The Persistence

<p>What do you do when the system publicly breaks in front of everyone… and then just keeps going?</p><p>In the early 1970s, America looked like it was restoring order. The protests of the 1960s had fractured public trust, televised violence had exposed deep cracks in American institutions, and “law and order” politics promised stability in return.</p><p>But the conflict never disappeared. It just changed location.</p><p>This episode of <em>The Persistence</em> traces the shift from public unrest to bureaucratic management, as social problems became increasingly reframed as crime, punishment, and individual failure. As the Controlled Substances Act expanded policing and incarceration, prisons became the place the state moved the people and pressures it no longer wanted to confront publicly.</p><p>Inside those walls, incarcerated people organized against overcrowding, racialized labor exploitation, brutality, and systemic neglect. After the killing of George Jackson at San Quentin in 1971, unrest spread across the country and culminated at Attica, where prisoners negotiated publicly, issued demands, and forced the nation to look directly at what had been hidden behind prison walls.</p><p>The state answered with overwhelming force.</p><p>And afterward, almost immediately, the narrative started changing.</p><p>This episode explores the history of Attica, George Jackson, prison organizing, law and order politics, mass incarceration, and the evolution of institutional power in post-1960s America.</p><p>🎧 Listen if you’re interested in:Attica uprising · George Jackson · Prison history · Law and order politics · Mass incarceration · 1970s America · Protest movements · Political history · State violence · Social movements</p><p>This episode was written by and produced by Angélica Cordero, with a little help from ChatGPT.</p><p>Our theme song is <a target="_blank" href="https://fold.bandcamp.com/track/dont-kid-yourself-baby"><em>Don’t Kid Yourself Baby</em></a> by <a target="_blank" href="https://fold.fm/">Fold</a>, used with their blessings. Podcast artwork for <em>The Persistence </em>features Mexican-American activist <a target="_blank" href="https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/jovita-idar">Jovita Idar</a> and was created by Tamra Collins of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.instagram.com/sunroot.studio/">Sunroot Studio</a>.</p><p><strong>Resources For Fellow Wascally Wabbits</strong></p><p><strong>Books</strong></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://files.libcom.org/files/A%20People%27s%20History%20of%20the%20Unite%20-%20Howard%20Zinn.pdf">A People’s History of the United States</a> by Howard Zinn</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=B0AEAAAAMBAJ&#38;printsec=frontcover&#38;source=gbs_ge_summary_r&#38;cad=0#v=onepage&#38;q&#38;f=false">“A Storm over Attica,”</a> (Life Magazine, Vol. 71, No. 14, October 1, 1971), 26-29 p.</p><p>Attica: The Official Report of the New York State Special Commission on Attica, The New York State Special Commission on Attica, chaired by Robert B. McKay, (Bantam Books, Inc., September 1972)</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=cFIEAAAAMBAJ&#38;printsec=frontcover&#38;source=gbs_ge_summary_r&#38;cad=0#v=onepage&#38;q&#38;f=false">“Attica Prison’s Bloody Monday”</a> by John Pekkanen, (Life Magazine, Vol. 71, No. 13, September 24, 1971), 26-36 p.</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://journals.librarypublishing.arizona.edu/arizlrev/article/id/9343/">“Attica Revisited”</a> by Norval Morris and Gordon Hawkins, (Arizona Law Review, Vol. 14, No. 4, 1972)</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/178182/blood-in-the-water-pulitzer-prize-winner-by-heather-ann-thompson/">Blood in the Water: The Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 and Its Legacy</a> by Heather Ann Thompson</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2460013">“‘The Dignity and Justice that Is Due to Us by Right of Our Birth’: Violence and Rights in the 1971 Attica Riot”</a> by Andrew Mamo, (Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review (CR-CL), Vol. 29, No. 2, June 27, 2014)</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Honest_Politician_s_Guide_to_Crime_C/yZa8R5aZRG0C?hl=en">The Honest Politician’s Guide to Crime Control</a> by Norval Morris and Gordon Hawkins, (University of Chicago Press, 1970)</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://archive.org/details/seventiesgreatsh0000schu">The Seventies: The Great Shift in American Culture, Society, and Politics</a> by Bruce J Schulman, (Da Capo Press, 2001)</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=B0AEAAAAMBAJ&#38;printsec=frontcover&#38;source=gbs_ge_summary_r&#38;cad=0#v=onepage&#38;q&#38;f=false">“Waiting for a Riot”</a> by James Mills, (Life Magazine, Vol. 71, No. 14, October 1, 1971), 30-35 p.