James Madison Center for Civic Engagement: Democracy Matters

This episode features a conversation with Semaj Sorhaindo, JMU Football Student-Athlete; Nikki Oppenheimer, JMU Women's Basketball Student-Athlete; Arthur Moats, JMU alumn and linebacker for the Buffalo Bills, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Arizona Cardinals; Ta' Frias, JMU Track and Field Head Coach; Jeff Bourne, Director of Athletics, James Madison University; and Roger Soenksen, Faculty Athletic Representative and Professor in JMU School of Media Arts and Design about the role and agency of athletes, teams and athletic organizations in addressing racial injustice, systemic racism, and creating a more just and inclusive society and democracy. See the show notes with links mentioned in this episode at https://j.mu/news/civic/2020/06-25-democracy-matters-episode-29.shtml

In this episode we hear music, spoken word, poetry, and discussion about the role of arts as a means for education, agency and expression of antiracism and racial equity. See the show notes with links mentioned in this episode at https://j.mu/news/civic/2020/06-19-democracy-matters-episode-28.shtml

Have you ever felt like you were wasting your vote on a candidate because you could only choose one candidate on the ballot and wondered if there is a better way? In this episode, we talk with Deb Otis, Senior Research Analyst in the Law and Policy Department at Fair Vote, about Ranked choice voting (RCV). RCV describes voting systems that allow voters to rank candidates in order of preference, and then uses those rankings to elect candidates who best represent their constituents. See the show notes with links mentioned in this episode at https://j.mu/civic/RCV.shtml

The recent killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery have brought attention to the racist policies and systems that engender violence (both sudden and systemic, physical and attitudinal) against Black people in the United States. The current protests are not just in response to these most recent killings – they are in response to the systemic racism that is woven through our society. In this episode, we are featuring remarks from JMU Civic's live streamed town hall on Wednesday June 3 about ending systemic racism and creating a more inclusive campus, democracy and society. See the show notes with links mentioned in this episode at https://j.mu/news/civic/2020/06-05-democracy-matters-episode-26.shtml

We are experiencing a global migration and refugees crisis with nearly 71 million people who have fled their homes worldwide, the highest number since World War II. In this episode, we talk about the crisis and what can be done about it with Dr. Diya Abdo, founder of Every Campus a Refuge, Dr. Jamie Williams, associate director of JMU's Community Service-Learning, and Nadiya Khaydari, a junior at JMU majoring in Political Science and Economics and a Senator in the Student Government Association. See the show notes with links mentioned in this episode at https://j.mu/news/civic/2020/05-21-democracy-matters-episode-25.shtml

In this episode, we talk with Virginia State Senator Scott Surovell (JMU, '93; UVA Law, '96), the Senate Democratic Whip, about what happened in the 2020 legislative session, election reform, options for voting during the pandemic, and redistricting reform on the ballot in November 2020. See the show notes with links mentioned in this episode at https://j.mu/news/civic/2020/05-14-democracy-matters-episode-24.shtml

As headlines declare relations between the United States and China have sunk to a new low, we talk with China expert and James Madison University Political Science Professor Dr. Edward Yang about how the COVID-19 crisis is impacting China-U.S. relations, and what can be done to improve and reinvigorate diplomacy between China and the U.S. See the show notes with links mentioned in this episode at https://j.mu/news/civic/2020/05-06-democracy-matters-episode-23.shtml

Democracy is very much a collective activity. Inside, we come together to debate, discuss, do the work of government, and make laws. Outside, we protest and hold rallies. But much of this is not possible. Social distancing presents a tremendous challenge. In this episode from The Democracy Group podcast network, we look at the barriers and the opportunities as we all deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. See the show notes with links mentioned in this episode at https://j.mu/news/civic/2020/04-30-democracy-matters-episode-22.shtml

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 Census faced serious challenges to achieving a complete and accurate count because of politics, budget restrictions, employing new technology and because social media amplifies the spread of misinformation and disinformation. The global public health crisis has thrown into sharp relief the importance of a complete count, including: ensuring accurate representation in governmental institutions, having accurate data for healthcare infrastructure and emergency preparedness, and access to funding communities desperately need. In this episode of Democracy Matters, we talk with Jonathan Derks, Kearstin Kimm, Tristan Thorgersen, and Abby Wallen about their work this semester to reach hard-to-count communities. See the show notes with links mentioned in this episode at https://j.mu/news/civic/2020/04-26-democracy-matters-episode-21.shtml

As more states prepare for primaries and as the nation plans for the November 2020 general elections, how should candidates approach campaigning and how should elections be administered during a pandemic? What is the role of the media and what will matter most to voters when they cast their ballot in November? In this episode, we talk with Dr. Larry Sabato, Robert Kent Gooch Professor of Politics at the University of Virginia and director of the Center for Politics about the fundamental need to ensure voters have a voice in government by deciding who governs even during a pandemic. See the show notes with links mentioned in this episode at https://j.mu/news/civic/2020/04-19-democracy-matters-episode-20.shtml

