The Light They Left Us

The Porch Light Series continues. L. Joy discusses this time as a season of reflection, study, and recommitment to civic work. She shares one of her rituals of renewal: spending a few quiet days in the Library of Congress putting hands on primary sources left behind by activists who built power through hostile times. L. Joy explains that learning from the past is not optional, it’s part of how every generation builds power when government becomes an obstacle or an enemy. From Reconstruction to Jim Crow to the modern-day dismantling of public education and voting rights, the pattern repeats: each advance toward freedom triggers backlash. To walk us through the country’s recurring pattern of progress and reversal, L. Joy bring Civil Rights Icon Judy Richardson to the front of the class.