</p><p><strong>Links</strong></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://search.freedomarchives.org/collections/144">“Attica Prison Rebellion,”</a> (Prisons, The Freedom Archives)</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.talkinghistory.org/attica/index.html">Attica Revisited,</a> (Talking History, 2006)</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://nyslibrary.libguides.com/attica-uprising/introduction">“The Attica Uprising, September 9-13, 1971,”</a> (The Attica Uprising, Resources, New York State Library, Nov 15, 2022)</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.archives.nysed.gov/research/topic-attica-timeline">“Timeline of Events of the Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 and Subsequent Legal Actions,”</a> (New York State Archives, New York State Education Department)</p><p><strong>Other</strong></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://archive.org/details/crimeandthecourts">“Crime and the Courts,”</a> (Carousel Films, CBS News, 1971)</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://archive.org/details/justicedelayedjusticedenied">“Justice Delayed, Justice Denied,”</a> (Carousel Films, CBS News, 1971)</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://archive.org/details/nbc-19700803">“NBC Nightly News,”</a> (Archive.org, NBC, Aug 3, 1970)</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://iarchives.nysed.gov/xtf/view?docId=ead/findingaids/22427.xml;query=motion%20picture%20film%20and%20videotapes">“New York State Division of State Police Motion Picture Film and Videotapes,”</a> (New York State Archives, New York State Education Department)</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.talkinghistory.org/attica/pacifica1.html">“Remember Attica - Part 1: The Rebellion,”</a> (WBAI, Pacifica Radio Archive, 1971)</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.talkinghistory.org/attica/pacifica1.html">“Remember Attica - Part 2: The Invasion,"</a> (WBAI, Pacifica Radio Archive, 1971)</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.talkinghistory.org/attica/pacifica1.html">“Remember Attica - Part 3: The Blackout,"</a> (WBAI, Pacifica Radio Archive, 1971)</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.talkinghistory.org/attica/pacifica1.html">“Remember Attica - Part 4: Black Friday,”</a> (WBAI, Pacifica Radio Archive, 1971)</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.talkinghistory.org/attica/pacifica1.html">“Remember Attica - Part 5: Reconstruction, Reflection, Reaction,”</a> (WBAI, Pacifica Radio Archive, 1971)</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://archive.org/details/theunbelievablestoryofthe1971atticaprisonuprising">“The Unbelievable Story Of The 1971 Attica Prison Uprising,”</a></p><p><strong>Support</strong></p><p>It’s free, it’s fast, and it tells the algorithm overlords this work matters. Supporting <em>The Persistence </em>means supporting <em>all</em> of it: the podcast, the posts, the zine, the whole enchilada.</p><p>Send a post or an episode to a friend, a professor, or that cousin who loves debating politics at dinner.</p><p>One quick Apple Podcasts review does more than <strong><em>any</em></strong> marketing budget I don’t have.</p><p>Every coffee, every donation (and paid subscription) <strong>literally</strong> keeps the mic on and the stories flowing.</p><p><strong>Collaborate (let’s dream bigger): </strong>Educators? Creative? Filmmaker/Podcaster? Org with a mission? Let’s talk.</p><p>Follow us on <a target="_blank" href="https://www.instagram.com/_wearethepersistence/">Instagram</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@wearethepersistence">TikTok</a>, and share your thoughts with Angélica by emailing <a target="_blank" href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</a>.</p><p><strong>Don’t forget to sign up for host Angélica Cordero’s newsletter, </strong><a target="_blank" href="https://obsessivelycurious.substack.com/"><strong><em>Obsessively Curious</em></strong></a><strong>!!</strong> It includes short insights that connect unlikely histories, recommendations, and details about other ways to interact with the show.</p> <br/><br/>Get full access to Obsessively Curious at <a href="https://obsessivelycurious.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_4">obsessivelycurious.substack.com/subscribe</a>

