Bond Street Series // Enhancing Democracy through Culture

For the second installment of this year’s Bond Street series, look forward to a rare opportunity to hear journalist, Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer, bestselling author, and presidential historian Jon Meacham. Founder of Bond Street REIT, and Library Society Board of Trustees member, Michael Reynolds, will host an enlightened conversation about the importance of our cultural institutions in enhancing democracy and community. In addition to having written multiple New York Times bestsellers covering prominent American figures such as Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and George H. W. Bush, Meacham appears regularly on news programs MSNBC’s Morning Joe and CBS Sunday Morning, where he offers compelling historical context for present-day events.

Inspired by Alexis de Tocqueville, who toured America in 1831, visiting Charleston in search of the special ingredient that made America’s democracy so powerful, this series is meant to do just that. He discovered that the glue that created community and civic discourse was its profoundly thriving cultural institutions. Libraries, theaters, museums, and other cultural spaces served as the foundation for civic engagement and public dialogue. This insight is as relevant today as it was then, and the Library Society remains vibrant because of this very truth.

About Jon Meacham

Jon Meacham is a Pulitzer Prize–winning biographer celebrated for his New York Times bestsellers, including And There Was Light, Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power, American Lion, Franklin and Winston, Destiny and Power, The Soul of America, and His Truth Is Marching On. He is also a distinguished visiting professor at Vanderbilt University and a fellow of the Society of American Historians. His work often explores themes of leadership, morality, and American identity, making him a sought-after voice on history’s role in shaping contemporary issues.

About the Bond Street REIT Speaker Series

Orchestrated by Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Michael D. Reynolds, who passionately serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Charleston Library Society, the Bond Street REIT Speaker Series strives to honor the institution’s cultural enrichment, intellectual exploration, and literary legacy through a series of lively discussions and thought-provoking lectures. Bond Street is dedicated to preserving the Charleston Library Society’s renowned collection and historical significance, as an immensely valuable repository of history in the South. Bond Street Real Estate Investment Trust, headquartered in Charleston, is a private real estate investment trust uniquely invested in convenience retail centers across ten states in the Southeast.