Refusal as Resistance: A Conversation with Dr. Kellie Carter-Jackson

Part of the Africana Arts & Humanities Festival 2026: "We, Too, Sing America: 250 Years of Black Life and Culture"

Join us for a powerful conversation with Dr. Kellie Carter Jackson as she explores the history and necessity of Black resistance through her groundbreaking book, We Refuse: A Forceful History of Black Resistance.

In this compelling discussion, Dr. Carter Jackson examines how violence—in all its forms—has been used by Black people to resist slavery and its afterlives. From radical freedom movements to contemporary struggles for justice, We Refuse provides a provocative and ultimately inspiring re-evaluation of how Black Americans have fought for dignity, equality, and full humanity.

About the Book

We Refuse: A Forceful History of Black Resistance challenges the popular notion that peaceful pleas for humanity or moderate negotiations with white supremacist oppression are the only path to racial justice. Through extensive research and brilliant analysis of Black communities and our politics, Dr. Carter Jackson presents a timely re-writing of the African American past—one that forces us to reframe our discussion of our beloved civil rights icons, our assumptions about politics, and our collective understanding of what it means to resist.

The book has received widespread critical acclaim and numerous accolades, including:

• Winner of the Darlene Clark Hine Prize by the Organization of American Historians for the Best Book on African American Women's History
• Finalist for the Pauli Murray Prize
• Kirkus and Publisher's Weekly Starred Review
• New York Times Editor's Book Choice
• The Smithsonian's Best History Books, 2024
• Ms. Magazine's Favorite Books of the Year, 2024
• Essence's Top 15 Book Picks for Summer 2024

About Dr. Kellie Carter Jackson

Dr. Kellie Carter Jackson is the Michael and Denise '68 Associate Professor of Africana Studies and the Chair of the Africana Studies Department at Wellesley College. She is an award-winning historian, author, educator, and speaker whose scholarship focuses on Black resistance, abolition, and the ongoing fight for racial justice.

In addition to We Refuse, Dr. Carter Jackson is the author of Force & Freedom: Black Abolitionists and the Politics of Violence, which was a finalist for the Frederick Douglass Book Prize and winner of the James H. Broussard Best First Book Prize by the Society for Historians of the Early American Republic.

Her writings have appeared in major publications including The Atlantic, The Washington Post, TIME, The Boston Globe, and Politico. She is a regular contributor to national conversations on race, history, and social justice.

This free event is open to the public. Books will be available for purchase and signing.

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