<p>The late 1960s were supposed to be proof that things were working.</p><p>Civil rights legislation had passed. The language of progress was everywhere. On paper, it looked like the system had responded.</p><p>But on the ground?</p><p>That story didn’t hold.</p><p>This episode explores the turning point of the 1960s civil rights movement, where protests, policing, and public trust in American institutions began to shift.</p><p>From the Watts uprising to the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., from student protests and occupations at Columbia University to the Chicano walkouts across the Southwest, from the American Indian Movement and the occupation of Alcatraz to the Stonewall uprising, this wasn’t a series of isolated events.</p><p>It was people adjusting.</p><p>Figuring out what to do when the rules they were told to follow stopped producing the outcomes they were promised.</p><p>And as that shift took hold, something else changed too.</p><p>Protest started getting framed as disruption.Rights became “security.”And policing and state response to dissent began to evolve in real time.</p><p>By the time we get to 1968 and the years just beyond it, what looks like chaos starts to read differently.</p><p>Not as breakdown.</p><p>As recognition.</p><p>This episode covers the history of civil rights, 1960s protest movements, policing in America, and the evolution of state surveillance and counterintelligence.</p><p>This episode was written by and produced by Angélica Cordero, with a little help from ChatGPT. </p><p>Our theme song is <a target="_blank" href="https://fold.bandcamp.com/track/dont-kid-yourself-baby"><em>Don’t Kid Yourself Baby</em></a> by <a target="_blank" href="https://fold.fm/">Fold</a>, used with their blessings. Podcast artwork for <em>The Persistence </em>features Mexican-American activist <a target="_blank" href="https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/jovita-idar">Jovita Idar</a> and was created by Tamra Collins of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.instagram.com/sunroot.studio/">Sunroot Studio</a>.</p><p>Resources For Fellow Wascally Wabbits</p><p>Books</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://files.libcom.org/files/A%20People%27s%20History%20of%20the%20Unite%20-%20Howard%20Zinn.pdf">A People’s History of the United States</a> by Howard Zinn</p><p>“Chale No, We Won’t Go!” The Chicano Moratorium Committee in <a target="_blank" href="https://muse.jhu.edu/book/25450">“Mi raza primero!” (My People First!): Nationalism, Identity, and Insurgency in the Chicano Movement in Los Angeles, 1966-1978</a> by Ernesto Chávez</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://archive.org/details/massacreinmexico00poni/page/n1/mode/2up">Massacre in Mexico</a> by Elena Poniatowska (New York , Viking Press, 1975)</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://livecomsjournal.org/plugins/generic/pdfJsViewer/pdf.js/web/viewer.html?file=https%3A%2F%2Flivecomsjournal.org%2Findex.php%2Fhonorsjournal%2Farticle%2Fdownload%2F2797%2F1889%2F11031">¡Raza Sí! ¡Guerra No!: The Chicano Movement from South Vietnam to the American Southwest</a> by Dillon Otto, University of Colorado Honors Journal</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://archive.org/details/seventiesgreatsh0000schu">Seventies: The Great Shift in American Culture, Society, and Politics</a> by Bruce J. Schulman</p><p>Links</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://guides.loc.gov/latinx-civil-rights/national-chicano-moratorium">“1970: National Chicano Moratorium,”</a> (A Latinx Resource Guide: Civil Rights Cases and Events in the United States, Hispanic, Research Guides, Library of Congress)</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.latimes.com/projects/chicano-moratorium/assets/pdf/chicanomoratoriumzinecolor.pdf">“The Chicano Moratorium: 50 Years Later,”</a> (Los Angeles Times, Aug 2020)</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://libguides.nypl.org/stonewall50research/exhibits">“Exhibits,”</a> Stonewall 50: A Guide Honoring the 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall Riots and LGBTQ History, (Research Centers & Library, New York Public Library, Apr 21, 2026)</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://firstamendment.mtsu.edu/article/flying-flag-upside-down/">“Flying Flag Upside Down,”</a> (Issues, Issues Related to Speech, Press, Assembly, or Petition, Free Speech Center, Middle Tennessee State University, Sep 2025)</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://history.state.gov/milestones/1830-1860/indian-treaties">“Indian Treaties and the Removal Act of 