Rutgers University Libraries to Screen Rigged: The Voter Suppression Playbook
Followed by Panel of Experts
National Voter Registration Day
Tuesday, September 22, 7 pm – 8:30 pm
“When you deprive people of the right to vote, the vote being the very fiber of this wonderful quilt we call a democracy…When you begin to tear away the threads, saying this person can’t vote, that person can’t vote…the next thing know, you will not have a democracy.” Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD)
The Rutgers University Libraries (New Brunswick) are observing National Voter Registration Day, September 22, by airing the documentary film Rigged: The Voter Suppression Playbook, an award-winning documentary that exposes the nefarious tactics used to suppress the vote and serves to spark discussion on the actions needed to protect our democracy. This event is part of a fall series to encourage campus-wide dialogue about the 2020 election. The American Issues Institute, producer of the film, will host the RU screening via its Zoom Webinar platform for a week prior to the screening, then from 6 – 7 pm on September 22, followed by a panel discussion from 7 – 8:30 pm about the issues. We encourage students, faculty, staff and community members to join the conversation.
Discussion panelists will include:
- Mac Heller and Tim Smith, the film’s producers
- Lorraine Minnite, Associate Professor of Public Policy and Department Chair at Rutgers Camden and expert on voting rights. Author of The Myth of Voter Fraud, and Keeping Down the Black Vote: Race and the Demobilization of American Voters
- David Greenberg, Professor of Media Studies and History, Rutgers-New Brunswick and author of a forthcoming book on John Lewis
- Christabel Cruz, director of NEW Leadership® at the Center for American Women and Politics.
- Chenjerai Kumanyika, Assistant Professor, Journalism and Media Studies, Rutgers, Peabody winning producer of Uncivilpodcast and social justice advocate
- David Goodman, Vice Chair, Andrew Goodman Foundation
Following the event, the library will provide a link to a recording of the session and make it available to the Rutgers community. It’s an opportunity for all of us to energize students, faculty and staff at this critical moment in our nation’s history when we’re isolated from each other but eager to join in discussions about the issues that will shape our collective future.
Sherrilyn Ifill, President and Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, says of RIGGED, “I cannot think of a better moment for this powerful film. It reinforces the reality of voter suppression, which I think so many more Americans have begun to recognize and understand.”
To register to watch the video and participate in the Zoom event, click here.
To learn more about Election 2020, see the Library’s new LibGuide, produced by Sherri Farber and Nancy Kranich.
For more information, contact Nancy Kranich, nancy.kranich@rutgers.edu
RIGGED Trailer – 2 mins.
https://vimeo.com/296045604
Rigged: The Voter Suppression Playbook – with Jeffrey Wright (NOV 2019)
70 Minutes
https://vimeo.com/371681258
password: rigged
