Image - speakers plus book cover
Past Event

The Myth That Made Us: How False Beliefs About Racism and Meritocracy Broke Our Economy (and How to Fix It)

Join author Jeffrey Fuhrer, whose 27 years' experience at the Boston Fed informed his breakthrough expose about how false narratives about racism and meritocracy broke our economy. He argues that systemic racism continues to produce vastly disparate outcomes, and that our brand of capitalism doesn't reduce disparities.

Jeffrey will be joined in conversation by Akilah Monifa, a trained lawyer and law professor, who's published many op-eds. She is the former director of public affairs and communications for CBS television and radio stations in San Francisco. She is now a retired Black lesbian mother and grandmother, and is the founder of BlackHistoryEveryDay.com.

Former CBS anchor Dana King surprised her colleagues when she transitioned into sculpture. Locally, her Monumental Reckoning's 350 Ancestral figures in Golden Gate Park bear silent and powerful witness to the 1619 outset of modern slavery. Dana has given permission for images of her work to be displayed during our event.

MLF Organizer
Ian McCuaig
Notes

A Social Impact Member-led Forum program. Forums at the Club are organized and run by volunteer programmers who are members of The Commonwealth Club, and they cover a diverse range of topics. Learn more about our Forums.

Main image detail from The Myth That Made Us book cover; speaker photos courtesy the speakers.

February 27, 2024

The Commonwealth Club of California
110 The Embarcadero
Toni Rembe Rock Auditorium
San Francisco, CA 94105
United States

Speakers
Image - Jeff Fuhrer

Jeff Fuhrer

Non-Resident Fellow, Brookings Institution; Foundation Fellow, Eastern Bank Foundation; Author, The Myth That Made Us

Image - Akilah Monifa

Akilah Monifa

Freelance Writer; Journalist; Media Trainer/Public Relations Strategist, Independent Media Institute's SPIN Project; Features Editor for Arise—Moderator

Image - Dana King

FEATURING ART BY Dana King

Sculptor; Former News Anchor, KPIX TV (will not be present at program)