October 14 | Sussman Lecture with Annette Gordon-Reed

Date: October 14, 2021
Time: 7 p.m. CT
Location: Virtual. This event will take place over Zoom. Registered attendees will receive instructions on how to access the event closer to the date.

The Harkin Institute for Public Policy & Citizen Engagement’s virtual Fall 2021 Sussman Lecture on Thursday, October 14, will feature a discussion with author and professor Annette Gordon-Reed, one of the most authoritative voices on race and history in America and the first African-American recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for history.

In 2022, Americans will observe Juneteenth, which commemorates the end of slavery in the U.S., as a federal holiday for the first time. As awareness for this significant date grows, it is important to reflect on the real meaning of freedom for formerly enslaved Americans.

During her lecture, Gordon-Reed will discuss the end of slavery and the disconnect between “freedom” in legal terms versus lived reality, the unfulfilled promise of the Declaration for Black Americans, and the horrors they have had to endure even after the Emancipation Proclamation. Gordon-Reed will also connect the violence and oppression that preceded and followed this celebration, to the current fight for equality.

The Sussman Lecture on October 14 will take place online. It is free and open to the public, but registration is required.