75th Annual National Book Awards Ceremony



National Book Foundation 

Streamed live 8 hours ago

Tune in live to the 75th National Book Awards Ceremony on November 20, 2024 at 8:00pm EST. Hosted by Kate McKinnon, and featuring musical guest Jon Batiste. Join us for the announcement of the 2024 Winners of the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature, Translated Literature, Poetry, Nonfiction, and Fiction, and the presentation of the Foundation’s two lifetime achievement awards, to W. Paul Coates and Barbara Kingsolver.

To learn more about the 2024 National Book Award Finalists, and support our year-round work: https://www.nationalbook.org/awards2024/

PLEASE NOTE: This previously recorded program via video begins @12:50. Percival Everett receives his National Book Award for Fiction and gives his acceptance speech @1:57:58. W. Paul Coates receives his Literarian Award and gives his acceptance speech @33:46:

 

  

PHOTO: Percival Everett photographed in South Pasadena, California, in March 2022. Photograph: Dan Tuffs/The Observer

 

All,

FINALLY one of the greatest writers in American history receives the national/global recognition,  appreciation and honor from the literary world and beyond that he so righteously deserves and has for over 40 years now.  Since 'Suder' his debut novel in 1983 Percival Everett has written an astonishing 35 books of fiction, short stories, and poetry which have been widely acclaimed by critics and readers alike throughout not only the United States but the world. A prolific author, critic, and professor who has taught literature, critical and literary theory, and philosophy at the University of Southern California (USC) since 1998 and whose work has been translated in many languages worldwide Everett has not only fully earned his most recent honor but to myself and many others he is overdue to be a very serious candidate to win both the Pulitzer and the Nobel Prize in Literature as well. He's that good and I truly hope and suspect that he will also attain these world class literary honors in the very near future.

 

Kofi 

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/20/books/booksupdate/national-book-award-2024.html

Percival Everett, Author of ‘James,’ Wins National Book Award for Fiction

Jason De León received the nonfiction award for “Soldiers and Kings: Survival and Hope in the World of Human Smuggling. 

PHOTO: Percival Everett, awarded the prize for fiction, said seeing so many people gathered together to celebrate literature gave him a sense of optimism. Credit:  Karsten Moran for The New York Times

by Alexandra Alter
November 20, 2024
New York Times

Percival Everett won the National Book Award for fiction on Wednesday for his novel “James,” a propulsive and slyly funny retelling of Mark Twain’s “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” from the perspective of Huck’s companion, an enslaved man named James.

In accepting the award, Everett said that seeing people coming together to celebrate books gave him a sense of optimism during what was, for him, a challenging moment.

“Two weeks ago, I was feeling pretty low, and to tell you the truth, I still feel pretty low,” he said, in an oblique reference to the results of the presidential election. “As I look out at this, so much excitement about books, I have to say, I do feel some hope.”

Published this spring, “James” drew rapturous reviews from critics. “It is a tangled and subversive homage, a labor of rough love,” Dwight Garner wrote in The New York Times, calling the novel a masterpiece that deserves to be read alongside the book that inspired it.

This year’s award ceremony, which drew 800 guests to a black-tie dinner at Cipriani Wall Street, marked the 75th National Book Awards.

The event kicked off with a piano riff on Beethoven’s Fifth symphony by Jon Batiste, the Grammy Award and Academy Award-winning singer, songwriter and composer.

He was followed by Kate McKinnon, a comedian and actress who hosted the event and joked about her lack of literary credentials in the opening remarks. After describing the power of books to illuminate, provoke and inspire change, she confessed that the line was written by ChatGPT. “Is that bad?” she asked.


PHOTO: Kate McKinnon joked about her lack of credentials to M.C. the literary award. Credit: Karsten Moran for The New York Times

Even with McKinnon’s jokes and frequent whoops of delight, the mood often turned somber, as writers spoke about the role of literature in challenging times, with ongoing wars, political division, racial inequality and growing book removals around the country.

