PRESS RELEASE: January 26, 2023
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contacts:
Liz Joyner, Founder and President, The Village Square
Cell: 850-264-8785
Email: liz@villagesquare.us
Lashonda Curry, Communications Director, Florida Humanities
Cell: 813-447-1752
Email: lcurry@flahum.org
Authors Daryl Davis, Chris Stirewalt and the Braver Angels team will headline virtual series.
ST. PETERSBURG, FL (Jan. 26 , 2023) – A Black man’s conversations with the Klan, a behind-the-scenes look at political news coverage and talking across the political divide are topics of this spring’s online programs hosted by Florida Humanities and The Village Square.
“Hate, Undone.” with Daryl Davis
Thursday, Feb.9 | 7 to 8:30 p.m. EST
Daryl Davis is a Chicago-born Black jazz and blues musician whose 1998 book Klan-Destine Relationships: A Black Man’s Odyssey with the Ku Klux Klan documents his time befriending Klan members and persuading them to see another way.
Davis earned a bachelor’s degree in music from Howard University in Washington, D.C. where he was a member of their renowned Jazz Vocal Ensemble. He went on to work with such artists as Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, the Drifters, The Coasters, Bo Diddley and Percy Sledge. After experiencing racism as a child, he spent a lifetime wondering: “”How can you hate me when you don’t even know me?” Failing to find his answer in books and history, he decided to approach a member of the KKK and pose that question. So began Davis’s extraordinary journey.
“Daryl Davis’ story is about the power of music and building bridges through open conversations,” said Florida Humanities CEO Nashid Madyun, who will host Davis’ presentation. “His personal journey offers insight into ourselves and the world around us.”
Davis’ work on race relations has been featured on CNN, NBC, Good Morning America, The Learning Channel, National Public Radio, and in the Baltimore Sun and Washington Post. His TED talk, “Why I, as a black man, attend KKK rallies,” has more than 12 million views and he is the subject of the 2016 documentary, Accidental Courtesy.
“Broken News” with Chris Stirewalt
Thursday, March 29 | 7 to 8:30 p.m. EST
Chris Stirewalt provides an insider’s view of today’s rage-driven political environment. After 10 years with Fox News, Stirewalt was fired by the network after the 2020 election when he was part of the decision desk team that called Arizona for Joe Biden. He later testified before the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack.
Today, he’s political editor at NewsNation, an independent cable news network and contributor to The Dispatch. He’s also a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where he focuses on American politics, voting trends, public opinion and the media. Stirewalt will discuss his latest book, Broken News: Why the Media Rage Machine Divides America and How to Fight Back (Center Street, 2022), which has been featured on NPR, and in the Washington Post, Politico, The New York Times and the LA Times.
Skip Foster, former publisher of the Tallahassee Democrat, will join Stirewalt for this conversation examining today’s news media.
“A Braver Story: The Braver Angels Story of American Citizenship”
Thursday, May 11 | 7 to 8:30 p.m. EST
Braver Angels is a national movement launched in 2016 to bridge the partisan divide and depolarize America. An organization equally balanced between conservatives and progressives at every level of leadership, chapters across America work to understand the other side’s point of view, search for common ground with people they disagree with and support principles that unite rather than divide.
This program will provide a closer look at this grassroots effort to bring civility to political disagreements. Panelists include Braver Angels founders David Blankenhorn and Bill Doherty; Director of 1:1 Conversations Donna Murphy; Braver Angels National Ambassador John Wood Jr.; and Chief Marketing Officer Ciaran O’Connor. Manu Meel, CEO of BridgeUSA, a non-profit dedicated to facilitating conversations among students across the political divide, will be the moderator.
These three virtual events are the latest in the multi-year digital series, “Democracy Reignited,” a partnership between Florida Humanities and The Village Square that explores the past, present and future of the American idea as it exists on paper, in the hearts of people and in practice.
“We’re delighted to join forces with Florida Humanities again to bring citizens some of the most insightful and inspiring thought leaders of our time,” said Liz Joyner, founder and president of The Village Square. “Our spring 2023 series is based on the premise that for our democracy to survive, we need even people with drastically opposing points of view to find common ground and mutual respect.”
About Florida Humanities
Florida Humanities, a nonprofit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, is dedicated to preserving, promoting, and sharing the history, literature, cultures, and personal stories that offer Floridians a better understanding of themselves, their communities, and their state. Since 1973, Florida Humanities has awarded more than $16 million in support of statewide cultural resources and public programs strongly rooted in the humanities. These programs preserve Florida’s diverse history and heritage, promote civic engagement and community dialogue, and provide opportunities to reflect on the future of Florida. Learn more at www.FloridaHumanities.org.
About The Village Square
The Village Square, founded in Florida in 2006, builds civic trust in hometowns between people and don’t look or think alike—in a 21 st century revival of the American town hall. Learn more at: http://tlh.villagesquare.us.
