CHARLEMONT — The Charlemont Forum will kick off its annual speaker series on Thursday, May 8, with a presentation by University of Massachusetts Amherst political science professor Jesse Rhodes on voting rights in America.

“A Republic ... If You Can Keep It: Why Your Vote (Still) Matters” is being presented by the Charlemont Forum in conjunction with “Voices and Votes: Democracy in America,” an exhibit on democracy from the Smithsonian that is currently on display at Mohawk Trail Regional School. Rhodes’ talk will be held in the school library at 7 p.m.

“American democracy is in trouble, but that doesn’t mean you should fall into despair. A primary reason why American democracy seems most responsive to the wealthiest and most powerful people is that these people participate most actively in politics,” Charlemont Forum Committee member Mary Ann Adams said. “If you want to have a chance of making a change in American politics, you have to get involved, through voting, organizing, protesting and speaking your mind.”

Adams said the forum will give people an opportunity to ask about voting rights; consider how factors such as race, sexuality and political party have played into voting rights throughout history; and discuss what factors are impacting voting today.

“My research revolves around struggles over race, representation, and civil and voting rights, and their consequences for politics and policymaking in the United States,” Rhodes said in a statement. “My research examines the influence of racial attitudes on beliefs about the Jan. 6 insurrection and perceptions of voting policies among whites; the impact of implicit racism on the behavior of state judges; and the influence of partisan bias on the behavior of jurors.”

The Charlemont Forum speaker series started in 2010, and has featured discussions on religion in American political life, economic inequality, immigration, gender identity and more. Rhodes’ presentation will be the first of the Charlemont Forum’s 2025 speaker series. This year, the forum has scheduled four talks with topics ranging from politics to space science:

■June 26 — David Tatel, a retired U.S. Court of Appeals judge for the District of Columbia Circuit, will speak about his decades of work on America’s second-highest court, while being blind.

■July 17 — Douglas Arion, a professor of physics and astronomy at Carthage College, will speak about the impacts of light pollution, climate change and space crowding, and how these impacts can be mitigated.

■Sept. 18 — Andy Kendall, executive director of the Henry P. Kendall Foundation, which is working to build a stronger local food system in New England, will be joined by food system researcher and Tufts University professor Cathy Stanton and Martin Philip, head baker for King Arthur Baking Co., for a panel discussion on the future of food in New England.

Rhodes’ talk is free to attend and will be livestreamed on YouTube by Falls Cable.

For more information, visit charlemontforum.org.

Reach Madison Schofield at 413-930-4579 or mschofield@recorder.com.