Who is Permitted to Vote?: Lessons from the Reconstruction

Dr. Eric Foner, educator, historian, and Pulitzer Prize-winning author, is often regarded as the “dean of Reconstruction historians.” Professor Emeritus of History at Columbia University, Dr. Foner has used his career as a scholar to construct a more truthful narrative of the Civil War and Reconstruction, changing the language of this historical period from a story of white supremacy to a narrative that focuses on Black history, interracial democracy, and justice.

This year Dr. Foner was named the 2020 Anisfield-Wolf Book Award honoree for Lifetime Achievement. His most recent book, The Second Founding: How the Civil War and Reconstruction Remade the Constitution, details America’s reckoning with the false constitutional promise of equality and liberty for all, following the development of the Reconstruction amendments which abolished slavery, guaranteed all persons due process and equal protection of the law, and equipped Black men with the right to vote. As phenomenal works of history do, this book encourages readers to engage with the present as well as the past, emphasizing the vigilance and persistence required to acquire and maintain freedom in a democratic society.

Join us for a conversation with this remarkable author about The Second Founding, the Reconstruction Era, and the contemporary struggle for freedom and equality.

The livestream will be available beginning at 12:30 p.m. Have questions? Tweet them at @TheCityClub or send a text to 330.541.5794.

Want to read the book? Buy local at Mac's Backs! City Club members are eligible for a 20 percent discount on the purchase of this book. Email info@cityclub.org for details.

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