Esperanza Tervalon-Garrett from Dancing Hearts Consulting (@Dancingheartsconsulting) joins us on the PDX Black Rose Podcast for great conversation about the Census, Blackness in Oregon, and adapting Juneteenth to a livestream during COVID-19. She is a queer, Afro-Puerto Rican woman, and a native daughter of Oakland, California. She is the founder and CEO of Dancing Hearts Consulting, LLC, a progressive consulting firm that curates innovative ideas, programs, and campaigns to challenge the status quo and test emerging strategies that change the political game to win long-term change for the people most impacted by systemic oppression. Esperanza was the first woman of color to lead a 501c3, 501c4 & PAC collaborative civic engagement formation focused on mobilizing progressive voters of color in the United States. Her ability to build grassroots power in neighborhoods, at the ballot box, and at City Hall has earned her solid reputation as a savvy electoral strategist, a seasoned political organizer, and a power-building innovator among Social Justice activists and Philanthropic leaders.
Esperanza is the Co-Chair of the Funders Committee for Civic Participation, a network of civic engagement institutions that move $170M to the field each year. She is also serving as the Statewide Campaign Manager for the Oregon Hard to Count Census Campaign that aims to engage 1M people. Esperanza is married to wife Christine and her proudest accomplishment is her brilliant and tenacious son, Santiago. They live at Dancing Hearts Ranch, a 16-acre ranch, in the Cascade Mountains of Southern Oregon.
Time Stamps:
9:34-8:45 “I’m so proud of the Black folks in Oregon, Lamar Wise, Joy Alise Davis, Kayse Jama, for stepping up into their leadership”
11:16-11:23 “Black folks have been in Oregon and have helped to really build this place into what it is”
28:38-28-50 “When the white folks jump up and they say “they (cops) kill white people too!” and I’m like aren’t you mad about that? Doesn’t that bother you? Police are playing the judge, jury, and executioner and that’s not a problem for you?”
30:24-30:29 “I’m the first Black woman in the country to run a C3/C4 pac focused on turning out voters of color”
31:57:32:09 “There’s so much shame for white people. They’re so ashamed. And as soon as they’re triggered into the shame of their own racism, they are unable to engage in the conversation about doing anything about it”
Key Links:
Juneteenth Live Stream Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwrfuirqzIjE9FieXn6CnJfo5gXuzWbt_FC
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/etd510