“Hard times are coming,” said Ruth Dickey, executive director of the National Book Foundation, quoting a speech given by Ursula K. Le Guin at the National Book Awards in 2014, as she described the threat of rising censorship and book bans.

The award for nonfiction was given to the anthropologist Jason De León for “Soldiers and Kings: Survival and Hope in the World of Human Smuggling,” an immersive account of the nearly seven years he spent embedded with human smugglers on the U.S.-Mexico border. The book depicts traffickers as both victims and perpetrators of violence, often suffering from the same poverty as migrants.

In accepting the award, which he dedicated to “everyone on the migrant trail,” De León denounced the incoming Trump administration’s proposed crackdown on immigration and other policies. “I will not accept the dystopian American future,” he said.


PHOTO: Jason De León, who won the nonfiction award, spoke out against the immigration policies espoused by the upcoming Trump administration. Credit: Karsten Moran for The New York Times

The National Book Award, established in 1950, is one of the most prestigious literary prizes in the United States. Past winners include William Faulkner, Flannery O’Connor, Ralph Ellison, Louise Erdrich, Colson Whitehead and Jesmyn Ward.


The prize, which is given in five categories — fiction, nonfiction, poetry, translated literature and young people’s literature — is open to books released by U.S. publishers in the United States between Dec. 1, 2023 and Nov. 30, 2024. Earlier this year, the National Book Foundation announced that it was dropping the citizenship requirement, opening up the prize to immigrants and others who have made their home in the United States.

The National Book Foundation also recognized Barbara Kingsolver, the author of nine novels, including “The Poisonwood Bible” and “Demon Copperhead,” which won the 2023 Pulitzer Prize, with a lifetime achievement award.

In accepting the prize, Kingsolver made a case for morally engaged literature that raises uncomfortable questions about social inequality and injustice. “I think we’re at our best when we’re disruptors, when we rattle self absorption,” she said. “We get to crack people open.”


PHOTO: Barbara Kingsolver, honored for her lifetime accomplishments, made an argument for literature that “rattles self absorption.”Credit: Karsten Moran for The New York Times

The foundation also honored W. Paul Coates, publisher and founder of Black Classic Press and BCP Digital Printing, with the Literarian Award, which recognizes service to the literary community.


Coates’s award provoked controversy after an article in Jewish Insider questioned the foundation’s decision, noting that Black Classic Press had republished the late Tony Martin’s 1993 book “The Jewish Onslaught,” which was criticized as antisemitic at the time of its publication for Martin’s claims that Jewish people were opposed to Black progress.

The foundation defended its choice in a statement to Jewish Insider, noting that they awarded the prize to Coates for his work “to ensure that Black voices and stories, that might otherwise have been lost, are instead preserved as an irreplaceable part of American literary history.” On Wednesday night, Coates received the award to warm applause and without incident, and spoke about the purpose of his press.

“My mission is recovery, and making Black self-narrating voices known to the world,” he said.

The award for translated literature, which was added in 2018, went to Yáng Shuāng-zǐ’s “Taiwan Travelogue.” The novel, about a Japanese novelist who travels to Taiwan in 1938 and forms a relationship with her young female interpreter, was translated from Mandarin by Lin King.

The award for young people’s literature was given to Shifa Saltagi Safadi for “Kareem Between,” a coming-of-age novel that centers on a Syrian American boy struggling to fit in. In her acceptance speech, Safadi thanked Allah and the Muslim writers who had come before her, and denounced the “dehumanization of Arabs and Islamophobia,” as well as the war in Gaza.

The poetry prize was awarded to Lena Khalaf Tuffaha for “Something About Living,” a collection that explores the erasure of Palestinian history. Tuffaha, who decried the ongoing violence in Gaza, said that she was honored to accept the award as a Palestinian American on “behalf of all the deeply beautiful Palestinians that this world has lost, and in honor of all the miraculous ones who endure.”

