Why It Matters

Throughout the beginning of 2021, Nevada Humanities hosted a special series of conversation programs under the theme of civic and electoral participation. Entitled Why It Matters, statewide conversations were held around the topics of voting, democracy, and civic engagement in all its forms. These events introduced us to the challenges faced by tribal communities, new voters, and communities working to re-enfranchise formerly incarcerated people. These events have taught us about the history of voting in Nevada and will hopefully reactivate our own engagement in our community. Most events were moderated by Dr. Todd Felts, Teaching Associate Professor of Public Relations & Advertising at the Reynolds School of Journalism at the University of Nevada, Reno. Catch up on past events below.

Featured

Why It Matters: What It Means to Build Community

Streamed Live on May 19, 2021 • Watch Now

How does voting build community? Join Nevada Humanities for a conversation with members of the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities throughout Nevada, to talk about the challenges faced by minority populations to establish strong civic ties to their communities, state, and country. While striving for census engagement and voter registration and participation, we will also talk about what it means to make a home in this country. Featuring historian Meredith Oda, scholars Mark Padoongpatt and Leilani Kupo, and community organizer Vida Chan Lin, this event will be moderated by Anh Gray, public health editor for KUNR radio.

Why It Matters: Journalism and Democracy

Streamed Live on May 11, 2021 • Watch Now

Where are you getting your news? Who do you trust to provide it? Join Nevada Humanities as we welcome journalists Masha Gessen and Jon Ralston in conversation about the state of journalism in the United States and abroad, current threats to a free press, and threats to democracy writ large.

Why It Matters: Restoring Voting Rights in Nevada

Streamed Live on April 15, 2021 • Watch Now

Nevada leads the nation in the restoration of voting rights of formerly incarcerated people. Join us for a conversation about the history of dis-enfranchisement policies and the people working to overturn these laws. Hear stories of families fighting to uplift and advance people and communities directly impacted by these policies. Panelists include: Jagada Chambers, author and motivational speaker; Dr. Greta de Jong, author and Foundation Professor of History at the University of Nevada, Reno; Chris Giunchigliani, former Nevada Assemblyperson, former Clark County Commissioner, and former Nevada gubernatorial candidate; and Leslie Ann Turner, Justice Director of the Mass Liberation Project and the Vegas Freedom Fund with the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada.

Why It Matters: Where We Stand with Diversity in Business

Streamed Live on March 23, 2021 • Watch Now

At this talk with journalist Ruth Umoh, we investigate the diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in the business world. Are these efforts successful in breaking down systemic barriers to participation? Are companies becoming more just and fair? Umoh is currently the editor-in-chief of The Filament and is in conversation with Alan Deutschman, Professor and Reynolds Chair of Business Journalism at the Reynolds School of Journalism at the University of Nevada, Reno.

Why It Matters: Native Voting Rights in Nevada

Streamed Live on March 18, 2021 • Watch Now

Throughout Nevada, what barriers do Indigenous people face and what issues do they turn out for? Join us for a discussion with Indigenous leaders Janet Davis, Lynn Manning-John, and Tammi Tiger as we discuss the history of Native voting rights in Nevada, as well as current contemporary advocacy and voter engagement in Nevada tribal communities.

Why I Showed Up: A Conversation with Nevada Elected Officials on How They Came to Politics

Streamed Live on February 18, 2021 • Watch Now

From local races to seats in the state legislature, Nevada has continued to see an unprecedented number of young, new candidates running for and holding elected office. Join us for a conversation with some of these elected officials across the state, including Commissioner Alexis Hill (Washoe County Commissioner), Senator Nicole Cannizzaro (Nevada State Senator), Mayor Daniel Corona (Mayor, West Wendover), and Senator Ben Kieckhefer (Nevada State Senator), as they discuss what it means to them to serve their communities.

