Women I Want You to Know by Andrea L. Johnston™

Cultivate Real Power Instead of Chasing Outrage

• Andrea L. Johnston • Season 1 • Episode 12

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0:00 | 33:28

What happens to the women who keep showing up to fight for democracy when the rooms making the laws have stopped pretending to play by the rules?

In this episode of Women I Want You to Know by Andrea L. Johnston™ Podcast, Andrea sits down with Aftyn Behn, Tennessee State Representative for District 51, organizer, and former candidate for Tennessee's 7th Congressional District. Aftyn came up through grassroots advocacy, starting as one of the first organizers at the Tennessee Justice Center, then leading rural progressive work at National Indivisible and Rural Organizing. She ran for the State House in 2023 after the Tennessee Three protests and has since become one of the country's most distinctive voices on what it actually takes to build women's political power inside a state the Wilson Center has described as an electoral autocracy.

Aftyn and Andrea trace the through-line of her work: the most punishing policies for women are being written in the states with the fewest women at the table, and the legislation drafted in Tennessee is being engineered to climb the Sixth Circuit and land at the Supreme Court. They talk about why the South is the frontline for the rest of the country, why local organizing beats national outrage, and why the playbook Aftyn is running is borrowed directly from the civil rights movement she studies in Eyes on the Prize.

This conversation goes well beyond Tennessee. Aftyn shares what it costs to run for higher office as a woman right now, why old-school misogyny has come back into the open, and how she has trained herself to stop reacting and start building. Her guidance for women feeling overstimulated by the news cycle is the same guidance she gives candidates: pick a lane, find your cadre, move at the speed of trust. Her closing call to action is a charge every founder and operator should hear: get off the sidelines, get your hands dirty, and build the bench for the women who come next.

This episode is for the woman who feels the urgency in her bones, who is tired of reacting to every headline, and who is ready to plant her work somewhere it can actually grow.


In this episode, you'll hear:

  • Why the states with the fewest women in government have the most dangerous policy for women
  • How Aftyn went from the UN refugee agency in Geneva to one of Tennessee's most-watched legislative seats
  • Why she dressed as Marie Antoinette to troll a sitting House Finance chair, and what organizing lesson came out of it
  • How Tennessee is being used as a testing ground for federal rollbacks of women's rights
  • Why the Sixth Circuit pipeline matters for every woman, in every state
  • What the civil rights movement teaches us about using Southern legislation to move a national narrative
  • Why localization is the strongest antidote to authoritarianism
  • How to choose a lane when the news cycle is engineered to keep women paralyzed
  • Why the road to higher office is brutal for women right now, and why she is going to keep walking it
  • What Gen Z women are getting right that the rest of us need to learn from
  • Why your greatest legacy as a leader is the people you build the ladder for


Episode Resources


Timestamps

(0:00) Introduction

(1:30) From organizing to the Tennessee statehouse

(3:13) Trolling power as Marie Antoinette

(5:58) Why she ran for Congress

(7:45) Her agenda and Pot for Potholes

(11:19) Reproductive rights inside an electoral autocracy

(13:55) Repealing nineteen laws with one ban

(16:15) As goes the South, so goes the nation

(19:36) Advice for women facing burnout

(22:34) Find your people and choose a lane

(24:05) The belief she had to release

(25:02) Surviving threats and growing thick skin

(28:55) Building the bench down ballot

(31:16) Substack and how to support


SPEAKER_00

When you live in a constant state of fascism, of which we are in Tennessee, it's easy to just be playing whack-a-mole. I call it whack-a-mole in Dante's 10th circle of hell. But I've really worked the last few years to anytime I feel triggered to be reactive and respond to something. I always think, how does this build power? And how does this create capacity for others to lead in the next 10 years?