 

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

 

Alexandra Alter writes about books, publishing and the literary world for The Times. More about Alexandra Alter

See more on: National Book Foundation, Barbara Kingsolver, Percival Everett

 

https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/features/percival-everett-interview-james

 

The author of James, shortlisted for the Booker Prize 2024, on how he sees himself as being in conversation with the creator of Huckleberry Finn, and the skills he learnt from reading Tristram Shandy

Read interviews with all of the longlisted authors here.

Publication date and time: Published August 15, 2024

The inspirations behind my Booker-shortlisted book

Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is the source of my novel. I hope that I have written the novel that Twain did not and also could not have written. I do not view the work as a corrective, but rather I see myself in conversation with Twain.

The book that made me fall in love with reading

Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five.

The book I return to time and time again

Samuel Butler’s The Way of All Flesh. I love the way Butler creates the history of the family seemingly without effort and I love the humour.

The book I can’t get out of my head

There are too many to single out just one.

The book that changed the way I think about the world

Chester Himes’s novel Third Generation made me consider the politics of skin colour. I could see my own mother in the mother of the character and so formed a better understanding of people in general.

PHOTO:  Kurt Vonnegut, 1991  © Everett Collection Inc/Alamy

Chester Himes’s novel Third Generation made me consider the politics of skin colour

The book that changed the way I think about the novel 

Sterne’s Tristram Shandy taught me the importance of play as an avenue to meaning. Also, I learned that important truths don’t need and often don’t come italicised or with brassy accompaniment.

The book that impressed me the most 

Again, Tristram Shandy, for its intelligence and play.  It challenges how a work of fiction is supposed to mean and make meaning.  An 18^th-century novel that could pass for post-modern (if there were such a thing). 

 
The book I’m reading at the moment 

Joseph Horowitz’s Dvořák’s Prophecy.  This is a wonderful book about the construction of so-called high and low culture in turn-of-the-20th-century United States. 

 
The Booker-nominated book everyone should read 

J.M. Coetzee’s Disgrace.

Nonso Anozie reads from ‘James’ | The Booker Prize

The Booker Prizes

 

October 12, 2024 

 #BookerPrize

 

Watch Nonso Anozie read from Booker Prize 2024-shortlisted ‘James’, written by Percival Everett. The story so far: It’s 1861 and Jim, a slave and soon-to-be companion of Huckleberry Finn on a dangerous journey along the Mississippi River, is a man driven by a fierce instinct to survive and to protect his family. This includes teaching his own and other children the behavioural and language skills needed to avoid antagonising the white people who have made their lives hell.

Discover the book: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booke... 

Prominent Grass Roots Organizer, Social Activist, Campaign Strategist, Journalist, and Political Advisor Waleed Shahid On What Powerful Political and Economic Forces Within the Democratic Party Were Fundamentally Responsible For Kamala Harris's Loss

 

"...Why, after every electoral loss, is the left always the scapegoat? It’s easier to blame activists for pushing a progressive agenda than confront the real issue: the Democratic Party has long been shaped by far more powerful forces—corporate interests, lobbyists, and consultants—whose influence has neglected the real crises facing everyday Americans. We see this cycle again and again.

Contrary to establishment narratives, the Democratic leadership has often resisted advocacy organizations pushing for bold reforms on immigration, Big Tech, climate, debt, healthcare, rent, mass incarceration, Palestinian rights, and for policies like the Build Back Better agenda. This tension isn’t just about differing priorities—it reveals the actual balance of forces in the party. Corporate donors on Wall Street and Silicon Valley pour billions into campaigns, shaping agendas to suit their interests. A consultant class reaps millions from flawed strategies and failed candidates yet continues to fail upward, perpetuating a pattern of mediocrity. They, not progressives, are the roadblock preventing Democrats from becoming a populist force that could disrupt the status quo and win back voters of all stripes.

