Later this month Russell Sage Foundation president Sheldon Danziger and former visiting scholars Jane Waldfogel and Julian Zelizer will speak at Legacies of the Great Society: War, Poverty and Voting Rights, a two-day conference hosted by the Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute at Hunter College to be held on March 24th and 25th, 2015.

Fifty years ago, President Lyndon B. Johnson's wave of Great Society legislation gave historic momentum to greater economic and racial equality. Much of that progress is embedded in society today, and yet the income gap between the richest and poorest Americans is the largest since the Great Depression, racial tensions continue to polarize society, and gender equality remains a struggle. Panels of scholars, practitioners, experts and advocates will assess the impact of the Vietnam War, the effects of War on Poverty programs, and the consequences—then and now—of the Voting Rights Act.

Danziger, who co-edited the RSF book Legacies of the War on Poverty with Martha J. Bailey, will present the keynote speech titled “Fighting Racial Discrimination, Poverty and Disadvantage: From Then to Now” on Tuesday, March 24th. Former RSF visiting scholars Julian Zelizer and Jane Waldfogel, who is also co-author of the forthcoming RSF book Too Many Children Left Behind, will both participate in the panel discussion “How to Conquer Poverty and Inequality Today?” on Wednesday, March 25th.

Click here to view the full conference schedule and to RSVP.