• Current Events
• Democracy Dialogues
• Media
• Politics
• Social Issues

Voices Against the Tide: Independent Media and the Struggle for American Democracy

Zack Beauchamp, Ari Berman, moderated by Shereen Marisol Meraji. Introduction and Welcome by BABF Executive Director J.K. Fowler

In an era of rising authoritarianism, media polarization, and attacks on voting rights, independent journalism plays a critical role in safeguarding democracy. This panel brings together two of the most incisive voices in political reporting—Zack Beauchamp and Ari Berman—to examine the challenges facing American democracy and the essential role of independent media in holding power to account. Zack Beauchamp, senior correspondent at Vox, covers threats to democracy in the US and abroad, right-wing populism, and the ideological battles shaping our political landscape. His work, funded by the Pulitzer Center, has taken him to Israel and Hungary to report on democratic decline. His book, The Reactionary Spirit, explores the global rise of reactionary politics. Ari Berman, national voting rights correspondent for Mother Jones and reporting fellow at Type Media Center, has spent years documenting voter suppression and the right-wing effort to undermine democratic representation. His latest book, Minority Rule, exposes the coordinated attacks on the will of the people and the ongoing fight to protect voting rights. Together, these journalists will discuss how independent media can counter disinformation, expose threats to democracy, and empower citizens to fight back. Moderated by Shereen Marisol Meraji, this conversation will explore the intersection of journalism, activism, and the urgent struggle for a more just and representative democracy. Join us for a vital discussion on the power of truth in an era of democratic crisis.

Book signing information: Green Apple Books, at the venue

• Black Voices
• Democracy Dialogues
• Incarcerated Voices
• Incarceration
• Nonfiction
• Political Prisoners
• Politics

Unyielding Resistance: Perspectives on Political Prisoners and the Lifelong Pursuit of Freedom

Garrett Felber, Russell Shoatz III, Sharon Shoatz, moderated by Claude Marks

The fight for justice and freedom for political prisoners in the US has long been rooted in revolutionary struggle against state violence and political repression. Since the 1960s, resistance to politically motivated incarceration has taken many forms, both inside and outside prison walls. Garrett Felber, author of A Continuous Struggle: The Revolutionary Life of Martin Sostre, highlights Sostre’s legacy as a political prisoner who used his time behind bars to fight against multiple forms of oppression. As a jailhouse lawyer, bookseller, anti-rape organizer, and housing justice activist, Sostre’s work in the 1960s-70s helped shape Black Power movements and redefine resistance, underscoring the need for diverse strategies to challenge injustice. Russell “Maroon” Shoatz’s children, Russell Shoatz III and Sharon Shoatz, join the panel to discuss their late father’s legacy and their advocacy for political prisoners. Russell Shoatz III, who fought for his father’s release after five decades of imprisonment, brings deep experience in restorative justice, anti-racism, and youth development. Sharon Shoatz, a retired NYC educator and civil rights advocate, reflects on her work with the Panther Cubs and the broader liberation movement. Their late father’s memoir, I Am Maroon: The True Story of an American Political Prisoner, co-written with Kanya D’Almeida, provides a firsthand account of resistance and redemption. Moderated by Claude Marks, Director of the Freedom Archives and a former political prisoner, this panel will also highlight the crucial work of The Freedom Archives, which preserves archives of radical movements and political prisoner narratives from the 1960s-1990s, ensuring their legacies endure. This conversation bridges past and present struggles against politically motivated incarceration in the US, and will be a powerful reminder that the fight for freedom is continuous, ever-evolving, and necessary to the transformation of a just and free society.

Book signing information: Green Apple Books, at the venue

• Climate
• Community
• Current Events
• Democracy Dialogues
• Environment/Nature
• Local Interest
• Nonfiction
• Politics
• Social Issues

Mutual Aid and Community Care in California

Adéniké Amin, Dani Burlison, Margaret Elysia Garcia, Jocelyn Jackson, moderated by Brian Edwards-Tiekert

Join us for a conversation on the vital role of different forms of community care and mutual aid across California’s diverse communities. Red Flag Warning, a collection of essays and interviews by survivors Dani Burlison and Margaret Elysia Garcia, highlights how grassroots organizing, community care, and resilience help navigate ecological and social challenges. Adéniké Amin, Storytelling Lead at BLACspace Cooperative, will share insights into the power of storytelling and cultural preservation. Through her work with BLACspace, she champions thriving local community arts as a form of mutual aid, fostering cultural permanence, economic opportunity, and collective resilience. Jocelyn Jackson, award-winning chef, artist, teacher, activist, Chef-in-Residence at the Museum of the African Diaspora, and co-founder of People’s Kitchen Collective, will discuss her work at the intersection of food justice, environmental education, and radical hospitality. This panel will explore how mutual aid networks across California are reshaping survival, support, and recovery—particularly in the wake of disasters, both natural and human-made. Featuring perspectives from environmentalists, cultural workers, mental health workers and journalists, we’ll examine how communities provide resources, share knowledge, and offer emotional support in times of need. Moderated by Brian Edwards-Tiekert, founder and co-host of UpFront on KPFA radio, this discussion will highlight how mutual aid fosters resilience and solidarity, demonstrating how communities build collective strength and power, and recognize each other as essential resources.

Book signing information: Green Apple Books, at the venue

• Black Voices
• Community
• Democracy Dialogues
• Native Voices
• Nonfiction
• Politics

In Dialogue: Building Communities that Thrive

Yuria Celidwen, Aida Mariam Davis, David Jay, john powell, moderated by Tim McKee

In a moment of global crises and heightened polarization, how do we foster belonging and minimize othering? How and where do we build bridges when so many communities and institutions are fracturing and re-constellating? Drawing on the panelists’ four books and their unique experiences and perspectives, we will speak into a future where generative relationships across boundaries thrive. Leading asexuality and relationship expert David Jay tackles breeding grounds of isolation—from schools to tech to social media—in Relationality, which provides a scientifically-grounded framework for investing in the power of relational work and expands upon the fundamental idea that all entities in the universe are connected. From one point to the next, we can bridge the spaces between us into a network of communication and coexistence toward a shared future where we all belong, as civil rights scholar and Director of the Othering and Belonging Institute at UC Berkeley john powell demonstrates through his book The Power of Belonging. Bridging Indigenous wisdom, traditions, and practices with Western knowledge and ways, Flourishing Kin by Indigenous scholar Yuria Celidwen details our aspirations for sustainable, collective flourishing that goes beyond optimism or resilience and instead leans into the power of community to cultivate happiness. Author, organizer, and designer Aida Mariam Davis envisions better worlds rooted in African lifeways in Kindred Creation, exploring the impacts of intentional colonial acts of violence and dispossession and providing a blueprint to intergenerational Black joy and dignity centered on the concept of creation: a re-membering of interconnectedness and kinship. This hopeful and informative panel, moderated by Tim McKee, publisher of North Atlantic Books, is a much-needed reminder to tap into our innate capabilities to be in dialogue with each other as we co-create a thriving future.

Book signing information: Green Apple Books, at the venue