LaNesha DeBardelaben's guest appearances

LaNesha DeBardelaben

Town Hall Seattle Civics Series

Town Hall Seattle Arts & Culture Series

Inspired Design

Nikkita Oliver

Marcus Harrison

Renee Erickson

Steve Scher

Ross Reynolds

Ijeoma Oluo

ChrisTiana ObeySumner

Eric M. Johnson

Darnell L. Moore

Shaun Scott

Nathan Myhrvold

Sebastian Junger

Mo Rocca

Jeff Bezos

Randy Shaw

OwlTail

Keisha N. Blain

Fannie Lou Hamer

Fannie Lou Hamer was born in 1917, the youngest of 20 children in a family of Mississippi sharecroppers. Black, poor, disabled by polio, and forced to leave school early to support her family, she lived what seems like a lifetime of oppression by the time she reached young adulthood. As she continued to work and live in the south during the 1950s and 1960s, she became interested in — and later heavily involved in — the Civil Rights Movement. Despite the insurmountable challenges she faced (she experienced racist attacks, was sterilized without her consent in 1961, and was beaten by police in 1963), Hamer was committed to making a difference in the lives of others by advocating for Black voter rights and social justice. In her new book, Until I Am Free, award-winning historian and New York Times best-selling author Keisha N. Blain shared how Hamer’s ideas still serve as a beacon for a new generation of activists. Blain suggested that there’s much to glean from Hamer as we continue to wrestle with social justice and dismantle systems of oppression. Blain positioned Hamer alongside other key political thinkers like Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, and challenges us to listen to a Black, disabled, woman activist as we confront our past, present, and future. Dr. Keisha N. Blain is an award-winning historian of the 20th-century United States with broad interests and in African American History, the modern African Diaspora, and Women’s and Gender Studies. She is an Associate Professor of History at the University of Pittsburgh and the president of the African American Intellectual History Society. She is also a columnist for MSNBC and is currently a 2020-2021 fellow at the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at Harvard University. Blain’s published works include: the multi-prize-winning book Set the World on Fire: Black Nationalist Women and the Global Struggle for Freedom; To Turn the Whole World Over: Black Women and Internationalism, for which she co-edited; New Perspectives on the Black Intellectual Tradition; and Charleston Syllabus: Readings on Race, Racism, and Racial Violence. Her latest books are the #1 New York Times Best Seller Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019, edited with Ibram X. Kendi; and Until I Am Free: Fannie Lou Hamer’s Enduring Message to America. Follow her on Twitter @KeishaBlain and on Instagram @KeishaNBlain. LaNesha DeBardelaben is Executive Director of the Northwest African American Museum and serves as National President of the Board of Directors of the Association of African American Museums. Prior, she was Senior Vice President of Education &amp; Exhibitions at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit, Michigan. Her 15+ year career in museums began at the National Museum of Kenya in Africa in 2001, and she has studied museums and libraries internationally in Ghana, South Africa, England, Germany, and Israel. As a historian and museum director, LaNesha has contributed scholarly writings to national publications and has received numerous awards for her community and professional service, including the 2021 Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemoration Committee’s Edwin T. Pratt Community Service Award, 2020 Female Founders Alliance Unsung Heroes Award, 2019 WNBA Inspiring Women Award, and many more. Buy the Book: Until I Am Free: Fannie Lou Hamer's Enduring Message to America (Hardcover) from Elliott Bay Books  Presented by the Northwest African American Museum and Town Hall Seattle.

