Few figures in American history have received more attention than Frederick Douglass, and for good reason, given his formidable presence and accomplishments. Now, a new, epic biography from Yale historian David Blight reveals the abolitionist and statesman in all his legendary and prosaic fullness. Blight’s Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom is the first major biography of Douglass in three decades, and has already garnered wide critical acclaim and a Pulitzer Prize. Drawing on new information from a private collection, and packed with insights about the personal life of the public figure, Blight, a renowned scholar of the Civil War, illuminates Douglass’s transformation, post-Civil War, from political outsider to insider.

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This annual lecture recognizes the significant contributions to the Chicago Humanities Festival made by its founder and chairman emeritus Richard J. Franke.

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