A Return to Civic Discourse: The Low-Wage Work Crisis

The Low-Wage Work Crisis: Three Ideas for a Better Future

Part of the new Town Hall Series A Return to Civic Discourse

Saturday, October 26 at 2PM

Panel Discussion + Q&A

Tickets: $5 Suggested Donation

Free for Seniors and Students / No One Turned Away for Lack of Funds

The Town Hall (Town Hall) announces the launch of a new series, A Return to Civic Discourse, which invites thinkers, experts, and visionaries to present ideas that address some of our country’s most pressing challenges. Designed as true town hall panels, sessions will invite robust Q&As from live and live-streamed audiences. A modern revival of Town Hall’s Peabody-award winning America’s Town Meeting of the Air, which ran from 1935-1956, the new series returns Town Hall to its roots as a forum for public engagement and forward-thinking ideas.

America’s Town Meeting of the Air brought civic engagement into living rooms nationwide, broadcasting live panel discussions from Town Hall on the radio. The series featured some of the greatest minds in the country—including Eleanor Roosevelt, Mary McLeod Bethune, and Langston Hughes—to discuss critical issues of their day. Audiences in the hall—and listeners calling in—engaged panelists with lively Q&As. With topics covering a broad range of current events, America’s Town Meeting of the Air promoted civic dialogue on an unprecedented scale.

A Return to Civic Discourse aims to introduce innovation to civic dialogue at a time of increasing polarization—fanned by media and social media echo chambers—that threatens to keep Americans from listening to each other. With a focus on solutions and new possibilities, A Return to Civic Discourse will invite Americans to envision—and participate in creating—a better common future. Each session will encourage participants to take civic action aligned with their conclusions, and will provide tools to help them to do so.

“I’ve been performing at and attending events at Town Hall for over six decades, and I’ve witnessed some of our nation’s most visionary thinkers like Fannie Lou Hamer and Norman Thomas take that stage. I’m excited for Town Hall’s return to the great civic programming that once brought the greatest minds of the day together.”

– Judy Collins on A Return to Civic Discourse

The Inaugural Session: The Low-Wage Crisis

The first event in this series, The Low-Wage Crisis: Three Ideas for a Better Future, will take place on October 26, 2024, at 2PM. Panelists include:

• Juliana Bidadanure (Associate Professor of Philosophy and an Affiliate Faculty of the Law School at New York University) presenting on Universal Basic Income
• Manjari Raman (Senior Program Director of the Project on Managing the Future of Work and Project on U.S. Competitiveness at the Harvard Business School) presenting on The High Cost of Neglecting Low-Wage Workers
• Lawrence Mishel (Emeritus Fellow at the Economic Policy Institute) presenting on How to Raise Wages: Policies that Work and Policies that Don’t

The panel will be moderated by Maritza Silva-Farrell, Program Officer at the Ford Foundation’s Future of Work(ers) Program.

Accessibility for All

A Return to Civic Discourse aims to engage a cross-section of New Yorkers in meaningful dialogue. As such, all events will be free for students and seniors, with a suggested $5 donation for others. No one will be turned away due to inability to pay. All events will include ASL interpretation. The live stream will be offered free of charge and will be closed-captioned.

Educational Partnerships and Civic Engagement

A Return to Civic Discourse also includes a 10-session educational program aligned with the New York State Grade 10 and 11 Participation and Civics Curriculum Framework. One local high school will partner with Town Hall for each session, allowing students to engage with the featured topic through a project-based learning model. Students will attend the panel discussions, participate in post-event debriefs, and create artistic projects that reflect their understanding of the issue. A Town Hall teaching artist will collaborate with school educators to implement the program, ensuring that it fulfills educational objectives while promoting meaningful student engagement. Interested in being a future partner school? Reach out to civics@thetownhall.org.

Additionally, a free downloadable curriculum as well as an on-demand video of the Town Hall session will be available on our website for educators.