This five-part series on race and democracy includes compelling conversations and speeches that explore where issues of race and democracy collide. The series looks at how racism and racial realities pose a challenge to our democracy. Hate-related violence topics include the bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma, the assassination of Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin, and the torching of a store in New York, which have all been traced to inflammatory speech. Citizens are asking if heated political rhetoric, including vile hate speech, leads to violence, the endangerment of the citizenry, and therefore, should be limited legally.

This program features extended excerpts of a live discussion recorded in mid-November, with an open debate about the role that race, gender and class play in our country in keeping people from finding their shared interests and how we might overcome barriers to work together for social change. Participants include essayist and author Barbara Ehrenreich, author and activist Clarence Lusane, Mary Matsuda who is professor of law at Georgetown University, and Cornel West who is professor of Afro-American studies and the philosophy of religion at Harvard University, and activist Roland Roebuck.