Season 2, Episode 6
Taking a civic leap of faith
The final episode of the season takes a step back from individual democracy reforms to look at what it will take to create a healthy civic culture where power is shared across the community — rather than concentrated in the hands of a few stakeholders. Eric Liu believes this can happen and is working tirelessly to spread his idea of civic faith across the U.S.
Librarians have spoken for years about “library faith,” the belief that public libraries are central to democracy because they contribute to an informed citizenry. Today, the idea is gaining even more traction, and even conservative crackdowns on what’s permitted in libraries reinforce the idea that they’re more than just “book warehouses” but centers for community engagement and representativeness.
This week, hear from two librarians working to enhance the role libraries of libraries democracy and civic engagement. Shamichael Hallman explains how he brought his experience in tech and faith leadership to bear when he ran a branch of the Memphis Public Libraries, including bringing Civic Saturdays to his community, a program of Citizen University. And public policy advocate Nancy Kranich of Rutgers University shares the high hopes she has that libraries remain crucial institutions that allow us to engage with our government–and each other.
In this Episode
Eric Liu
Eric Liu, co-founder and CEO of Citizen University. He also directs the Aspen Institute’s Citizenship & American Identity Program. He is the author of several books, including The Accidental Asian: Notes of a Native Speaker; The Gardens of Democracy (co-authored with Nick Hanauer); You’re More Powerful Than You Think: A Citizen’s Guide to Making Change Happen; and his most recent, Become America: Civic Sermons on Love, Responsibility, and Democracy.
Shamichael Hallman
Shamichael Hallman, a former Loeb Fellow the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University, and a Teaching Fellow at the Center for Impact Strategy at the University of Pennsylvania. As part of his fellowship, he is exploring how design and planning can make for socially inclusive cities and welcoming public spaces. From 2017 to 2022, Hallman served as the Senior Library Manager of the historic Cossitt Library (Memphis Public Libraries). In this role, he helped oversee the Reimagining the Civic Commons initiative.