Buxton Books on King Street will host a second political talk ahead of the midterm elections at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday to discuss voting rights and the U.S. Supreme Court.
Local civil rights lawyer Armand Derfner will discuss his recent book with former Charleston School of Law constitutional law professor John Simpkins, who now heads a regional nonprofit.
“We felt that it was really important to host these conversations on important topics — specifically about civic engagement theories — because we are now living in a world of 140 characters [on Twitter] and a lot of fake news,” said Becky Tanenbaum Lacey, Buxton Books’ communications director.
“Being able to do events like this one, where we are sharing the truth and we are sharing facts, feels incredibly important and incredibly powerful,” Lacey told City Paper.
Derfner co-authored a book entitled Justice Deferred: Race and the Supreme Court last year with Orville Vernon Burton to highlight the immoral and misinformed dealings of the Supreme Court and its racialization of American legal history. He has been practicing civil rights law for 40 years between Mississippi, Washington, D.C., and Charleston, specializing in class action lawsuits involving labor, employment and consumer protection.
Simpkins is the president of the social equality nonprofit MDC Inc. based in Durham, North Carolina. The nonprofit works to combat socioeconomic disparities in the South to help communities thrive. He has spent decades promoting civic inclusion at the state, national and international levels.
The speakers will share their views on various topics, and the discussion will be followed by an open Q&A for attendees.The event, sponsored in part by the City Paper, is free to attend, and pre-registration is encouraged at Eventbrite.com. The discussion will happen at the bookstore. Doors open at 5 p.m.
The first Buxton Book talk, “A Conversation on Children,” was held last month at the Unitarian Church with Democratic congressional candidate Dr. Annie Andrews and Democratic candidate for S.C. Superintendent Lisa Ellis.
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