SPEAKER_02

This is Women I Want You To Know. Hi, everyone. Welcome back to Women I Want You To Know. I am absolutely ecstatic to be here today with Afton Bain. For those of you who don't know her, she's an incredible political powerhouse out of Tennessee, currently serving in the House of Representatives for the 51st district. She's been in this role since a special election in 2023. And I am thrilled to have her here today to talk to us more about the path into politics, what that means for women, and her agenda, and what she's seeing happen both in the state of Tennessee and in the national political landscape. Afton, thank you for being with us. Thank you so much for having me. I'm deeply honored. I know from what I've read that you have a master's in social work. You've done a lot of work at the grassroots level with the Tennessee Justice Center. You did work with Indivisible, you've been involved in ruralorganizing.com. So, how did you go from those various activities to where you are now in the Tennessee State House?

SPEAKER_00

So I went to the University of Texas and thought I wanted to be a psychologist and work in labs the rest of my life, but that was not what my trajectory held. So my final year of graduate school for social work, and in social work, you can choose one of two arcs. You can choose to be a clinical social worker or one of a macro practitioner where you engage in advocacy and policy. And my final practicum, I had the opportunity to be placed at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Geneva, Switzerland. And so I arrived at the apex of the refugee crisis, and um that was a tumultuous year in global politics. Not only was it the Mediterranean refugee crisis, Brexit uh subsequently followed, and then the first election of President Trump. And what I quickly realized is I'm I'm not trilingual, unfortunately. And I moved back to East Tennessee, much to the upset of my parents. Luckily, when I moved back, um, there was an organization, it's a pro uh a public pro bono public interest law firm. Um, but they had actually received advocacy dollars to expand Medicaid because those were the the years trying to expand Medicaid following the passage under President Obama and uh unsuccessfully. And so they had received money for advocacy to then fight in the uh Affordable Care Act uh and Medicaid congressional um attacks from President Trump. And I was I ended up being hired as the first organizer, one of the first organizers for the Tennessee Justice Center. So I was out in rural Tennessee running around what I'm notorious for, or shall I say infamous, is uh uh Representative Diane Black was chair of the House Finance Committee during Trump's first administration. And she proposed a budget that year that eliminated Pell Grants and SNAP and really what the unfortunately has been materialized in the one big ugly bill this uh last year. But she was chair of the House Finance Committee and lived in a uh 10,000 square foot chateau. So I decided to dress as a character called Diane Toinette, but I dressed a full-fledged Marie Antoinette uh outfit and trolled her across Tennessee showing up at political events. And in 2017, there was an organic, you know, lots of organic grassroots activity, including the uh proliferation of these indivisible groups. And so National Indivisible wanted to uh engage in Tennessee's U.S. Senate race, which was against Marcia Blackburn and Phil Bredison. And they uh came down to Tennessee and a lot of the, because I had been providing information to these indivisible groups about the Affordable Care Act and dressing up as the Grim Reaper and Marie Antoinette, um, the indivisible groups put my name forth. And luckily I was I was hired by National Indivisible, which was the opportunity of a lifetime to hone my skill set. So ended up being the statewide organizer for Tennessee, the statewide organizer for Kentucky as well, um, and then took on more responsibility managing the national rural program. And then uh in 2021, I left to become the political director for a national uh group called rural organizing, um, which engages in building uh rural progressive power as well as passing rural progressive policies, um, and participated, had the opportunity to participate in ballot referendums, such as in Montana and Ohio, to codify the access of abortion um in their constitutions. And then uh all of this lands in 2023. And I joke that Tennessee politics is like the Hotel California you can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave. And I had I had wanted to wash my hands of um the legislature up here because it was as an organizer. I mean, Tennessee is uh Margaret Applebaum wrote a piece uh entitled Is Tennessee a Democracy? And it's no longer we've been in electoral autocracy for a decade. Um and I've just I've been exhausted organizing at the legislature. And so I wanted to wash my hands of Tennessee politics and be done. Um, unfortunately, there was a school shooting in uh at the end of in March of 2023, and there was a you know protest, and I'm sure a lot of your listeners followed the saga of the Tennessee three in Nashville. And so I ended up taking a sabbatical from work for 12 days and helping to organize a lot of the protests and rallies outside the Capitol. And it was that moment I realized that I deserved to be up there just as much as anyone else. So I decided to run in 2023. And I really run for office because um I am an organizer first and I leverage my legislative positions to do the paradigm shifting work that I need to in a state like Tennessee. Um to be quite frank, I've been more successful just in my um three years as a legislator than I was as an organizer for a decade because of the proximity and access and platforms. And oftentimes I when I get enraged, I decide to run for office. And so I became even more enraged last year and decided to run for this congressional seat, knowing that it was the last nationalized uh special election in the entire country, and knowing that um I was a candidate that was not going to sacrifice marginalized communities, such as our immigrant communities at the altar of politics. And so um I was grateful for the opportunity to run. Thank you for your support and um so many across the country that followed the race and um were inspired. It was the most challenging experience of my life. And um, but I'm I'm deeply honored that I was able, our race inspired so many across the country.

