Charis welcomes Keith Boykin in conversation with Ted Winn for a discussion of Race Against Time: The Politics of a Darkening America. After a deadly pandemic, shocking incidents of police brutality, a racial justice crisis, and the fall of a dangerous demagogue, America remains more divided than at any time in decades. At the heart of this national crisis is the fear of a darkening America—a country in which there is no longer a predominant white majority.

As the Republican Party has lost the popular vote in seven of the last eight presidential elections, its leaders have incited white Americans in a last-ditch race against time to stop the advance of a new, multiracial emerging majority. Keith Boykin, long-time political commentator, has watched this white resentment consume the GOP over the course of a life in politics, activism, and journalism. He has also observed the divisions among Democrats, as white progressives have postponed demands for full racial equity, while Black voters have often been too forgiving of party leaders who have failed to deliver. America can no longer avoid its long-overdue reckoning with the past, Boykin argues. With the familiarity of personal experience and the acuity of historical insight, Boykin urges us to fight racism, sexism, xenophobia, and homophobia, and save the union, not just by making Black lives matter, but by making Black lives equal.

Keith Boykin is a CNN political commentator, New York Times best-selling author, and a former White House aide to President Bill Clinton. Boykin teaches at the Institute for Research in African-American Studies at Columbia University in New York and previously taught at American University in Washington, D.C. He is a co-founder and first board president of the National Black Justice Coalition. He was a co-host of the BET Networks talk show "My Two Cents," starred on the Showtime reality television series "American Candidate," was an associate producer of the film "Dirty Laundry," and he has appeared on many other TV shows, including BET's "Being Mary Jane." A graduate of Dartmouth College and Harvard Law School, Boykin is a Lambda Literary Award-winning author of four books. He lives in New York City.

Ted Winn entered the music industry in 2001 as a songwriter and recording artist. After garnering success writing for various artists such as Marvin Sapp and Tamela Mann, Winn developed an affinity for the publishing side of the music industry. In 2005, he formed Veracity  Entertainment which is a publishing administration company that also manages music producers and composers in multiple genres. With its primary base in Gospel music, Veracity Entertainment administers over 700 songs and has earned numerous ASCAP and BMI achievement awards.

Winn is an expert presenter and educator. He speaks at music industry conferences and related platforms around the country. In 2019, he was a guest lecturer for a Music Business course at the prestigious Morehouse College in  Atlanta. His deep knowledge of music publishing and administration has made him one of the most sought-after experts in the field of music.

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Race Against Time: The Politics of a Darkening America--Keith Boykin in conversation with Ted Winn