389. Shamichael Hallman: Meet Me at the Library — A Place to Foster Social Connection and Promote Democracy
Town Hall Seattle Civics Series
Release Date: 05/02/2025
406. Brian Soucek: The Opinionated University
Town Hall Seattle Civics Series
Like many universities nationwide, the University of Washington is facing threats to federal funding, which they rely on for fundamental research and development. The erosion of federal support means universities like UW are facing decisions on how to survive and move forward, especially as today’s social and political climate becomes more divisive. UC Davis law professor Brian Soucek explores this pivotal moment in his book, The Opinionated University: Academic Freedom, Diversity, and the Myth of Neutrality in American Higher Education. One could argue that universities must remain...
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405. Speaking of Seattle: Who Tells Seattle’s Story? Local Media in a Broken News Economy: Hosted by Erica C. Barnett with Florangela Davila, Hannah Murphy Winter, and Naomi Ishisaka
Town Hall Seattle Civics Series
Seattle loves to think of itself as an informed, engaged, “I-read-the-footnotes” kind of city. But what happens when the institutions we rely on to tell our stories are shrinking, consolidating, or vanishing altogether? Join Marcus Harrison Green with Florangela Davila, Hannah Murphy Winter, and Naomi Ishisaka for a candid, no-spin conversation about the state of local media— and what it means for the future of civic life in Seattle. We’ll dig into questions like: Who gets covered, and who only shows up in the news when something goes wrong? What does it mean when neighborhoods lose...
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404. Evelyn Iritani with Frank Abe: Safe Passage: The Exchange of American and Japanese Civilians by Sea
Town Hall Seattle Civics Series
Across the water from Seattle, you can visit the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial. It’s a place to honor and learn from the past. Evelyn Iritani, a longtime Seattle resident and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, wants to remember – and learn from – another, lesser-known story from World War II. In her book, Safe Passage, she reveals the dramatic, behind-the-scenes efforts to bring U.S. and Japanese citizens home from enemy land. In 1943, during some of the Pacific theater’s bloodiest battles, the United States and Japan coordinated the exchange of civilians...
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403. We Hold These Truths: A Live Broadcast of the 1941 Bill of Rights Radio Special
Town Hall Seattle Civics Series
Celebrate the 234th anniversary of the Bill of Rights and the historic December 15, 1941, radio broadcast of We Hold These Truths with a live performance and radio event at Town Hall Seattle. Known as the poet laureate of American radio, Norman Corwin wrote We Hold These Truths months before its original airing. But after the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, the program—created to honor the Bill of Rights on its 150th anniversary—took on new emotional depth and national significance. This production commemorates both the Bill of Rights and Corwin’s landmark broadcast, featuring a...
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402. Cynthia Miller-Idriss and Jen Barnes: Man Up: The New Misogyny
Town Hall Seattle Civics Series
As political violence, mass shootings, and the actions of radical extremists continue to be a devastating presence in our news cycle, academics and experts are compelled to look for connections. What things do most mass shooters, terrorists, or violent extremists have in common? In her newest book, educator and scholar of extremism Cynthia Miller-Idriss expands upon the roles of gender in this conversation – that not only are these violent acts almost always carried out by men and boys, but that evidence of aggressive misogyny, homophobia, or transphobia occurs at nearly the same rates...
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401. Black Thoughts: An Evening With Martellus Bennett, Michael Bennett, and Jesse Hagopian
Town Hall Seattle Civics Series
Three voices at the intersections of art, education, and social critique come together for an evening of readings and conversation. Jesse Hagopian will share from his forthcoming book Teach Truth: The Struggle for Antiracist Education, while Martellus Bennett (MR. TOMONOSHi) and Michael Bennett will read from their own works, including Black Thoughts and Things That Make White People Uncomfortable. Together, they’ll engage in a wide-ranging conversation on race, creativity, justice, and liberation, offering perspectives that draw from literature, design, sport, and...
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400. Clyde W. Ford: Who's Left Out of Black History
Town Hall Seattle Civics Series
How much do you know about Black history? From African women’s rebellions on slave ships to a former enslaved man whose account of the first Juneteenth differs from what we hear today, to Benjamin Banneker’s life, to how Islam found its way into American popular music in multiple genres, there is a lot of information that doesn’t necessarily make it into your average curriculum. In A High Price for Freedom: Raising Hidden Voices From the African-American Past, author and historian Clyde W. Ford addresses these and other topics, seeking to illuminate and amplify little-known...
