Dr Butch Ware at Redneck gone green
Dr. Butch Ware at Redneck Gone Green
Butch Ware joined David Cobb and Shane Knight at Redneck Gone Green on Monday 10/20 to discuss his work that bridges African history, Islam, and movements for justice and liberation.
A historian, activist, and professor at UC Santa Barbara, Dr. Ware is a founder of the Initiative for the Study of Race, Religion, and Revolution, and a leading voice connecting spiritual consciousness with political transformation.
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A word from David Cobb:
Why I’m Endorsing Dr. Butch Ware for Governor of California
I’ve walked into more political rallies and panels than I can count, and met many more candidates than I trust. But when I met Dr. Butch Ware at a lecture at Cal Poly Humboldt, something clicked. Even in our brief personal conversation his sincerity was apparent. And his presentation was a combination of lecture, strategy and inspiration.
His plain talk, clarity, and how he lifted up student organizers made me sit up. I’m endorsing him for Governor of California — as David Cobb personally — because his story, his vision, and his values resonate with what Redneck Gone Green stands for.
His Story, Rooted in Struggle
Butch Ware didn’t grow up privileged. He was born to a teen mother and a dad who worked as a locksmith. According to his own bio, “we moved so often, I didn’t live at the same address for a full year until I was 9.” That experience shaped how he views power and belonging. Over two decades he’s taught and organized, challenging imperialism, militarism, and structural violence. His life is a melding of scholar and agitator — not ivory tower, but in the trenches with movements.
Landback, Reparations, and Returning Power
One thing is crystal clear in his platform: Reparations, Landback and Economic Justice are central. Butch argues that land — and sovereignty — cannot forever be stolen or relegated to token recognition. Reparations and land return must be tools of justice, not symbolic gestures. That means recognizing Indigenous sovereignty, restoring land and resource control, and undoing centuries of dispossession.
That’s not a fringe add-on. It’s a core demand in his campaign — listed among what he calls “what we’re fighting for.” If we believe in true justice, you can’t talk climate or housing or water and ignore land. Landback is climate justice. Landback is economic justice. Landback is democracy.
Movement Power & Institutionalizing Change
Another thing that excites me about Butch’s candidacy is that it isn’t about one man or one election. It’s about institutionalizing movement demands. His campaign helps weave together Indigenous struggles, climate justice networks, housing justice movements, solidarity economies, reparations campaigns, and abolitionist organizing. It gives all those movements a political anchor — not as afterthoughts, but as centerpieces of governance.
So here’s my wholehearted endorsement: I believe Dr. Butch Ware is one of the few candidates who doesn’t just talk about systemic justice — he’s built a life around it. He elevates Landback and reparations without burying them in vague rhetoric. He commits to returning public goods to people.
Public Banking — A Next Frontier
While I didn’t find the term “public banking” spelled out in Butch’s current platform, the spirit of economic democracy runs throughout. He specifically calls for “returning public resources to the people,” “reclaiming public goods,” and “divesting from corrupt private appropriation.” Those are the values that underpin public banking — the idea that we can keep our public dollars in public hands, invest in communities, and break Wall Street’s chokehold on local economies.
Get Involved
If you believe real change means shifting power — not tweaking the edges — give your time, your voice, your energy, and your vote to Butch Ware. Together, we can make California a state that doesn’t just talk about justice, but lives it — in land, in money, in care, and in sovereignty.
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