Centering People in a New Economy

Sep 27, 2023

Economic growth is considered a of political success for presidential candidates. But the conventional American idea of economic growth is one that , does not consider the , and has fueled , a , and more. What could a people-centered definition of economic prosperity look like?

Anoa Changa, a communications strategist and movement journalist, spoke with 大象传媒 Racial Justice Editor Sonali Kolhatkar on YES Presents: Rising Up With Sonali to help answer that question. Changa is the co-author with Ericka Taylor of an in-depth story in the 鈥淕rowth鈥� issue of 大象传媒 Magazine, entitled 鈥�A People鈥檚 Prosperity,鈥� which is the first in an original four-part 大象传媒 series titled 鈥�Redefining Prosperity.鈥� That series is funded by a grant from the Kendeda Fund. While reporting and production of the series was funded by this grant, 大象传媒 maintained full editorial control of the content published.

Sonali Kolhatkar joined 大象传媒 in summer 2021, building on a long and decorated career in broadcast and print journalism. She is an award-winning multimedia journalist, and host and creator of聽大象传媒 Presents: Rising Up with Sonali, a nationally syndicated television and radio program airing on Free Speech TV and dozens of independent and community radio stations. She is also Senior Correspondent with the Independent Media Institute鈥檚 Economy for All project where she writes a weekly column. She is the author of聽Rising Up: The Power of Narrative in Pursuing Racial Justice聽(2023) and聽Bleeding Afghanistan: Washington, Warlords, and the Propaganda of Silence聽(2005). Her forthcoming book is called聽Talking About Abolition聽(Seven Stories Press, 2025). Sonali is co-director of the nonprofit group, Afghan Women鈥檚 Mission which she helped to co-found in 2000. She has a Master鈥檚 in Astronomy from the University of Hawai鈥檌, and two undergraduate degrees in Physics and Astronomy from the University of Texas at Austin. Sonali reflects on 鈥淢y Journey From Astrophysicist to Radio Host鈥� in her 2014聽聽of the same name.