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Consider This: Reinventing American Democracy with Danielle Allen
The following description was submitted by the event organizer.
Join Oregon Humanities for a conversation about the failings and challenges of democracy in the United States and what can be done about them with Danielle Allen, director of the Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Ash Center. How to find a common purpose to build a stronger democratic society amid today’s complex political climate?
Danielle Allen is a seasoned leader, public policy and public affairs expert, national voice on pandemic response, and distinguished academic and author. Danielle’s work to make the world better for young people has taken her from teaching college and leading a $60 million university division to driving change as board chair for a $6 billion foundation, writing for The Atlantic, and, most recently, running for governor of Massachusetts.
Allen co-chaired the Commission on the Practice of Democratic Citizenship, which was formed to explore how best to respond to the weaknesses and vulnerabilities in political and civic life. Its final, bipartisan report, Our Common Purpose: Reinventing American Democracy for the 21st Century, was released in June 2020 and includes six strategies and thirty-one ambitious recommendations to help the nation emerge as a more resilient democracy by 2026, the nation’s 250th anniversary. During the height of COVID-19 in 2020, Allen’s leadership in rallying coalitions and building solutions resulted in policies adopted in federal legislation and a Biden executive order. Allen is also the author of several books addressing the broad history and personal significance of justice and democracy including Our Declaration: A Reading of the Declaration of Independence in Defense of Equality, Cuz: An American Tragedy, and, most recently, Justice by Means of Democracy.