Abby Phillip — A Dream Deferred: Jesse Jackson and the Fight for Black Political Power

Описание: Roosevelt House is proud to present CNN anchor Abby Phillip on her new book, A Dream Deferred: Jesse Jackson and the Fight for Black Political Power. “A fresh and illuminating account,” according to Publishers Weekly, Phillip’s book delivers an incisive and engrossing account of Rev. Jackson’s presidential campaigns of the 1980s—and how they transformed Black political power. The author is in conversation with longtime former news anchor Carol Jenkins. Welcoming remarks by Roosevelt House Director Harold Holzer.

Focusing on his presidential runs in 1984 and, especially, 1988, A Dream Deferred highlights how Jackson built an unlikely coalition that showed how Black political power could be consolidated and deployed. Also included in the book is how his experience working under Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., his organizing with the SLCC in Chicago, and his Southern roots all contributed to the impact of both presidential campaigns. Appealing to the working people of urban enclaves, young people on college campuses, and Black people across the South, Jackson, according to Phillip, created the modern Democratic coalition―one she says has been used since by all major Democrats seeking national success from Obama to Biden to Harris. With expert reporting, natural storytelling skills, and a tale full of humanity, politics, and hope, Abby Phillip has written a rousing popular history that sheds new light on an American icon.

Abby Phillip anchors NewsNight with Abby Phillip on CNN. She’s also worked at the Washington Post, ABC News, and Politico. Throughout her career she has covered multiple presidents, campaign finance, lobbying, and several presidential campaigns. Phillip was named to the Time 100 Next List in 2021 and she was a recipient of the National Urban League’s Women of Power award. She was raised in Maryland and is a graduate of Harvard University.

Carol Jenkins is an Emmy Award-winning former television anchor and correspondent. Host of the CUNY TV series Black America, and founder and co-host of the nonprofit child poverty podcast The Invisible Americans, she is also founding president of The Women’s Media Center and Past President/CEO and Board Chair Emerita of the ERA Coalition. With her daughter, Elizabeth Hines, she is the co-author of Black Titan: A.G. Gaston and the Making of a Black American Millionaire, a biography of her uncle highlighting his part in Civil Rights history.

Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute at Hunter College, February 26, 2026.