HSPRD hosted Ari Berman, author of “Give Us the Ballot,” for a book talk as part of the American Constitution Society Chicago Chapter Luncheon earlier this week. The book tells the story of the Voting Rights Act and the turbulent forces it unleashed. It also charts the transformation of American democracy under the VRA and the counterrevolution that has sought to limit voting rights, from 1965 to the present day. At the event, Berman provided new insights into one of the most vital political and civil rights issues of our time.
About the Author: Ari Berman is a political correspondent for The Nation and an investigative journalism fellow at the Nation Institute. His writing has also appeared in The New York Times and Rolling Stone, and he is a frequent commentator on MSNBC and NPR. His first book, “Herding Donkeys: The Fight to Rebuild the Democratic Party and Reshape American Politics,” was published in 2010.
The American Constitution Society (ACS) believes that law should be a force to improve the lives of all people. ACS works for positive change by shaping debate on vitally important legal and constitutional issues through development and promotion of high-impact ideas to opinion leaders and the media; by building networks of lawyers, law students, judges and policymakers dedicated to those ideas; and by countering the activist conservative legal movement that has sought to erode our enduring constitutional values. By bringing together powerful, relevant ideas and passionate, talented people, ACS makes a difference in the constitutional, legal and public policy debates that shape our democracy.
HSPRD’s Matt Piers welcoming the author, Ari Berman.
Author Ari Berman, author of “Give Us the Ballot,”