It was these elements within the party that kneecapped the Democrats’ most ambitious efforts to help ordinary Americans. The Biden administration entered with huge plans, notably Build Back Better, which would have delivered immediate relief: expanded child tax credits, free community college, universal child care and pre-K, paid leave, and more. Progressives pushed mightily for Build Back Better to pass. It was centrist obstruction—namely Senators Manchin and Sinema—that blocked those policies. The result was a patchwork of long-term measures like the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal, whose benefits won’t be felt until 2025 at the earliest, if at all. By failing to pass Build Back Better, Democrats lost the chance to deliver easy-to-understand, tangible economic benefits and solidify their image as the party of working people.

And it was corporate Democrats—particularly lobbyists like Harris’s brother-in-law, former Uber executive Tony West, and David Plouffe—who held the most sway over Harris’s campaign. They advised her to cozy up to ultra-wealthy celebrities, Liz and Dick Cheney, and Mark Cuban, and avoid populist rhetoric that could have distanced her from the corporate elites who dominate the party. In 2024, the biggest spenders in Democratic Party politics weren’t progressives—it was AIPAC, cryptocurrency PACs, and corporate giants like Uber, all of whom poured millions into Democratic campaigns without regard for public opinion or the will of the people.

The Harris campaign’s messaging failed because, while populist economic appeals resonated with voters, the public face of the campaign was discouraged from embracing them..."

--Waleed Shahid, "The Left Didn't Sink Kamala Harris.  Here's What Did", The Nation, November 18, 2024

 

https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/corporate-democrats-not-woke-activists-doomed-kamala-harris/

Politics

The Left Didn’t Sink Kamala Harris.  Here’s What Did.

It’s easier to blame activists, but far more powerful forces have led Democrats to neglect the real crises facing Americans.

by Waleed Shahid
November 18, 2024
The Nation

PHOTO: Kamala Harris pauses while speaking on stage as she concedes the election, at Howard University on November 6, 2024, in Washington, DC. (Andrew Harnik / Getty Images)

In the aftermath of Kamala Harris’s loss, many pundits and politicians are turning to a familiar scapegoat. Critics like Adam Jentleson, a former aide to senators Harry Reid and John Fetterman, claim that “woke” advocacy groups made Democrats adopt extreme policies and drove voters away from the Democratic Party, sealing Donald Trump’s victory. But the truth is simpler—and more uncomfortable for the Democratic establishment. Despite the noise, voters didn’t reject Harris because of leftist rhetoric or activist slogans. They rejected her because she and her party failed to address the economic pain of working-class voters, who chose change over more of the same.

There’s a generation of Black and brown organizers, often the first in their families to step into positions of power, navigating institutions historically dominated by others. Alongside them are downwardly mobile white millennials, raised with expectations of stability but battered by an economy that delivers none. These activists, working within nonprofits and campaigns, fighting for causes once central to Democratic values, have somehow become scapegoats for the party’s electoral woes.

Why, after every electoral loss, is the left always the scapegoat? It’s easier to blame activists for pushing a progressive agenda than confront the real issue: the Democratic Party has long been shaped by far more powerful forces—corporate interests, lobbyists, and consultants—whose influence has neglected the real crises facing everyday Americans. We see this cycle again and again.

Contrary to establishment narratives, the Democratic leadership has often resisted advocacy organizations pushing for bold reforms on immigration, Big Tech, climate, debt, healthcare, rent, mass incarceration, Palestinian rights, and for policies like the Build Back Better agenda. This tension isn’t just about differing priorities—it reveals the actual balance of forces in the party. Corporate donors on Wall Street and Silicon Valley pour billions into campaigns, shaping agendas to suit their interests. A consultant class reaps millions from flawed strategies and failed candidates yet continues to fail upward, perpetuating a pattern of mediocrity. They, not progressives, are the roadblock preventing Democrats from becoming a populist force that could disrupt the status quo and win back voters of all stripes.

