But it’s also fostered a really different dynamic, which feels much more like actual proximity or intimacy with my students and with the other people that I’ve had to interact with in this way. I’ve been teaching virtually for the last almost year now. Although in some ways, these virtual conversations are great-the three of us are connected from three different places. The longer that it takes for them to address the pandemic, the harder that kind of organizing is going to be. Of all the reasons that the GOP and the Trump administration had to not take COVID seriously, we literally can’t meet in person, which is a way of organizing. VVG: I love that idea of a listening tour, and it just strikes me-earlier I was in a meeting with a bunch of other activists and was missing very much the energy and trust-building of in-person meetings. So what should Joe Biden and Kamala Harris be doing in practical terms to heed the perspectives of Black people and people of color?

And so Democrats really can’t win elections without those voting blocs.

But leaders like Kamala Harris and Stacey Abrams are now real power brokers in the Democratic Party, and voters of color were crucial to Biden’s primary and his victory in the election. Ganeshananthan: You say at the top of your Vogue essay, that our institution and communities have to “do more to heed the perspectives of Black people and people of color in their midst.” I think that’s always been true just in terms of morality and social justice. This podcast is produced by Andrea Tudhope. And check out video excerpts from our interviews at Lit Hub’s Virtual Book Channel and Fiction/Non/Fiction’s YouTube Channel. You can also listen by streaming from the player below. To hear the full episode, subscribe to the Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). Then, Hawaii-born Washburn talks about the power of community organizing, and reads from his acclaimed debut, Sharks in the Time of Saviors. First, Smith discusses building bridges as a nation, and shares excerpts of her award-winning collection, Wade in the Water. Smith and novelist Kawai Strong Washburn, who talk about what the Biden administration owes the BIPOC and women voters who got them elected. Ganeshananthan are joined by former US Poet Laureate Tracy K. In this week’s episode of Fiction/Non/Fiction, co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V.

Kawai strong washburn