“Documenting Democracy: Photos that Tell the Stories of Those Who Advance, Protect and Participate in the Vote”
A Zoom Conversation with Photojournalist Sue Dorfman ’77
Introduction by Ken Benson ’76; Moderated by Cathy Sunshine ’75
What does democracy look like? For nearly three decades, Sue Dorfman has photographed and interviewed people as they participated in the foundations of our democracy: voting and helping others to vote. Through the process of registering voters, knocking on doors, attending rallies, administering elections, working the polls, watching the polls, counting ballots, and standing in line and voting, citizens exercise their belief that each and every voice matters. For her project “Documenting Democracy,” Sue has logged more than 45,000 miles over several election cycles in travels across more than two dozen states. She consciously focused on voters and election workers in both swing and fly-over states and in states where battles for representation and voting rights have been, and continue to be, fought. Sue will showcase photographs from her travels and will share insight from her engagements with voters on how electoral participation and democracy may have been impacted by the barrage of news stories that question the integrity of our elections. “Documenting Democracy” also is the working title for Sue’s forthcoming book.
Ken Benson ’76 will introduce Sue. Ken is Editorial Manager at Carnegie Corporation of New York, one of America’s oldest grantmaking foundations, whose work centers on the issues that its founder, Andrew Carnegie, considered of paramount importance: international peace, the advancement of education and knowledge, and the strength of our democracy. Ken saw Sue’s work, and his assistance led to a Carnegie commission for Sue to photograph democracy/voting in 2022. At Oberlin, Ken majored in English.
Sue Dorfman ’77 is an independent photojournalist, media strategist for nonprofits, and educator. She produced the documentary short Dying to Vote. Her photos have appeared in outlets such as ABC News, CNN, the Guardian, and the Wall Street Journal, and in the Oberlin Alumni Magazine and Carnegie Reporter. She holds graduate degrees from Boston College and The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. At Oberlin, she majored in Government and was active on WOBC.
Cathy Sunshine ’75 is a freelance editor and writer in Washington, DC, working for international organizations, universities, and nonprofits. She volunteers with NOPE: Neighbors Defending Democracy and edits their weekly action bulletin, which goes out to activists across the country. Cathy is the author of the blog Third Age (thirdage.substack.com), which considers the political and personal experiences of women in midlife and beyond. At Oberlin, she majored in Government.
