Important Update: 92Y remains open
Oct 13, 2020
We are in a census year, with an election fast approaching, and a Supreme Court nomination process underway. Former Attorney General and Chairman of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, Eric H. Holder, Jr., joins author of OMG WTF Does the Constitution Actually Say? and OMG WTF is Gerrymandering? Ben Sheehan, in a conversation facilitated by The Next 50’s Zak Malamed, to help us make sense of this consequential moment.
Eric H. Holder, Jr. serves as Chairman of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee …
Eric H. Holder, Jr. serves as Chairman of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee. Mr. Holder is an internationally-recognized leader on a broad range of legal issues and a staunch advocate for civil rights. He served in the Obama Administration as the 82nd Attorney General of the United States from February 2009 to April 2015, the third-longest serving Attorney General in U.S. history and the first African American to hold that office.
Under Mr. Holder’s leadership, civil rights, including voting rights, were a top priority at the Justice Department. Mr. Holder vigorously defended voting rights, including the enforcement of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. He criticized politically motivated voter ID laws that were designed to suppress minority and youth votes, and he led the Justice Department’s efforts to overturn these laws around the country.
Including his tenure as Attorney General, Mr. Holder served in government for more than thirty years, having been appointed to various positions requiring U.S. Senate confirmation by Presidents Obama, Clinton, and Reagan. He began his legal career at the Public Integrity Section of the U.S. Justice Department. In 1988, President Reagan appointed him to serve as a judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. In 1993, Mr. Holder stepped down from the bench to accept an appointment from President Clinton as United States Attorney for the District of Columbia. He held that position until he became the first African-American Deputy Attorney General in 1997. From 2001 until his confirmation as Attorney General, Mr. Holder was a partner at Covington & Burling LLP, where he advised clients on complex investigations and litigation matters. He rejoined the firm in 2015.
A former award-winning executive producer at Funny Or Die, Sheehan’s mission to increase voter participation began in 2016 …
A former award-winning executive producer at Funny Or Die, Sheehan’s mission to increase voter participation began in 2016 where he used digital videos to help register 50,000 new voters as executive director of Joss Whedon’s Save the Day PAC. In 2018 he founded OMG WTF (Ohio, Michigan, Georgia, Wisconsin, Texas, Florida) to teach voters about executive races during the midterm elections. That project generated Gerrymander Jewelry—a finalist for Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas 2019—and now OMG WTF Does the Constitution Actually Say?, an essential primer on how our government was designed to work. Using clear commentary and graphics, Sheehan has annotated the entire Constitution, from its preamble through the amendments, explaining the document’s provisions, pointing out its loopholes, and giving readers everything they need to know to become informed, effective voters. A Spanish version is also available, as well as the companion journal OMG WTF Is Gerrymandering? A Journal for Concerned Citizens.
Originally from Washington, D.C., Sheehan graduated magna cum laude from Emory University with a B.A. in American Studies and Political Science and holds an M.A. from New York University in Music Business. In 2018 he was named one of the entertainment industry’s “NextGen: 35 Rising Executives Under 35” by The Hollywood Reporter. The digital videos he’s been involved with have received over a billion views.
Zak Malamed is the Co-founder and Executive Director of The Next 50 where he works to make politics accessible …
Zak Malamed is the Co-founder and Executive Director of The Next 50 where he works to make politics accessible to a new generation of donors and candidates. They have hosted over 80 events with 18 presidential candidates, 13 U.S. Senate candidates and dozens down the ballot, raising over $3.34M. He is also the Founder and former Executive Director of Student Voice, which organizes high school students to advocate for equity in education. After leaving Student Voice, he joined the Emerson Collective's XQ Institute where he led the organization's student engagement work and was responsible for community engagement in 34 communities across 22 states. Zak, most recently. worked at Facebook Education where he launched the strategy and implementation of the company's first civic education initiatives, including allocating ~$1 million to support global youth leaders.
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