Erika Soto Lamb: When Comedy Meets Advocacy

Erika Soto Lamb

Changemaker; VP, Social Impact, Comedy Central/MTV; NYC Mom

What's the weirdest thing in your tote bag?

My bag is a time capsule of life before COVID, when I used to go places and do things. The last time I went in there I found strange objects like a theatre playbill and business cards from in-person meetings and those seem really weird to me now.

Best gift you gave or received?

My parents gave me the gift of wings. They may not have realized the consequences of encouraging me to dream big and live the life I want (a daughter, and now grandsons, who live far away from them) and it’s made some parts of my life much harder, especially when you don’t have a model to follow, but it’s also been the biggest gift of my life.

Last item you marie kondo'd outta there?

I live in a Manhattan apartment so space is limited and I was Marie Kondo’ing before I knew that was a book, show or verb. It may be controversial, but I am loath to keep books unless I really love them and know I will read or reference them again—otherwise they get donated. That means I don’t have a strong bookshelf background for TV interviews, but it doesn’t mean I’m not well-read!

The Verse: You’ve literally dedicated your career to advocacy/social change. Was this an intentional path? What led you there?

Erika: I always had an interest in politics—some part of that was coming from a marginalized community on the Border (I’m Mexican-American from El Paso, Texas) and knowing from the very start that my life was affected by real social, racial and economic inequities. I’m also a competitive person, and the thrill of the fight is even better when it’s for something you really believe in. 

My father, a public school administrator, helped me understand how my life was affected by the opportunity gap before the term existed. He wasn’t what we’d think of as a traditional lobbyist, but he’d travel to Austin a few times a year to fight for funding for our poor school district. My mother was a teacher at one of our poorest community schools, and the grandmother who had a hand in raising me was an immigrant. Though none of these key figures would have considered themselves activists, they all taught me about fighting for people who have less than you do. 

As a teenager I watched “The War Room,” a documentary on the 1992 Clinton campaign, and early seasons of “The West Wing.” Those popular cultural depictions of people working together to create change were really influential for me. I started my career in candidate and issue campaigns, then spent a half-dozen years in agencies, where the public and private sector clients I worked with taught me a lot about storytelling, partnerships and movements; I’ve been excited to keep building on that with each subsequent step. 

I sometimes say I’ve been lucky to be at the right place at the right time—but that also totally undercuts how hard I’ve worked. Some of my career steps were intentional direct lines, others surprising, windy roads—but in all cases, I’m finally at an age where I’m willing to acknowledge that it’s all been a result of my creativity and relentlessness. 

Your role at Comedy Central is so interesting—what role do you think comedy has to play in social change, and what form does advocacy take in your particular role?

My work isn’t always in the form of traditional advocacy, but in the long game of how culture change begets political change—which begets the policy change that truly affects people’s lives. Whether funny or dramatic, content drives public dialogue and social change, and we’ve seen that happen on so many issues, from racial justice to LGBTQ rights.

Comedy speaks the hard truths, it skewers authoritarians and helps take them down (or so I hope!). It helps us understand each other better—it’s where people with divergent opinions can find agreement in what they find funny or in a new way of seeing things. But there is still more for comedy to do—to go beyond the punchline and not just end at the laughs. As a corollary example, documentary film is well-established as an artform that helps educate and activate people on pressing social issues. It’s not that I don’t think this has happened with comedy yet; it’s that there is still a lot more that major issue campaigns, nonprofits and philanthropists can do to drive change with comedy.

What signs have you seen that you’re having an impact?

Most recently I’ve been so excited to leverage comedy to get out the vote! Comedy Central’s Vote Naked campaign was especially fun to work on, as it met our audience right where they are: at home, not wearing pants… and probably wondering about how to vote from home or by mail for the first time during COVID. We developed a series of hilarious videos, integrating big-name talent and TikTok creators with huge followings to reach first-time, young and diverse voters. The data of people who clicked through the videos to VoteVoteVote.com confirms that people checked their registration and made plans to vote.  

Two other campaigns I’m proud to have worked on this cycle include the establishment of the first-ever Vote Early Day—from the MTV side of my work—a holiday celebrating and educating Americans about their options to vote early, which had big success in a year when early vote numbers are record-breaking. And I helped start Power the Polls, the first national campaign to recruit a new generation of poll workers to ensure a safe, healthy and fair vote for all.  

I also created partnerships with the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, to help pay of the fines and fees keeping formerly incarcerated people from voting (a modern-day poll tax); and with World Central Kitchen’s new Chefs For The Polls program, to serve food at long voting lines in Black and Brown communities where lines have historically been longer. 

At the heart of all of this work is increasing access for more people to vote, to have their voice heard in our democracy.

What roadblocks do you face in promoting some of Comedy Central’s causes, such as mental health & racial equity?

The only barriers are the lack of imagination for what’s possible—but I find that if you can be creative and persuasive enough, people will come along with you. It’s not always easy, but it’s always worth continuously trying.  

I don’t need to tell you how divided this country is; do you think we can move forward to a place where we can once again agree on common-sense issues such as gun violence prevention, and if so, how?

Absolutely, I believe that. If I didn’t, I don’t think I could do this work. It can be frustrating to not see change happen overnight but I do believe that it’s in progress. And the thing is that we do already agree on a lot of things, but the political divides and gridlock—particularly in Washington—have made it impossible to get anything done on any issue.

I started working on gun violence prevention in 2012, before Sandy Hook, when guns were considered a ‘third rail’ of politics nobody wanted to talk about—even Democrats! After the Aurora, CO movie theater shooting that July—a presidential election season—we tried to get President Obama and Governor Romney to make gun violence reduction part of their platform. But there was no discussion in the political conventions, or even at the debate in Colorado—a stone’s throw from both Aurora and Columbine. But when Sandy Hook happened in December, everything changed—not on the issue, of course, since gun violence always warrants attention, but in the public dialogue and in politicians’ will. A movement was built—passing gun safety bills in state houses across the country, and beating back hundreds more sponsored by the once all-powerful NRA, now a shadow of its former self.  

In contrast to 2012, in 2016 a full primetime block of the Democratic National Convention focused on ending gun violence, and this year, all of the Democratic contenders vied to have the strongest plan and win the endorsement of grassroots organizations like Everytown for Gun Safety, Moms Demand Action and March for Our Lives. Third rail no more!

Culture change → political change → policy change.

Depending on the outcomes of both the presidential and Congressional elections Tuesday (or whenever, we know!), we could have a real chance at moving meaningful policy measures on this issue and many more. I hope we’ll take that bull by the horns if we get the chance (but it makes me nervous to even say that; *knocks on wood*).

One of the points we make is that no matter how this election goes, you don’t need to be out protesting in the streets to advocate for causes that matter. You are living proof of this. What would you say to people who want to engage in social change?

Voting is but one way to create the change we seek in our communities and in our world—but democracy works best when we all participate, all the time. So I hope people will find a way to stay involved—by engaging locally or by focusing on issues, whether local, national or global, that matter to you most. Find the local chapter of an issue organization you care about, find someone you believe in running for local office—or run yourself, whether it’s for PTA or Congress. Give your time and/or whatever size donation you can. Show up in the streets and use your voice if that’s what you want to do; make calls to political leaders to demand the change you seek.  

Whatever form it takes, I’m certain that good energy will help—and that the only way we’re going to heal our country from this truly difficult time is if we do it together.