Join us for an intimate evening in celebration of Small Acts of Courage: A Legacy of Endurance and the Fight for Democracy by award-winning journalist and MS NOW host Ali Velshi. This evening is generously hosted by Elizabeth Hemmerdinger. Books will be available for all attendees.
A captivating family history that illustrates how small actions can have an outsized political impact.
Small acts of courage matter. Sometimes, they change the world. Our history books are filled with the stories of those who fought for democracy and freedom—for idealism itself—against all odds, from Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela to Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. These iconic struggles for social change illustrate the importance of engagement and activism, and offer a template for the battles we are fighting today. But using the right words is often easier than taking action; action can be hard, and costly.
More than a century ago, MSNBC host Ali Velshi’s great-grandfather sent his seven-year-old son to live at Tolstoy Farm, Gandhi’s ashram in South Africa. This difficult decision would change the trajectory of his family history forever. From childhood, Velshi’s grandfather was imbued with an ethos of public service and social justice, and a belief in absolute equality among all people—ideals that his children carried forward as they escaped apartheid, emigrating to Kenya and ultimately Canada and the United States.
In Small Acts of Courage, Velshi taps into 125 years of family history to advocate for social justice as a living, breathing experience—a way of life more than an ideology. With rich detail and vivid prose, he relates the stories of regular people who made a lasting commitment to fight for change, even when success seemed impossible. This heartfelt exploration of how we can breathe new life into the principles of pluralistic democracy is an urgent call to action—for progress to be possible, we must all do whatever we can to make a difference.
About Ali Velshi
Ali Velshi is an award winning journalist, host of “Velshi” and Chief Data Reporter for MS NOW, and a weekly economics contributor to NPR’s “Here And Now.” He has covered multiple U.S. Midterm and Presidential elections and significant news stories around the globe, including extensive reporting from Israel during the war with Israel and Hamas, Ukraine and across Central and Eastern Europe during the Russian invasion, the Syrian refugee crisis from Turkey and Jordan, and the Iran Nuclear Deal in Tehran. He hosts the “Velshi Banned Book Club” on MS NOW, and the “Velshi Banned Book Club” podcast. Velshi is known for his immersive on-the-ground reporting and his interactive discussions with small groups, which form part of his ongoing series, Velshi Across America. He previously worked as an anchor and correspondent for Al Jazeera America and CNN. He has been nominated for multiple Emmy Awards, and is the recipient of two National Headliner Awards and a Society of Professional Journalists Sigma Delta Chi Award.
This is a private event. Please contact Renee Lamarque at [email protected] if you’re interested in attending this special evening. Tickets to attend this event are $350 and support PEN America’s mission to defend writers and free expression at a time of unprecedented need. Your generosity is deeply appreciated.
About PEN America Authors’ Evenings
PEN America Authors’ Evenings are signature fundraising events that bring together writers, filmmakers, readers, and activists and give our supporters the unique opportunity to engage with artists in an intimate setting. PEN America has hosted literary icons like Toni Morrison, Salman Rushdie, and Claudia Rankine as well as new generations of luminaries including former PEN America President Ayad Akhtar, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, James McBride, Lynn Nottage, Hernan Diaz, Zadie Smith, and Ben Lerner.