This American Moment: Eligible voters who don't vote

Author and historian Carol Anderson believes America is at a fork in its history.

"It feels like the kind of chaos before the Civil War," she told host Kerri Miller. "It feels like the intensity of rights violations of the Civil Rights movement, it feels like the last gasp of white supremacy trying to strangle liberty and democracy out of the United States of America."

She spoke with Kerri on the inaugural episode of a new series, "This American Moment." Kerri will speak with writers, scientists, artists, activists, and religious leaders about the long view; where we find ourselves in this moment of American life, and what it says about who we are.

Anderson's new book is an investigation of American voting laws and the disenfranchisement of voters of color. In "One Person, No Vote," she examines a history that goes back to the years after the Civil War.

Those who don't vote see the government as broken or not for them and that means only a few are making decisions for the many.

"So we end up in a vicious, self-fulfilling prophecy," said Anderson.

Use the audio player above to listen to more of the conversation.

Guest: Carol Anderson, a scholar, political scientist and chair of African American studies at Emory University in Atlanta.