Michael Steele

In this presentation, Michael Steele uses various personal experiences and news headlines to engage audiences in a powerful discussion about the black experience in the context of the American Dream. Touching on hard-hitting topics including: the effectiveness of today’s black leadership, white America’s blindness to race issues, and how institutions from banking to housing still employ tools that negatively impact an individual’s success. Steele delivers an insightful perspective into the issues sparking conversation on college campuses and corporate boardrooms.

Michael Steele’s experiences as Maryland’s lieutenant governor, as a candidate for the US Senate, and as a Republican Party leader make him an excellent guide on the fast-paced world of politics. He is a political pundit and a respected political analyst at MSNBC. He dissects the nuance and the “in your face” anger of today’s politics while navigating treacherous questions like how did this tribalism begin? What makes the rhetoric and the vitriol between Republicans and Democrats today so different? How potent was the Newt Gingrich approach to Congressional control? Are the national parties alienating voters (“War on Women”, “You can keep your healthcare” “Deplorables”) to the point that they no longer are reliable brands? Have the seeds of discord and disagreement ultimately distorted the relationship between the president and the congress to the point neither can govern—regardless of party?

Steele gives an uncompromising assessment of today’s political scene; it’s players, pitfalls and the role “We the People” sometimes play in reshaping the political landscape.

To paraphrase Friedrich Nietzsche, madness is rare in individuals – but in political parties it is the rule. From the very founding of our American political system, we have been less than sane when it comes to our politics and political parties. But what makes the madness different today? And why does it feel so personal? How does political activism and the rise of grassroots movements such as Tea Party, Occupy Wall Street and even “Trumpism” impact policymakers or even create a pathway for a “third way” as the dominant political parties try to hold on to voters and rebrand themselves?

Michael Steele doesn’t hold back in looking at both the madness and the methods of our political parties and the systems they create in the fight for domination and electoral success; and ultimately how the emergence of Donald Trump, Bernie Sanders and future presidential contenders may signal not just a profound transformation of both political parties but their eventual end.

Politics is a bit like a rash: unsightly, irritating, and sometimes lacking in intellectual or ideological coherence. However, also like a rash, our politics cannot be safely ignored. A rash may prove inconsequential; or as in this case, it may be a symptom of a malady that’s much more serious with consequences that could leave a permanent scar or worse.

Since our founding, the story of America largely has been about what we aspire to be. No doubt, the 2020 presidential election tested that proposition. Michael Steele rediscovers the Founding Principles of our nation that have defined the resiliency of the American spirit and served as the foundation of that “shining city on a hill.” Steele examines how the role of leaders and leadership and our vulnerability to appeals to baser elements of our nature have begun to crack that foundation. This powerful and impactful presentation confronts the truth that America is where “We the People” want it to be.