IDA B. WELLS AND THE AFRICAN AMERICAN FREEDOM STRUGGLE
THURSDAY, March 19, 2009, 6:30 p.m.
Free. Reservations Required. Please call 215.409.6700 or order online.
Annenberg Center for Education and Outreach
Kirby Auditorium
National Constitution Center
Independence Mall
525 Arch Street
Philadelphia, PA
Historian Mia Bay and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Pamela Newkirk discuss the extraordinary life of journalist Ida B. Wells and the African American freedom struggle. Born to slaves in 1862, Ida B. Wells became a fearless anti-lynching crusader, women’s rights advocate, journalist, and public speaker. Her fight for justice began in 1883, when she was forcibly ejected from her train seat; Wells immediately sued and won in the local courts only to lose on appeal in the Supreme Court of Tennessee. Her published account of her legal challenge to Jim Crow, however, launched her on a career as an outspoken journalist and social activist. When friends were lynched in Memphis, Wells’s public protests put her own life in peril. It also inspired her to lead an international crusade against lynching. Her refusal to accept any compromise on racial inequality labeled her a “dangerous radical” in her day, but made her a model for later civil rights activists, as well as a powerful influence for women in journalism. The Philadelphia Inquirer's Sandra D. Long moderates.
Mia Bay is an associate professor of history at Rutgers University and the associate director of Rutgers’ Center for Race and Ethnicity. Her forthcoming book, To Tell the Truth Freely: The Life of Ida B. Wells (Hill and Wang, 2009), describes how Wells helped define the role of civil rights activist for every generation that followed. She is also the author of The White Image in the Black Mind: African-American Ideas about White People, 1830-1925.
Pamela Newkirk is the author of Within the Veil: Black Journalists, White Media, which was awarded the National Press Club Award for Media Criticism. She is author of the forthcoming Letters From Black America. Prior to joining the faculty, Newkirk worked as a daily journalist at four different news organizations, including New York Newsday, where in 1990 she was among the reporting team awarded a Pulitzer Prize for spot news. Her primary areas of interest are race in the news media and African American art and culture.
Sandra D. Long moderates. She is Vice President of Newsroom Operations for Philadelphia Media Holdings. Long has been on the staff of The Philadelphia Inquirer since 1984. She has also worked for The Philadelphia Bulletin and The Wilmington, Delaware News Journal. Long is the recipient of numerous awards, including the 2007 Trailblazer Award from the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists and the 2006 Candace Award from the South Jersey chapter of the National Coalition of Black Women. She is a founding member of the National Association of Black Journalists.
A book sale and signing will follow the program courtesy of Joseph Fox Bookshop. Parking for this event is available for $7.00 at the National Constitution Center garage located at the rear of the building on Race Street between 5th and 6th Streets. Parking availability is subject to change, so please call the ConstitutionCenter on the day of the program or check our web site for more information. Please also see our directions by public transportation.
For reservations please call 215.409.6700 or order online. Programs at the National Constitution Center begin promptly and latecomers may not be admitted to the program. Please note that this program is subject to change.
The National Constitution Center is hosting the world debut of America I AM: The African American Imprint, celebrating nearly 500 years of African American contributions to this country. The exhibition presents a historical continuum of pivotal moments in courage, conviction, and creativity that solidifies the undeniable imprint of African Americans across the nation and around the world. Featuring more than 200 artifacts culled from every period of U.S. history, the exhibit will include objects, texts, religion, music, narration, and media. An interactive component of the exhibition will allow visitors to leave their own video “imprints,” and this collection will grow throughout the life of the exhibition with the potential to become the largest recorded oral history project in U.S. history. The exhibition is developed in partnership with Tavis Smiley, and organized by Cincinnati Museum Center and Arts and Exhibitions International (AEI).
Links:
Mia Bay
Pamela Newkirk
