MEDIA ADVISORY
The Commonwealth Club of California
110 The Embarcadero, San Francisco, CA 94105
commonwealthclub.org
PRESS CONTACT:
John Zipperer, VP, Media & Editorial, jzipperer@commonwealthclub.org
HISTORIAN KAISHA BLAIN DISCUSSES CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST FANNIE LOU HAMER
Commonwealth Club online program moderated by She the People founder Aimee Allison
(OCTOBER 25, 2021, SAN FRANCISCO) — Historian and University of Pittsburgh Associate Professor of History Dr. Keisha N. Blain will discuss the life and works of civil rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer in an online Commonwealth Club of California program Tuesday, October 26, at 5 p.m. PDT.
Dubbed a social justice manifesto, Dr. Keisha N. Blain’s Until I Am Free is a unique opportunity to hear about life from the perspective of a working, impoverished and disabled Black woman. Blain, an award-winning historian, details the life and accomplishments of Fannie Lou Hamer, a civil rights activist too often forgotten in the narrative of racial justice. Defying the layers of marginalization that threatened to hush her powerful words, Hamer is held by Blain in the same esteem as her contemporaries Rosa Parks and MLK. Through Blain, Hamer’s message is given new life in an age where the same issues remain pertinent.
At The Commonwealth Club’s Inforum series, Blain will peel back the layers of Fannie Lou Hamer—layers that ostensibly would have taken power away from her but instead became the very source from which she drew it. This hour-long online conversation will be moderated by Aimee Allison, founder and president of She the People.
This program is part of The Commonwealth Club’s Ideas Inspire series, dedicated to informing, inspiring and encouraging youth to be empowered citizens of tomorrow.
Tickets are available to the public at https://www.commonwealthclub.org/events/2021-10-26/keisha-n-blain-fannie-lou-hamers-enduring-message-america
About The Commonwealth Club
The Commonwealth Club of California is a nonprofit, nonpartisan public forum that hosts about 500 programs a year featuring speakers on a wide variety of topics and from a broad range of views. In addition to its live programs, it produces a weekly radio program—the nation’s oldest—that airs on 230 stations nationwide, a weekly TV program that airs in the Bay Area, and hundreds of podcasts and videos a year. Founded in 1903, The Commonwealth Club is the nation’s oldest and largest public affairs forum. For more information, visit commonwealthclub.org.
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The Commonwealth Club of California | 110 The Embarcadero, San Francisco, CA 94105 | commonwealthclub.org
