“A VOICE FOR DEMOCRACY/AN APPEAL TO REASON”
Both selections for this episode of If The House Could Speak were presented as part of “An Appeal to Reason: A Celebration of Democracy, Freedom, and Culture”. Held on May 10, 2025 at the USC Capital Campus Auditorium in Washington, D.C., this transatlantic event was co-hosted by the Goethe-Institut Washington, the Thomas Mann House Los Angeles, USC Libraries, and the USC Dornsife Center for Advanced Genocide Research. This program marked the 150th birthday of Nobel laureate Thomas Mann and centered on Mann’s legacy as a writer and public intellectual, especially his work during his American exile, when he spoke out forcefully against fascism and authoritarianism.
Part 1 begins at 6:15
Renea S. Brown: A VOICE FOR DEMOCRACY
Washington-based actor, writer, and educator Renea S. Brown, presents excerpts of Mann's "The Coming Victory of Democracy" & "Listen, Germany!"
Part II begins at 16:25
Kokayi: AN APPEAL TO REASON
DC-based multidisciplinary artist Koyaki blends archival recordings and classical motifs in this sound installation that channels Thomas Mann’s protest against fascism and his commitment to democracy into a meditation on reason, humanity, and resistance.
Listen to “A VOICE FOR DEMOCRACY/AN APPEAL TO REASON”