5th Annual William Lloyd Garrison Lecture at Old South Church, Newburyport

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 5 th 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.

Host or Publisher Museum of Old Newbury