Between the Lines: Remember, You Are A Wiley by Maya Wiley
About this event
Civil rights lawyer and former New York City Mayoral candidate Maya Wiley will join us to share her journey of coming into herself and finding hope in a dire political landscape documented in her new memoir Remember, You Are A Wiley. Wiley will be in conversation with Christina Greer, an Associate Professor of Political Science at Fordham University.
GET THE BOOK
Copies of Remember, You Are A Wiley will be available for purchase from the Schomburg Shop in Harlem.
PARTICIPANTS
Maya Wiley is a nationally respected civil rights attorney and activist who has dedicated her life to the fights for justice, equality, and fairness. Wiley’s father was a leader in the civil rights and economic justice movements, and she has been a leader inside and outside government. Serving as the first Black woman counsel to the mayor of New York City, she helped deliver on civil and immigrant rights. During her tenure, the city also saw an expansion of minority/women-owned business enterprises contracts. Following her time at City Hall, Wiley moved to academia as a faculty member and senior vice president for social justice at the New School University. As a Henry Cohen professor of public and urban policy at the New School, Wiley founded the Digital Equity Laboratory on universal and inclusive broadband. She also served as a legal analyst for NBC News and MSNBC.
Christina Greer (Moderator) is an Associate Professor of Political Science at Fordham University, Lincoln Center (Manhattan) campus. Her research and teaching focus on American politics, Black ethnic politics, campaigns and elections, and public opinion. She is the author of Black Ethnics: Race, Immigration, and the Pursuit of the American Dream and author of the forthcoming manuscript How to Build a Democracy: From Fannie Lou Hamer and Barbara Jordan to Stacey Abrams. Greer writes a weekly column for The Amsterdam News and is a frequent political commentator on several media outlets. She is the co-host of the New York centered podcast FAQ-NYC.
ABOUT REMEMBER, YOU ARE A WILEY
A moving, politically-charged memoir of surviving trauma and the power of activism from MSNBC legal analyst, professor, civil rights lawyer and former New York City Mayoral candidate Maya Wiley. Maya is ready to share her story and that of her parents: one of passion, possibility, and compassion in the face of fear and injustice. She takes readers through her unconventional upbringing, her father George Wiley‘s tragic death and the resulting trauma, as well as how her experiences spoke to racial, gender, and class identity. Against this painful backdrop, Maya charts her journey of coming into herself and finding hope in a dire political landscape. She also digs into how her previous struggles informed her platform, driving her to represent those who have similarly felt voiceless or ignored. In facing and sharing her own past, Maya shows readers how they too can remain optimistic in the face of adversity.
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