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399. Indigenous Peoples’ Day: Turning Adversaries into Tribal Allies to Save Salmon
Town Hall Seattle Civics Series
Our region is facing tremendous setbacks for salmon populations and Northwest tribal treaty rights. Fish runs continue to fall short while Indigenous communities bear the brunt of climate change, political polarization, and existential threats to their way of life. Tribes can’t overcome these issues alone, but it’s not just a matter of finding allies — it’s how to get them in the game. The Billy Frank Jr. Salmon Coalition, formed by Salmon Defense, has taken an innovative approach to protect salmon, restore ecosystems, and build climate resilience by uniting unexpected allies, who...
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398. Speaking of Seattle: After the Ballot
Town Hall Seattle Civics Series
Just weeks after Seattle’s November elections, Town Hall Seattle kicks off a timely, can’t-miss series hosted by Marcus Harrison Green. The panel features political strategist Crystal Fincher, The Stranger’s news editor Vivian McCall, and the South Seattle Emerald’s political columnist Tobias Coughlin-Bogue. Together they’ll cut through the noise to unpack what the results really mean—from who’s setting the agenda at City Hall to what’s looming in Olympia, and connect it all to the turbulent political currents in Washington, D.C. Expect an unflinching, illuminating...
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397. Advancing Climate Resilience with Connected Communities
Town Hall Seattle Civics Series
Town Hall Seattle, Juneau Street Resilience Pod, and the City of Seattle’s Office of Sustainability and Environment hosts an evening with climate justice leaders who are reimagining our climate future in Seattle and beyond; discussing how community leaders, local government and academia can use joy and storytelling to build relationships and actualize climate resilience strategies, and sharing more about the upcoming One Seattle Climate Action Plan Update, including how you can get involved! Moderator Nancy Huizar (they/them/theirs) is an environmental justice activist, facilitator, and...
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America is facing an epidemic of loneliness and isolation, with troubling effects on our mental and physical health. We live in one of the most divisive times in our history, one in which we tend to work, play, and associate only with people who think as we do. How do we create spaces for people to come together — to open our minds, understand our differences, and exchange ideas?
In his new book, Meet Me at the Library, Shamichael Hallman argues that the public library may be our best hope for bridging these divides and creating strong, inclusive communities. Public libraries are increasingly playing an essential role in building social cohesion, promoting civic renewal, and advancing the ideals of a healthy democracy. Many are reimagining themselves in new and innovative ways, actively reaching out to the communities they serve. Today, libraries are becoming essential institutions for repairing society.
Drawing from his experience at the Memphis Public Library and his extensive research and interviews across the country, Hallman presents a rich argument for seeing libraries as one of the nation’s greatest assets. He includes examples from libraries large and small — such as the Iowa’s North Liberty Library’s Lighthouse in the Library program to bring people together to discuss important topics in a safe and supportive space, to Cambridge Cooks, an initiative of the Cambridge MA Public Library that fosters social connection by bringing people together over shared interest in food.
As an institution that is increasingly under attack for creating a place where diverse audiences can see themselves, public libraries are under more scrutiny than ever. Meet Me at the Library offers us a revealing look at one of our most important civic institutions and the social and civic impact they must play if we are to heal our divided nation.
Shamichael Hallman serves as the Director of Civic Health and Economic Opportunity at Urban Libraries Council, an innovation and action tank of North America’s leading public library systems. In this role, he’s working to advance conversations about public libraries as essential city and county infrastructure, including their value as physical spaces and a connector of diverse lived experiences. From 2017 – 2022 he served as the Senior Library Manager of the historic Cossitt Library (Memphis Public Libraries), tasked with overseeing the multi-million-dollar renovation of this space which reimagined the roles that a branch library could play in the community. During his tenure with Memphis Public Libraries, the library system was awarded the 2021 National Medal for Museum and Library Science by the Institute of Museum and Library Services and was recognized as the Nation’s Most Innovative Public Library by Smithsonian Magazine in November of 2021. His 2020 TEDx talk “Reimagining the Public Library to Reconnect the Community” garnered international attention among librarians and social innovators.
Presented by Town Hall Seattle and Seattle Public Library.
