Book Talk: David W. Blight & Ta-Nehisi Coates discuss Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom
David W. Blight discusses his biography Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom with Ta-Nehisi Coates
Book sales: begin at 4:30
Program start time: 5:00pm
The Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition, the History Department at Yale, the Yale University Art Gallery, and Belonging at Yale celebrate the release of David W. Blight’s new biography, Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom (Simon & Schuster 2018). Join us for a stimulating conversation in the Yale University Art Gallery’s lecture hall. Within the context of Frederick Douglass’s development as a thinker, activist, and political figure, Professor Blight (Class of 1954 Professor of American History at Yale and Director of the Gilder Lehrman Center) will discuss the book with author Ta-Nehisi Coates.
Courtesy of Atticus Bookstore and Café, both authors’ books will be available for sale at the end of the program. Professor Blight will be available to sign copies of his book.
For their generous support of this program, the Gilder Lehrman Center thanks the Belonging at Yale initiative of the Office of the Secretary and Vice President for Student Life, the Yale University Art Gallery, and Atticus Bookstore and Café.
The Gilder Lehrman Center expresses our great thanks to the Yale University Art Gallery, the Belonging at Yale initiative of the Office of the Secretary and Vice President for Student Life, and Atticus Bookstore and Cafe for our recent event: David W. Blight and Ta-Nehisi Coates discussing Professor Blight’s new book, Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom (Simon & Schuster 2018).
We are pleased to share a high-quality video of this extremely engaging program. See below for the link. Limited wireless capacity in the venue diminished the quality of the live-streaming. The video quality is much better and we encourage you to view the program at your convenience.
The conversation between Professor Blight and Mr. Coates was of great public interest and the venue filled very quickly. To the many people who were not able to get in, many of whom traveled long distances, we offer our deepest apologies. This was our first experience with an event of this scale and we did not anticipate such a large audience. We sincerely respect your interest in this program and your time. We are reflecting on this experience in order to improve the logistics for the future. Again, we are extremely sorry to have had to turn so many people away.
To all who attended the event and to those who were not able to attend, please know that the Gilder Lehrman Center is deeply committed to our public education mission and to providing access to high quality events for the community at large. Currently, we are pursuing the possibility of inviting Ta-Nehisi Coates back to campus next fall to speak about his new novel. If that program comes to fruition, we will absolutely book a larger venue.
