TED talkThe credential1.4M views
How to deconstruct racism, one headline at a time
Speaking: Democracy and citizenship
Your audience leaves seeing citizen as a verb, and themselves as the ones who do it.
America turns 250 in 2026 and the country will spend lots of time arguing about what that means. Baratunde offers a third option beyond fireworks and despair: an honest story of who we have been, and a practical, hopeful sense of what we do next.
What your audience walks away with
- A story of America that includes everyone in the room, told without flinching or lecturing
- The Indigenous democratic traditions that were flourishing here long before 1776, and what they still teach
- Citizen as a verb: what it looks like on a Tuesday, not just in November
- A reason to believe participation is still worth their time
- Actual laughter, in a conversation they expected to be grim
The talk
How To Citizen at 250
Citizen is a verb, and democracy is something we do, not just something we have.
America turns 250 in 2026, and the country is spending a lot of time arguing about what that means. Baratunde offers a third option beyond fireworks and despair. Drawing on How To Citizen, his foreword to American Indigenous Democracy, and the governance traditions that were flourishing on this land long before 1776, he tells the story of a country that has always been an argument about who counts as us.
It is funny, honest, and unsentimental about where we have been, and practical about what citizening looks like now, when the institutions are shaky and the work falls to the rest of us. Audiences leave with a story of America they can actually stand inside, and something to do on Monday.
See it on stage
PanelDemocracy and storytelling
Making Democracy Interesting
RemarksPolicyLink Equity Summit 2024
Remarks on Indigenous Peoples' Democracy
CommencementEducation
Sidwell Friends Commencement Address
SeriesWith PolicyLink
In The Making, Episode 1: Redesigning Democracy for All
What hosts say
Baratunde was unbelievable. His keynote was possibly the best we've ever had. Funny, inspiring, personal, practical, hopeful, and also rigorous in its critical examination of our country's history and politics.
We knew you would be absolute magic with Senator Warnock, but it was more special than we could've imagined. This session is the one mentioned in nearly every response as a highlight. They said it lit a fire.
He was amazing. Kind, relatable, and gracious with everyone he met, and did a fantastic job on stage.
Your role was critical to the success of the event, and everyone here is incredibly grateful.
Trusted by
Bring this to your stage.
Tell us about your event and the team will get back to you fast. Everything else lives on the contact page.