SPEAKER_02

It really did. I mean, I have to say I'm grateful to her bold move for putting you on my radar and then to be able to watch your campaign and to see you fight so hard for your values and to stand up for so many constituents who cannot stand up for themselves. And I think your passion, your willingness to be, you know, no holds barred, you go all in. I admire that and respect that so much. And unfortunately, I think it's very much what's necessary in the world we live in today, especially for many of the issues that you're fighting for. Um, when I look at your, you know, kind of policy agenda and the things that are important to you as a North Carolinian, I relate to a lot of it. I mean, healthcare, funding for our rural hospitals, looking at the rising cost of living. Can you talk about what you are seeing as kind of critical priorities? I know you're up for re-election this year for your um state house seat. You know, how are you approaching that? What's most critical to you and to your constituents right now?

SPEAKER_00

I'm quite fortunate in that I have a very progressive district and they elect me to the legislature understanding that I use my position to organize. I'm one of the few legislators in the country that has been uniquely trained to uh navigate authoritarianism, and I'm in the bed uh of it all here in Tennessee. Um, and so my my constituents really look to me for that long-term strategy and power building. They understand that I have the foresight to um understand what is happening and what will happen and how to build the infrastructure and capacity of others to take on the challenges that are ahead. So I'm incredibly fortunate that I'm not in a purple district having to fend off a Republican challenger every two years. But my legislative portfolio, in addition to kind of the long-term power building strategy of the state, contains messaging bills that are a direct contrast to the agenda that the Republican supermajority is offering. So my our seminal bill with Senator Charlene Oliver, who also comes from the movement. Um, she and I were both organizers for 10 years before we ran for office, um, is the uh ending Tennessee's grocery tax by closing corporate loopholes. Our second bill is expanding universal pre-K to all 95 counties by taxing big tech. And the other bill that I've been running is to address the infrastructure backlog uh by legalizing the recreational sale of marijuana and called Pot for Potholes, which has been Pot for Potholes.

SPEAKER_02

Yes, I love that.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. Um, it's yeah, and this year we decided to film some campy commercials that are available on the website. But you know, my ethos in the legislature is if you don't laugh, you'll cry. And so I try to find as much joy in my organizing here as possible.

SPEAKER_02

Well, there's also a lot of, I think, stickiness to the way you approach this. You simplify a lot of these issues in a way that are accessible to Main Street, which is really important, but you also do it in a way where it's memorable and I think where a lot of your personality and your passion comes through. And I think that's so relatable. And people right now are craving leaders that they can relate to and where they can see, I think, dimensions of true humanity. And I think you bring so much of that to how you show up, both in your current seat as well as when you ran last year. So I do think that resonates. And um hopefully that will continue to propel you forward and the state of Tennessee with you.

SPEAKER_00

You know, I there's a lot of kind of tense moments up here. And for me, at the end of the day, it's, you know, sticking up for women and sticking up for those I love and those I know that work hard. Um, but I do think it makes me a little more real. There was a conservative talk show host in Nashville whose show sometimes I go on, and one time he said, you know, you're a lot like Trump. I said, Oh, okay, uh, please, please explain. He said, Because you're authentic and people relate to that. They don't want kind of these kind of plastic in a box candidates anymore. And I'm sure you're seeing that more and more in your world.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, I think that that's very well said and very true. That authenticity is kind of a key part of what resonates. I also think, kind of going back to what you were saying about the key issues and the agenda and how you approach legislation. I know an area that has been near and dear to you, it's obviously one of the key platforms for her bold move, is around healthcare and around women's access to healthcare and reproductive rights. Um, there's been a lot of activity in Tennessee of late around that. You know, what are you sort of seeing the outlook be in Tennessee, which I think is really important for the rest of America? Like what is happening and where is this going?

