The Los Angeles Times has their annual Festival of Books. This year, of course, the discussion panels are being held online. That's my favorite part of the book festival. This was the 6th panel discussion I watched. This panel discussion was called, "Seeking Freedom: Race, Gender, and Citizenship." Per YouTube, here's the introduction to the discussion:
Who gets to be citizens in the Land of the Free? In a wide-ranging conversation, a panel of experts in law, history, and social work will discuss historical and contemporary obstacles faced by marginalized communities in the U.S. as well as the paths towards freedom and empowerment. The panel features USC Professors Sam Erman, Ariela Gross, and Kristen Zaleski moderated by History Professor Alaina Morgan.
The following are my notes from the panel discussion:
Sam Erman - Law Professor at USC
His book is about Puerto Rico. How did oldest democracy (U.S.) have the oldest colony (Puerto Rico). Puerto Rico became a colony after the 1898 war with Spain. Three decades before 1898, annexation came to a hard stop. The Civil War slowed down empire. There was a requirement that all folks in the US had to become citizens (other than Native Americans) and all territories would eventually become states.
