Join us at The New School’s Starr Foundation Hall on Tuesday, April 8 for the third event of our spring 2025 Henry Cohen Lecture Series, The Freedom Budget: From Civil Rights to Economic Rights. Featuring Nina Turner, Cori Bush, Tamieka Atkins, and Ash-Lee Woodard Henderson, the discussion will examine the enduring relevance of the 1966 Freedom Budget for All Americans—which aimed to eradicate poverty by tackling issues such as unemployment, substandard wages, poor housing and inadequate access to health services and education—in addressing the growing challenges and inequities of our contemporary political economy. Building upon this historical foundation, the panel will explore how an updated vision integrating new policy ideas—such as Baby Bonds—can reignite the Freedom Budget in our present moment and achieve a new era of inclusive economic rights.

Speakers:

• Nina Turner, Senior Fellow, Institute on Race, Power and Political Economy
• Cori Bush, Former Congresswoman, MO 1st District
• Tamieka Atkins, CEO, ProGeorgia
• Ash-Lee Woodard Henderson, Organizer, activist, and movement strategist (moderator)

This event is part of the 2025 Henry Cohen Lecture Series, which will bring leading thinkers, changemakers, policymakers, journalists, and activists to The New School to present their perspectives and explore the intersections of race, social stratification, and political economy that inspire economic and racial justice. 

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Presented in partnership with the Institute on Race, Power and Political Economy and the Milano School of Policy, Management, and Environment at The New School.

EVENT RECAP

We were honored to host The Honorable Nina Turner, The Honorable Cori Bush, and Tamieka Atkins for an insightful panel discussion moderated by Ash-Lee Woodard Henderson.

The conversation explored the historical context of the 1966 Freedom Budget for All Americans, proposed by A. Philip Randolph, Bayard Rustin, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. It emphasized the urgent need to reclaim the civil rights movement’s broad vision of economic rights, rooted in President Franklin Roosevelt’s “Four Freedoms.”

The panel examined how proposals from the original Freedom Budget—such as a job guarantee, guaranteed income, and universal healthcare—are too often disconnected from their origins in the civil rights movement. Looking forward, the panelists shared utopian visions that could inform a contemporary Freedom Budget, including new ideas such as baby bonds.

They also addressed key barriers to achieving economic justice, including the pernicious influence of dark money and corporate interests in U.S. politics, the weaponization of identity by neoliberal and neo-fascist agendas, and the urgent need for infrastructure to support individuals and movements working for systemic change.