22: Calum McCracken II

My conversation with Calum began during his undergraduate studies. We talked about his interests in the political life of a number of countries, on international relations and issues of human rights as both a civil gift and a challenge for some cultural communities. We have also talked about the difficult issues often found in the public square and how we might deepen public understanding across the usual political silos.

In this, our second conversation, Calum walks into the legacy of the Jim Crow laws and how the legislatures in the American South pushed back against Reconstruction. He explores the three pivotal pieces of legislation under President Lydon Johnson: the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Fair Housing Act of 1968. 

Calum brings this story into what is unfolding in the United States currently: the work of various state legislatures to deprive many, particularly Black Americans, of the franchise and the ongoing work of “making a more perfect union.” 

Welcome to our conversation.