“Government’s not the problem, it’s the prize.” (w/ DaMareo Cooper, co-Executive Director of Popular Democracy, formerly CPD)
Are you interested in learning more about coalition-building and how to contribute to the creation of a more representative government?
This week we spoke to DaMareo Cooper, one of the co-Executive Directors of Popular Democracy (formerly the Center for Popular Democracy or CPD), about how different layers of individual involvement and action can help transform government into something that works for us all. He talks about his background as an organizer, how Popular Democracy works with their local affiliates to build networks, share information, and empower community organizations, and where people can slot into that work.
Episode Links:
- Popular Democracy (Former Center for Popular Democracy): Website
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Credits:
To the best of our knowledge, all audio used by What Can I Do is in the public domain or is used with permission. Our theme song is Upbeat Energetic Rock by Vivaleum and we hold a license for use of the song through Pixabay.
Original artwork is by Matthew Weflen and used with express permission.
DaMareo Cooper
DaMareo Cooper is the Co-Executive Director at Popular Democracy. He is a longtime grassroots organizer who previously served as Director of Place-Based Power at CPD. For fifteen years, he developed and implemented statewide electoral and grassroots organizing campaigns, ranging from housing and healthcare to criminal justice reform and economic opportunity access.
DaMareo was formerly the National Organizing Director of BlackPAC, a political action committee dedicated to engaging and mobilizing Black voters across the country. Before that, he served as the Executive Director of the Ohio Organizing Collaborative (OOC) and Stand Up for Ohio, statewide organizations dedicated to improving everyday Ohioans’ lives through base building, policy advocacy, civic engagement, and registering hundreds of thousands of new voters.
A deep passion for building power with people closest to the negative impacts of racist exploitative economic and criminal justice policies has guided his career, primarily in communities of color. He has focused his energy on creating effective campaigns that make structural changes at the intersection of race and economic inequity. DaMareo holds a Bachelor of Arts and Science from Kent State University, focusing on Pan-African Studies and Anthropology. DaMareo resides in Akron, Ohio.
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