1830,”</a> (1830-1860, Milestones, The Office of the Historian)</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.tclf.org/sites/default/files/microsites/landslide2024/locations/chicano.html">“National Chicano Moratorium March,”</a> (Locations, Demonstration Grounds)</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://library.law.howard.edu/civilrightshistory/lgbtq/stonewall">“The Stonewall Riots,”</a> A Brief History of Civil Rights in the United States: The Stonewall Riots, (Research Guides, Vernon E. Jordon Law Library, Howard University)</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-1996-title36/pdf/USCODE-1996-title36-chap10-sec176.pdf">“United States Flag Code (4 U.S.C. Chapter 1),”</a> (Title 36, Chapter 10, Section 176, GovInfo)</p><p>Other</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://houstonpbs.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/e05a1478-ed35-4c6a-abd7-dd66dc5c40bf/the-1968-la-school-walkouts-retro-report/">“The 1968 L.A. School Walkouts,”</a> (Retro Report, Public Broadcast Station)</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adpVf6yMlew">“Alcatraz,”</a> (FootageWorld, 1969) </p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://archive.org/details/TTIdiPhACXQ1vBhclq2YwKKRHjAzw6">“Chicano,”</a> by J. Gary Mitchell (BFA Educational Media, Archive.org, 1971)</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8wzjPuDdZk">“Chicano Moratorium: A Question of Freedom,”</a> (UCLA, 1971)</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://openresearch.okstate.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/9c84e1f1-1b2f-42f9-b96d-d3e9c19b714a/content">“Chicano Nationalism: The Brown Berets and Legal Social Control”</a> by Jennifer G. Correa (Oklahoma State University, July 2006)</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://archive.org/details/Columbia1969">“Columbia Revolt (Part I),”</a> (Newsreel, Archive.org, 1969)</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://archive.org/details/Columbia1969_2">“Columbia Revolt (Part II),”</a> (Newsreel, Archive.org, 1969)</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://archive.org/details/kentstatemay1970">"Kent State: May 1970,"</a> (Archive.org, 1972)</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kyCdagO3UA&#38;t=1249s">“Movimiento Estudiantil 1968,”</a> (Cine en Línea, Cine Rescatado y Restaurado, Filmoteca de la UNAM, 1968)</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB10/nsaebb10.htm">"Tlatelolco Massacre: Declassified U.S. Documents on Mexico and the Events of 1968"</a> by Kate Doyle (National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book, No. 10, The National Security Archive, George Washington University)</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OxkX1mOiVU&#38;t=102s">“Watts: Riot or Revolt,”</a> (CBS Reports, American History TV, Dec 1965)</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://archive.org/details/RainbowQuest08">“New Lost City Ramblers,”</a> (Episode 8, Pete Seeger’s Rainbow Quest, Archive.org, 1965)</p><p>Support</p><p>It’s free, it’s fast, and it tells the algorithm overlords this work matters. Supporting <em>The Persistence </em>means supporting <em>all</em> of it: the podcast, the posts, the zine, the whole enchilada.</p><p>Send a post or an episode to a friend, a professor, or that cousin who loves debating politics at dinner.</p><p>One quick Apple Podcasts review does more than <strong><em>any</em></strong> marketing budget I don’t have.</p><p>Every coffee, every donation (and paid subscription) <strong>literally</strong> keeps the mic on and the stories flowing. </p><p><strong>Collaborate (let’s dream bigger): </strong>Educators? Creative? Filmmaker/Podcaster? Org with a mission? Let’s talk.</p><p>Follow us on <a target="_blank" href="https://www.instagram.com/_wearethepersistence/">Instagram</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@wearethepersistence">TikTok</a>, and share your thoughts with Angélica by emailing <a target="_blank" href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</a>.</p><p><strong>Don’t forget to sign up for host Angélica Cordero’s newsletter, </strong><a target="_blank" href="https://obsessivelycurious.substack.com/"><strong><em>Obsessively Curious</em></strong></a><strong>!!</strong> It includes short insights that connect unlikely histories, recommendations, and details about other ways to interact with the show.</p> <br/><br/>Get full access to Obsessively Curious at <a href="https://obsessivelycurious.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_4">obsessivelycurious.substack.com/subscribe</a>

