The Human Rights Campaign declared a state of emergency for LGBTQ+ Americans for the first time in 2023. In state houses across the country, we are seeing legislation that targets the rights and dignity of LGBTQ+ people. Kelley Robinson discusses how these attacks are part of a broader antidemocratic movement in the US and why it is important to develop a more inclusive culture for our democracy. Kelley Robinson is the president of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and one of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People of 2024. Prior to becoming the first Black, queer woman to lead HRC, she was the executive director of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund. She has over 15 years of experience in campaign organizing, community building, and coalition building for society’s most underserved populations. She is also a Kettering Foundation Senior Fellow. Links: https://www.hrc.org/campaigns/we-show-up https://time.com/6964843/kelley-robinson/

American voters have never been more dissatisfied. Unlike in business, where more competition promotes accountability and innovation, our political system only allows for two competitors. For most voters, America’s two-party system makes elections more about defeating the other side than solving problems and delivering. Katherine Gehl proposes Final-Five Voting, where five candidates advance from a nonpartisan primary and then are ranked, to promote competition and ensure representatives are accountable to a majority of voters. Katherine Gehl is a leader in the national nonpartisan movement for political innovation and the founder of The Institute for Political Innovation. A philanthropist and former CEO, she examines America’s political system through an industry-competition lens to better understand its biggest problems and to identify achievable solutions. Her book, The Politics Industry: How Political Innovation Can Break Partisan Gridlock and Save Our Democracy (2020), cowritten with Michael E. Porter, has changed the national reform community’s approach to modern political change. https://political-innovation.org/ https://store.hbr.org/product/the-politics-industry-how-political-innovation-can-break-partisan-gridlock-and-save-our-democracy/10367

In commemoration of the 70th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education (1954), Matthew Delmont discusses the symbolic and practical significance of the landmark decision. Although it deemed legal segregation unconstitutional, Brown v. Board did not result in meaningful school integration right away. In fact, the decision represents the long history of civil rights, in which activists had to outflank intense political reluctance and backlash. Matthew Delmont is the Sherman Fairchild Distinguished Professor of History at Dartmouth College and a Guggenheim Fellow. An expert on African American history and the history of civil rights, he has written five books: Half American (2022), Black Quotidian (2019), Why Busing Failed (2016), Making Roots (2016), and The Nicest Kids in Town (2012). His work has appeared in the New York Times, the Atlantic, the Washington Post, NPR, and several academic journals. Originally from Minneapolis, Minnesota, Delmont earned a BA from Harvard University and an MA and PhD from Brown University. Links: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/624655/half-american-by-matthew-f-delmont/ https://blackquotidian.org/ https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520284258/why-busing-failed https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520291324/making-roots

Citizenship is a perpetual debate in America. Martha S. Jones discusses how the exclusion of women and people of color from the early Republic led them to develop their own political cultures and collective institutions. As a result, marginalized people, particularly Black women, reframed politics in a way that was more aligned with America’s democratic ideals than any other political vision at the time. Elevating their voices and visions of democracy helps clarify who we have been and who we hope to be. Martha S. Jones is the Society of Black Alumni Presidential Professor, a Professor of History, and a Professor at the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University. A legal and cultural historian, her work examines how Black Americans have shaped the story of American democracy. She has written three award-winning books: Vanguard (2022), Birthright Citizens (2018), and All Bound Up Together (2007). Links: https://snfagora.jhu.edu/about-snf-agora/ https://hardhistory.jhu.edu/ https://alumni.jhu.edu/affinitygroups/soba https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/martha-s-jones/vanguard/9781541618619/?lens=basic-books https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/birthright-citizens/7A4BFAF68722E7EC837C2888C46E4434 https://uncpress.org/book/9780807858455/all-bound-up-together/

In 2015, the US Census Bureau released a report projecting that the US would become a majority minority nation by 2044. Justin Gest asserts that the US reached this milestone a long time ago. Gest discusses America’s immense diversity and immigrant roots, which can be sources of unity, rather than division. He interrogates the use of categories and labels that ultimately divide us, calling for a more civic and inclusive understanding of the nation. Justin Gest is a professor of Policy and Government at George Mason University. A scholar of the politics of immigration and demographic change, he has written six books, the most recent entitled Majority Minority (2022). His research is published in many peer-reviewed academic journals, and he provides commentary for major media outlets. You can keep up with his work on his website, justingest.com. Links: https://justingest.com/ https://global.oup.com/academic/product/majority-minority-9780197641798

