The Dream The Dreamers Dreamed: The Political Power of Writing | Virtual Behind the Bookcase

Date / Time

  • July 22, 2021
    6:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Location

Let America be America again.

Let it be the dream it used to be.

Let it be the pioneer on the plain

Seeking a home where he himself is free.

(America never was America to me.)

Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed-

Let it be that great strong land of love

Where never kings connive nor tyrants scheme

That any man be crushed by one above.

(It never was America to me.)

– Let America Be America Again by Langston Hughes, 1935.

To affect change, social activists march, speak, lobby, and often, write. In this virtual tour, we’ll examine the historical and contemporary impacts of political powerhouses like Langston Hughes, Charles Dickens, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Toni Morrison, and Lorene Carey. We’ll also dig into The Rosenbach’s collection to highlight the works of lesser-known, but equally significant, writers like Charles Ignatius Sancho, the first Black critic of Phillis Wheatley’s work, Countee Cullen, a pillar of poetry and activism during the Harlem Renaissance, and many others.

Register

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