The League of Women Voters of Iowa is awarding Rekha Basu the 2025 Defending Democracy Award. The Award is given to an individual/organization who exemplifies leadership in our state.

Rekha Basu has worked as a full-time reporter, editorial writer, and columnist at newspapers in New York, Florida, and Iowa. For 30 years, her syndicated columns on national and local issues related to race, gender, immigration, and social justice were staples in The Des Moines Register (USA Today Network), where her work still appears on occasion. She writes weekly at basurekha.substack.com. Rekha Basu has been generous with her skills as a journalist to act as a champion for the unheard and unseen around us.

Caleb “The Negro Artist” Rainey is an author, performer, and producer from Iowa City. Rainey is the author of “Look, Black Boy” and “Heart Notes.”   He has been featured on Iowa PBS. In 2024, Nik Heftman and The Seven Times production company created a documentary about Caleb titled, “The Negro Artist.” Rekha Basu interviewed Caleb and filmmaker Nik Hartman and wrote “… new film introduces an Iowa treasure who tells tough truths through poems. He’s soft spoken, but Iowa City spoken word poet Caleb Rainey’s words are profound and can be jolting.”

Now Available: Tickets to the Defending Democracy Award Celebration

Date/Time: Thursday April 24, 2025, 4:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

Location: Jasper Winery, 2400 George Flagg Pkwy, Des Moines

Buffet dinner by Baratta’s

Tickets: $75/person (cash bar available). With the tax and processing fee of $6.88 the total cost per ticket is $81.88.

Go here to purchase tickets. The last day to purchase tickets is April 15, 2025.