SPEAKER_00

To provide some historical context, 15 years ago, the Republican supermajority has been um reigning supreme for 15 years. And prior to that, we we were able to for a lot of this the most egregious legislation behind the scenes, especially kind of behind the committees before they would debut to the entire world. Uh, and that's not the reality anymore. And it's it's an amalgamation of of factors. One, we, because we're an electoral autocracy, um and maybe this issue is more endemic across the country, but you know, the most kind of fringe candidates on the right are often the ones that are elected to the Tennessee legislature. Um, a majority of our legislators are Christian nationalists and they're out front and open about that. Um, and then a framework that really helped me understand this moment in time was an article by written by Naomi Klein, who wrote Disaster Capitalism and Astra Taylor is one of the lead organizers of the Occupy movement. But they wrote an article in The Guardian. It's called In Times Fascism, and how the culminating project of the right right now is to accelerate the end of the world to fulfill their biblical prophecy. And you can see that in the legislation here. And you'd mentioned before we started recording uh a bill filed this year, of course, during an election year, and of course, by a legislator who needs, you know, as I say, rabid red meat to run on to uh criminally charge women with homicide should they get abortions. But over the past 10 years, it's been a slow kind of descent into the abyss, and we've just seen more erosion of our bodily autonomy and civil liberties in a way that um, well, which also which also culminated in um a bill that they tried to, in which they were testing the the parameters of our First Amendment right to talk about abortion. Um they called it the abortion trafficking bill. One of the stipulations in the bill, the provisions, said you can't recruit people. And so what the far right was trying to do is use the word recruit to test the the you know the confines of what First Amendment speech is palatable for a supermajority. Um we filed a lawsuit in the conservative Sixth Circuit uh federal court and we actually won and we've been winning against our kind of far-right attorney general. But the the ecosystem right now is pretty, pretty sad. I mean, organizationally, we only have a few organizations that have lasted, persisted. I mean, we have a Planned Parenthood. I'm on the steering committee for our repro justice org, you know, but we do a lot with a little. And then in terms of legislation, it just continues to dehumanize women. Um, another bill, I so I often filed the North Star. We call it, well, we call it the South Star because we're in the South, but the South Star Abortion bill. Um, and just to give your listeners an idea of how terrible our abortion ban is, it repeals 19 laws. So, um, and this year in particular, uh, I filed a bill along with Planned Parenthood to ensure that pregnant women cannot be discriminated against by uh from their healthcare providers. Because there was a case uh of a woman who was um with her partner for nine years, but unmarried, uh, had a second, was pregnant with her second child, went to a physician in Upper Northeast Tennessee, and he explicitly told her, I'm not going to provide UCA because you're unmarried and that is against my moral beliefs. So it's just, yeah, it's it's it's very bleak here. And unfortunately, I I don't see um, you know, there's there's light at the end of the tunnel, but it's it's still quite quite far.

SPEAKER_02

And how does that impact the dynamic for OBGYNs? I mean, do people want to practice in Tennessee? Is this like a real deterrent? I can imagine that for some, it's a very concerning situation as a doctor.

SPEAKER_00

60% of our healthcare facilities in the state of Tennessee have no obstetrician care. We have the highest maternal mortality rate in the country. And the Tennessee legislature is spending their resources to create a monument to the unborn this year outside the Capitol building. They don't want to address the real tangible crises, because if they acknowledged that uh pregnant women were dying in mass, um, it would be a mass um attack on their, I guess, on their narrative that they've been promulgating the past decade. But uh yeah, it's it's it's very dire here. I'm really interested right now in this moment of authoritarianism, of how do we drive a wedge in their coalition and bring more people to our side. Public polling in Tennessee shows that abortion access with some restrictions is extremely popular, and that's been perennially corroborated by these polls. But I think kind of a rupture that I'm looking for is the prosecution of uh miscarriage and pregnancy in in Tennessee. So, you know, we've passed all this like frothing me legislation, but no district attorney has decided to prosecute. And I think when that happens, that is where my organizing kind of eyes and capacity will will be um, I will devote uh to that effort because um especially if it happens in a rural community, that's an opportunity for us to get out there and and explain to the community members just how punitive our policies are and how people, you know, and provide people the kind of on-ramp to our our coalition rather than theirs.