In this episode, we have an in-depth conversation with James Madison University President Jonathan R. Alger about what kind of leadership is needing during a global crisis and what it has been like to make important decisions on big matters with incomplete information at an unprecedented pace - from reorganizing courses for distance and online learning to responding to local community needs. See the show notes with links mentioned in this episode at https://j.mu/news/civic/2020/04-04-democracy-matters-episode-19.shtml

In 1897, W.E.B Du Bois wrote, 'Then it dawned upon me with a certain suddenness that I was different from the others; or like, mayhap, in heart and life and longing, but shut out from their world by a vast veil." In this episode, we talk with Dr. Jarrit Ahmed Sheel, Assistant Professor of Music Education at Berklee College of Music, who spent a week as the College of Visual and Performing Arts Cultural Connections Artist in Residence at JMU. Like Du Bois, Jarrit Ahmed Sheel also combines history, philosophy and music to deeply engage his students and audiences in efforts to tear down veils of exclusion and marginalization, whether they're race-based or class-based. See the show notes with links mentioned in this episode at https://j.mu/news/civic/2020/03-28-democracy-matters-episode-18.shtml

What do high levels of distrust and socioeconomic and political inequality portend for democracy and civility? In this episode we talk with Dr. Robert Talisse, W. Alton Jones Professor of Philosophy at Vanderbilt University about what civility is and why it fails. See the show notes with links mentioned in this episode at https://j.mu/news/civic/2020/03-21-democracy-matters-episode-17.shtml

In this episode, we talk with JMU School of Media Arts and Design Assistant Professor Ryan Alessi about the best strategies for evaluating political news stories in a hyperpartisan election year. See the show notes with links mentioned in this episode at https://j.mu/news/civic/2020/02-24-democracy-matters-episode-16.shtml

Community banks are vital to the American economy and society. In this episode, we talk with JMU College of Business Finance Professor Dr. Carl Larsson, and with Katie Jarrett, a senior in the School of Media Arts and Design and Corinne Barbieri, a senior Finance major, who are members of JMU's Banking Team. See the show notes with links mentioned in this episode at https://j.mu/news/civic/2020/01-22-democracy-matters-episode-15.shtml

In this episode, we talk with Ian Simmons, the Founder and President of the Foundation for Civic Leadership and a member of the Madison Center's advisory board, about best practices and promising projects for enhancing democracy. See the show notes with links mentioned in this episode at https://j.mu/news/civic/2020/01-01-democracy-matters-episode-14.shtml

In an essay published posthumously, civil rights icon and Member of Congress John Lewis, wrote, "Democracy Is Not A State. It Is An Act." The team at the James Madison Center for Civic Engagement reflects on 2020 and our nonpartisan efforts to promote informed electoral participation, ensure a complete count in the 2020 Census and create opportunities for people to learn about and take on action on the problems they care about most. The team also shares what more they would do to strengthen democracy. 2020 Team: Abe Goldberg, Carah Ong Whaley, Logan Zeigler, Angelina Clapp, Diego Salinas, Sarah Gully, Emily Baker, Anna Connole, Charlie Conner, Kyle Ford, Nadia Khaydari, Nikki Oppenheimer, Drew Persinger, Ryan Ritter, Katrina Tilley, Mary Tolentino, Kyel Towler, and Katelyn Waltemyer

History doesn't always move toward the inclusion of groups. Sometimes rights can be lost as well as gained. Take, for example, the American Revolutionary period, which created opportunities for women to participate in politics. By 1828, however, women's politicization was seen more as a liability than as a strength, and contributed to a divisive political climate that brought the country to the brink of civil war. In this episode, distinguished American historian Dr. Rosemarie Zagarri joins us to discuss her path-breaking research in early American political history and why we need to have a grasp of the past to defend the rights of those who may be vulnerable to disenfranchisement.

Although there have been many advancements since the passage of the 19th amendment to the U.S. Constitution, there is much to be done to improve the status of women, including among other things: ending sex-based discrimination, improving maternal mortality rates for black women, ensuring equal pay for equal work, increasing protections for the LGBTQ+ community, and addressing challenges faced by veterans and those who live in poverty. In this episode of Democracy Matters, we play a recording of Constitution Day speaker Delegate Jennifer Carroll Foy, who discussed the Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and answered questions from JMU students. Foy was the first public defender to ever serve in the Virginia General Assembly and now devotes her time as an attorney advocate representing abused and neglected children in court. Additionally, Delegate Foy was one of the first African-American women to graduate from Virginia Military Institute.

2019-2020 marks the 100th anniversary since the passage and ratification of the 19th amendment to the U.S. Constitution which articulated that, "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex." The 19th amendment was the result of centuries of activism and contributions from many social movements to ensure through the highest law of the land a "right through which all other rights could be secured." But as suffragist leader Frances Harper observed in 1893, "I do not think the mere extension of the ballot a panacea for all the ills of our national life. What we need to-day is not simply more voters, but better voters." Kearstin Kimm, a senior Computer Science major at James Madison University, spent her summer as a Democracy Fellow at the James Madison Center for Civic Engagement researching the history of women's rights in what we now know as the United States and the 19th amendment. Using her knowledge and technical ex