lot of Republicans look themselves in the mirror anymore, because there's definitely a split within the Republican Party. And thank goodness for that. But there are some Republicans who are like, this is the thing, why is the big lie, this is wrong. And we should make sure that we protect voting, and then you have the other people who are kind of just want to burn it all down and make sure that no more liberal America and that somehow that they reinstate 45. So being in this for so long, and starting to kind of really get to know some of the players who are in that in that Washington playing field. I know, the fight that we have in our representatives from Georgia, so I know that they are not going to take that line down.

Meral Clarke: 42:29

And you're referring to Senator Jon ossoff. And Senator, our senators and our Congresswoman.

Melissa Clink: 42:35

Yes. So we've got some really strong heavy hitters who are people that I admire and respect and who I've seen take the lead and take charge, and I have every confidence that they're going to do everything that they can to protect us federally. So this is just one more step in that in that

Meral Clarke: 42:52

direction. So let's talk about something fun. What is your favorite part of what you do? And you do so much? You may have to think about this for a moment. But what do you really enjoy the most,

Melissa Clink: 43:02

I would definitely say, working with like minded individuals towards a positive change. One of my favorite things to do though, is to meet someone new. They asked me how do I do this? What do I do? Can I share this? Can I do that maybe come to a protest, they maybe came to a meeting, and then slowly they become organizers themselves. And that is what is really awesome to see. I call them baby activists, right? Oh, I might have just told them one thing at a time. But of course, they've now become my baby. Yes, I'm watching them grow. I'm watching them do sign rallies and watching them organize things and working with your calls to action. you're sharing stuff before I share it. Now you go to mean so it's really inspiring to see something you're so passionate about and you enjoy sharing it with others because you're passionate about it right. And then for them to just take that and run with it. And especially if they're more on the shyer side or didn't get involved or for whatever reason, were kind of reserved, the more unapologetic that they get. And the more bold and the more strong that they feel in their organizing ability and the ability to gather others towards a specific goal. I just think that that's really powerful. And I think that's a specific skill of mine. So I really love watching other activists thrive

Meral Clarke: 44:15

and mentorship. Obviously, you're strong mentor, which is so important for our young people. So what's the least favorite part about what you do?

Melissa Clink: 44:24

I hope the video tell you this, I don't deal with the money. I mean, either. So I know it takes a bank to make all these things happen, right? I understand all of that. But when I came, you know, like I said I was lower socioeconomic status. And if I had come to the meeting and felt like I needed to contribute membership contributions or anything like that, to be able to say I don't think I would have because I was kind of checking it out and things like that. So I'm just really glad that like the other people know that it takes money to make the world go round. So they do a lot of the fundraising and asking and organizing as far as that goes and Then a few there feel about this is why we need funds for this. And then I come through and I'm like, but if you can't pay just stay, it's fine. You know, like,

Meral Clarke: 45:08

really, we can still use you bone. So I

Melissa Clink: 45:11

don't want anyone to ever feel like their value is tied to any kind of money or money that's in their account. There's so many ways out, yes, that is really just my least fun part about it. If someone is running for office, they have something called Paul time, where they need to call people and talk to them about drumming up contributions and getting funds so that they can put out ads or pay for canvassers or any number of things that that campaigns cost money for. And I'm just always the wrong person to call I should never be on call time for anyone because I have to have that conversation with whoever's called me. And they're like, Hey, would you like to contribute $250 or $500. And I'm like, No, but I can definitely do something with my time or my effort. But I'm definitely the last person that you want to call for contributions. Because I fight for poor people every day, I am for people. So that's one of the things if I could change anything about politics, I would absolutely take money out of the equation. And another thing I wanted to make sure I touched on today is that if you think about it, everyone hates political ads. If we had 100% voting, there wouldn't be so many political ads, great point, your attention wouldn't be so expensive, it wouldn't be so necessary to get you to the polls, right? If everyone considered it, their patriotic duty to go and vote, and they all did, a lot of the things that Americans don't like about politics would cease to exist. And that means that we have to get everyone to go and everyone would have to turn out so that in a perfect world, I would just want people to realize that the reason why you hate political ads is because not everybody votes,

Meral Clarke: 46:44

right. And if everyone was automatically registered at the age of 18, and they did their civic duty, we wouldn't have this problem I never said to begin with, I completely agree. So we're running short on time, I could talk to you for another 15 hours and still not cover everything I want to cover. But let's end on a positive note. Tell us a fun fact about yourself something personal, something that our listeners may not know about you that they would find of interest, a fun fact not related to politics,

Melissa Clink: 47:14

not related to politics. It's gonna be hard politics is a lot of my life.

Meral Clarke: 47:18

I know that it's not all of your life.

Melissa Clink: 47:21

No, it's not all of my life. So I definitely one of my favorite places to be is at the beach. I think it's because I grew up in Charleston, South Carolina. And as a teen, I wish I could go back and do my teen years again, because I would spend every weekend, I'm sure when I live close to it. So I definitely love beach, I love the ocean and just kind of being around that and I have recently taken up hiking and stuff. So I like checking out different paths and trails and things like that so

Meral Clarke: 47:47

healthy for you,

Melissa Clink: 47:49

you know, I definitely don't race or anything when I'm doing it just kind of leisurely stroll. But

Meral Clarke: 47:55

that's all you need to do right?

Melissa Clink: 47:56

Before the pandemic. One of the things that before hiking game was one of my favorite things to do. When I did have a say to myself, Phil kind of evolved or had to do with politics. And that was kind of picked out a local museum or like a small historic place. I like to go check out the historic places in Georgia kind of by myself. So I can spend the whole day reading in a museum and not have anyone rashly to leave because they're ready to go and don't want to

Meral Clarke: 48:20

read everything. So that sounds incredibly relaxing.

Melissa Clink: 48:23

I really liked that it says something I like to do in pre COVID. I did it almost every weekend and COVID it close up a lot of those things. So I'm hoping that those will be opening up soon, and I'll be able to enjoy that.

Meral Clarke: 48:34

Terrific. That is wonderful. Thank you, Melissa, for joining us today and sharing more about your critical work to maintain our democracy. I'm Meral Clarke and on behalf of our team, I'd like to thank everyone for listening to the North Georgia Blue Podcast and Melissa very quickly give us your website and phone number if folks want to get in touch with you to volunteer.

Melissa Clink: 48:55

Okay, you can go to WWE for safe bins.org You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. I believe we're first site in Georgia. We also have a YouTube channel. So definitely check out our YouTube channel. We just did a panel with the National African American Association as well as Moms Demand Action. It's really good discussion on harm reduction and responsible gun ownership. So

Meral Clarke: 49:17

check that out. Fantastic. Well, everyone we hope you'll listen next time when our special guest will be Tim Denson, chair of the Athens Clarke County Democrats to learn more about the Fannin County democrats and the work we're doing visit us online at Fannin County, Georgia Democratic party.com and consider sharing the North Georgia Blue Podcast with your friends and family. Join us again as we get into some more good trouble