Jfk Library Forums

Peter Coleman, Columbia professor of psychology and education and author of the forthcoming "The Way Out: How To Overcome Toxic Polarization"; Archon Fung, professor of citizenship and self-government at the Harvard Kennedy School; the Reverend Irene Monroe, theologian, syndicated columnist, and co-host of GBH’s "All Rev’d Up" podcast; Amanda Ripley, author of the forthcoming "High Conflict: Why We Get Trapped and How We Get Out"; and Deb Roy, MIT professor of media arts and sciences and director of the MIT Center for Constructive Communication, explore productive discussions across conflicts and divides with Mo Elleithee, executive director of Georgetown University’s Institute of Politics and Public Service.

Karen Tumulty, political columnist for The Washington Post, discusses her forthcoming book, "The Triumph of Nancy Reagan," which draws on archives, letters, memoirs, White House records, and four years of interviews with people close to the Reagans to reveal new details of the multifaceted character of the First Lady. Eileen McNamara, Pulitzer Prize-winning former Boston Globe columnist and Brandeis professor of the practice of journalism, moderates.

Reginald Dwayne Betts, poet, memoirist and teacher; Tracie Keesee, co-founder, Center for Policing Equity; Khalil Gibran Muhammad, Harvard professor of history, race, and public policy; and Chuck Wexler, executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum, discuss current issues in police and justice reform with Errin Haines, Editor-at-Large, The 19th*. Kennedy Library education and public programs on civil rights and social justice are supported in part by AT&T.

Theresa Cardinal Brown, Bipartisan Policy Center director of immigration and cross-border policy; Roberto Gonzales, Harvard professor of education and director of the Immigration Initiative at Harvard; Marcelo Suárez-Orozco, UMass Boston Chancellor; Daniel Tichenor, University of Oregon chair of social science and Program for Democratic Governance director; and Jia Lynn Yang, The New York Times national editor and author of "One Mighty and Irresistible Tide: The Epic Struggle Over American Immigration, 1924-1965," explore the history of and contemporary issues in US immigration policy with Julia Preston, contributing writer to The Marshall Project. 

Anthea Butler, professor of religious studies and Africana Studies at the University of Pennsylvania; EJ Dionne, The Washington Post columnist and visiting professor at the Harvard Divinity School; Patrick Lacroix, author of John F. Kennedy and the Politics of Faith; Emmett Price, professor of worship, church, and culture at the Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary; and Simran Jeet Singh, Religion News Service columnist and Spirited podcast host, examine the intersection of religion and politics with Margery Eagan, co-host of GBH’s Boston Public Radio.   For more info, visit jfklibrary.org/forums.

Panelists including Lisa Lerer, reporter at The New York Times, and Julian Zelizer, professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University and CNN Political Analyst, discuss opportunities and challenges for the incoming administration, as well as reflect on the significance of the Biden-Harris victory in the 2020 elections. NBC News correspondent Harry Smith moderates. Explore more at jfklibrary.org/forums.

Award-winning musician and Emerson College artist-in-residence Toshi Reagon and the Reverend Mariama White-Hammond, founding pastor of the New Roots AME Church and fellow with the Green Justice Coalition, discuss how the belief systems that define and maintain our societies impact the planet and influence our survival with Porsha Olayiwola, the City of Boston's Poet Laureate. Co-presented in conjunction with the city wide read of Octavia E. Butler's Parable of the Sower and in association with Parable Path Boston, ArtsEmerson, New Roots AME Church and the Boston Public Library. For more info, visit jfklibrary.org/forums.

Panelists including Dan Balz, chief correspondent at The Washington Post; Jonathan Capehart, opinion columnist at The Washington Post; Maria Hinojosa, president and founder of Futuro Media and anchor and executive producer of Latino USA; and Alice Stewart, CNN commentator, NPR contributor, and Harvard Institute of Politics fellow, interpret the results of the 2020 elections. Award-winning author Evan Thomas moderates. Explore more at jfklibrary.org/forums.

In this culminating keynote session of the Kennedy Library's "Expanding Democracy" conference, Judge Nancy Gertner (ret.), senior lecturer on law at Harvard Law School, and former Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Margaret Marshall deepen the conversation about the judicial role in contemporary voting rights with Barbara Howard, former anchor of WGBH’s All Things Considered. The two-day conference commemorates the centennial of the 19th Amendment and explores contemporary and historic issues about this landmark legislation. For more info, visit jfklibrary.org/forums.

