On the Frontlines
On the Frontlines is a weekly community program features stories of social justice, climate justice, and economic justice. On the Frontlines is hosted by Jill Mangaliman and Edgar Franks and supported by Front and Centered.
Jill Mangaliman is a community organizer and writer born and raised in Seattle. They serve on the national secretariat of BAYAN USA, an alliance of anti-imperialist Filipino grassroots organizations, and serve as chairperson of GABRIELA Seattle. Jill is also a founding board member of Front and Centered and Bush Garden karaoke host.
Edgar Franks is the Policy Director of Familias Unidas por la Justicia, an independent farmworker union with over 500 members across Washington State. The son of farmworkers, Edgar grew up in the fields of Mount Vernon and spends most of his time in Skagit Valley, organizing and reading comic books.
Front and Centered is a statewide coalition of over seventy community organizations that represent and are staffed by frontline communities in Washington State. Front and Centered resists climate justice with a grassroots approach and under the framework of a Just Transition.
On the Frontlines
People Over Profit, No to APEC!
The Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum is coming to Seattle in August. But what is APEC, and why are some of Front and Centered's coalition members and allies organizing a countersummit against it?
Jill and Edgar talk with Carly and Adrián of the International League of Peoples' Struggle (ILPS) Seattle-Tacoma, an anti-imperialist and democratic formation that encompasses a broad range of participating organizations. Carly and Adrián tell us how they got involved with ILPS Seattle-Tacoma before talking about why the US and big corporations are so invested in APEC, and why frontline communities need to stand up against APEC and the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) to protect workers, women, migrants, and the environment.
Learn more about the People's Summit Against APEC, happening July 29–30, at pnw-pop.com.
Recorded on April 19, 2023.
Check out:
- Pacific Northwest People over Profit (PNW POP)
- PNW POP: NO to APEC Commitment Form (sign-up form to volunteer or commit other resources)
- PNW POP—People's Summit Against APEC! (four-minute video)
Find On the Frontlines at frontandcentered.org/podcast