SPEAKER_02

I often participate in conversations where people talk a lot about the importance of looking at the South and especially red states in the South and red districts in the South, because in many ways, you know, where go those districts and states potentially go the US, especially in the current administration. What do you think are some key things people beyond Tennessee have to be focused on that are happening in the South that could be early warning indicators of expansive efforts?

SPEAKER_00

Last year, I mean, I've I've had, I'm I'm really struggling, I think, this year with chronic burnout and depression and just kind of the state general state of the world. Um, but in that I often look to the civil rights movement. And so I've been re-watching uh the documentary series Eyes on the Prize that captures the civil rights movement. I highly recommend it to your listeners. In that, what I what I had forgotten about is that the civil rights organizers, activists, legislators, and movement attorneys leveraged Southern legislation to use the judicial and um litigative processes to organize around, right? So they decided who was going to break laws, where, when, and then organized around that to fixate the attention on the South in order to move a narrative, a national narrative forward that there needed to be federal intervention. And um, of course, we know how that how how that ended. Yeah. So so one is that the South is um, you know, this is as as you I think you intimated um and you paraphrased quite well, which is a quote from W.E. Du Bois that as goes the South, so goes the nation. And it's absolutely true. And I do think that the pendulum will swink here. It it it will, and I'm seeing fractures in their coalition. The way that they're governing is ineffective. And I it's gonna render, I mean, it will yield an era of austerity that will destroy the state. And in that is the crises that I can, you know, pick up and organize around. But for your general audience nationally, the fights are here, the the legislation they're filing in Tennessee, they have no, their entire political agenda is filing unconstitutional bills in our legislature so that they make their way through the Sixth Circuit to end up at the Supreme Court to undo your, whatever state you live in, your federally protected constitutional rights. So you have to invest in places and organizers like me in the South because this is where the line is drawn. Um, and unfortunately, if you don't invest now, that this is gonna end up on your doorstep next. But I I do, I do believe that the that the pendulum will swing here and it will swing hard.

SPEAKER_02

Well, and I want to pick up on something else you just said, which is around kind of the chaos and sort of this heightened level of activity everywhere and all the distractions. And, you know, I think for women in particular, we feel it acutely. You talked about that feeling of burnt out. And I think even if we're not in public office, we're all feeling burnt out, overwhelmed. What is your advice, especially for women, given all of this chaos and urgency? How do we focus our efforts? How can we be grassroots organizers? How can we have an impact?

SPEAKER_00

For those that, you know, have never been involved in politics, um, and I'm always kind of like volunteering people, especially in my substack, that like they need to get off the sidelines. I if even if you don't know how to organize, you have to get your hands dirty. Um, and even just starting locally, I think the the best antidote to authoritarianism is localization and uh local connectivity and resistance. And so the more connected you are to your neighbors, the more um, and I think Minneapolis is an excellent case study of all of this, in which you had, you know, white moms standing outside in 70 below weather outside these primary schools for 16 hours a day, engaged in school watch. I mean, that is the type of not was gonna say leadership, but it is leadership, but like gumption we need right now, especially from people who may not feel like they know all the things, and that's fine. Anyone starting out never knew any of the things. But for me, I always tried to find the smartest people in the room and learn from them. And so I've been very grateful to have you know terrific mentors. Um, and then you know, for the long haul, like you've got to find your cadre. For me, I the organizers in Tennessee, I think, are some of the best in the country just because we have to operate under oppressive circumstances. But what's really beautiful about this moment is we we've all organized together for a decade, and now we've kind of assumed leadership positions in which we're able to, you know, we're able to move program, you know, programmatic andor, you know, defeat kind of larger projects of the far right together because we are in these positions. So I think finding your people. Um, and one of my favorite organizers is Adrienne Marie Brown, and she wrote a book called Emergent Strategies, and I highly recommend for anyone. She has all these kind of, I guess they're mantras that she lives by. Move at the speed of trust and that there's always time to do the right work. And I think about those two a lot, especially in this moment, because there's always going to be a sense of urgency. Um, and three, for me, the past few years has been an exercise in retreating from react from reaction and uh in a um building the kind of muscle to be to be proactive. And what I mean by that is like when you live in a constant state of fascism, of which we are in Tennessee, uh, it's easy to just be playing whack-a-mole. I call it whack-a mole in Dante's 10th circle of hell. But I've really worked the last few years to anytime I'm I'm about to be, you know, I feel triggered to be reactive and respond to something. I always think like, how does this, how does this build power? And how does this create capacity for others to lead um in the next 10 years? And if it can't answer those questions, then I kind of retreat. And if it doesn't fall into that kind of larger plan. And so I'd really challenge people who are feeling overstimulated to choose a lane and figure out how you can build uh from it.