It was these elements within the party that kneecapped the Democrats’ most ambitious efforts to help ordinary Americans. The Biden administration entered with huge plans, notably Build Back Better, which would have delivered immediate relief: expanded child tax credits, free community college, universal child care and pre-K, paid leave, and more. Progressives pushed mightily for Build Back Better to pass. It was centrist obstruction—namely Senators Manchin and Sinema—that blocked those policies. The result was a patchwork of long-term measures like the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal, whose benefits won’t be felt until 2025 at the earliest, if at all. By failing to pass Build Back Better, Democrats lost the chance to deliver easy-to-understand, tangible economic benefits and solidify their image as the party of working people.

And it was corporate Democrats—particularly lobbyists like Harris’s brother-in-law, former Uber executive Tony West, and David Plouffe—who held the most sway over Harris’s campaign. They advised her to cozy up to ultra-wealthy celebrities, Liz and Dick Cheney, and Mark Cuban, and avoid populist rhetoric that could have distanced her from the corporate elites who dominate the party. In 2024, the biggest spenders in Democratic Party politics weren’t progressives—it was AIPAC, cryptocurrency PACs, and corporate giants like Uber, all of whom poured millions into Democratic campaigns without regard for public opinion or the will of the people.

The Harris campaign’s messaging failed because, while populist economic appeals resonated with voters, the public face of the campaign was discouraged from embracing them. Instead, the focus was on issues like democracy and abortion, which, while important, couldn’t by themselves capture the priorities of working-class voters. In her public remarks and interviews, Harris, drawing on the advice of corporate leaders, frequently adopted a Wall Street–friendly tone that resonated with business interests, even if it alienated many of her core supporters.

Current Issue
November 2024 Issue

It’s easy to forget that in 2020, Democrats saw historic turnout, driven largely by young voters who were energized by the largest left-wing and Black freedom protests since the 1960s. Biden won, and Democrats seemed to capture the nation’s hunger for justice and change, even as protesters marched with polarizing slogans like “Defund the Police.” Despite the controversy surrounding these messages, Biden triumphed decisively, calling for racial justice. The energy in the streets reflected a moment of possibility, a vision that real change was within reach. But by 2024, that grassroots energy had dissipated, and the Biden-Harris administration did little to revive it.

The loss of energy that Biden and Harris presided over showed up in youth turnout, which dropped to 42 percent in 2024, down from 50 percent in 2020 and closer to 2016 levels. However, battleground states saw higher youth turnout, around 50 percent. Young voters favored Harris over Trump by four points (51 percent to 47 percent), a sharp decline from Biden’s 25-point lead in 2020. The administration’s failure to offer a compelling narrative or deliver meaningful economic reforms alienated many young voters, especially on issues like unconditional weapons transfers to Israel. Trump capitalized on this vacuum with false promises and an anti-war message. Meanwhile, young workers, hit hardest by inflation and stagnant wages, saw little relief from the administration’s policies, leaving them feeling unseen and unmotivated. The simplest explanation may be the most accurate: after four years in opposition, Democrats under Biden had no plan for countering centrist obstruction from Manchin and Sinema. Nor did they have a clear strategy for transitioning to a new candidate, as Biden once suggested, or supporting a contested 2024 primary.

This disconnect was made worse by the administration’s lackluster communication strategy. Biden has avoided the media more than any modern president. In contrast, Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) dominated the narrative with daily, three-hour, entertaining, and combative press conferences that have earned him one of the largest YouTube followings in Mexico. AMLO’s approach to the attention economy helped his party to secure another presidential term, defying global anti-incumbent trends.

Biden and Harris’s reluctance to embrace what some Democratic elites might view as “tasteless” or “uncouth” populist appeals allowed their opponents to seize the public’s attention, creating a void that ultimately drained the administration of the energy and momentum it once had. Trump’s simple, emotionally charged narrative about fixing the economy, winding down foreign wars, restoring order, and protecting “traditional” American values may have been filled with bigotry and lies. But it commanded the public discourse, pushing the Biden-Harris administration off center stage.

