Liberty and National Security Undergraduate Intern

Brennan Center appoints historian Julian Zelizer as first Scholar in Residence. Julian Zelizer joins the Brennan Center to dissect post-war democracy and launch a HarperCollins book. Powered by The Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law has announced a landmark appointment: historian and best-selling author Julian E. Zelizer will serve as its inaugural Scholar in Residence. Zelizer, who holds the Malcolm Stevenson Forbes Class of 1941 Professorship in History and Public Affairs at Princeton University, brings a prolific publishing record and a reputation as a public intellectual to the Center's Fellows Program. Pubblicità Rendezvous with Democracy: a new narrative for 1945-1974. In his first project for the Brennan Center, Zelizer is drafting Rendezvous with Democracy: America, 1945-1974 slated for release by HarperCollins. The manuscript will trace how Americans re-imagined the idea of democracy in the thirty-year span between the end of World War II and President Nixon's resignation. By weaving together grassroots activism, civil-rights struggles, and shifts in political institutions, the book argues that the post-war era produced a broader, more inclusive conception of citizenship and accountability. Central to Zelizer's analysis are the upheavals of the 1960s, the expansion of voting rights, and the growing demand for governmental transparency. He contends that these forces created a "democratic renaissance" that was later challenged by the Watergate scandal, setting the stage for contemporary debates over voting access and partisan polarization. Recent titles and media engagements. February saw the publication of Zelizer's latest work, Rumble on the Promenade: The Clash of Justice and Power at the 1964 Democratic Convention released by W.W. Norton. The book spotlights the showdown during Freedom Summer between the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party and President Lyndon Johnson, illuminating how questions of citizenship and democratic legitimacy played out on a national stage. Pubblicità Beyond his monographs, Zelizer contributes a regular column to Foreign Policy appears frequently on NPR's Here and Now and curates the Substack newsletter The Long View. In 2020, the Brennan Center hosted him for a public conversation about his biography Burning Down the House which examined Newt Gingrich's rise and the transformation of the Republican Party. Implications for the Brennan Center and public discourse. During a May episode of the Center's podcast The Briefing with Michael Waldman Zelizer discussed today's hyper-partisan climate and the surge of attacks on voting rights. His insights helped frame the Center's ongoing research agenda, which seeks policy solutions to protect electoral integrity. Michael Waldman, president and CEO of the Brennan Center, praised the appointment: "We are grateful to have Julian Zelizer help us understand the current state of American democracy and how we got here. He is one of the country's leading historians and public intellectuals, with an abiding passion for our democracy." Waldman added that Zelizer's deep knowledge of democratic institutions will sharpen the Center's analysis of governmental challenges and inform its advocacy work. By channeling his research on mid-century democratic evolution into public-policy debates, the Center hopes to illuminate pathways for revitalizing American democracy in the twenty-first century. Sophie Donovan, Manchester-born and classically elegant, once turned down a commission to chase a long-form piece on Salford's textile heritage, filing instead from the mill where her grandmother worked. Advocates patient, context-rich features and brings a taste for quiet narrative detail and theatre aficionadoship.

Fisk University and Brennan Center launch new initiative on democracy and justice in the South. February 26th 2026 The Partnership for Southern Impact will work with communities and organizations across the South to build more representative and responsive state and local governments. Fisk and the Brennan Center will develop nonpartisan solutions to problems like voter suppression, partisan redistricting, and excessively punitive criminal justice. The Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law and Fisk University's John Lewis Center for Social Justice have launched a joint initiative, the Partnership for Southern Impact. With Fisk's Nashville campus as its base, the two institutions will establish a hub for communities and civic groups across the South seeking to make their local and state governments more representative. The Partnership will highlight and foster nonpartisan solutions to problems like voter suppression, partisan redistricting, and excessively punitive criminal justice. "We are delighted to forge a partnership with the Brennan Center, a likeminded nonpartisan organization devoted to defending democracy and justice," said Dr. Agenia W. Clark, president of Fisk University. "Through research advancement, community engagement, and policy advocacy, we seek to build upon Fisk's historical commitment to justice while creating a more innovative and supportive environment for policy reform in the South as our culture rapidly evolves." Fisk University is a historically Black college that was established in 1866 to serve people recently freed from enslavement after the Civil War. In the 1960s, its students' nonviolent protests helped make Nashville the first desegregated city in the South. Fisk's alumni include such leaders as W.E.B. Du Bois and Representative John Lewis. The Brennan Center is a nonpartisan law and policy institute dedicated to strengthening democracy and advancing justice. "Fisk University, its faculty, and its graduates have already done so much for American democracy," said Michael Waldman, president and CEO of the Brennan Center. "It is an honor to work with them at a moment of great challenge for our country." The Partnership for Southern Impact will draw on Fisk and the Brennan Center's experience and expertise in research, advocacy, and communications. Fisk has longstanding relationships with the elected officials, community leaders, policy advocates, and others in the South who are working to make local and state governments more responsive and effective for all. The Partnership will bring these leaders together to collaborate on nonpartisan ways to improve democracy in the South. "Fisk University is proud to partner with The Brennan Center for Justice to advance policy research in the American South. During this time when our society is rapidly shifting, there is deep alignment between the Brennan Center's experience to upholding justice and Fisk's organized approach to elevating ideals that move our country forward and bring people together," said Dr. Sekou Franklin, executive director of Fisk's John Lewis Center. "We look forward to building upon Fisk's deep legacy of social justice advocacy to create a better, more just future for all." Dr. Clark, Dr. Franklin, Waldman, and Kareem Crayton, vice president of the Brennan Center's Washington, D.C., office, appeared on the Brennan Center's podcast The Briefing to talk about what's ahead for the Partnership and how it will make a difference for the South. "The Partnership's mission addresses a pressing need I have seen my entire life as a native southerner. Public institutions of the South, from legislatures to administrative agencies, still have doors of opportunity that are closed to many of the communities who call the region home," said Crayton. "I'm excited to work with Fisk and help communities open those doors." About the John Lewis Center for Social Justice at Fisk University. The John Lewis Center for Social Justice at Fisk University aims to foster and advance a social justice agenda into every sphere of contemporary society. Big Easy Magazine LLC do so through rigorous research, applied scholarship, artistic and cultural production, and community engagement at a local and global level. As the intellectual hub on campus, the center is committed to putting interdisciplinary ideas and theories into direct action on the ground. For more information, visit Fisk.edu. About the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law. The Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law is an independent, nonpartisan law and policy organization that works to reform, revitalize, and defend its country's systems of democracy and justice. For more information, visit BrennanCenter.org. Help keep Big Easy Magazine alive. Covid-19 is challenging the way Big Easy Magazine LLC conduct business. As small businesses suffer economic losses, they aren't able to spend money advertising. Please donate today to help Big Easy Magazine LLC sustain local independent journalism and allow Big Easy Magazine LLC to continue to offer subscription-free coverage of progressive issues. Thank you, Scott Ploof Publisher Big Easy Magazine