Fannie Lou Hamer was born in 1917, the youngest of 20 children in a family of Mississippi sharecroppers. Black, poor, disabled by polio, and forced to leave school early to support her family, she lived what seems like a lifetime of oppression by the time she reached young adulthood. As she continued to work and live in the south during the 1950s and 1960s, she became interested in — and later heavily involved in — the Civil Rights Movement. Despite the insurmountable challenges she faced (she experienced racist attacks, was sterilized without her consent in 1961, and was beaten by police in 1963), Hamer was committed to making a difference in the lives of others by advocating for Black voter rights and social justice. In her new book, <a href="https://townhallseattle.org/event/keisha-n-blain-with-lanesha-debardelaben/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Until I Am Free, award-winning historian and New York Times best-selling author Keisha N. Blain</a> shared how Hamer’s ideas still serve as a beacon for a new generation of activists. Blain suggested that there’s much to glean from Hamer as we continue to wrestle with social justice and dismantle systems of oppression. Blain positioned Hamer alongside other key political thinkers like Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, and challenges us to listen to a Black, disabled, woman activist as we confront our past, present, and future. Dr. Keisha N. Blain is an award-winning historian of the 20th-century United States with broad interests and in African American History, the modern African Diaspora, and Women’s and Gender Studies. She is an Associate Professor of History at the University of Pittsburgh and the president of the African American Intellectual History Society. She is also a columnist for MSNBC and is currently a 2020-2021 fellow at the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at Harvard University. Blain’s published works include: the multi-prize-winning book Set the World on Fire: Black Nationalist Women and the Global Struggle for Freedom; To Turn the Whole World Over: Black Women and Internationalism, for which she co-edited; New Perspectives on the Black Intellectual Tradition; and Charleston Syllabus: Readings on Race, Racism, and Racial Violence. Her latest books are the #1 New York Times Best Seller Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019, edited with Ibram X. Kendi; and Until I Am Free: Fannie Lou Hamer’s Enduring Message to America. Follow her on Twitter @KeishaBlain and on Instagram @KeishaNBlain. LaNesha DeBardelaben is Executive Director of the Northwest African American Museum and serves as National President of the Board of Directors of the Association of African American Museums. Prior, she was Senior Vice President of Education &amp; Exhibitions at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit, Michigan. Her 15+ year career in museums began at the National Museum of Kenya in Africa in 2001, and she has studied museums and libraries internationally in Ghana, South Africa, England, Germany, and Israel. As a historian and museum director, LaNesha has contributed scholarly writings to national publications and has received numerous awards for her community and professional service, including the 2021 Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemoration Committee’s Edwin T. Pratt Community Service Award, 2020 Female Founders Alliance Unsung Heroes Award, 2019 WNBA Inspiring Women Award, and many more. Buy the Book: <a href="https://www.elliottbaybook.com/book/9780807061503" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Until I Am Free: Fannie Lou Hamer's Enduring Message to America (Hardcover)</a> from Elliott Bay Books  Presented by the <a href="https://www.naamnw.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Northwest African American Museum</a> and <a href="https://townhallseattle.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Town Hall Seattle</a>.

268. Keisha N. Blain with LaNesha DeBardelaben: What a New Generation of Activists Can Learn from Fannie Lou Hamer

In this episode of Inspired Design, LaNesha DeBardelaben,  President and CEO of Northwest African American Museum (NAAM) meets us at her place of inspiration, the Douglass-Truth branch of the Seattle Library.  LaNasha will reveal her historical twin and help you find yours while taking you on a soulful journey that transcends time and space. Visit the NW African American Museum: https://www.naamnw.org See more of LaNesha DeBardelaben's work: https://www.laneshadebardelaben.com  Additional Resources:  Recent LaNesha DeBardelaben  interview with Rep. Adam Smith.  List of LaNesha DeBardelaben’s  published writings and TV appearances.  LaNesha DeBardelaben interview with Brian Canlis.   Seattle Times article about library expansion in 2006. Discover the Douglas-Truth Branch of the Seattle Public Library: https://www.spl.org/hours-and-locations/douglass-truth-branch

In this episode of Inspired Design, LaNesha DeBardelaben,  President and CEO of Northwest African American Museum (NAAM) meets us at her place of inspiration, the Douglass-Truth branch of the Seattle Library.  LaNasha will reveal her historical twin and help you find yours while taking you on a soulful journey that transcends time and space. Visit the NW African American Museum: <a href="https://www.naamnw.org" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.naamnw.org</a> See more of LaNesha DeBardelaben's work: <a href="https://www.laneshadebardelaben.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.laneshadebardelaben.com </a> Additional Resources:  Recent LaNesha DeBardelaben <a href="https://twitter.com/repadamsmith/status/1364301156638466048" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> interview</a> with Rep. Adam Smith.  List of LaNesha DeBardelaben’s <a href="https://www.laneshadebardelaben.com/publishedwritings" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> published writings</a> and <a href="https://www.laneshadebardelaben.com/prmedia" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">TV appearances</a>.  LaNesha DeBardelaben <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jr-bx-dkC6A" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">interview with Brian Canlis</a>.  <a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/check-out-the-historic-new-douglass-truth-branch-library/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Seattle Times article</a> about library expansion in 2006. Discover the Douglas-Truth Branch of the Seattle Public Library: <a href="https://www.spl.org/hours-and-locations/douglass-truth-branch" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.spl.org/hours-and-locations/douglass-truth-branch</a>

