Henry Louis Gates Jr., director of the Du Bois Institute at Harvard, discusses the African and African-American experience from W.E.B. Du Bois to John Coltrane in a comprehensive study, with an emphasis on Du Bois's concept of the "Encyclopedia Africana"—an encyclopedia of all Black culture and history—as a weapon against racism.
Art historian Abaigeal Duda looks at the work of African-American artist Lucy Cleveland (1780-1866), whose textile sculptures provide a record of the abolition movement prior to and during the Civil War.
PhD candidate Margot Minardi discusses Boston abolitionist activity, particularly its use of Revolutionary War resonances in its propaganda and oratory. The presentation includes slides.
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Professor David W. Blight examines the character and legacy of fervent abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison (1805-1879). Blight looks at his private character and his public image, and how his ideals and technique might be received, used, and remembered today.
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Julie Winch discusses the highly successful African-American Remond family and their business of catering lavish parties in Boston and Newport in the 1800s. Winch focuses on the Remonds as free African Americans and supporters of abolitionism during the era of slavery.
This lecture discusses African-American social organization and antislavery activism in Antebellum Boston.
Concluding the discussion and debate on Harry S. Truman's presidency began in the lecture "The Presidency of Harry S. Truman, Part One," Truman's grandson Daniel Clifton Truman narrates his memories of Harry S. Truman.
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Following a short film on Harry S. Truman's pre-Presidency years, three panelists, including two university history professors and Truman's grandson, discuss and debate Truman's presidency and policies, partially in comparison to today's global political situation.
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Edmund Morris, biographer of Theodore Roosevelt, discusses Theodore Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan's construction of self-imagery and use of imagery in speeches.
Author Robert Dallek examines the relationship between Richard Nixon and National Security Advisor and then Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, drawing on recently-released documents and tapes.