History Book Festival Presents Howard W. French | Born in Blackness

VIRTUAL EVENT
HISTORY BOOK FESTIVAL
DECEMBER 16 | 5 PM
REGISTER | BUY THE BOOK

In collaboration with the History Book Festival, join us for a talk with Howard W. French, author of Born in Blackness: Africa, Africans, and the Making of the Modern World, 1471 to the Second World War, an offering of the 2021 virtual History Book Festival.

In a book that weaves historical detail with personal reportage, Howard W. French retells the story of medieval and emerging Africa, demonstrating how the economic ascendancy of Europe, the anchoring of democracy in America, and the fulfillment of so-called Enlightenment ideals all grew out of Europe’s dehumanizing engagement with the “darkest” continent. Born in Blackness retrieves the lives of major African historical figures whose legacies have been downplayed or erased, telling the story of gold, tobacco, sugar, and cotton — and the greatest “commodity” of all, the millions brought in chains to the New World, whose reclaimed histories help explain our present world.

Howard W. French is a professor of journalism at Columbia University and former New York Times bureau chief in the Caribbean and Central America, West and Central Africa, Tokyo, and Shanghai. A two-time Pulitzer Prize nominee, he has authored five books.

We invite you to support the author by purchasing copy of their book from Browseabout Books. Call-in orders are accepted at (302) 226-2665 or you can stop by the store to purchase a copy. For store hours, please visit their website. Each copy purchased comes with a signed bookplate.

NOTE: this meeting is being conducted through Zoom. You MUST REGISTER to receive instructions for joining the meeting.

If you have need assistance with registration or getting your Zoom invitation, please email the History Book Festival.

Basic written instructions for using Zoom may be found here and a brief video tutorial may be found here. Closed captioning is available for this session. Information on enabling closed captioning in Zoom may be found here.

This is an online event. Event URL will be sent via registration email.

Event date: 
Thursday, December 16, 2021 - 5:00pm to 6:00pm
Event address: 
133 Rehoboth Ave.
Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971