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Overcoming Racism to Build a True Democracy: Two Authors Share the Way Forward

Confronting racism directly and building a fully inclusive democracy are completely intertwined. Two authors with strong history in the democracy movement have recently written forcefully and personally on the subject. Heather McGhee served as President of Demos before writing the New York Times bestseller The Sum of Us, and Theodore Johnson, after serving twenty years in the military, is the Director of the Fellows Program at the Brennan Center for Justice and the author of the just-published When the Stars Begin to Fall. Harvard Law Professor Guy Uriel-Charles engaged with them on their experiences, their arguments, and how they see the way forward.

Issues

Multiracial Democracy

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Contesting Repression in Divided Democracies: Can Counternarratives Reduce Support for Police Violence?
An image of 4 police officer shields.

Article

Contesting Repression in Divided Democracies: Can Counternarratives Reduce Support for Police Violence?

A new article in the American Journal of Political Science, co-authored by Yanilda María González, Ford Foundation Associate Professor of Public Policy and Ash Center affiliate, examines public attitudes toward police violence in Brazil. The authors find that while police discourse can increase public endorsement of violence, counternarratives from marginalized victims can be effective in reducing citizen support for repressive policing.

Bootstrap Blackness: Black Men, Conservatism, and Party Politics
A man voting.

Article

Bootstrap Blackness: Black Men, Conservatism, and Party Politics

A new research article by Dr. Christine Slaughter, Research Fellow at the Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation and co-authors examines the narrative of black men’s political “shift right”. The study finds Black men remain overwhelmingly Democratic, despite growing public attention to ideological divides.

 

Before the Civil Rights Act, My Great-Uncle from Roxbury Took on Pullman in 1954 — and Won
A photo collage of some members of the Greenidge family.

Commentary

Before the Civil Rights Act, My Great-Uncle from Roxbury Took on Pullman in 1954 — and Won

As we commemorate 100 years of Black History Month, it is worth remembering that progress was not driven by headlines alone. Beyond the monuments and courtrooms, everyday people took risks to demand dignity and fairness. Among them was my great uncle, whose pursuit of a promotion became a catalyst for change.