Historically for Black people in America, the law was a hostile, fearsome power to be avoided. Drawing on long-forgotten sources found in the basements of county courthouses across the nation, Dylan C. Penningroth, MacArthur Genius Grant winner and historian at University of California, Berkeley, sheds light on the courageous individuals and lesser-known events that laid the foundation for the landmark struggle for equality.

Challenging accepted understandings of Black history framed by relations with white people, Penningroth puts Black people at the center of the story—their loves and anger and loneliness, their efforts to stay afloat, their mistakes and embarrassments, their fights, their ideas, their hopes and disappointments, in all their messy humanness. Uncover the overlooked roots of the Black Civil Rights Movement in this riveting live discussion focused on Penningroth’s latest book, Before the Movement: The Hidden History of Black Civil Rights.

Listen to the program here.

Chicago Humanities’ Social Justice & Equity Series is generously supported by Allstate and ITW

• This program is presented in partnership with the Institute for the Humanities at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
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