Join Hard Histories at Hopkins for a discussion with Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of English and History Lawrence Jackson (JHU). Jackson’s scholarship focuses broadly on the history and literature of African-American people in the United States. This April event will center on Jackson’s work on Frederick Douglass in Baltimore, as well as issues of race and racism in the city more generally that Johns Hopkins University must face. Jackson will be in conversation with Martha S. Jones, Hard Histories’ project director. Their conversation will be followed by an audience Q&A.
For this event, we will refer to the following three pieces (links below), though it is not necessary for attendees to have perused them to join our discussion:
- Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (1845)
- Lawrence Jackson, Frederick Bailey of Baltimore digital map
- Lawrence Jackson, “The news that Johns Hopkins’ founder enslaved people isn’t shocking, but it is a call to action,” The Baltimore Sun, December 10, 2020
This event is part of a series of related book panel discussions hosted by Hard Histories in spring 2021, exploring the histories of slavery and racism in the Maryland area. Launched in fall 2020, the Hard Histories at Hopkins Project examines the role that racism and discrimination have played at Johns Hopkins. Blending research, teaching, public engagement, and the creative arts, Hard Histories aims to engage our broadest communities—at Johns Hopkins and in Baltimore—in a frank and informed exploration of how racism has been produced and permitted to persist as part of our structure and our practice.