SPEAKER_02

That's excellent advice because I think when we can pick a lane and focus there, somehow it feels more attainable and controllable. So I really like that. One other question I have for you is really you've grown so much in your political leadership and the way you are now bringing Tennessee forward the way you showed up to try to advance things on the national stage last year. So if you reflect back, growth, in my opinion, forces us to really outgrow old beliefs, much of it about ourselves. So when you look back, what's one belief that you had to let go of in order to lead at this level?

SPEAKER_00

I I hate to say this, but I'm just I don't know how to not say it. But, you know, running for that seat was one of the most miserable experiences of my life. Um, and I and I'm embarrassed because I think I was naive and think in and not understanding just how bad it was going to be because of the money spent, um, you know, getting hissed at in public. My family was stalked. Um, it was, I mean, it was so unpleasant. I had violent rape threats called into my office um every every day. It was, I mean, it was brutal. I mean, it's disgusting. I can't, you know, like I've been asked to, you know, talk to women and like rally them to run for office. And in Tennessee, we have, you know, lots of people running for office because they were inspired by my race, but it's also like I'm a pragmatist, and so I can't kind of negate the horrors that exist. But you grow thick skin, and especially this year, I feel like I've finally stepped into this realm of being really confident in my and I'm I'm I'm gonna, I'm sorry, I can't, I don't know if I can cuss, but like my my fuck it all attitude. Um, and I that feels really comfortable for me in this moment in time. I think after shedding the kind of chaos and and upset from the congressional race, that I'm stepping into this space where I feel more confident in my leadership and know that it is going to be a road less traveled. Um, but there's so many people behind me, and that's what organizing does. And so for people listening that that, you know, want to run for office, I'd say, you know, start organizing because you build a base of people that have your back. And I think that's been evident this week is that even though I launched into some expletives, that there is a group of, especially women who understand what I'm going through and have my back. And, you know, I'm I'm always on the side of uh really powerful, um bold women who have a lot to say. So um I do think it it made me more confident in my leadership abilities and understanding that I'm uniquely prepared for this moment and that this is this is what leadership looks like, as tough as it's going to be.

SPEAKER_02

Well, I couldn't agree more that this is what leadership looks like. And I think that being bold and confident is really important, not only in politics, but for women in business and in every facet of life. So I'm grateful to you that you, you know, ran last year. It's a joy now to watch you and see you continuing to advocate for issues that matter to so many of us and to really represent your constituents in Tennessee. I hope you will keep going because we need you out there. Um, is there anything that we haven't touched on that you want to convey to our audience?

SPEAKER_00

Well, I I once again I want to say thank you. Um, I I think what's really challenging for me in this moment, and I know I know you can attest to this, is just I know you remember in in 2018 when there was just so much frenetic excitement about women running for office and the mass kind of wave of young women who stepped into politics, like me, you know, in an organizing capacity. And to see that dissolve into just raw misogyny at every level is really hard to digest. And I'm I'm like I I've been like old school misogyny is back, like old school religion.

SPEAKER_01

Oh, and it's not, it's not behind closed doors anymore either. It's like right out on open.