Why It Matters: White Supremacy and the Threat to Democracy

Streamed Live on February 4, 2021 • Watch Now

In response to historic events at the U.S. Capitol in January 2021, panelists John L. Smith (Nevada Independent and author of the forthcoming book, Saints, Sinners, and Sovereign Citizens: The Endless War over the West's Public Lands), Talia Lavin (independent journalist and author of Culture Warlords: My Journey Into the Dark Web of White Supremacy), and Eli Saslow (Washington Post and author of Rising out of Hatred: the Awakening of a Former White Nationalist) delve into this dramatic moment for our nation, exploring the threads of white nationalism, armed militias, and unrest that threatens to destabilize our democracy.

Why It Matters: The Past, Present, and Future of Voting in the United States

Streamed Live on January 14, 2021 • Watch Now

Nevada was granted statehood, in part, to cast a deciding vote for the Union during the upheaval of the Civil War. What about the rest of the history of voting in the state? Join us for a discussion with author and national journalist Erin Geiger Smith and Nevada historian Dr. Michael Green about the history of democracy and how voting rights have expanded over time, here in Nevada and across the nation.

Nevada Voices

Throughout 2020, Nevada Humanities shared stories, essays, and reflections written by Nevadans about the topic of first-time voting in the United States. These essays and films featured stories from new Americans, newly engaged voters, re-engaged voters, newly enfranchised people, and others.

Featured

What a Vote in This Election Meant to Me

By Tran Zen Belila Torres
Photos and videos of burning skies, burning forests, burning flags, and burning cities consistently flooded my social media feeds this year. Scrolling through these felt so surreal at times—as if this year was nothing but a dumpster fire.

First Time Voter, First Time Loser

By Eric Duran-Valle
I was making a U-turn on Sahara Avenue when I got a frantic phone call from my mom about the election. Calmly, I explained there was no way that Donald Trump would even come close to winning. By precedent alone, it was impossible.

A Lesson in Intersectionality

By William Huggins
What am I doing here? The night before the Presidential election of 1988 between Democrat Michael Dukakis and Republican George H. W. Bush I sat in front of what would now be considered an ancient rotary telephone dialing prospective Democratic voters in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, urging them to the polls the following day.

Increments Matter

By Prism Zephyr
I was very conflicted over voting in the year leading up to my first time. As a person with multiple intersections, Black, queer, nonbinary, fat, neurodivergent, assigned female at birth, and as an orphan living with a retired grandparent with a limited income (pardon the length), I felt that I was going to be harmed on the account of one identity or another.

Too Dumb to Understand Why It Was a Mistake

By Don Hall
I was 18-years-old in 1984, and while I was bright enough to have read and understood Orwell’s prophecy, Melville’s opus to obsession, and given up on Hawthorne’s seven gables (I still don’t really know what a ‘gable’ is), I was not as up to speed on political nuance.

Cheering in the Library

By Joan Dalusung
It is October 2020, and I’ve been a librarian for 23 years now. Libraries nationwide frequently host early voting or are sites for primary and general Elections. I've had the pleasure of working with election workers many times, including meeting them at 5:30 am on Election Day for voting machine setup and staying until the last votes are cast and the machines are picked up that same day.

It’s My First Time Voting

By Eunkang Koh
In one of the classes I teach, we recently discussed the feminist movement and various other social movements in American history. The subject matter was not new to any of us, but it acted as a sobering reminder that not everyone enjoyed the right to vote throughout America’s past. Some of us, including myself, were overcome with emotion as we discussed how women and people of color had to fight for rights many of us take for granted today.

As part of Nevada Voices, we captured the story of librarian Joan Dalusung, who had a particularly unique experience to share about the 2020 US election. Her office at the Downtown Reno Library was a polling location. This animated short film, Cheering in the Library, illustrates Joan’s story and reminds us of the unique year that was 2020.

Essay and narration by Joan Dalusung. Directed and edited by Shahab Zargari. Illustrations by Jess Vanessa. Special thanks to the Washoe County Library System.

This program is produced by Nevada Humanities and funded by the “Why It Matters: Civic and Electoral Participation” initiative, administered by the Federation of State Humanities Councils and funded by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.