PCAL Calendar

Author and Nation magazine senior contributing writer Ari Berman will speak about voting rights, the presidential election and his important 2015 book “Give Us The Ballot” during a free lecture open to the public in the Mass Media & Technology Hall auditorium at Western Kentucky University on Thursday, April 7, at 7:30 p.m. CDT.

Berman, who Business Insider named one of the “50 most influential political pundits” in the U.S., has written extensively about American politics, civil rights, and the intersection of money and politics. His stories have also appeared in The New York Times, Rolling Stone, The Atlantic, Politico and The Guardian, and he is a frequent guest and political commentator on MSNBC, NPR, PBS and C-Span.

Berman’s book “Give Us The Ballot” was called “a must read” by Civil Rights activist and Congressman John Lewis, who said it “should become a primer for every American.” Berman will discuss the history of the Voting Rights Act and the state of democracy in the United States. His book will be available for purchase during a book signing after the event.

The lecture, “Give Us The Ballot: Power, Privilege & Democracy,” is presented by WKU’s Fleischaker-Greene Scholars Program and the School of Journalism & Broadcasting and co-sponsored by The Potter College of Arts & Letters, the Department of History and the Institute for Citizenship and Social Responsibility (ICSR).