The City Lights Foundation presents
Making Democracy Real: Encouraging an Active Citizenry
with Martha S. Jones, David Daley, Paul Pierson, Eric Schickler, Amanda Becker, and Erin Geiger Smith
A day long inquiry into the current political situation in the US and what it takes to become an active and engaged citizen. Making Democracy Real will explore successful campaigns in the fight for justice and equality as well as examining the techniques and methods used to subvert democracy. At this crucial juncture, with so very much at stake in the next election, City Lights hopes to contribute with a forum intended to stimulate a critical analysis and an active participation in the political life of our country.
One zoom link admits you to all sessions.
The Agenda:
Session One – 11:00 am Pacific Time/ 2:00 pm Eastern Time
Vanguard: How Black Women Broke Barriers, Won the Vote, and Insisted on Equality for All
with Martha S. Jones
Martha S. Jones offers a new history of African American women’s political lives in America. She recounts how they defied both racism and sexism to fight for the ballot, and how they wielded political power to secure the equality and dignity of all persons. From the earliest days of the republic to the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act and beyond, Jones excavates the lives and work of Black women—Maria Stewart, Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, Fannie Lou Hamer, and more—who were the vanguard of women’s rights, calling on America to realize its best ideals.
Purchase VANGUARD here.
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Session Two – 12:15 pm Pacific Time / 3:15 pm Eastern Time
Antidemocratic: Inside the Far Right’s 50-Year Plot to Control American Elections
with David Daley
David Daley reveals the urgent story of the fifty-year Republican plot to end the Voting Rights Act and encourage minority rule in their party’s favor. From the bowels of Reagan’s DOJ to the walls of the conservative Federalist Society to the moneyed Republican resources bankrolling restrictive voting laws today, Daley reveals a hidden history as sweeping as it is troubling.
Purchase ANTIDEMOCRATIC here.
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Session Three – 1:30 pm Pacific Time / 4:30 pm Eastern Time
Partisan Nation: The Dangerous New Logic of American Politics in a Nationalized Era
with Paul Pierson and Eric Schickler
Political scientists Paul Pierson and Eric Schickler bring a sharp new perspective on how America’s democratic crisis is rooted in a dangerous mismatch between our Constitution and today’s nationalized, partisan politics.
Purchase PARTISAN NATION here.
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Session Four – 2:45 pm Pacific / 5:45 pm Eastern
Energizing the Electorate: Your Role in Making Change Happen And What Is At Stake
Amanda Becker and Erin Geiger Smith in conversation
Looking at what is at stake in the next election, Amanda Becker and Erin Geiger Smith discuss the ways in which each of us can participate in making a difference. A talk aimed to energize the electorate and offer positive perspectives on what constitutes a healthy and engaged citizenry. Featuring the books You Must Stand Up: The Fight for Abortion Rights in Post-Dobbs America – By Amanda Becker and Thank You for Voting: The Maddening, Enlightening, Inspiring Truth About Voting in America – By Erin Geiger Smith
Purchase YOU MUST STAND UP here.
Purchase books by Erin Geiger Smith at this link.
About the speakers
Martha S. Jones is the Society of Black Alumni Presidential Professor and professor of history at Johns Hopkins University. The prizewinning author and editor of four books, most recently Vanguard, she is past copresident of the Berkshire Conference of Women Historians and has contributed to the New York Times, Atlantic, and many other publications. Professor Jones is the author of VANGUARD: How Black Women Broke Barriers, Won the Vote, and Insisted on Equality for All published by Basic Books
David Daley is the author of the national bestseller Ratf**ked: Why Your Vote Doesn’t Count, which helped spark the drive to reform gerrymandering. He regularly discusses democracy and voting rights on CNN, MSNBC, NPR, and other outlets. His work has appeared in The New Yorker, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Atlantic, and the Guardian, among other publications. He is the former editor in chief of Salon. He lives in Massachusetts. David Daley is the author of Antidemocratic: Inside the Far Right’s 50-Year Plot to Control American Elections Published by Mariner Books/Harper Collins
Paul Pierson is the John Gross Distinguished Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley, and director of the Berkeley Economy and Society Initiative. He is the author or coauthor of six books, including Winner-Take-All Politics, Let Them Eat Tweets and Politics in Time.
Eric Schickler is the Jeffrey & Ashley McDermott Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley. He is the author or coauthor of seven books, including Racial Realignment, Investigating the President, and Filibuster.
Together, Paul Pierson and Eric Schickler are the authors of Partisan Nation: The Dangerous New Logic of American Politics in a Nationalized Era Published by Oxford University Press
Amanda Becker is a 2023 Nieman Fellow and Washington correspondent for The 19th. She has covered the U.S. Congress, the White House, and elections for more than a decade. Becker previously worked at Reuters and CQ Roll Call. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today, and Glamour magazine. Her political coverage has also been broadcast on National Public Radio. She lives in Washington, D.C. Amanda Becker is the author of You Must Stand Up: The Fight for Abortion Rights in Post-Dobbs America Published by Bloomsbury Books
Erin Geiger Smith is a journalist who has written for the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times among other leading publications, and has worked at Reuters covering legal news. She graduated from Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism, the University of Texas School of Law, and the University of Texas at Austin. She lives in New York City with her husband and son. Erin Geiger Smith is the author of Thank You for Voting: The Maddening, Enlightening, Inspiring Truth About Voting in America and Thank You for Voting Young Readers’ Edition: The Past, Present, and Future of Voting Published by Harper Paperbacks
This event made possible by support from the City Lights Foundation