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Wednesday, August 27, 2025

Solidarity Across Division


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This month: Co-host Adaku Utah talks with Rima Meroueh of the National Network for Arab American Communities about resisting surveillance, healing divisions, and building power through solidarity and connection across differences.

About the Solidarity Is This podcast:

Solidarity Is This is a podcast created and hosted by Deepa Iyer, Director of Strategic Initiatives at the Building Movement Project where she runs Solidarity Is, a multi-strategy program to deepen transformative solidarity practices, models, narratives, and ideas. On the podcast, we explore how individuals and institutions are experimenting with cross-racial and cross-movement solidarity in America’s changing racial landscape. Learn more at www.solidarityis.org

About Deepa Iyver:

Deepa Iyer is a South Asian American writer, lawyer, strategist, facilitator, and coach. She is currently the Director of Strategic Initiatives at the Building Movement Project where she manages projects related to multiracial solidarity and develops resources to cultivate social change practices. Iyer served as executive director of South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT) for a decade, and has held positions at Race Forward, the US Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, the Asian Pacific American Legal Resource Center, and the Asian American Justice Center. Iyer’s first book, We Too Sing America: South Asian, Arab, Muslim and Sikh Immigrants Shape Our Multiracial Future (The New Press 2015), received a 2016 American Book Award. She hosts a podcast called Solidarity Is This to explore solidarity practices around the country. Iyer has received fellowships from Open Society Foundations and the Social Change Initiative, and in 2019, she received an honorary doctoral degree from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology. Twitter: @dviyer Instagram: @deepaviyer

Wednesday, August 13, 2025

Solidarity: Racial Justice during Black August and Beyond

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This month: BMP’s Exec. Director, Janis Rosheuvel, talks with Charles Long, the Deputy Director of Fund Strategy at the Movement for Black Lives, on the importance of trusting Black leadership, the role of philanthropy, and the necessity of community and rest

About the Solidarity Is This podcast:

Solidarity Is This is a podcast created and hosted by Deepa Iyer, Director of Strategic Initiatives at the Building Movement Project where she runs Solidarity Is, a multi-strategy program to deepen transformative solidarity practices, models, narratives, and ideas. On the podcast, we explore how individuals and institutions are experimenting with cross-racial and cross-movement solidarity in America’s changing racial landscape. Learn more at www.solidarityis.org

About Deepa Iyver:

Deepa Iyer is a South Asian American writer, lawyer, strategist, facilitator, and coach. She is currently the Director of Strategic Initiatives at the Building Movement Project where she manages projects related to multiracial solidarity and develops resources to cultivate social change practices. Iyer served as executive director of South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT) for a decade, and has held positions at Race Forward, the US Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, the Asian Pacific American Legal Resource Center, and the Asian American Justice Center. Iyer’s first book, We Too Sing America: South Asian, Arab, Muslim and Sikh Immigrants Shape Our Multiracial Future (The New Press 2015), received a 2016 American Book Award. She hosts a podcast called Solidarity Is This to explore solidarity practices around the country. Iyer has received fellowships from Open Society Foundations and the Social Change Initiative, and in 2019, she received an honorary doctoral degree from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology. Twitter: @dviyer Instagram: @deepaviyer

Monday, July 21, 2025

Solidarity Through Sacred Work: Organizing from Hope and Healing in Divided Times

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This month: Adaku Utah talks with Alia Bilal about how the Inner-City Muslim Action Network (IMAN) has spent the last 30 years building a vibrant ecosystem weaving together healthcare, housing, arts, and organizing to nurture transformation in Chicago’s inner city.

About the Solidarity Is This podcast:

Solidarity Is This is a podcast created and hosted by Deepa Iyer, Director of Strategic Initiatives at the Building Movement Project where she runs Solidarity Is, a multi-strategy program to deepen transformative solidarity practices, models, narratives, and ideas. On the podcast, we explore how individuals and institutions are experimenting with cross-racial and cross-movement solidarity in America’s changing racial landscape. Learn more at www.solidarityis.org

About Deepa Iyver:

Deepa Iyer is a South Asian American writer, lawyer, strategist, facilitator, and coach. She is currently the Director of Strategic Initiatives at the Building Movement Project where she manages projects related to multiracial solidarity and develops resources to cultivate social change practices. Iyer served as executive director of South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT) for a decade, and has held positions at Race Forward, the US Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, the Asian Pacific American Legal Resource Center, and the Asian American Justice Center. Iyer’s first book, We Too Sing America: South Asian, Arab, Muslim and Sikh Immigrants Shape Our Multiracial Future (The New Press 2015), received a 2016 American Book Award. She hosts a podcast called Solidarity Is This to explore solidarity practices around the country. Iyer has received fellowships from Open Society Foundations and the Social Change Initiative, and in 2019, she received an honorary doctoral degree from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology. Twitter: @dviyer Instagram: @deepaviyer

Sunday, June 1, 2025

Solidarity as Strategy: Building Power Across Movements


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This month: In this episode, co-host Adaku Utah speaks with Nikko Viquiera of Race Forward about the role of solidarity in dismantling structural oppression and building thriving, just communities. Nikko shares insights on weaving cross-issue strategies, deepening relationships, and sustaining a racial justice ecosystem rooted in love, equity, and collective action.

