What does it mean to be a citizen of the United States? The Constitution does not define who gets to be a citizen, or what citizenship means. Rather, citizenship has been defined over time, often through struggle and activism by people who were denied the full rights of citizenship. The U-M Clements Library in partnership with the American Academy of Arts & Sciences will host a virtual panel discussion featuring Derrick Spires of Cornell University (author of "The Practice of Citizenship: Black Politics and Print Culture in the Early United States") and Martha Jones of Johns Hopkins University (author of "Birthright Citizens: A History of Race and Rights in Antebellum America" and "Vanguard: How Black Women Broke Barriers, Won the Vote, and Insisted on Equality for All"). The conversation will be moderated by Ben Vinson III, Provost of Case Western Reserve University.
Event Contact: Anne Bennington-Helber, abhelber@umich.edu
