‘If You’re Still Comfortable, You’re Not Doing Enough’

Jumaane Williams is a progressive activist who’s worked to change policing for years. He’s also New York City’s public advocate, its highest elected official after Mayor Bill de Blasio. He’s been a fixture at New York protests for years—from Occupy Wall Street to Ferguson to Eric Garner—and he thinks this moment could be different, if Americans are willing to have an honest conversation.

Listen to his interview with Edward-Isaac Dovere here:

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What follows is an edited and condensed transcript:

Edward-Isaac Dovere: So you refer to yourself as an “activist elected official.” Can you explain what that means?

I very intentionally didn’t want to drop my “activist” title. I was told very often that I was too much of an activist. That I had to change when I got to the council, that I had to be different. And I always said the best