This week on All Ears Abby talks about good government and the American Dream with Julián Castro, whose own journey in public service began in San Antonio, first as city councilman at age 26 and then as mayor at 35, In 2014, President Obama put him in charge of HUD: the the sprawling federal Department of Housing and Urban Development. Last year, he spent most of his time away from home and family as he ran in the Democratic presidential primary. Since dropping out, he’s started a podcast and begun to think about how he can continue to be of service to his community. Julián and Abby grapple with how divided Democrats can find common ground with the party. Julián also tells Abby he believes government does have a role to play in helping people achieve The American Dream, particularly those who rely on housing and healthcare programs to create stability. He recounts his own experience growing up in Texas in a family that exemplifies that model, where his grandmother came to this country as an orphan from Mexico, and lived to see her grandsons graduate from Harvard Law School.
Find Julián Castro on Twitter: @JuliánCastro
Listen to Our America with Julián Castro
Special Guest
Julián Castro
NBC/MSNBC Political Analyst and Guest Anchor, Former HUD Secretary, Mayor of San Antonio
Julián Castro served as U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under President Barack Obama from 2014-2017. Before that, he was Mayor of his native San Antonio, Texas — the youngest mayor of a Top 50 American city at the time. In 2012, he gave a rousing keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention, during which he described the American Dream as a relay to be passed from generation to generation. After his historic campaign for president in 2020, Secretary Castro launched People First Future in May to help elect bold, progressive candidates whose campaigns are focused on improving the lives of all people they hope to represent. In September, Secretary Castro launched “Our America with Julián Castro,” a podcast with Lemonada Media that puts a spotlight on vulnerable communities and takes a humanizing and hopeful look at how drastically the American experience shifts from one person to the next.
Episode Links
- 2012 Democratic National Convention keynote speech: Julián Castro (New York Times)
- Everything Julián Castro Knows He Learned From His Mother (Texas Monthly)
- Raza Unida Party (Texas State Historical Association)
- Biden Says His And Obama's Immigration Record Was A ‘Mistake’ (Politico)
- Gini Coefficient by Country, 2020 (World Population Review)
- The Marshall Plan (The George C. Marshall Foundation)