Represent: The Unfinished Fight for the Vote

by Michael Eric Dyson, Marc Favreau Narrated by Michael Eric Dyson

Overview

Read about the electrifying and continuing fight for voting rights-and discover your place in it-in this dramatic exploration of American democracy, from renowned thought leader Michael Eric Dyson and widely celebrated author Marc Favreau.

One of the most important and least understood true stories of our nation, the fight for representation is an ongoing and epic quest to build the democracy sketched out in the Constitution but unfinished in the twenty-first century. With impeccable research and exhilarating prose, Represent tells the story of voting rights in the United States from the American Revolution up to the present day.

Each chapter takes on a new battle between the forces of people power and forces opposed to it. Readers will meet champions of freedom, including formerly enslaved revolutionaries, a Chinese American teenager, a Lakota Sioux activist, Black World War II veterans, a Mexican American student, and others who fought for their right to vote.

Drawing clear lines from then to now, Represent weaves this important struggle into a single American drama that will help readers understand our past, present, and future.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

★ 07/15/2024

Collaborators Dyson and Favreau (Unequal) present the ideologies that disparage women and Black Americans and become the framework for contemporary American society in this accessible accounting of voting rights. In a linear chronology, the authors center historical figures like civil rights leader Fannie Lou Hamer and former Congressman John Lewis. Conversational text delivers a brief biography of the spotlighted subjects, details where they fit in the fight for voting rights, and outlines how their contributions were influenced by those who came before and in turn impact those who came after. The resistance from government leaders, poll taxes, and state legislation that citizens experience in their efforts to expand voting rights are discussed throughout. Additionally, Dyson and Favreau don’t shy away from depicting the conflicts among voting activists, highlighting the exclusion of nonwhite Americans within the women’s suffrage movement. Concerning the current political landscape, the creators address Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission and the weaponization of the voter fraud rhetoric that sparked the January 6 insurrection. Concluding solutions and resources make a fitting end to this relevant and inspiring account that shows how the past is not as far removed as one may think. Ages 12–up. (Sept.)

From the Publisher

"Michael Eric Dyson and Marc Favreau have written a compelling book that is a balm for our democracy. In story after story, Represent narrates the epic quest for the vote by a stirring variety of communities— Black, Mexican American, Native American, and women of all ethnicities. This brilliant book will inspire us to embrace a precious right that each generation must fight hard to preserve."—Reverend Al Sharpton

* “This lively, accessible, and inspiring history deserves a wide readership. A concise, readable account of the struggle for equality, freedom, and democracy in the U.S.” —Kirkus, starred review

* “In a direct style with riveting, often overlooked details, [Dyson and Favreau] trace the long and even violent fight for women’s, Black, Latinx, Asian American, and Native American suffrage…[an] eye-opening narrative.” —Booklist, starred review 

* “This relevant and inspiring account … shows how the past is not as far removed as one may think.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review

Product Details

BN ID:	2940160484693
Publisher:	Hachette Audio
Publication date:	09/10/2024
Edition description:	Unabridged
Sales rank:	448,850