LaNesha DeBardelaben's Museum Muse

Jeffrey Stewart

A tiny, fastidiously dressed man emerged from Black Philadelphia around the turn of the century to mentor a generation of young artists including Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, and Jacob Lawrence and call them the New Negro — the creative African Americans whose art, literature, music, and drama would inspire Black people to greatness. Professor Jeffrey Stewart brought Alain Locke’s story to the forefront with his Pulitzer Prize-winning biography, The New Negro: The Life of Alain Locke. In celebration of its paperback release,  Stewart joined us in conversation with Northwest African American Museum’s LaNesha DeBardelaben to explore Locke’s legacy and his impact in promoting the cultural heritage of Black people. Stewart narrated the education of Locke and explored both Locke’s professional and private life, including his relationships with his mother, his friends, and his white patrons, as well as his lifelong search for love as a gay man. Stewart and DeBardelaben considered Locke’s promotion of the literary and artistic work of African Americans—buoyed by looking to Africa to find the proud and beautiful roots of the race—and examined how he helped establish the idea that Black urban communities could be crucibles of creativity. Don’t miss this thought-provoking conversation about the man who became known as the Father of the Harlem Renaissance. Jeffrey Stewart is a professor of Black Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is the author of Paul Robeson: Artist and Citizen and 1001 Things Everyone Should Know About African American History. LaNesha DeBardelaben is Executive Director of the Northwest African American Museum and serves as National President of the Board of Directors of the Association of African American Museums (AAAM). Buy the Book:  https://bookshop.org/books/the-new-negro-the-life-of-alain-locke/9780195089578  Presented by Northwest African American Museum and Town Hall Seattle. To make a donation or become a Town Hall Seattle member click here. 

A tiny, fastidiously dressed man emerged from Black Philadelphia around the turn of the century to mentor a generation of young artists including Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, and Jacob Lawrence and call them the New Negro — the creative African Americans whose art, literature, music, and drama would inspire Black people to greatness. Professor Jeffrey Stewart brought Alain Locke’s story to the forefront with his Pulitzer Prize-winning biography, The New Negro: The Life of Alain Locke. In celebration of its paperback release, <a href="https://townhallseattle.org/event/jeffrey-stewart-with-lanesha-debardelaben-livestream/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Stewart joined us in conversation with Northwest African American Museum’s LaNesha DeBardelaben</a> to explore Locke’s legacy and his impact in promoting the cultural heritage of Black people. Stewart narrated the education of Locke and explored both Locke’s professional and private life, including his relationships with his mother, his friends, and his white patrons, as well as his lifelong search for love as a gay man. Stewart and DeBardelaben considered Locke’s promotion of the literary and artistic work of African Americans—buoyed by looking to Africa to find the proud and beautiful roots of the race—and examined how he helped establish the idea that Black urban communities could be crucibles of creativity. Don’t miss this thought-provoking conversation about the man who became known as the Father of the Harlem Renaissance. Jeffrey Stewart is a professor of Black Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is the author of Paul Robeson: Artist and Citizen and 1001 Things Everyone Should Know About African American History. LaNesha DeBardelaben is Executive Director of the Northwest African American Museum and serves as National President of the Board of Directors of the Association of African American Museums (AAAM). Buy the Book: <a href="https://bookshop.org/books/the-new-negro-the-life-of-alain-locke/9780195089578" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> https://bookshop.org/books/the-new-negro-the-life-of-alain-locke/9780195089578</a> Presented by <a href="https://www.naamnw.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Northwest African American Museum</a> and <a href="https://townhallseattle.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Town Hall Seattle</a>. To make a donation or become a Town Hall Seattle member <a href="https://townhallseattle.org/support/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">click here</a>.

145. Jeffrey Stewart with LaNesha DeBardelaben: Alain Locke, the Father of the Harlem Renaissance