PROJECT

In collaboration with the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission, the Fetzer Institute will support 11 town hall meetings during the bicentennial year—addressing Lincoln’s unfinished work of race, justice, and equality of opportunity.

The town hall meetings will provide greater historical knowledge and mutual understandings about the American citizenry’s attitudes and perspectives on race and ethnicity. In addition, they will bring Abraham Lincoln’s views on equality, opportunity, and reconciliation into communities across the nation in ways that foster civic engagement and community change. Discussions at these town hall meetings will include topics such as affirmative action, race and equality, public memory, immigration, and presidential leadership and race, depending on the interests of the local community. Our intention is to help plan and sustain deep, continuing community conversations on issues of “unfinished work” that are affecting the community and need to be addressed.

Upcoming Town Hall Meetings

There are no town hall meetings scheduled at this time.

Past Town Hall Meetings

• Los Angeles
• Atlanta
• Miami
• Newark/New York
• Gettysburg - Watch c-span video
• USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) - Everett, Washington
• Washington, DC
• Detroit- Watch dptv video
• Chicago - Watch cantv video
• Cincinnati - Watch cetconnect video
• Boston- Watch forum-network video part 1 and part 2

Latest News

The latest town hall meeting took place in Chicago June 29, 2009, at the Chicago Public Library. “Our History, Our Stories” was the title of the conversation between Dr. Henry Louis Gates and Rick Kogan. Co-conveners for the meeting were the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago History Museum, DuSable Museum of African American History, Facing History and Ourselves, the HistoryMakers, McCormick Freedom Museum, the Newberry Library, and the Chicago Bar Association. Commission Mary Dempsey of the Chicago Public Library and Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. welcomed the more than 700 individuals who attended the meeting and then watched a video presentation of Dr. Gates’ PBS mini-series African American Lives, followed by a discussion of the history of and the search for roots for African Americans.