Against Erasure: Black Histories

All PEN World Voices Festival tickets are non-refundable. Please confirm the time and location of your event before finalizing your purchase.

African American history in the United States is under existential threat. Books are being banned, exhibits dismantled, and events related to Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Black History Month, and Juneteenth have all been canceled to comply with executive orders aimed at curtailing diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Yet history cannot be so easily erased. The story of black America is the story of the nation itself.

New Yorker staff writer Alexis Okeowo (Blessings & Disasters: A History of Alabama) joins artist Dread Scott to explore the ways Black history is documented, interpreted, and challenged in this moment. Okeowo investigates Alabama’s past and present, while Scott’s work confronts the enduring legacies of slavery, resistance, and revolution in the United States.

Moderated by author and Features Director at Harper’s Bazaar, Kaitlyn Greenidge, this conversation will celebrate black history and confront this moment of erasure.

The 2026 PEN World Voices Festival is a celebration of world literature and free expression. The 2026 edition will be the 21st World Voices Festival. Over four days, over 140 writers from over 40 countries will be featured in engaging talks, panels, readings, and activations in New York City and greater Los Angeles.

The Goethe Institut is ADA compliant.

ASL interpretation is available for this event by request only. Please reach out to our Box Office team at [email protected] by April 15th to request.

Please ask a Box Office Attendant or festival representative upon arrival for directions to accessible seating if preferred.

For further information on accessibility in this space, or to make a request, please contact [email protected]

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