Glenview Public Library
Join us for this wonderful FAN Zoom event. Celebrated public intellectual Eddie S. Glaude, Jr., Ph.D. (FAN ’20, ’24), presents a groundbreaking analysis of the vicious cycles of American history and the country’s enduring refusal to face its true nature, especially at the moments when national anniversaries steer us back toward the mythology meant to disguise the truth. America, U.S.A.: How Race Shadows the Nation's Anniversaries, deliberately formulated and beautifully written, details a heart-wrenching exploration of America’s legacy. It is a magnificently complex combination of lessons and voices, from W.E.B. DuBois and John Dos Passos to Herman Melville and Martin Luther King, Jr., that, together, paint a sprawling and honest tableau of the United States, its complicated past, and ever more tenuous future. Glaude’s is a powerful voice of conscience in our tumultuous world. He pulls no punches, calling on us to interrogate our conceptions of innocence and freedom and the stories we tell ourselves about our past and present. Centered around the major celebrations of America’s milestone birthdays across 250 years of history, the book offers a riveting look at the battles over who has a stake in writing the American story. Devastatingly candid, profoundly moving, and deeply reflective, America, U.S.A. is a shining meditation on how we must reckon with a grim past to strive for the better angels of our future. This event is suitable for youth 12+. This program is presented in partnership with Family Action Network (FAN). FAN is a 501(c)(3) organization that curates a high-quality speaker series each academic year. All FAN programs are free and open to the public. Program presented virtually via Zoom.