It’s true that some younger leftists embrace purity politics. But as Semafor’s Benjy Sarlin points out, the most polarizing moments in recent Democratic campaigns—like Beto O’Rourke’s “Hell yes” remark on gun confiscation or Julián Castro’s call to decriminalize border crossings during the 2020 primaries—were driven by the candidates themselves, not external activist pressure. Why did Kamala Harris take the positions she did in 2019? Because she was trying to distinguish herself in a crowded Democratic primary, where Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren were surging and Biden seemed to have the center locked down. Ultimately, these moves were about gaining media attention in a competitive primary, not a direct result of pressure from advocacy groups—many of which, like Sunrise Movement, Working Families Party, and Justice Democrats, with which I was affiliated, have spent years working within the system to create lasting change and deliver real policy results that resonate with voters

The backlash against “wokeness” often rests on vague critiques, offering little more than cultural hand-wringing without any clear solutions. And when those solutions do emerge, they’re often morally indefensible. Jentleson’s criticism of progressive advocacy groups rings especially hollow when you consider the track record of his own political mentors. In 2010, his former boss, Harry Reid, publicly opposed the “Ground Zero mosque,” a proposed Islamic cultural center near the World Trade Center. While technically acknowledging the developers’ rights, Reid capitulated to Republican culture wars by suggesting Muslim Americans build the mosque elsewhere. This wasn’t a principled stance—it was a political maneuver that lent legitimacy to Islamophobia, feeding into narratives from figures like Sarah Palin and Newt Gingrich, who compared the center to a Nazi building next to the Holocaust Museum. In doing so, Reid allowed bigotry to flourish, leaving a vulnerable community to bear the brunt of political scapegoating.

From asylum seekers to transgender rights, today’s debates mirror the “Ground Zero mosque” controversy. From 2017 to 2020, Democrats, including Harris, were eager to condemn Trump’s cruel immigration policies. Now, however, they seem more focused on dodging the topic altogether. These are issues demanding a new approach, one that emphasizes year-round persuasion and agenda-setting over political convenience. Thermostatic public opinion might be a reality of politics, but voters appreciate when you stand for something with conviction and authenticity.

This is where movements and parties work best together: movements push the boundaries of what’s possible, creating the political space to reframe issues like transgender rights and immigration in majoritarian terms, and politicians follow when the political weather aligns with their self-interest. These two sides will clash, but it’s in that tension that progress lies.

Democrats can’t be scared of that process. They must stop ceding the narrative to far-right framing and instead invest in populist campaigns that aren’t afraid to antagonize villains, highlight the humanity of marginalized communities, and expose the Republican Party’s divide-and-conquer tactics. Only then can they build the political power necessary to shift the conversation and secure real change.

Anyone who knows me knows I’m critical of the academic jargon and misguided tactics that sometimes dominate activist circles. But to blame activists for the party’s struggles is to overlook the much larger battles they’re engaged in: 11 million undocumented Americans left in limbo, a prison system that incarcerates more people than any other in history, and an economy where three people hold more wealth than the bottom half of the country. These are the moral tests of our time—tests that any party claiming to stand for justice will be judged by. Scapegoating those pushing for change isn’t just unfair; it’s counterproductive, fracturing necessary coalitions and undermining the ability of the party to tackle the crises ahead.

Harris’s defeat should prompt serious introspection for Democrats—but not the narrow, one-sided critique Jentleson offers. Everyone, including progressive advocacy groups, has lessons to learn. The path forward isn’t about hippie-punching—it never has been. Time and again, the center-left’s response to electoral defeat has been to blame the unpopular and disruptive activists pushing for progress, whether abolitionists, suffragettes, labor unions, civil rights leaders, or environmentalists.

