How to Live Through an Election

How are you, dear listeners?  We are recording this on Sunday, November 8th.  This has been a week full of all the feels... the stress and joy and fear and sorrow and hope.  We hope you are coping and coming through it ok.  We checked in with a couple of our besties yesterday to process all these feelings and find out what comes next.  

We know that not all of you are political junkies like Charles has become. And many of you are likely ready to move on, with fewer phone calls, fewer flyers in your mailbox. But more people followed this election closely than ever before. More people voted than ever before. By all accounts, it was the most important, most consequential election in a generation. Our generation. All that said, we want to check in with you AND share with you a couple of stories from some dedicated women who were engaged in the election. Their stories are personal and emotional. We think they will touch you. 

Joining us this week, we have pod fave Laura Fitton back to talk about what makes this election different and why her belief in our new Vice President Elect is so deeply, deeply personal.  

For those of you who don’t remember, Laura is a serial entrepreneur and problem-solver. A college chum from Charles's Cornell days, Laura took her smarts and passion and created her own internet start up about monetizing and promoting brands on Twitter. She sold her company to a large inbound marketing company, freeing her up to address climate change through the Enough Company and then the pandemic with the The PPE Index. The throughline in all her ventures was seeing a need and deciding to do something to meet it.

(If you see something, do something!)

In this episode Laura talks about her realization that black women are the backbone of our democracy and what she did to help amplify their voices and work. And, because we’re not done protecting the vote and protecting democracy...

We also have - we are beyond thrilled to say - Kelly's BFF from high school, Elise Durham.  We’ve been promising that you’d get to meet her and we finally get to deliver on that.  She lays it down on the Founding Fathers, voting in Georgia, and moving forward together.  Elise works for Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms as the Director of Communications at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport - the world’s busiest airport.  Before that, she was a TV news producer, as well as running communications for Morehouse College and Florida A&M University.  She was also Kelly's high school’s mascot Leo the Lion in their senior year.  We are so happy and excited to talk with her, and you’ll hear why.  She’s a smart, savvy badass we know you’ll enjoy.
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"Our Founders (those slave-owning white men) were brilliant. They were hypocrites, but they were brilliant in what they dreamed for for this nation."
- Elise Durham

Key Takeaways: 

• Those people who have been marginalized or put off to one side are deeply affected by this election. 
• Those people who are more at the center are also deeply affected. 
• For those at the center, a move toward equality and confusion can feel like oppression = fragility. 
• Fragility is real pain, even if it seems selfish or ridiculous.
• Black women are the backbone of our democracy. Despite being generally unloved by the country, they love it back and vote like no one else. 
• Conversations like this one, across race and gender can make a difference. 

Do a Science:

• Get involved in local and national politics
• Have a conversation with someone who holds a different political position ​

​References & Resources:

• Donate to an HBCU Scholarship Fund
• Laura’s Voting Rights and Get Out the Vote Organizations List
  • Donate
  • Volunteer
  • Amplify on Social Media
• Episode 43 - How to Be Useful with Laura Fitton 
• Prescott Woman Podcast - Women of Service – Turning Passion into Change
• The Enough Company

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