<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>