Carol Anderson is a New York Times best-selling author who will be at the Tucson Festival of Books presenting her newest book “One Person, No Vote: How Voter Suppression is Destroying our Democracy.”
Anderson’s experiences living in a segregated neighborhood and watching it implode inspired her to discuss social rights and racial inequality in her writing.
In her book, she discusses the aftermath of the Shelby County v. Holder ruling, which made it easier for districts with histories of racial discrimination to change voting requirements without the approval of the Department of Justice.
Anderson said she will bring her expertise in social justice to the Festival of Books and participate in two panels. Saturday, she will be a part of “Protecting the Vote,” a panel that discusses ideas that threaten open elections. This panel will be held at 10 a.m. in Koffler Room 204 and is a ticketed event.
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Sunday, Anderson and other panelists talk about racial and religious divides on the “Divides that Blind Us” panel, held at 11:30 a.m. in the SUMC’s Gallagher Theater.
Anderson has also won the National Book Critics Circle Award for her book “White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Nation’s Divide,” which highlights the powerful forces that discourage black progress in America. Anderson said that winning the award was deeply meaningful.
“I was floored, honored, and I felt a joy that was just virtually unparalleled. It was amazing,” Anderson said.
Aside from writing books, Anderson has also appeared on “The Rachel Maddow Show” and “PBS NewsHour,” and has provided commentary for the New York Times, Washington Post and Huffington Post.
Anderson worked in state government on higher education public policy for 10 years before becoming a professor in 1996. She is now the Charles Howard Candler Professor of African American Studies at Emory University in Atlanta, Ga.
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