<p>In this episode of <em>The Persistence</em>, Angélica Cordero examines the breaking point of the 1960s, when the promises of the Civil Rights Movement collided with the reality of the Vietnam War, political violence, and a growing crisis of trust in American institutions.</p><p>By the mid-1960s, landmark legislation like the Civil Rights Act suggested progress. But on the ground, racial inequality, police violence, and economic injustice persisted. Then 1968 reshaped everything.</p><p>The Tet Offensive exposed the gap between government messaging and the reality of the Vietnam War. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated while organizing for labor and economic justice. Weeks later, Robert F. Kennedy was killed. Across the country, protests, uprisings, and political fractures revealed a deeper truth: the system wasn’t failing. It was functioning as designed.</p><p>Through the rise of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), the emergence of Black Power, and the tensions within coalition politics, this episode explores how movements shift from demanding civil rights to confronting power itself.</p><p>This is a story about the 1960s, but it is also about how people recognize when the official narrative stops making sense and what happens next.</p><p>This episode was written by and produced by Angélica Cordero, with a little help from ChatGPT. </p><p>Our theme song is <a target="_blank" href="https://fold.bandcamp.com/track/dont-kid-yourself-baby"><em>Don’t Kid Yourself Baby</em></a> by <a target="_blank" href="https://fold.fm/">Fold</a>, used with their blessings. Podcast artwork for <em>The Persistence </em>features Mexican-American activist <a target="_blank" href="https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/jovita-idar">Jovita Idar</a> and was created by Tamra Collins of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.instagram.com/sunroot.studio/">Sunroot Studio</a>.</p><p>Resources For Fellow Wascally Wabbits</p><p>Books</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://archive.org/details/Norris070/mode/2up">The Day They Marched: 1963 March on Washington Booklet</a> edited by Doris E. Saunders</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://documents.alexanderstreet.com/d/1000687209">Jane Crow and the Law: Sex Discrimination and Title VII</a> by Pauli Murray and Mary Eastwood (George Washington Law Review 34, No. 2 December 1965: 232-56p) (How and Why Was Feminist Legal Strategy Transformed, 1960-1973?, Women and Social Movements, Alexander Street)</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1525/9780520934214/html">The Power of the Zoot: Youth Culture and Resistance during World War II</a> by Luis Alvarez</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://mseffie.com/assignments/zoot_suit/Zoot%20Suit%20Text.pdf">“Zoot Suit”</a> performance and play full text</p><p>Links</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://blogs.loc.gov/folklife/2019/03/a-million-vietnam-wars/">“A Million Vietnam Wars,”</a> (Blogs, Folklife Today, American Folklife Center & Veterans History Project, Library of Congress)</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://thedig.howard.edu/all-stories/invisible-giant-legacy-pauli-murray-jd-44-h-17-trailblazing-civil-rights-lawyer">“An Invisible Giant: The Legacy of Pauli Murray (J.D. ’44, H. ’17), Trailblazing Civil Rights Lawyer,”</a> (The Dig, Howard University)</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/america-sees-truth">“America Sees the Truth,”</a> (Stories, National Museum of African American History & Culture, Smithsonian)</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.fbi.gov/history/famous-cases/baptist-street-church-bombing">“Baptist Street Church Bombing,”</a> (Famous Cases and Criminals, History, FBI)</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://libguides.umn.edu/c.php?g=1337728&#38;p=9858274">“The Civil Rights Movement and the March on Washington, 60 Years Later,”</a> (Library Guides, Libraries, University of Minnesota)</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.albion.edu/news-article/history-heartbreak-and-hope-robert-f-kennedy-and-1968/">“History, Heartbreak, and Hope: Robert F. Kennedy and 1968,”</a> Dr. Wesley Arden Dick, (News, Albion College) </p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://law.yale.edu/yls-today/news/historical-profile-rev-dr-pauli-murray-65-jsd">“Historical Profile: Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray ’65 JSD,”</a> (Yale Law School Today, Yale University)</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://time.com/5896410/ruth-bader-ginsburg-pauli-murray/">“In Previously