American democracy is under attack, and much of the damage is done in statehouses. David Pepper explains how Americans’ hyper-fixation on national politics opens the door for corruption and anti-democratic actions at the state level. In Ohio, state legislators have undermined democracy by manipulating election policies and drawing unfair legislative districts. Pepper discusses how all Americans, regardless of political affiliation, can incorporate saving democracy into their daily lives. David Pepper is a lawyer, writer, political activist, and adjunct professor at the University of Cincinnati College of Law. He served as Chair of the Ohio Democratic Party from 2015-2021. In addition to his daily Substack, he has written several books. Two address state-level attacks on democracy: Laboratories of Autocracy: A Wake-Up Call from Behind the Lines (2021) and Saving Democracy: A User’s Manual for Every American (2023). His other books are political thrillers, the most recent being The Fifth Vote (2023). He also serves as a Senior Fellow for the Charles F. Kettering Foundation. Links: https://davidpepper.substack.com/ https://laboratoriesofautocracy.com/ https://savedemocracy.us/about/

A devoted public servant, Maureen O’Connor discusses the importance of efficiency, fairness, and nonpartisanship in government. After years of witnessing and ruling against partisan gerrymandering on the Ohio Supreme Court, O’Connor is working toward an Ohio constitutional amendment to create an independent redistricting commission that empowers citizens, not politicians, to create district lines. Maureen O’Connor is the longest-serving statewide elected woman in Ohio history. O’Connor was elected to the Ohio Supreme Court in 2003, and in 2011, she became the state’s first female Chief Justice. During her tenure on the court, she led significant reforms and improvements in the Ohio judicial system. In retirement, she is spearheading the campaign Citizens Not Politicians to pass a constitutional amendment to reform redistricting in Ohio, which is slated for the November 2024 ballot. She also serves as a senior fellow for the Charles F. Kettering Foundation. Links: https://www.citizensnotpoliticians.org/

Throughout history, the rules and practices of American democracy have contradicted the nation’s democratic ideals. Kimberlé Crenshaw has dedicated her career to developing inclusive legal frameworks to address some of our greatest democratic problems. As one of the foundational thinkers of Critical Race Theory, she sets the record straight on what the project is—and what it isn’t. Kimberlé Crenshaw is the Co-founder and Executive Director of the African American Policy Forum and the founder and Executive Director of the Center for Intersectionality and Social Policy Studies at Columbia Law School. She serves on the legal faculty at both UCLA and Columbia University. She is one of the most cited scholars in legal history. Links: https://www.aapf.org/intersectionality-matters https://www.aapf.org/shn-book

J. Michael Luttig was one of the earliest, and most prominent, conservative voices to publicly condemn the effort to overturn the 2020 election. A few days before the Capitol insurrection, he advised Mike Pence that the Vice President has no constitutional authority to overturn a presidential election. Three years later, he discusses whether Donald Trump should be disqualified from holding office for his role in the Capitol insurrection based on Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution. Then and now, Judge Luttig has acted in defense of the Constitution, the rule of law, and American democracy. J. Michael Luttig served on the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit from 1991 to 2006. From 2006 to 2020, he was executive director, vice president, and general counsel of Boeing. He is currently counselor and special advisor to the Coca-Cola Company. Luttig is a trustee of Franklin-Templeton Mutual Funds, a trustee of the National Constitution Center, a board member of the nonprofit Society for the Rule of Law, and cochair of the American Bar Association Task Force on American Democracy. He also serves as a senior fellow for the Charles F. Kettering Foundation. https://www.kettering.org/resources/judge-luttig-says-sec-3-of-the-14th-amendment-should-disqualify-trump-for-reelection/

America’s institutions are not perfect, but they are essential to the functioning of the rule of law. James Comey shares his experience working to improve the Justice Department through honesty, oversight, and transparency. He also discusses the criminal charges against former president and current presidential candidate Donald Trump. James Comey has been a prosecutor, defense lawyer, general counsel, teacher, writer, and leader.  He most recently served in government as Director of the FBI. Since leaving that role in 2017, he has written three best-selling books. Two are memoirs of his time in government: A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership (2018) and Saving Justice: Truth, Transparency, and Trust (2021). His most recent book is a fictional legal thriller: Central Park West (2023). He also serves as a senior fellow for the Charles F. Kettering Foundation. Links: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250192455/ahigherloyalty https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250799128/savingjustice https://penzlerpublishers.com/product/central-park-west/