Maya Gwynn
With KVCR Public Media, I'm Maya Gwynn with Black Perspectives IE, a show where we learn about the amazing things members of the Black community are doing in the Inland Empire. My guest today is Jewel Patterson, board member with the Garcia Center for the Arts. Thank you so much for being here.
Jewel Patterson
Of course, I'm excited to be here.
Maya Gwynn
Yeah, I'm excited for you to come back, and I'm so excited about what we're talking about with the upcoming election coming Tuesday, November 3. In your opinion, what issues in this election could have the greatest impact on communities in the Inland Empire, especially the Black community, and why should residents be paying attention?
Jewel Patterson
Yeah, it's not actually just about what should we vote for? It's also about like how do we sustain the energy behind that, the voting, right? How do we sustain this energy to change our communities and engage in our communities in different ways? And so, yeah, I can say Black folks, we're going to be affected if it has to do with housing, if it has to do with education, if it has to do with any of those things. But I would say the reason to stay involved and what to pay attention to is who makes the decisions in the city that you're in, and how do you hold them accountable for changing the community around you?
Maya Gwynn
Absolutely, and I love how you said the energy that we have, and with energies like we have right now, I can't help but think about the movements like the No Kings protests that have brought people together to speak out about democracy, government accountability, and political power. How do movements like these connect civic engagement in the Inland Empire, and what role can residents play in shaping decisions that affect them? I also think about in 2020, the BLM rallies that were in Rancho Cucamonga, where I'm from, and I was shocked because I did not expect that to be there.
Jewel Patterson
That's exactly what I think about. Like in 2020, things moved so quick, and that is in huge part because we were all engaged and enraged. No Kings has that same potential and possibly that same energy for people where you can have this one moment, this one protest.
Maya Gwynn
Yeah.
Jewel Patterson
And how to sustain that energy, how to keep going after that protest is always going to be getting involved in your community. Go to the polls and cast your vote. That is one way. Even after November 3, even after the protests, even after anything, you can defocus this, like, national lens and sometimes even the statewide lens, and think more about where you are locally. You can be a part of community organizations out here who are protecting and fighting for the things that you voted for, right? Like you can be a part of community organizations who are the ones who are leading those protests, or maybe the ones who are after the protests, following up with those who are in power, who can make the decisions for the demands that you're looking for. Next Friday at the Garcia Center, I'll be leading a workshop on leadership and how the city runs, what public official roles are, and what is our role in community as well? That is a way for you to make sure that you are engaged and sustain the energy, even well beyond the protests, well beyond the voting day, all of that.
Maya Gwynn
Wow, that's super important. Thank you for plugging that. In your opinion, what barriers keep young people, particularly young Black people, from participating in the political process, and how can we encourage them to become more civically engaged in a time where it does make sense to feel apathetic in a lot of ways?
Jewel Patterson
Yeah, I think it is really important for us to sit with the apathy. I think it's important for us to acknowledge it. I know in a lot of circles, people are feeling like, oh, these kids-they don't, you don't understand the importance, and you're right,-they don't understand the importance, and but we have to sit with that, and we have to learn together. We have to have these intergenerational conversations. Sometimes I remember I was teaching a class at University of Redlands, and when the conversation of voting came up, the class was literally split almost down the middle. Some of the young folks were saying, "Like it's our duty. This is exactly what we need to do. Like this is how we exercise our privilege. This is for those who can't vote, right? The other half of the class was like, "Y'all are doing too much talking about voting and not enough following up. And so I don't want to be involved in the voting conversations. I want to be involved in what happens after we vote, and then some people was like, it's too confusing." There is a conversation to be had, and there are people who would love to have these conversations. And I think that in order to keep younger people engaged in stuff like this, we have to really meet them where they are. We have to extend this conversation outside of an academic framework too. Imagine getting on TikTok, and the whole trend is how I'm coming to the polls this year, and the trend is like you know you got your flyest fit on, and you walking in there and you got your I Voted sticker. Imagine that, and the hashtag be like on my ancestors or something like that, which is very yunty of me.
Maya Gwynn
I'm auntie too. But I'm like, that would work for me.
Jewel Patterson
But yeah, you know, something like that is like that's what will get me even feeling like, oh, let me put on my little fit and you know step up there and figure something. That's what gets us energized. It's not just the sterile conversations about like you have to do this because I said so, or you know, that's the way of the world. The world is crumbling around us, and we have to just contend with where we are and imagine where we want to be in a different way.
Maya Gwynn
Definitely. All right, we're gonna move to our rapid fire portion. I'm excited to hear your answers. If your work had a theme song, what would it be?
Jewel Patterson
To Pimp a Butterfly, the whole album.
Maya Gwynn
Oh, yeah. If you had to teach a masterclass or give a TED talk on a random skill you have, what would it be?
Jewel Patterson
I would say kindness or artivism.
Maya Gwynn
Oh, that's great! And what's your favorite Inland Empire restaurant or landmark that reminds you of the Inland Empire?
Jewel Patterson
The Garcia Center for the Arts. I will say that. I would even say like you know, Wine Now in Upland. You know all these different places.
Maya Gwynn
I haven't been there. I want to go though. And how can people keep up with you and support the amazing work you're doing? And how can they sign up for the workshop, you said next Friday?
Jewel Patterson
Yes. Next Friday. You can certainly follow me, Just Jewel. That's J U S T J E W E L with two underscores on Instagram, and you can see a whole bunch of community things that are happening. You can get engaged in different ways just by following me and seeing my posts, and of course the Garcia Center for the Arts as well. And then that is where the link for the upcoming workshop will be as well. I also wanted to do another shameless plug for an event that's coming up this Saturday, actually, and it's with Mecca IE, and they'll be hosting what is called the IE Black Futures Agenda at Immanuel Praise Fellowship. So, if you want to be a part of using your voice and supporting local change, if you want to talk about like what does the future of Black IE look like right here where we're living, go to that event. And then, if you can't even go to that event, take and share the survey. And so, the survey is called the Black Futures Survey. That's where you can make your voice heard in ways that will, you know, be far beyond November 3. So, want to make sure that everybody goes to that and has that link so that you can share your voice any way you can.
Maya Gwynn
Awesome! Thank you so much for this conversation. It was so important. I appreciate it.
Jewel Patterson
Thank you so much.
Maya Gwynn
Jewel Patterson is a board member with the Garcia Center for the Arts. Find this segment and others at kvcr.org/bpie. To directly support this segment, visit kvcr.org/bpiedonate. Support for this segment comes from the Mecca IE Fund at the Inland Empire Community Foundation, advancing racial equity and supporting long-term investments in Black-led organizations in Riverside and San Bernardino counties. Join us again next week for Black Perspectives IE. For KVCR Public Media, I'm Maya Gwynn. Thank you.