Unseen Interview, Ruth Bader Ginsburg Shares How Legal Pioneer Pauli Murray Shaped Her Work on Sex Discrimination,”</a> (Time Magazine)</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/jane-crow-story-pauli-murray">“Jane Crow & the Story of Pauli Murray,”</a> (Stories, National Museum of African American History & Culture, Smithsonian)</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://millercenter.org/the-presidency/presidential-speeches/july-2-1964-remarks-upon-signing-civil-rights-bill">“July 2, 1964: Remarks upon Signing the Civil Rights Bill,”</a> (The Presidency, Presidential Speeches, Miller Center, University of Virginia)</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://haenfler.sites.grinnell.edu/subcultures-and-scenes/pachuco/">“Pachuco,”</a> (Subcultures and Scenes, Grinnell College)</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-resources/essays/sixties">“The Sixties,”</a> (Essays, History Resources, The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History)</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://americanradioworks.publicradio.org/features/blackspeech/scarmichael.html">“Stokely Carmichael - Speech at University of California, Berkeley,”</a> (Black Speech, American Radioworks, American Public Media)</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://americanarchive.org/primary_source_sets/tet-offensive">“The Tet Offensive,”</a> (Primary Source Sets, American Archive of Public Broadcasting)</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://penntoday.upenn.edu/2011-04-07/research/zoot-suit-all-american-fashion-changed-history">“The Zoot Suit: An All-American Fashion That Changed History,”</a> (Penn Today, University of Pennsylvania) </p><p>Other</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://archive.org/details/WJZ-UNKN-145-001">”A Time For Change” from WJZ-TV</a> (Archive.org, 1965)</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gc-lyAG4bkM">CBS Evening News Report from Vietnam</a> (February 27, 1968)</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3YI8J7n-60">CBS News Special Report</a> (January 31, 1968)</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://archive.org/details/gov.archives.arc.49737">“The March on Washington” </a>(National Archives and Records Administration, Archive.org, 1963)</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://archive.org/details/newmood">"New Mood"</a> (National Educational Television and Radio Center, Archive.org, 1965)</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://archive.org/details/KennedySpeechDeathMartinLutherKing">Robert F. Kennedy announcing the Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.</a> (Archive.org, April 4, 1968)</p><p>Support</p><p>It’s free, it’s fast, and it tells the algorithm overlords this work matters. Supporting <em>The Persistence </em>means supporting <em>all</em> of it: the podcast, the posts, the zine, the whole enchilada.</p><p>Send a post or an episode to a friend, a professor, or that cousin who loves debating politics at dinner.</p><p>One quick Apple Podcasts review does more than <strong><em>any</em></strong> marketing budget I don’t have.</p><p>Every coffee, every donation (and paid subscription) <strong>literally</strong> keeps the mic on and the stories flowing. </p><p><strong>Collaborate (let’s dream bigger): </strong>Educators? Creative? Filmmaker/Podcaster? Org with a mission? Let’s talk.</p><p>Follow us on <a target="_blank" href="https://www.instagram.com/_wearethepersistence/">Instagram</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@wearethepersistence">TikTok</a>, and share your thoughts with Angélica by emailing <a target="_blank" href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</a>.</p><p><strong>Don’t forget to sign up for host Angélica Cordero’s newsletter, </strong><a target="_blank" href="https://obsessivelycurious.substack.com/"><strong><em>Obsessively Curious</em></strong></a><strong>!!</strong> It includes short insights that connect unlikely histories, recommendations, and details about other ways to interact with the show.</p> <br/><br/>Get full access to Obsessively Curious at <a href="https://obsessivelycurious.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_4">obsessivelycurious.substack.com/subscribe</a>