SPEAKER_00

Especially from Democratic men. It makes me incredibly sad that now, you know, we're seeing less and less women run for office because of the political horrors of the reality of running for office. Um, and so you know, I guess my question is for you like, where do you see the ecosystem kind of I guess being refilled and and how? And um, because it seems like a lot of especially the organizational infrastructure is just not as robust as it once was. And I don't know what the next iteration looks like.

SPEAKER_02

I think it's a really fair question. I mean, I have found over the last couple of years, I'm focusing more and more down ballot and really looking at things that are happening at the county commissioner level, what's happening in kind of local politics, because if we can build the bench of women who want to continue to go up ballot, I think that's going to be really important moving forward. And I think getting that training of what candidacy and campaigning looks like at the local level and having organizations like Her Bold Move, which are really willing to support candidates and meet them where they are and give them the insight and the expertise to navigate what's a very complex environment and a lot of people who don't have their best interests at heart, that's what gets me excited. Last year, when we saw the governorships change hands the way they did, and we did see some big city mayoral elections go the way that they did, you know, that brings me a lot of excitement and energy. So, as dark as some of these days have been, I try to stay anchored in that. I also have a daughter who um just graduated college. And I look at she and her peers and I think, these girls got it. They understand, they get it. And that the sheer energy and passion they have to not let anything stand in their way and not to listen to the negative comments and to the misogyny. Like they're all about the patriarchy is over, like it's you know, the next chapter for women. And I love that. And I just want to see that continue.

SPEAKER_00

I resonate with that as my I'm I'm surrounded by Gen Z women and they uh they they definitely fill my cup because I'm I feel much more of a like a curmudgeon, like an elder millennial grandma. Um, and they're just so excited to learn and to be organizing. And I I think my, you know, anyone's greatest legacy is the people that you've built and who've you've created the ladder for behind you. And so um I'm I'm hoping that, and I'm, you know, I do think that there, I guess the joy with all of this is that I do believe in my heart of hearts that there will be another moment of transformative change, like we saw with the New Deal, um, when you know the gerontocracy uh uh is is gone and uh and Gen Z steps in to fill these leadership roles and assumes positions within state, local, and federal government. I do think that we'll see hopefully transformative change before Gen Alpha blows it up, but yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Fair enough, fair enough. Well, I cannot thank you enough for making time to be with us today. Um, what can we do to support you? I mean, I know you have a great constituency who has your back, but what can we be doing to support you? You mentioned your Substack.

SPEAKER_00

My Substack is where I read and write. Um, I I think I will be launching a more like basically a paid Substack to sustain my organizing, which um is probably the best investment that most people can make in the South. And so um looking forward to launching that. But yeah, my Substack is where I read and write. And um, my last post was entitled, How Do I Live, Laugh, Legislate Under Fascists? Of which the uh Republican supermajority was not happy. Um, they blacklisted me from many, many procedures in the house, but um, it was worth it because, and you know, and for those of you who may or may not read it, it's important because it it all it does is all it provides is a chronology of history and where we are in this moment. And if that is scary to you, then you're on the wrong side of it. So um, yeah, reading my Substack, and then I'm just once again, I just want to say thank you to you and all of your listeners who supported the race. I felt like the country had my back. Um, and that that is an incredibly good feeling. And I will run for higher office. I for me, it's building, I need to build the coalition. I can, I need to win a statewide race, which is gonna be another few years in Tennessee. Um, but I believe it can be done. And um I look forward to that moment.

SPEAKER_02

Well, we will be here to support you. So I look forward to continuing to see your journey. And yes, I will I can't wait to check out the new Substack that you'll be launching. So please keep us posted. And thank you again. Good luck with everything. I know there is a lot going on, and just know that we are all so thankful for you and for your leadership, and we will continue to support you in any way that we can. Thank you, Andrew. I really appreciate it. Thank you for being here today and sharing in this inspiring story from Women I Want You To Know. Please leave a review and share this episode with another woman in your life. And please join the conversation and connect with us on LinkedIn and Instagram and keep fueling the future for female founders and leaders.