In commemoration of the centennial of the 19th Amendment, this conference will explore the history of the suffrage movement and how efforts to broaden voting rights have evolved over time. Sessions will explore the origins and development of suffrage efforts as well as contemporary voting rights issues.  Join University of Virginia professor of politics Jennifer Lawless, University of Massachusetts Boston professor of political science Erin O’Brien, Harvard University professor of government and sociology Theda Skocpol, University of South Carolina professor emerita of history Marjorie Spruill, and Suffolk University professor of government and moderator Rachael Cobb as they explore contemporary issues related to the 19th Amendment.

In commemoration of the centennial of the 19th Amendment, this conference will explore the history of the suffrage movement and how efforts to broaden voting rights have evolved over time. Sessions will explore the origins and development of suffrage efforts as well as contemporary voting rights issues.  Join UCLA professor emeritus of history Ellen DuBois, Johns Hopkins professor of history Martha S. Jones, University of Connecticut professor of history Manisha Sinha, author Brenda Wineapple, and Carnegie Mellon professor of history and moderator Lisa Tetrault as they explore the history and origins of the movement.

Molly Ball, national political correspondent for TIME and author of the new book Pelosi, and Susan Page, USA Today’s Washington bureau chief and author of the forthcoming Madam Speaker, discuss Nancy Pelosi’s career and leadership as Speaker of the House of Representatives with Nancy Cordes, chief congressional correspondent for CBS News. This was the first session in the two-day Kennedy Library conference Expanding Democracy: The 19th Amendment and Voting Rights Today commemorating the centennial of the 19th Amendment. 

Barbara Carvalho, director of the Marist Poll; Henry Fernandez, co-founder of the African American Research Collaborative; Jill Lepore, Harvard professor of history; and Anthony Salvanto, CBS News Director of Elections and Surveys, discuss the history of and contemporary trends in political polling with longtime former ABC reporter and anchor Charlie Gibson. Explore more at jfklibrary.org/forums.

The New Yorker contributor Barry Blitt; cartoonist Pia Guerra; and Washington Post editorial cartoonist Ann Telnaes explore the art of political cartooning with Scott Simon, host of NPR’s Weekend Edition Saturday. For more info, visit jfklibrary.org/forums.

Gretchen Sorin, director of the Cooperstown Graduate Program of the State University of New York and author of Driving While Black: African-American Travel and the Road to Civil Rights; director Ric Burns and producer and editor Emir Lewis of the forthcoming PBS documentary Driving While Black based on her research, discuss how the automobile transformed African American life with Spencer Crew, Acting Director of the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture. For more information, visit jfklibary.org/forums.

Robert Trogdon, Kent State University professor of English and editor of the Library of America’s forthcoming “Ernest Hemingway: The Sun Also Rises & Other Writings 1918-1926,” discusses this new edition of writings from Hemingway’s earliest years in Paris with Kennedy Library Hemingway Scholar in Residence Hilary Justice.   Explore more at jfklibrary.org/forums.

Award-winning journalist Larry Tye discusses his new book Demagogue: The Life and Long Shadow of Senator Joe McCarthy with Pulitzer Prize-winning former Boston Globe columnist Eileen McNamara. For more info, visit jfklibrary.org/forums.

Senator Sherrod Brown discusses his new book, Desk 88: Eight Progressive Senators Who Changed America, which explores the careers of senators who have also sat at Desk 88 on the Senate floor, including Hugo Black, George McGovern, and Robert F. Kennedy.  Senator Jeanne Shaheen moderates.  For more info, visit jfklibrary.org/forums.

Fredrik Logevall, Harvard University professor of history and international relations and Pulitzer Prize-winning historian, discusses his forthcoming book JFK: Coming of Age in the American Century, 1917-1956 with George Packer, staff writer at The Atlantic. For more info, visit jfklibrary.org/forums.

Ambassador (Ret.) Nicholas Burns, Harvard professor of diplomacy and international relations; Robert Mauro, director of the Boston College Irish Institute and Global Leadership Institute; and Alexandra Vacroux, executive director of the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies at Harvard University, discuss US foreign policy challenges and opportunities in Europe. Andrew Gray, EU editor at POLITICO Europe, moderates. Explore more at jfklibrary.org/forums.