I thought it was interesting that Brandi Grayson, who’s become the face of the local Young, Gifted and Black Coalition, was the first speaker at Thursday’s rally. Is the Green Party making an effort to incorporate that movement?

I would say yes. Not in the sense that we’re trying to co-opt the movement, but more that this is where the Green Party’s always been. It’s always been about social justice and human rights, but now we’re being very intentional about making sure that message gets out to people. We don’t have the major media megaphone like some people do, but I think they understand that it’s authentic. The Democrats will parade people on stage at their convention, but then the secret memo comes out that says, “When you meet with a Black Lives Matter activist, don’t support them on their policy demands.” That’s how they co-opt movements. What we want to do is empower the movements. I think people are starting to get that.

What’s the tipping point where you get enough support to be a viable force in American politics?

What we’re shooting for is 5 percent nationally of the popular vote, which actually has some tangible benefits. That means federal recognition as a party and it qualifies you for up to $10 million or more in public matching funds for the 2020 election. And the laws vary from state to state, but you can get a continued ballot status in a lot of states by getting anywhere from 1 to 5 percent of the vote. That’s important because a lot of the Green Party’s resources in various states go into gathering huge numbers of signatures so you can get on the ballot. Obviously we’d like to use our resources to run campaigns. But the long and the short of it is, if we get 5 percent of the vote nationally, then we’ll certainly be in a stronger position to build.

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