July Newsletter: Black Nationalism, America's Political Transition & Defining Patriotism
Institute for Liberal Values
June Recap
Did you miss our panel discussion, Empowering Education, with Dr. Tabia Lee (Free Black Thought), Nicole Neily (Parents Defending Education) and Jason Littlefield (EmpowerED Pathways)? Listen in on our discussion on how critical social justice has changed our education system and what we can do about it. Join us on Circle so you can participate LIVE in the conversations this month!
Also in June, Dr. Tabia Lee showcased her new Empowered Social Justice Resources, which provide a new blueprint for parents, educators and students that underlines the liberal value of social justice.
We are updating our Black Institute for Liberal Values' resources on Circle every week (in collaboration with Free Black Thought). In June we celebrated Dr. Mae C. Jemison, the first black female astronaut, the poet and novelist Gwendolyn Brooks, Juneteenth with a unique perspective from author Winkfield Twyman, Jr., and photographer James Van Der Zee.
July Offerings
Michael David Cobb Bowen was raised in Southern California where his father founded the Institute for Black Studies in 1966. Robert T. Bowen was one of the original Watts Poets and advocated for a separate black nation. Michael's uncle also worked for the Peace Corps in West Africa, so Michael learned how to speak French and Swahili as a child. He participated in the first Kwanzaa and was taught that he would be a model for the new Black Man. He talks about what it was like to grow up with that mindset and frame of reference and how he evolved his thinking about black identity and American citizenship.
Sign up on ILV's Circle to join the conversation.
Peter Zeihan is a New York Times bestselling author whose first three books — The Accidental Superpower, The Absent Superpower and Disunited Nations — have been recommended by Mitt Romney, Fareed Zakaria and Ian Bremmer. His fourth book, The End of the World is Just the Beginning: Mapping the Collapse of Globalization, was published in June 2022 and was a New York Times bestseller.
In this bonus Liberal Values Lab, Peter walks us through geopolitical trends that affect America's Political Transition, providing guidance and insight into America's domestic turbulence.
Are Patriotism and Nationalism meaningful terms or simply verbal clubs? Today both terms mean a wide range of things and are often used indiscriminately. Are they meant to show pride and deep feeling? Are they simply a quaint notion of a "better" time? Or are they divisive terms that reflect the polarization in America?
The panel will explore both terms from the perspective of U.S. veterans and what the terms mean to them in view of America’s recent celebration of the creation the great American experiment almost 250 years ago.
Each month we will explore a new Liberal Concept, dive into its meaning, and share real-word examples of it through written essays and our monthly conversations.
Our July Liberal Concept of the Month is:
Visit Liberal Concepts Glossary to get more resources on sectarianism and our curated readings on Patriotism and Nationalism to accompany our July offerings. Become a member of Circle, add your own resources and be a part of the conversation or start one of your own.
Don't forget to subscribe to our The Dissidents Podcast on your favorite podcast platform or on YouTube.
In June, ILV Director Jennifer Richmond and co-host Winkfield Twyman, Jr. spoke with Glenn Loury on his newly released book, Late Admissions: Confessions of a Black Conservative. We discussed authenticity, individualism, enterprise, faith, and end our conversation on the lively question of whether the experience of race can be equated to the encumbrance of a Soviet gulag and if retiring from race is the path to a better future or simply escapism.
Loury enjoyed the conversation so much that he posted it on his own platform.
What our Partners, Directors and Advisors are Doing
SEPP Virtual Cocktail Hour!
Meet us, and join the conversation about ethical therapy with like-minded people. Network and share best practices for navigating our cultural landscape. Join SEPP’s first virtual cocktail hour!
Date: Thursday, July 11th
Time: 8:00 PM Eastern (apologies to our UK members)
Zoom link
Meeting ID: 839 5523 9461
Passcode: SEPPILV Director, Zander Keig's book, The Third Space: A Non-Conformist's Guide to the Universe, is now available on Amazon.
AEI released ILV Director, David Bernstein's report, Empowering an Alternative to Far-Left Ethnic Studies.
Dr. Tabia Lee with Free Black Thought released her Empowered Social Justice Resources: A Classical Approach to Teaching and Learning.
As NATO concludes its July meeting in Washington, D.C., focusing on Russia’s war in Ukraine, Western security, and defense spending, the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation is marking National Captive Nations Week with our annual Captive Nations Summit. The summit will be held at the Victims of Communism Museum on Thursday, July 11 from 3:00 – 6:00pm.
Subscribe to us on Circle to be updated on all of our offerings, join our livestream conversations, and check out our other resources.
We are seeking funding in 2024 to build a professional staff from our all-volunteer team to better organize, market and plan new and more robust offerings for our community. If you like what we are offering, please consider a donation so we can expand our mission to provide the skills and support required to build community where there has been division, encourage free expression where there has been censorship, and foster optimism where there is fear.