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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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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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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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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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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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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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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In relationship with , Braided River is celebrating the launch of their newest project, In the Spirit of Right and Respectful Relations: Conversations about Indigenous Ways of Knowing and Being in Nature. As told to Kurt Russo, with a foreword by Jay Julius Xw’tot lhem, and illustrations by Fiorella De La O (Quechua), this book invites readers into a conversation rooted in Indigenous ways of knowing and being in nature. The vision of the project is to draw on ancestral knowledge to further empower and inspire Indigenous-led environmental campaigns with...
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How can one person fight for social justice? Can everyday people actually make changes in systemic, structural inequality? Social psychologist and author of the book Change the Wallpaper, Nilanjana Dasgupta offers science-driven answers to these questions, arguing that social shifts start with small changes to our “wallpaper,” or the things that we experience in our daily lives. In other words, we need to revise the hyperlocal cultures we live in to make broader change. Dasgupta believes that these small shifts in our cultural “wallpaper” are far more effective in producing...
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As founder of Moms Demand Action — the nation’s largest grassroots movement against gun violence — author Shannon Watts has helped thousands of women find their voice and take action. In her new book, Fired Up, Watts outlines a practical and inspiring framework for reigniting purpose, confidence, and ambition. With real-life stories from women across generations and backgrounds, Fired Up offers tools to help readers identify what sparks them and live with greater intention and impact. Watts seeks to challenge the negative narrative that many women hold, asserting that...
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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 conversation about what’s next for Seattle, the state, and our role in shaping the national story.
Host
Marcus Harrison Green is the publisher of Hinton Publishing, the founder of the South Seattle Emerald, and a columnist with The Stranger. Growing up in South Seattle, he experienced first-hand the impact of one-dimensional stories on marginalized communities, which taught him the value of authentic narratives. After an unfulfilling stint in the investment world during his twenties, Marcus returned to his community with a newfound purpose of telling stories with nuance, complexity, and multidimensionality with the hope of advancing social change. This led him to become a writer and found the South Seattle Emerald. An award-winning journalist, he was awarded the Seattle Human Rights Commissions’ Individual Human Rights Leader Award for 2020 and named the inaugural James Baldwin Fellow by the Northwest African American Museum in 2022.
Panelists
Crystal Fincher is the Executive Director of KVRU 105.7 FM, an independent non-profit community radio station in South Seattle that she and her business partner recently acquired. She also publishes and hosts Hacks & Wonks, the region’s premier podcast about local politics and policy. Crystal led an award-winning political consulting firm for 15 years, helping elect state and local candidates and pass ballot measures across the West Coast. Crystal’s work has always been rooted in community mobilization and economic development, serving on the City of Kent Land Use & Planning Board, as a Deputy on the Washington Roundtable, and on the boards of Kent Youth and Family Services, the Northwest Association of Financial Professionals, Tabor 100, and the Washington Institute for a Democratic Future. She currently serves on the boards of Progress Alliance of Washington and The Urbanist.
Vivian McCall is The Stranger’s News Editor. In her private life, she is a musician and Wii U apologist. If you’re reading this, you either love her or hate her.
Tobias Coughlin-Bogue is a writer, editor, and restaurant worker who lives in South Park. He was formerly the associate editor of Real Change News and has since covered politics for The Stranger and the South Seattle Emerald.
Presented by Town Hall Seattle and The Stranger.

