Q+A
In what ways does Inauguration Day 2025 symbolize the resilience or fragility of American democracy?
On January 20, 2025, as Donald J. Trump was sworn in as the 47th President of the United States, the nation reached a critical turning point.
News and Analysis
Read the latest news, commentary, and analysis from the Ash Center.
Newest
Towards Platform Democracy: Policymaking Beyond Corporate CEOs and Partisan Pressure
Facebook, YouTube, and other platforms make incredibly impactful decisions about the speech of billions. Right now, those decisions are primarily in the hands of corporate CEO’s—and heavily influenced by pressure from partisan and authoritarian governments aiming to entrench their own power.
Aviv Ovadya proposes an alternative: platform democracy.
Video
Money Left on the Table: The Economic Argument for Diversity (Truth and Transformation 2021)
This video starts off with the introduction to the 2021 Truth and Transformation Conference. Then, we go into the first panel, “Money Left on the Table: The Economic Argument for Diversity.’ Does the economic argument for diversity make sense? Why hasn’t everyone already won? This panel engaged key leaders watching organizations grappling with moving toward antiracism the question: what does resistance to change look like and what drives it, from an economic, psychological, and historical perspective?
This panel discussion, which starts at minute 24:00, features:
- Jarik Conrad, Equity at Work
- Dana Peterson, The Conference Board
- Lisa Cook, Michigan State University
- Michael McAfee, PolicyLink
- Levi Sumagaysay, MarketWatch
Learn more about the Truth and Transformation Conference and the Institutional Antiracism and Accountability Project online: https://ash.harvard.edu/iara
Video
Preserving Seats at the Table: White-Dominated Boards (Truth and Transformation 2021)
This video starts with the second panel discussion from the 2021 Truth and Transformation conference, hosted by the Institutional Antiracism and Accountability Project at the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard Kennedy School. Then, at 59:27, starts the lunchtime musical performances by The Reminders and Brown Rice Family.
The panel discussion, titled, “Preserving Seats at the Table: White-Dominated Boards” features:
- Trina Jackson (Speaker) Senior Solidarity Program Officer – US Internationalist Program, Grassroots International
- Samantha Tweedy (Speaker) President, Black Economic Alliance Foundation
- Rebecca Shuster (Speaker) Assistant Superintendent of Equity, Boston Public Schools
- Cheryl Mills (Speaker) Founder & CEO, The BlackIvy Group
- Jeffrey Ginsburg (Moderator) Executive Director, East Harlem Tutorial Program
Learn more about the Truth and Transformation Conference and the Institutional Antiracism and Accountability Project online: https://ash.harvard.edu/iara
Video
Equity Takes Time, Commitment, & Disruption (Truth and Transformation 2021)
This video starts with the final panel discussion from the 2021 Truth and Transformation conference, hosted by the Institutional Antiracism and Accountability Project at the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard Kennedy School. Then at 1:03:00, remarks from Boston Mayor Kim Janey begin and are followed by a closing discussion between IARA Senior Fellow Erica Licht and Professor Khalil Gibran Muhammad at 1:15:50.
The panel discussion, titled, “Equity Takes Time, Commitment, & Disruption” featured:
- Carmen Rojas (Speaker) President & CEO, Marguerite Casey Foundation
- John C. Yang (Speaker) President & Executive Director, Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC
- Halima Begum (Speaker) Chief Executive, Runnymede Trust
- Eric Ward (Speaker) Executive Director, Western States Center
- Mary McNeil (Moderator) Ph.D. Candidate, American Studies Program, Harvard University
Learn more about the Truth and Transformation Conference and the Institutional Antiracism and Accountability Project online: https://ash.harvard.edu/iara
Tony Saich on the Party and Private Business: Lessons from History
Video
Change Can’t Wait: A Justice and Equity Agenda For Boston’s Black and Brown Communities
The Ash Center, Carr Center for Human Rights Policy, Center for Public Leadership, FXB Center for Health and Human Rights, and the Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston hosted a discussion focusing on urgent issues—from economic and climate justice to immigration and mass incarceration —that the next Mayor of Boston must address to rectify structural inequities and support Black and Brown communities.
Video
Two Americas Emerging: Voting Rights in the States
In the nearly one year since the November 2020 elections, the diverging directions state legislatures took on expanding or contracting voting rights created a huge fault line in American democracy, described by some as ‘two Americas’. A Voting Rights Lab tracking report as of September 13, 2021, identified 27 states representing 70 million voters that had passed laws to expand voting opportunities, and 13 states with 55 million people that had passed sharply restrictive legislation. And state legislatures were still at work. What’s causing this divergence?
How are voting rights advocates advancing their work in such disparate political environments? What does it mean for upcoming elections and the future of American democracy? Join the Ash Center as voting advocates from two key states that have gone in opposite directions and policy experts evaluated the trends, discussed the present, and looked into the future.
Speakers include:
- Mimi Marziani, President and CEO Texas civil rights project
- Henal Patel, Director of the Democracy & Justice Program, New Jersey Institute of Social Justice
- Randy Perez, Program Director, Voting Rights Lab
- Jake Grumbach, Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Washington
- Miles Rapoport, Ash Center Senior Practice Fellow in American Democracy, Moderator
Communique Magazine
Fall 2021 Communiqué Magazine
In this issue, as the Chinese Communist Party celebrates its 100th anniversary, Ash Center experts delve into the historial legacy of the party as well as what the future holds for the party and China. We share profiles of the scholars and students who make the Ash Center such a unique institution, and introduce new research and ideas from across our thirty programs, projects, and initiatives.
Video
Book Talk — Nothing is Impossible: America’s Reconciliation with Vietnam
The Ash Center invites you to a book talk with former U.S. ambassador to Vietnam, Ted Osius, author of the book “Nothing is Impossible: America’s Reconciliation with Vietnam.” Osius was joined in discussion by Thomas Vallely, Senior Advisor for Mainland Southeast Asia at the Ash Center.