<p>In this minisode of <em>The Persistence</em>, Angélica Cordero takes a hard look at the phrase <em>“If you see something, say something”</em> and what it’s really taught us about staying quiet, staying safe, and staying out of it. From civic culture to everyday behavior, this episode breaks down how silence often gets framed as maturity or common sense—when in reality, it can protect power and delay change.</p><p>Through moments in history, civil rights struggles, and cultural flashpoints, Cordero shows how refusal, disruption, and non-cooperation have always been part of how progress actually happens. Silence doesn’t just happen. It’s encouraged. It’s rewarded. And it has a history.</p><p>This episode explores:</p><p>* Why “staying out of it” is rarely neutral</p><p>* How power relies on compliance and quiet participation</p><p>* The real cost of opting out when things go wrong</p><p>* How refusal and non-cooperation create pressure for change</p><p>* Why these patterns keep repeating today</p><p>This episode was written by and produced by Angélica Cordero, with a little help from ChatGPT. </p><p>Our theme song is <a target="_blank" href="https://fold.bandcamp.com/track/dont-kid-yourself-baby"><em>Don’t Kid Yourself Baby</em></a> by <a target="_blank" href="https://fold.fm/">Fold</a>, used with their blessings. Podcast artwork for <em>The Persistence </em>features Mexican-American activist <a target="_blank" href="https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/jovita-idar">Jovita Idar</a> and was created by Tamra Collins of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.instagram.com/sunroot.studio/">Sunroot Studio</a>.</p><p>Resources For Fellow Wascally Wabbits</p><p>Links</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2l2RqzVG4ag">“There’s Nothing I Enjoy More Than Acting In The Theater” - Ian McKellen EXTENDED INTERVIEW</a> (The Late Show with Stephen Colbert)</p><p>Support</p><p>It’s free, it’s fast, and it tells the algorithm overlords this work matters. Supporting <em>The Persistence </em>means supporting <em>all</em> of it: the podcast, the posts, the zine, the whole enchilada.</p><p>Send a post or an episode to a friend, a professor, or that cousin who loves debating politics at dinner.</p><p>One quick Apple Podcasts review does more than <strong><em>any</em></strong> marketing budget I don’t have.</p><p>Every coffee, every donation (and paid subscription) <strong>literally</strong> keeps the mic on and the stories flowing. </p><p><strong>Collaborate (let’s dream bigger): </strong>Educators? Creative? Filmmaker/Podcaster? Org with a mission? Let’s talk.</p><p>Follow us on <a target="_blank" href="https://www.instagram.com/_wearethepersistence/">Instagram</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@wearethepersistence">TikTok</a>, and share your thoughts with Angélica by emailing <a target="_blank" href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</a>.</p><p><strong>Don’t forget to sign up for host Angélica Cordero’s newsletter, </strong><a target="_blank" href="https://obsessivelycurious.substack.com/"><strong><em>Obsessively Curious</em></strong></a><strong>!!</strong> It includes short insights that connect unlikely histories, recommendations, and details about other ways to interact with the show.</p> <br/><br/>Get full access to Obsessively Curious at <a href="https://obsessivelycurious.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_4">obsessivelycurious.substack.com/subscribe</a>

<p>In this episode of <em>The Persistence</em>, Angélica Cordero traces how some of the most consequential changes in history didn’t begin with explosions or speeches, but with stillness. Opening with a personal memory of watching <em>Jurassic Park</em> alongside her grandmother (who always knew exactly when someone was about to make a terrible decision), Cordero draws a sharp line between moments we recognize as obviously reckless and the real-life systems we’re taught to trust long past their breaking point. From Mahatma Gandhi’s strategy of non-cooperation to the Greensboro sit-ins, the rise of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, the Freedom Rides, and the student-led confrontations that defined the early 1960s, this episode explores how quietly refusing to play along can expose the lie underneath power. </p><p>With wit, cultural fluency, and a clear-eyed look at how systems react when compliance runs out, <em>The Persistence</em> invites listeners to reflect on the moment their own script cracked and what happens when stillness turns into momentum.</p><p>This episode was written by and produced by Angélica Cordero, with a little help from ChatGPT. </p><p>Our theme song is <a target="_blank" href="https://fold.bandcamp.com/track/dont-kid-yourself-baby"><em>Don’t Kid Yourself Baby</em></a> by <a target="_blank" href="https://fold.fm/">Fold</a>, used with their blessings. Podcast artwork for <em>The Persistence </em>features Mexican-American activist <a target="_blank" href="https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/jovita-idar">Jovita Idar</a> and was created by Tamra Collins of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.instagram.com/sunroot.studio/">Sunroot Studio</a>.