Cocktails & Conversation with Daniel Rivero

Join us for cocktails, light fare, and conversation with journalist and author Daniel Rivero, whose acclaimed book Just Freedom traces the decades-long struggle to restore voting rights to Floridians with past felony convictions. Gather with William Johnson, Director of PEN America's Florida office, in an intimate setting to explore one of the most significant voting-rights victories in modern American history and the ongoing challenges shaping access to the ballot box in Florida today.

Through historical research and on-the-ground reporting, Rivero chronicles the movement that helped restore voting rights to an estimated 1.4 million Floridians through Amendment 4 while examining the legal, political, and financial barriers that have limited the amendment's promise. The conversation will explore the intersection of democracy, civic participation, and free expression, and what Florida's voting rights battles reveal about the broader struggle for an inclusive democracy.

About Daniel Rivero

Daniel Rivero is an award-winning journalist and producer with WLRN Public Media in Miami. His reporting has focused on Florida politics, voting rights, criminal justice, and the ways public policy affects everyday lives. In Just Freedom: Inside Florida's Decades-Long Voting Rights Battle, Rivero tells the story of the grassroots movement that led to the passage of Amendment 4 and examines the unfinished fight to ensure that all eligible Floridians can participate fully in the democratic process. The book received the Florida Book Awards Gold Medal for Florida Nonfiction.