Based on historian Jon Meacham’s bestseller, the 2020 HBO documentary The Soul of America explores pivotal historical events when demagoguery, conspiracy theories and “alternative facts” spoke the loudest to justify slavery, Jim Crow laws, a culture of white supremacy, the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II, McCarthyism and other dark chapters of the nation’s history. The film recognizes forces of hatred and division as recurring themes in American life, but ultimately gives hope that the lessons of the past may bring the nation closer to achieving its democratic ideals.
We are at another pivotal moment in history, similar to those before. We remain in a period of racial reckoning in which many harbor unfounded stereotypes that cast entire communities of color, immigrants, and religious minorities as dangerous threats to our country. Millions of voters continue to believe that the presidential election was stolen despite evidence to the contrary. And elected leaders continue to fuel this narrative even after the U.S. Capitol was stormed in a failed insurrection to overturn the elections.
The panel discusses the role that lawyers play in supporting the Constitution and the cause of truth, and the dire consequences to democracy, fundamental freedoms, and the rule of law when they ignore it.
A free screening of the HBO documentary, The Soul of America, will be available from March 11-18, 2021. Contact the Section with questions.