We talked this afternoon with the legal historian John Fabian Witt, the Allen H. Duffy Class of 1960 Professor of Law at Yale Law School, whose new book, The Radical Fund: How a Band of Visionaries and a Million Dollars Upended America, tells the story of how Charles Garland’s pioneering progressive philanthropy, the American Fund for Public Service, set out to remake civil society during the 1920s and 1930s, funding the labor movement, building the ACLU and the NAACP, and backing the legal efforts that eventually led to the Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1954.
We talked to Witt about the parallels between the crises of the 1920s and the 2020s, what today’s progressive organizations can learn from the Garland Fund’s mobilization around long-term goals, how the conservative movement modeled its postwar strategy on progressive philanthropists, and what kinds of new institutions and organizations might be able to lead the way out of America’s current authoritarian predicament and towards a multiracial democracy.
You won’t want to miss any of it. Just click on the video player above to watch the entire conversation.
Our live shows are open to all. Afterward, to access the full video of this interview and the transcript, become a paying subscriber.
Your support is how we keep the lights on, pay our staff a fair wage, and build the new media we all deserve. When you subscribe, you help us reach more people.
Join us today, or if you are already a member, give a gift or group subscription.
Join us for more Live conversations this week!
Join us tomorrow, Wednesday, October 15, at 12:30 p.m. Eastern, when we’ll speak with journalist David Sirota about how Democrats can put up a real fight against corruption — and even win. And on Friday, October 17, also at 12:30 p.m. Eastern, The Ink Book Club will meet with historian Jill Lepore to talk about her new history of the Constitution, We The People.
To join and watch, download the Substack app (click on the button below) and turn on notifications — you’ll get an alert once we’re live, and you can watch, chat, and even participate in the conversation during our Book Club meetings from your iOS or Android mobile device. If you’re using a computer, you can also watch (and ask questions in the text chat) on our homepage.
This coming Saturday, October 18, is a national day of action, meant to make it clear that Americans want No Kings. Find an event near you at nokings.org, make a plan, invite some friends, and make your voices heard!
