[act-ma] (Wed.) 4/29 NEW DATE! Erin O'Brien and Phillip Martin Discuss Voter Suppression at Cambridge Forum

[director at cambridgeforum.org]

We are happy to announce that this forum (originally scheduled for April 8)
has been rescheduled for Wednesday, April 29, 2015.  Please seen complete
information below:

CAMBRIDGE FORUM
3 Church Street, Cambridge, MA 02138
617-495-2727
email: director at cambridgeforum.org
www.cambridgeforum.org

/RELEASE  /                                                                        
APRIL 7, 2015

/THE HEALTH OF DEMOCRACY: VOTER SUPPRESSION AND DISENFRANCHISEMENT/

ON WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 2015, AT 7:00 P.M. Cambridge Forum hosts political
scientist ERIN O’BRIEN discussing the new movement toward voter
suppression and its impact on our democracy.  PHILLIP MARTIN, senior
investigative reporter for WGBH News, responds, reflecting on the legacy of
the 1965 Voting Rights Act in light of today’s changes.  O’Brien
examines the varied ways in which ballot access is currently being
restricted and the causes for these new policies.  Where does the impulse
toward voter suppression come from?  What roles have extra-governmental
organizations played in developing current policies?  What about the
courts?  What can citizens do when laws and public policies conflict with
the ideals of democracy?

ERIN O’BRIEN is chair and associate professor of political science at the
University of Massachusetts Boston.  Her research and teaching interests
focus on the politics of poverty and social welfare policy, voting access
policymaking in the United States, and gender in political participation
and representation.  She is the author of  The Politics of Identity:
Solidarity Building among America’s Working Poor and co-editor of 
Diversity in Contemporary American Politics and Government and has
contributed chapters to numerous other books. Among her journal articles,
“Jim Crow 2.0?” detailing her study of new voter restriction policies,
excited interest in both academic and media circles.  In addition to her
academic publications, O’Brien has written policy briefs and contributes
regularly to the popular press. Her work has appeared in  The Atlantic;
The Boston Globe; The Washington Post; The Daily Beast;  Huffington Post;
Salon; and on the Melissa Harris Perry Show (MSNBC);  Politics Nation with
Al Sharpton (MSNBC); The Takeaway with John Hockenberry (NPR);  Under the
Radar with Callie Crossley (WGBH, NPR); and  Boston Public Radio (WGBH).

PHILLIP MARTIN is senior investigative reporter for WGBH News, where he has
reported on human trafficking, the Boston Marathon bombing, Whitey Bulger,
carbon offset schemes, police shootings, training and race, the Occupy
movement and the fishing industry in New England, among other topics.  In
2011 he joined a group of students who marked the 50th anniversary of the
Freedom Riders by recreating their journey.  Martin has received various
journalistic honors, including a 2014 national Edward R. Murrow Award for
investigative journalism, the Margaret and Hans Rey WGBH producer of the
year award, the 2010 Asian American Journalists Award for National Radio
Reporting, the 2008 Ruben Salazar Award and the 2005 NABJ Radio Documentary
Award.

/This program is funded in part by MassHumanities, which receives support
from the Massachusetts Cultural Council and is an affiliate of the National
Endowment for the Humanities./

The program is free and open to the public. The forum takes place at the
First Parish in Cambridge, 1446 Massachusetts Avenue in Harvard Square. 
Cambridge Forum is recorded and edited for public radio broadcast. Edited
podcasts are available, and select forums can also be viewed in their
entirety on YouTube.

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Cambridge Forum
3 Church Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
617-495-2727
www.cambridgeforum.org