What Does Freedom Depend on?
The United States is often referred to as “the land of the free.” Our freedoms are rooted in the Bill of Rights and later amendments to the Constitution. What do these freedoms depend on? How does my freedom intersect with the freedoms of others? This conversation will take us through an exploration of these questions and more as we consider our freedoms and if and when they might be changed.
Facilitator Jennifer Alkezweeny has been Oregon Humanities' program director since 2020. She supports the team of folks making Oregon Humanities programs happen, provides leadership for the organization's vision, and connects with organizations and communities to explore new initiatives. She is focused on connecting people to their communities and pursuing their goals while centering social justice. She has created learning spaces around the country and globe and loves that moment when the people in a room begin to harmonize. Jennifer is a deep believer in experiential learning, harnessing the knowledge in a room, finding your learning edge, and the power of silence. She's a longtime volunteer facilitator with the Dougy Center for Grieving Children and Families. In her free time she can be found experimenting in the kitchen, looking at the world from behind a macro lens, or floating around in her kayak.
Beyond 250: Conversations About Democracy and Community
Throughout 2026, Oregon Humanities will get Oregonians together to talk about democracy, freedom, and what it means to be an American—today and into the future.
Portrait of My Mother in Mint Green
She lived most of her life in the United States. Why didn’t she become a citizen?
Full Membership
My thoughts, ambitions, and dreams did not have a gender. Why did my pay?
The Privilege to Raise Our Voices
Melissa Hart writes about her mother, her daughter, and finding meaning in protest across generations.
Think & Drink with John Haroldson, Adrienne Nelson, and Shannon Wight
Join us January 22 for an onstage conversation on democracy, justice, and the American court system.
Think & Drink with Desmond Meade
The 2019–20 Think & Drink series, Making Democracy, kicks off with the executive director of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition.
Looking Forward, Looking Past
An excerpt from Emilly Prado's upcoming story about undocumented and mixed-status families living in Oregon.
You Are Being Watched
The United States’ long history of turning citizens against one another. An excerpt from Joshua Reeves' Citizen Spies: The Long Rise of America’s Surveillance Society, reprinted with permission from New York University Press.
Uncovered
Writer Donnell Alexander and photographer Kim Nguyen on one undocumented family's long wait for adequate health care
"I'm Not Staying Here Another Day"
A conversation about the Great Migration with Isabel Wilkerson and Rukaiyah Adams
Just People Like Us
Writer Guy Maynard on a little-known history of a Southern Oregon community during World War II where prisoners of war were more welcome than US military of color
A Tremendous Force of Will
A conversation about the Great Migration's and the civil right movement with Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Isabel Wilkerson
Trademark Offense
Bandleader Simon Tam explains his fight to trademark his band’s name, “The Slants.” Tam recently argued his case before the US Supreme Court. He won.
Civil Rights with Guns
Are there alternatives to police that could keep communities safe? Author Kristian Williams discusses lessons from the Black Freedom Movement.
Full Circle
Two journalists return to their native countries to help other journalists express dissent.
Who's Minding Your Business?
A conversation with writer William T. Vollmann on privacy, surveillance, and hope
A Hidden History
Walidah Imarisha on revealing the stories and struggles of Oregon’s African American communities.
Dangerous Subjects
An excerpt from R. Gregory Nokes's book Breaking Chains looks back at Oregon's history of exclusionary laws.
Picture Their Hearts
Dionisia Morales looks back at her parents interracial marriage before the height of the Civil Rights Movement.
Continual Watching
Historian Bob Bussel on Oregon's long history of protecting workers