Historian Keisha N. Blain to speak on Black women and the history of human rights

For Black History Month, Cornell's Center for Racial Justice and Equitable Futures will host author and historian Dr. Keisha N. Blain for a keynote that reframes the history of human rights by placing Black women at its center. Her lecture, "Without Fear: Black Women & the Making of Human Rights," will be held on Feb. 11 at 4:30 p.m. in Statler Hall, Room 196. The lecture is free and open to the public; registration is encouraged.

"Keisha Blain reconstructs vital histories that teach enduringly important lessons about the deep interconnections between global and domestic struggles for democracy, freedom and human rights," said Jamila Michener, director of the Center for Racial Justice and Equitable Futures and professor of government in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S) and public policy in the Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy. "Her careful, critical, and constructive perspective is a useful corrective to the dangerous impulse to erase pivotal actors from our shared historical record."

In her talk, Blain will trace how Black women - from Ida B. Wells to contemporary Black Lives Matter leaders - have long used the language and practice of human rights to confront racism and white supremacy at home and on the global stage. She will explore how, despite being shut out of formal halls of power, Black women organized through global travel, the Black press, international advocacy and grassroots mobilization to advance freedom and dignity for all people.

"Through stories of both well-known figures and overlooked activists from diverse backgrounds, this keynote will offer a new, ground-up history of human rights thinking and action," Blain said. "Audiences will leave with a deeper understanding of how Black women's intersecting struggles against racism, sexism and classism forged enduring strategies that continue to shape movements for justice today."

Read the full story on the College of Arts and Sciences website.