Hot Seat: Media Monday “People’s March/MLK Day 2025” with Oneida County NAACP 1-20-25
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In this episode of Hot Seat: Media Monday, my guests are Dawn Laguerre, Aaron Woodman, and Javian Dawson from the Oneida County NAACP. The broadcast took place on Martin Luther King Day, coinciding with the start of Donald Trump’s second term as President of the United States. This show followed the People’s March, where local progressive and democratic groups rallied at Oneida Square in Utica, NY, on Saturday, January 18, 2025. I began the broadcast with my report on that event.
The conversation then focused on the need to unite as a community and resist the division caused by President Trump and the MAGA movement by educating and involving politically disengaged people, raising awareness, and calling for accountability for elected officials. The panel shared their concerns about the hostile rhetoric of the Trump campaign and his efforts to roll back hard-won civil rights gains, cut social programs, and use ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) to harass and intimidate undocumented workers.
The guests called for collective grassroots action to counteract the oligarchic influence Trump supporters like Elon Musk wish to use to alter the American government. We also discussed the need for perseverance, hope, and readiness for everyone to coalesce around marginalized community members whom the Trump administration targets. The episode concludes with an emphasis on the need to teach future generations about civic rights and responsibilities and to promote community initiatives and events to raise awareness about the struggles and discrimination faced by women, people of color, and members of the LGBTQIA+ communities.
Ron Klopfanstein is an award-winning multimedia investigative journalist, news and features editor, and creative content producer for 95.5 FM “The Heat” broadcast and streaming. He hosts Hot Seat: Media Monday every Monday at 5 pm, broadcast on 95.5 FM and streaming at 955TheHeat.com. Like him at Facebook.com/ReadRonKlopfanstein, Follow him at Threads.net/@RonKlopfanstein, Instagram.com/RonKlopfanstein, Tiktok.com/@ronklopfanstein, Twitter.com/RonKlopfanstein, and subscribe to his channel at YouTube.com/@RonKlopfanstein. His podcasts are on Spotify, Amazon, Apple, and Pandora. Read all his work at Muckrack.com/ron-klopfanstein. NOW at BLUESKY Bsky.app/profile/ronklopfanstein.bsky.social