About the Solidarity Is This podcast:

Solidarity Is This is a podcast created and hosted by Deepa Iyer, Director of Strategic Initiatives at the Building Movement Project where she runs Solidarity Is, a multi-strategy program to deepen transformative solidarity practices, models, narratives, and ideas. On the podcast, we explore how individuals and institutions are experimenting with cross-racial and cross-movement solidarity in America’s changing racial landscape. Learn more at www.solidarityis.org

About Deepa Iyver:

Deepa Iyer is a South Asian American writer, lawyer, strategist, facilitator, and coach. She is currently the Director of Strategic Initiatives at the Building Movement Project where she manages projects related to multiracial solidarity and develops resources to cultivate social change practices. Iyer served as executive director of South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT) for a decade, and has held positions at Race Forward, the US Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, the Asian Pacific American Legal Resource Center, and the Asian American Justice Center. Iyer’s first book, We Too Sing America: South Asian, Arab, Muslim and Sikh Immigrants Shape Our Multiracial Future (The New Press 2015), received a 2016 American Book Award. She hosts a podcast called Solidarity Is This to explore solidarity practices around the country. Iyer has received fellowships from Open Society Foundations and the Social Change Initiative, and in 2019, she received an honorary doctoral degree from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology. Twitter: @dviyer Instagram: @deepaviyer

Sunday, May 18, 2025

Solidarity: Movement Lessons from the First 100 Days

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This month: In this episode, we share a conversation from our State of Solidarity series exploring how movements are responding to political upheaval, and highlight strategies from our new report, Movement Lessons from the First 100 Days.

About the Solidarity Is This podcast:

Solidarity Is This is a podcast created and hosted by Deepa Iyer, Director of Strategic Initiatives at the Building Movement Project where she runs Solidarity Is, a multi-strategy program to deepen transformative solidarity practices, models, narratives, and ideas. On the podcast, we explore how individuals and institutions are experimenting with cross-racial and cross-movement solidarity in America’s changing racial landscape. Learn more at www.solidarityis.org

About Deepa Iyver:

Deepa Iyer is a South Asian American writer, lawyer, strategist, facilitator, and coach. She is currently the Director of Strategic Initiatives at the Building Movement Project where she manages projects related to multiracial solidarity and develops resources to cultivate social change practices. Iyer served as executive director of South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT) for a decade, and has held positions at Race Forward, the US Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, the Asian Pacific American Legal Resource Center, and the Asian American Justice Center. Iyer’s first book, We Too Sing America: South Asian, Arab, Muslim and Sikh Immigrants Shape Our Multiracial Future (The New Press 2015), received a 2016 American Book Award. She hosts a podcast called Solidarity Is This to explore solidarity practices around the country. Iyer has received fellowships from Open Society Foundations and the Social Change Initiative, and in 2019, she received an honorary doctoral degree from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology. Twitter: @dviyer Instagram: @deepaviyer

Monday, March 31, 2025

Solidarity at the Pace of Interdependence and Care: Lessons from New Disabled South

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This month: Co-host Adaku Utah talks with Dom Kelly of New Disabled South about building movements rooted in care, access, and interdependence. Amid rising attacks, Dom highlights how disability justice organizers resist harm and foster transformative solidarity.

About the Solidarity Is This podcast:

Solidarity Is This is a podcast created and hosted by Deepa Iyer, Director of Strategic Initiatives at the Building Movement Project where she runs Solidarity Is, a multi-strategy program to deepen transformative solidarity practices, models, narratives, and ideas. On the podcast, we explore how individuals and institutions are experimenting with cross-racial and cross-movement solidarity in America’s changing racial landscape. Learn more at www.solidarityis.org

About Deepa Iyver:

Deepa Iyer is a South Asian American writer, lawyer, strategist, facilitator, and coach. She is currently the Director of Strategic Initiatives at the Building Movement Project where she manages projects related to multiracial solidarity and develops resources to cultivate social change practices. Iyer served as executive director of South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT) for a decade, and has held positions at Race Forward, the US Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, the Asian Pacific American Legal Resource Center, and the Asian American Justice Center. Iyer’s first book, We Too Sing America: South Asian, Arab, Muslim and Sikh Immigrants Shape Our Multiracial Future (The New Press 2015), received a 2016 American Book Award. She hosts a podcast called Solidarity Is This to explore solidarity practices around the country. Iyer has received fellowships from Open Society Foundations and the Social Change Initiative, and in 2019, she received an honorary doctoral degree from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology. Twitter: @dviyer Instagram: @deepaviyer

Tuesday, March 18, 2025

Solidarity: Nonprofit Sustainability Now and Beyond



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This month: In this episode, co-hosts Adaku and Deepa explore the devastating impact of recent executive orders on nonprofits and how organizations are resisting defunding, criminalization, and state repression.

About the Solidarity Is This podcast:

Solidarity Is This is a podcast created and hosted by Deepa Iyer, Director of Strategic Initiatives at the Building Movement Project where she runs Solidarity Is, a multi-strategy program to deepen transformative solidarity practices, models, narratives, and ideas. On the podcast, we explore how individuals and institutions are experimenting with cross-racial and cross-movement solidarity in America’s changing racial landscape. Learn more at www.solidarityis.org

About Deepa Iyver:

Deepa Iyer is a South Asian American writer, lawyer, strategist, facilitator, and coach. She is currently the Director of Strategic Initiatives at the Building Movement Project where she manages projects related to multiracial solidarity and develops resources to cultivate social change practices. Iyer served as executive director of South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT) for a decade, and has held positions at Race Forward, the US Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, the Asian Pacific American Legal Resource Center, and the Asian American Justice Center. Iyer’s first book, We Too Sing America: South Asian, Arab, Muslim and Sikh Immigrants Shape Our Multiracial Future (The New Press 2015), received a 2016 American Book Award. She hosts a podcast called Solidarity Is This to explore solidarity practices around the country. Iyer has received fellowships from Open Society Foundations and the Social Change Initiative, and in 2019, she received an honorary doctoral degree from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology. Twitter: @dviyer Instagram: @deepaviyer