Course Details

972: Black History Month Beyond Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rosa Parks

February 7-10
9:45 AM - 11:15 AM
Online

This short course will profile a few heroes of Black history who rarely if ever get their story told in Black History Month. We will start with David Walker and Maria Stewart, two early abolitionists from New England, then Robert Smalls, a bit more famous, but a man whose story bears repeating. I have included two heroes from the 20th century who are not unknown but whose achievements are much wider than their fame. The first is A. Philip Randolph, who kept the civil rights movement alive during some very dark times in 20th-century America. Lastly, we will talk about Medgar Evers, who we all know because of how he died. He deserves more credit for how he lived. I am open to suggestions of more unsung heroes. This study group has a high class size capacity.

Class Type: Lecture and Discussion

Class Format: Online

Hours of Reading: Less than 1 hour/session

Study Group Leader(s):

Karen Stewart

Karen Stewart has been a Study Group Leader at OLLI for about six years. She has taught a variety of courses on race in America from 1619 to the 1960s. Her interest in the role of race in American history began post retirement. She is not sharing her long-standing expertise, but rather taking you along on her own journey of learning.