History reveals that oversimplified approaches often sidestep the harder questions. Success doesn’t come from rejecting the complexity of a diverse coalition but from learning to navigate it. To win, Democrats must inspire the public in a fractured information age, engage meaningfully with the cultural shifts around race, gender, family, and migration, make democracy work despite obstructionists like Manchin and Sinema, and—most critically—deliver tangible results that improve people’s lives. And if the corporate, status quo–loving forces within the party are standing in the way of that mission, they must be moved aside.

Success will come not by pointing fingers but by telling a story of transformation—with clear villains, bold vision, and conviction that democracy can, indeed, make a difference.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Waleed Shahid

Waleed Shahid is the director of The Bloc and the former spokesperson for Justice Democrats. He has served as a senior adviser for the Uncommitted Campaign, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Jamaal Bowman. He is a member of The Nation’s editorial board.

WELCOME TO THE BLOC

https://www.the-bloc.us/

ABOUT US

OUR WORK

CONTACT US

At The Bloc, we blend the best of a content studio, PR agency, think tank, and training hub to fuel progressive change. This is your political home, the center of energy of American politics.

ABOUT US

OPERATIVES

STRATEGISTS

MEDIA MAKERS

EDUCATORS

We work to bridge the gap between grassroots movements and mainstream political power. We know the energy driving young progressives—on issues from Palestinian rights to economic justice and multiracial democracy—often hits structural barriers. We aim to break through, providing the tools and strategies needed to capture the center of American politics

We launched The Bloc to transform our collective experience into a force for lasting change. We've seen our advocacy stymied by corporate interests and an adversarial media landscape. To truly harness our potential, we need robust infrastructure to support and amplify our efforts, turning moments of activism into sustained influence.

Despite our successes, even our champions in elected office are like balloons tethered by the rock of public opinion, Capitol Hill dynamics, and adversarial mainstream media. To lift these balloons, we need a strong external force to shift these anchors, allowing progressive voices to soar and lead. 

The Bloc is that force—a strategic communications hub empowering movements with the tools they need to thrive, mobilize the base, and navigate key political arenas.

By building a team dedicated to mobilizing the base, persuading the middle, and navigating key arenas of political influence, we aim to transform fleeting moments of activism into lasting political power.

 

MEET THE TEAM

Waleed Shahid

---

Waleed Shahid is a political strategist who helped launch the 2024 Vote Uncommitted campaign in Michigan and the Green New Deal campaign in 2018. Through his role as spokesperson at Justice Democrats, he served as a senior advisor to candidates like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Jamaal Bowman, and Summer Lee. He was also a staffer and DNC delegate for Bernie Sanders in 2016. He is a member of The Nation’s editorial board and has commented on politics on MSNBC, CNN, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and several other outlets. He was named as part of "the next generation of the progressive elite" by The New Yorker.

Twitter: https://x.com/_waleedshahid

Executive Director

Emma Dessau

---

Emma Dessau led media production at Justice Democrats and co-founded That’s Us Productions. She’s also worked on Elizabeth Warren's 2020 campaign for President, as an editor on various feature documentaries, as a teacher at The Edit Center in Brooklyn, New York, and as Senior Digital Producer at PBS documentary series, POV. She's presented her work and spoken on panels at conferences and festivals including IDFA, DOCNYC, DocsBarcelona, Allied Media Conference and the Brooklyn Film Festival.

Media Director

ADVISORY GROUP

Kashif Shaikh

President of the Pillars Fund.

---

Jen Parker

Editor and co-founder of Hammer & Hope and a former New York Times opinion editor.

---

 

Michelle Alexander

Civil rights lawyer, New York Times opinion columnist, and author of “The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness.”

---

Daniel May

Publisher of Jewish Currents.

---

Varshini Prakash

Co-founder of the Sunrise Movement.

---

Bassema Yousef

Consultant and organizer focused on Palestinian human rights.

---

Astra Taylor

Filmmaker. Writer. Co-founder of the Debt Collective.