Casting a vote in an election is the greatest tool of political power citizens of a democracy possess. The ability to exercise this right has been fought for over centuries, spanning generations.
Learn how to use this tool at Finding Your Voice with Your Vote, a conversation with experts from your community exploring voting rights through the lens of the Civil Rights era of the 1960s and activist John Lewis. Through featured clips from the PBS program John Lewis: Get in the Way, panelists will explore the history behind voting rights, breakdown how your vote is counted, and share how you can harness this essential tool of democracy to honor the legacy of advocates that came before us.
Scheduled panel includes:
- Christina L. Myers, PhD, assistant professor in School of Journalism at MSU, consortium core faculty with Communication Solutions for Diverse Society, and faculty advisor of MSUABJ
- Chris Swope, Lansing City Clerk
- Suchitra Webster, director, Community and Student Relations, MSU Government Relations & Student Affairs, and co-director of MSU Vote
Moderated by: Sophia Saliby, WKAR local All Things Considered host, reporter and producer.
The discussion will feature clips from the 2017 program John Lewis: Get in the Way, with the full 54-minute program available for streaming on PBS with a Passport account.
The event is free, but RSVP here is appreciated.
Presented by WKAR Public Media, MSU Libraries, GSCC, MSUABJ, and CS4DS, as part of the 46th annual MSU 2026 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration.
WHERE
WKAR Studio A
Communication Arts & Sciences Building
Michigan State University
PARKING is available in Trowbridge ramp #5.
FREE after 6pm on weekdays
1149 Red Cedar Road, East Lansing, MI 48824
Google maps link: https://maps.app.goo.gl/XVV6Rcn97mTw9cvL9
More about the film | WATCH THE TRAILER HERE
The son of sharecroppers, John Lewis grew up in rural isolation, seemingly destined to a bleak, segregation-imposed future. But his fate took a different turn, and Lewis rose from Alabama’s Black Belt to the corridors of power on Capitol Hill, his humble origins forever linking him to those whose voices customarily go unheard. A man of the people, a Congressional elder statesman, Lewis is as exceptional as he is ordinary.
