Kellie Carter Jackson

Author Kellie Carter Jackson presents 5th Annual William Lloyd Garrison Lecture

NEWBURYPORT – Author and Wellesley College Professor Kellie Carter Jackson will speak on the topic "We Refuse: A Forceful History of Black Resistance" in the 5th Annual William Lloyd Garrison Lecture on Sunday, Dec. 8, at Old South Church.

Jackson’s lecture, which is the focus of her new book of the same name, is free and open to the public. It will begin at 3 p.m. at the church, located at 29 Federal St.

The annual Garrison Lecture celebrates the work of crusading newspaper editor William Lloyd Garrison and Black abolitionists from Newburyport. Garrison was born in Newburyport in 1805 and went on to be founder and publisher of “The Liberator” anti-slavery newspaper.

Jackson is the Michael and Denise ’68 Associate Professor in the Department of Africana Studies and the Chair of Africana Studies at Wellesley College. Her essays have been featured in many publications including The New York Times, Washington Post, The Atlantic, The Guardian, The Los Angeles Times, and the Boston Globe. She also has been featured in a host interviews or documentaries for Netflix, Apple TV, MSNBC, PBS, Good Morning America, CBS Mornings, and CNN. Besides her book “We Refuse: A Forceful History of Black Resistance”, Jackson is author of “Force and Freedom: Black Abolitionists and the Politics of Violence (America in the Nineteenth Century).” She is also the host and EP of “You Get a Podcast!” and co-host of the podcast “This Day in Esoteric Political History.”

After the lecture Professor Jackson will be signing books, and Jabberwocky BookShop will have books on hand for sale.

As part of the celebration of Garrison’s legacy, at 3 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 5, the Black History Initiative and the City of Newburyport will dedicate the new interpretive sign Fighting for Double Victory: Newburyport’s Black Soldiers and Sailors in Brown Square.

The Cousins family and other descendants of veterans featured on the panel will be in attendance for remarks by elected officials, former Essex County Sheriff Frank Cousins and William (Billy) Cousins. The dedication will be held near the sign’s location near the veterans plaza on the Green Street side of Brown Square in Newburyport. In addition, Mayor Sean Reardon is expected to proclaim the week of Dec. 4-10 as Human Rights and Anti-Oppression Education Week and the Newburyport Public Library will provide a recommended reading list of books available for adults and children relating to Garrison, the abolitionist movement and racial justice. The Annual William Lloyd Garrison lecture is organized by the independent volunteer Friends of William Lloyd Garrison with help from the Museum of Old Newbury, Old South Presbyterian Church, the Newburyport Black History Initiative, the Newburyport Human Rights Commission, and the PEG Center for Art and Activism.

This lecture series receives support from Mass Humanities, the Mass Cultural Council, the Newburyport Cultural Council, Newburyport Bank, Newburyport Preservation Trust, and the Newburyport Trust Fund Commission

For more online: www.wlgarrison.com.