AN IN-PERSON TALK WITH GREG DOWNS
Edith Stone Room, Albany Community Center, 1249 Marin Ave, Albany – April 8, 6-7:30 pm

After the Civil War, the push to protect the rights of four million newly free people led to an expansive debate over who was a citizen. Over time, the Fourteenth Amendment’s definition of birthright citizenship would have massive implications for children of immigrants. This lecture will address the relevance of that history to battles over citizenship today. Part of Path to Belonging, an exhibition and public conversation project celebrating local histories of migration.

Greg Downs is professor and chair of History at UC Davis, author of four books on slavery, the Civil War and Reconstruction, and another one forthcoming on Why Reconstruction Matters with Kate Masur. An Albany resident, he has been chair of the Social and Economic Justice Commission and the former Albany Policing Commission.

This talk is part of Path to Belonging, a year-long community art project that aims to build a sense of inclusion for all people in Albany.

Finally, I hope you will come by to see the exhibition ‘Journeys to Albany–Paths to Belonging’, It presents local migration histories February through April 23 at the Albany Community Center. There are giant collages about families from Mexico, Ecuador, Poland, Japan, Vietnam, Poland and Nigeria, as well as some great content related to Black History Month.