The Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Center in Oakland is hosting author, journalist, political pundit and expert in voter registration and suppression Ari Berman on Sat., Sept. 28, at 7:00 p.m. at the Marriott Hotel Grand Ballroom in downtown Oakland.

Berman is a senior reporter at Mother Jones magazine, covering voting rights, and a Reporting Fellow at Type Media Center. His stories have also appeared in The New York Times, Rolling Stone, The Atlantic, Politico and The Guardian.

He is a frequent guest and political commentator on MSNBC, NPR, PBS and C-Span. Berman’s work has earned him an Izzy Award for outstanding achievement in independent media and a place on the FD200 – 200 awardees whose work embodies Frederick Douglass’ enduring legacy of social change.

Berman is the author of “Give Us The Ballot: The Modern Struggle for Voting Rights in America” (finalist, National Book Critics Circle Award for nonfiction) and “Herding Donkeys: The Fight to Rebuild the Democractic Party and Reshape American Politics.” “Give Us The Ballot” was named a best book of 2015 by the New York Times, Washington Post, NPR, the Boston Globe and Kirkus Reviews, and was nominated for the American Library Association’s Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence.

Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley will introduce Berman at the lecture, part of the long-running series sponsored by U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee and former state representative and Oakland Mayor Elihu Harris.

The series presents civic leaders from across the country in lively and relevant presentations centered on Dr. King’s catalytic question: “Where do we go from here: chaos or community?” The Lecture Series is co-presented by the Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Center and Peralta Community College.

“Voter rights and voter suppression concern us all and many organizations, elected officials, civil rights and community leaders are increasingly taking up the standard to fight for fair elections,” said Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Center Executive Director Dr. Roy Wilson. “Dr. King teaches that ‘When an individual is no longer a true participant, when he or she no longer feels a sense of responsibility to society, the content of democracy is emptied.’”

The lecture is free of charge and RSVPs may be made by calling the Freedom Center at 510-434-3988. For more information, visit www.MLKFreedomCenter.org.

Scott Horton

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