In the last quarter of the 19th century, great industrial growth resulted in corporate excesses and economic inequities, somewhat similar to current economic and social conditions. The Gilded Age led to community organizers fighting tirelessly to better the lives of working people.

Cecelia Tichi will discuss the era and its parallels to today in a lecture about her new book "Civic Passions: Seven Who Launched Progressive America (and What They Teach Us)" at 4 p.m. on Thursday, March 25, in Room 119 on the first floor of the Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First St. S.E., Washington D.C.

Sponsored by the John W. Kluge Center at the Library of Congress, the event is free and open to the public; no tickets or reservations are needed.