East City Bookshop welcomes Brian C. Johnson with his new book Our Fair Share in conversation with Congresswoman Marie Newman.

About Our Fair Share

Brian C. Johnson combines accessible scholarship on wealth and income inequality in America with deeply personal accounts of six Americans of diverse backgrounds who are each wrestling with what it means to survive and thrive in this new economic world. In so doing, he offers a solution that is as visionary as it is practical. Dubbed the Citizen Dividend, this revolutionary model assumes that economic growth is built off of the wealth we have created together as a country, and together we all reap its benefits. In Our Fair Share, Johnson lays the groundwork for implementing this solution, detailing what the Citizen Dividend is, offering examples of similar existing models, outlining the benefits of such systems, tackling some of the common concerns that arise, and offering a path toward making it a reality.

Ultimately, Our Fair Share calls on each of us to claim what is uniquely American, building a common future that embraces and celebrates our differences. This is our revolutionary inheritance. May we all benefit from it.

About Brian C. Johnson

Brian C. Johnson has served in education and advocacy, community organizing, and political activism at local and national levels for two decades, dedicated to the American promise of fairness for all. He's been featured on CNN and in The Washington Post, USA Today, and The New York Times. Johnson currently serves as the CEO of Equality Illinois, one of the nation's most successful LGBTQ civil rights organizations. He lives with his husband and their daughter in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois.

About Congresswoman Marie Newman

Congresswoman Marie Newman is a freshman Member of Congress and a progressive champion for her Illinois constituents and people across the country. Growing up on Chicago’s Southwest Side and suburbs, Congresswoman Newman has been a lifelong resident of Illinois’ 3rd Congressional District. She is a fierce advocate for health care rights, income equity, LGBTQ+ rights, growing small businesses, strengthening our infrastructure, and building a greener economy. Prior to elected office, she worked her way up to become a partner in one of the largest ad agencies in the U.S. before launching her own successful consulting business. After one of her children was severely bullied at school, she founded a non-profit program called “Team Up To Stop Bullying” and worked with state and federal lawmakers to ensure anti-bullying policies became a reality. Congresswoman Newman resides in La Grange, Illinois with her husband and two children.