The Hard Work of Hope: A Memoir by Michael Ansara with Deepak Bhargava, Cristina Jimenez, and Amanda Litman

Celebrate the release of Michael Ansara's memoir The Hard Work of Hope with a panel discussion with fellow activists  Deepak Bhargava, Cristina Jimenez, and Amanda Litman.

This event will take place in person at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library on the 7th Floor.

The Hard Work of Hope takes you into the heady days of 1960s and 1970s activism, chronicling the hopes and strategies of the young people who created the movements that rocked the country.

Michael Ansara was on the front lines. In this fascinating memoir, he traces an arc of discovery: from the hope and moral clarity of the Civil Rights Movement to the ten-year struggle to end the war in Vietnam, with its sit-ins, marches, confrontations, and antiwar riots.

Ansara takes the reader into the minds of the activists detailing their successes as well as their mistakes. The Hard Work of Hope shows how he learned to become a more effective organizer and build the Massachusetts Fair Share organization. The book explores issues that remain urgent. How does a movement build support when large parts of the country are opposed to its goals? How do you connect with people who disagree with you? How do you build organizations that unite across racial lines? How can we make progress on the unfinished business of the hard work of hope?

To join the event in person | Doors will open 30 minutes before the program begins. For free events, we generally overbook to ensure a full house. Priority will be given to those who have registered in advance, but registration does not guarantee admission. All registered seats are released shortly before start time, and seats may become available at that time. A standby line will form 30 minutes before the program.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Michael Ansara spent many years as an activist and an organizer, starting with the civil rights movement of the 1960s, going on to be a regional organizer for SDS. He spent 10 years organizing opposition to the war in Vietnam. He was for 15 years a community organizer, including directing Mass Fair Share. He has worked on political campaigns, coordinated voter registration efforts, and trained many organizers. He is the co-founder of Mass Poetry. He currently serves on the board of the Redress Movement and the organizing team for Volunteer Blue. His poems have appeared in numerous journals, and his essays have appeared in Vox, Arrowsmith, Solstice,Boston Globe, S.F. Chronicle, and Cognoscenti. His memoir, The Hard Work of Hope was released July 15,2025 by Cornell University Press .His first book of poems, What Remains, was published in June 2022 by Kelsay Books. He lives in Carlisle, MA, with his wife, Barbara Arnold, and dotes on his three children and six grandchildren.

Deepak Bhargava has been an organizer and campaigner for over thirty years. A former distinguished lecturer at CUNY, president and executive director of Community Change, and senior fellow at the Roosevelt Institute, he is now president of the Freedom Together Foundation. The co-editor (with Ruth Milkman and Penny Lewis) of Immigration Matters and co-author (with Stephanie Luce) of Practical Radicals (both published by The New Press), he lives in New York City.

Cristina Jiménez Moreta is an award-winning community organizer, bestselling author, and a leading voice in movements for social justice. She is Co-Founder and former Executive Director of  United We Dream (UWD), the largest immigrant youth-led organization in the country. Cristina has led multiple national and local campaigns for immigrant justice, playing a leadership role in the campaign to win and implement the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program (DACA). A distinguished lecturer at the City University of New York, Jiménez was awarded a MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship and was named one of Time 100’s most influential people. Her USA Today bestselling debut memoir Dreaming of Home was published in May 2025. She came to the US from Ecuador in 1998 and grew up undocumented in Queens, New York.

Amanda Litman is the cofounder and president of Run for Something, which recruits and supports young, diverse leaders running for local office―since 2017, they’ve launched the careers of thousands of millennials and Gen Z candidates and in the process, changed what leadership looks like in America. She’s also the author of two books: When We’re In Charge: The Next Generation’s Guide to Leadership (Crooked Media Reads, 2025), and Run for Something: A Real-Talk Guide to Fixing the System Yourself (Atria, 2017) a how-to manual for people running for office.

Before launching Run for Something, Amanda worked on multiple presidential and statewide political campaigns. She graduated from Northwestern University and lives in Brooklyn with her husband, two daughters, and their sometimes rowdy dog.
 

GET THE BOOK

• Borrow: NYPL Catalog


• This event will also include signing and sales of the book by our Library Shop.

Don't have a New York Public Library card? Get one here!

ACCESSIBILITY NOTES

In-Person

• Assistive listening devices and/or hearing loops are available at the venue.


• You can request a free ASL (American Sign Language) interpretation or CART (Communication Access Real-Time Translation) captioning service by emailing your request at least two weeks in advance of the event: email accessibility@nypl.org or use this Gmail template.


• This venue is fully accessible to wheelchairs.

CONNECT WITH US

Sign up for our e-newsletters to stay up to date on upcoming events and Library offerings.

Please submit all press inquiries to Connor Goodwin at least 48 hours before the event: email connorgoodwin@nypl.org.
 

SUPPORT THE LIBRARY

The New York Public Library's free services and resources are made possible thanks to the support of the Friends of the Library. Join this group of Library lovers and take advantage of special membership benefits, like invitations to members-only virtual events, discounts at the Library Shop, and more. Join now.

All programs are subject to change or cancellation. All events at The Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library are subject to recording and photography. 

The 7 Stories Up Series at SNFL is made possible by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF).