379. Juan Williams with Enrique Cerna: The Rise of America's Second Civil Rights Movement

379. Juan Williams with Enrique Cerna: The Rise of America's Second Civil Rights Movement

Author: Town Hall Seattle January 30, 2025 Duration: 1:30:33

From left to right: Headshots of Juan Williams and Enrique Cerna

After the U.S. elected Barack Obama its first Black president in 2008, some assumed that this signaled a post-racial America. However, subsequent and serious incidents suggested this was not the case, inciting what some came to know as a second civil rights movement.

Political correspondent, journalist, and historian Juan Williams explores this phenomenon in his latest release New Prize for These Eyes: The Rise of America's Second Civil Rights Movement. Who are the heroes of this movement? Where is it headed? What distinguishes it from its predecessor? Williams aims to answer these questions, exploring demographic changes, the rise and role of social media, and other critical shifts in the economic and cultural landscape.

The author traces the arc of this new civil rights era, touching on subjects like the Obama presidency, Charlottesville, January 6th, and a Confederate flag in the Capitol. Exploring both past and present, New Prize for These Eyes will be of interest to historians or anyone concerned about America's future. It encourages citizens to learn about the progress the nation has made, as well as obstacles that have yet to be overcome.

Juan Williams is is a prizewinning journalist and historian. He is the author of the bestselling civil rights history Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Years 1954–1965, which accompanied the PBS series of the same name. He also wrote the landmark biography of the first African American on the Supreme Court, Thurgood Marshall: American Revolutionary, as well as the New York Times bestsellers Enough and Muzzled: The Assault on Honest Debate. Williams worked for The Washington Post as a celebrated national political correspondent, White House correspondent, and editorial writer. His NPR talk show took ratings to a new high. He has written for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The New YorkerThe Atlantic, and Ebony. He is currently senior political analyst for Fox News Channel and a columnist for The Hill.

Enrique Cerna calls himself a recovering broadcast journalist. He worked in Seattle media for more than four decades. Cerna was a reporter, producer and host for KOMO Radio and Television, KING Television and KCTS Public Television. In February 2018, he retired from his role as senior correspondent with KCTS. Still, he remains active as the co-host of the Chino Y Chicano and UNFILTERED podcasts. Cerna has earned ten Northwest Regional Emmy awards. In May 2022, Washington State University's Edward R. Murrow College of Communication inducted him into its Hall of Achievement. Since March 2020, he has been a member of the WSU Board of Regents. He also serves as vice president for the Seattle Chapter of the National Hispanic Journalist's Association.


Recorded live from a historic venue in the Pacific Northwest, the Town Hall Seattle Civics Series podcast brings the stage to your headphones. Each episode captures a vital conversation from Town Hall Seattle's ongoing programming, where experts, activists, and thinkers grapple with the ideas shaping our collective life. You’ll hear historians reframe our past, legal scholars dissect constitutional questions, and community organizers explain the mechanics of emerging movements. This isn't just theoretical discussion; it's a direct engagement with the policies and cultural shifts that touch our neighborhoods and the wider world. Tuning in feels like finding a seat in a thoughtful, often provocative public forum. The series operates on a belief that an informed community is an empowered one, and this audio archive makes that process accessible to anyone, anywhere. By focusing on the substance of live civic dialogue, this podcast provides the context and depth often missing from daily headlines, fostering a deeper understanding of how society functions and changes.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Town Hall Seattle Civics Series
Podcast Episodes
356. Dr. Rajiv Shah with Eric Liu: Charting a Course for Change [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:16:34
Ever wondered how a leader orchestrates large-scale change on a global scale? In his new book, Big Bets: How Large-Scale Change Really Happens, Rajiv J. Shah, President of the Rockefeller Foundation and former administra…
355. Barbara McQuade with Jenny Durkan: In Search of Truth [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:06:51
The subject of disinformation is a well-known part of political rhetoric, but it has implications even outside of the sphere of democracy. From the electoral system to schools; from the workplace to hospitals, the conseq…
354. Michael J. Gerhardt: The Law of Presidential Impeachment [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 57:09
Have you ever wondered how impeachment really works? As a witness and consultant in the impeachment trials of Bill Clinton and Donald Trump, legal scholar Michael J. Gerhardt has collected a lifetime of scholarly researc…
352. Boldt at 50 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:20:50
Commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Boldt Decision, a pivotal moment in civil rights history and tribal sovereignty. Centered around Charles Wilkinson's posthumously acclaimed work, Treaty Justice, a panel will discu…
351. Ijeoma Oluo with Michele Storms: Be a Revolution [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:28:07
Ijeoma Oluo's #1 New York Times bestseller So You Want To Talk About Race (book tour event at Town Hall in 2019), offered a vital guide for how to talk about important issues of race and racism in society. In Mediocre: T…
350. Tamara Payne with Glenn Hare: The Life and Legacy of Malcolm X [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:10:35
In 1990, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist Les Payne embarked on a nearly thirty-year-long quest to interview anyone he could find who had actually known Malcolm X. His goal was ambitious: to transform what…
349. Tim Schwab with Ashley Fent: The Problem with Philanthropy [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:28:48
Journalist Tim Schwab is no stranger to investigative journalism that scrutinizes power structures and questions how private interests intersect with public policy. With funding from a 2019 Alicia Patterson Fellowship, S…
348. Ganesh Sitaraman with Paul Constant: Why is Flying so Miserable? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 49:16
It is among the most classically joked about modern grievances, air travel. Between flight cancellations, delays, lost baggage, increased prices, crammed planes, and the general downtrodden gloom that accompanies flying,…
347. Betty Houchin Winfield: Pioneering Women in Academia [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 53:11
Starting in 1967, when fewer than 1% of women completed any education beyond four years of college, the Washington State University (WSU) Sociology Department dared to hire three female faculty members who became lifelon…