</p><p>Resources For Fellow Wascally Wabbits</p><p>Books</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://archive.org/details/americadreamingh00hill">America Dreaming</a> by Laban Carrick Hill</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/611526/legendary-children-by-tom-fitzgerald-and-lorenzo-marquez/">Legendary Children: The First Decade of RuPaul’s Drag Race and the Last Century of Queer Life</a> by Tom Fitzgerald and Lorenzo Marquez</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://aura.antioch.edu/stubooks/49/">Persistence: Evelyn Butts and the African American Quest for Full Citizenship and Self-Determination</a> by Kenneth Cooper Alexander</p><p>Links</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://snccdigital.org/people/ella-baker/">“Ella Baker,”</a> (People, SNCC Digital Gateway, Duke University Libraries)</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://snccdigital.org/events/founding-of-sncc/">“Founding of SNCC,”</a> (Events, SNCC Digital Gateway, Duke University Libraries)</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://exhibits.library.cornell.edu/olin-50/feature/freedom-riders">“Freedom Riders”</a> in <em>1961: A Newborn Library and the World Beyond</em>, (Olin @ 50: Inspiration Since 1961, Cornell University Library)</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://crdl.usg.edu/events/freedom_rides">“Freedom Rides,”</a> (Civil Rights Digital Library, University of Georgia Libraries)</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://snccdigital.org/people/jane-stembridge/">“Jane Stembridge,”</a> (Events, SNCC Digital Gateway, Duke University Libraries)</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://magazine.blogs.wesleyan.edu/2008/09/20/historical-row-the-civil-rights-movement-and-wesleyan-freedom-riders/">“The Civil Rights Movement and Wesleyan Freedom Riders,”</a> (2008 Issue 3, Historical Row, UpFront, Wesleyan University Magazine, Sep 20, 2008)</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.themarginalian.org/2012/08/23/the-creative-act-marcel-duchamp-1957/">The Creative Act: Marcel Duchamp’s 1957 Classic, Read by the Artist Himself by Maria Popova</a>, (The Marginalian, Aug 23, 2012)</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.jfklibrary.org/learn/about-jfk/historic-speeches/televised-address-to-the-nation-on-civil-rights">Televised Address to the Nation on Civil Rights</a>, (Historic Speeches, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum)</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.sitinmovement.org/museum-news/post/1996202/woolworth-s-lunch-counter-sit-in-remembered-by-those-who-witnessed-history">“Woolworth’s lunch counter sit-in remembered by those who witnessed history,”</a> (Museum Events, International Civil Rights Museum and Center, Aug 13, 2022)</p><p>Support</p><p>It’s free, it’s fast, and it tells the algorithm overlords this work matters. Supporting <em>The Persistence </em>means supporting <em>all</em> of it: the podcast, the posts, the zine, the whole enchilada.</p><p>Send a post or an episode to a friend, a professor, or that cousin who loves debating politics at dinner.</p><p>One quick Apple Podcasts review does more than <strong><em>any</em></strong> marketing budget I don’t have.</p><p>Every coffee, every donation (and paid subscription) <strong>literally</strong> keeps the mic on and the stories flowing. </p><p><strong>Collaborate (let’s dream bigger): </strong>Educators? Creative? Filmmaker/Podcaster? Org with a mission? Let’s talk.</p><p>Follow us on <a target="_blank" href="https://www.instagram.com/_wearethepersistence/">Instagram</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@wearethepersistence">TikTok</a>, and share your thoughts with Angélica by emailing <a target="_blank" href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</a>.</p><p><strong>Don’t forget to sign up for host Angélica Cordero’s newsletter, </strong><a target="_blank" href="https://obsessivelycurious.substack.com/"><strong><em>Obsessively Curious</em></strong></a><strong>!!</strong> It includes short insights that connect unlikely histories, recommendations, and details about other ways to interact with the show.</p> <br/><br/>Get full access to Obsessively Curious at <a href="https://obsessivelycurious.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_4">obsessivelycurious.substack.com/subscribe</a>