This event is part of a new series presented by Second Home and Berggruen Institute – public events that bring together the most inspiring and celebrated figures of our time to exchange and discuss groundbreaking cultural, social and political ideas.
Join award-winning Wall Street Journal writer Lee Hawkins and acclaimed historian and activist Blair Imani for a free online discussion about civil rights in America – focused on the momentous date of August 28.
August 28 is one of those dates that resonates throughout black history – events that have taken place on this day include:
• 1833: Slavery was abolished in the UK
• 1955: Emmet Till was brutally murdered by two white men
• 1963: Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his iconic I Have A Dream Speech
• 1975: Tuskegee Syphilis Study Lawsuit concluded a $9m settlement for the victims
• 2005: Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans
• 2008: Barack Obama accepted the democratic nomination for president
• 2016: 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick kneels during the national anthem
In conversation with Second Home and Edward Roussel both will explore, in different ways, the impact of these events on the black civil rights movement and how the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor have spurred activism across America, and many other parts of the world.
Speakers
Lee Hawkins
Award-winning WSJ journalist Lee Hawkins is currently writing about the significant social changes underway in America.
Lee is also the author of the forthcoming book Nobody’s Slave: How Uncovering My Family’s History Set Me Free (HarperCollins, 2021). A genealogical investigation of lethal racial violence visited on one family over successive generations and the intergenerational trauma suffered by the survivors.
Blair Imani
Critically acclaimed historian, outspoken advocate and activist Blair Imani has built a strong online platform about injustices in Black, Queer, and Muslim communities.
Blair’s recent book published earlier this year Making Our Way Home is a powerful illustrated history of the Great Migration and its sweeping impact on Black and American culture, from Reconstruction to the rise of hip-hop. Blair explores issues like voting rights, domestic terrorism, discrimination, and segregation alongside the flourishing of arts and culture, activism, and civil rights.