Join professor Tyler Stovall, author of White Freedom: The Racial History Of An Idea, as he traces the complex relationship between freedom and race from eighteenth century to today, revealing how being free has meant being white. Tyler will explore the intertwined histories of racism and freedom in France and the United States, the two leading nations that have claimed liberty as the heart of their national identities. He will also explain how French and American thinkers defined freedom in racial terms and conceived of liberty as an aspect and privilege of whiteness. He will discuss how the Statue of Liberty -- a gift from France to the United States and perhaps the most famous symbol of freedom on Earth -- promised both freedom and whiteness to European immigrants. Tyler challenges the notion that racism is somehow a paradox or contradiction within the democratic tradition, demonstrating how white identity is intrinsic to Western ideas about liberty.

Register through Zoom.

Tyler Stovall is a professor of history and dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at Fordham University. His books include Transnational France: The Modern History of a Universal Nation, Paris Noir: African Americans in the City of Light, and The Rise of the Paris Red Belt.

This program, hosted by the Wayland Free Public Library, is presented in collaboration with Memorial Hall Library and Tewksbury Public Library, Libraries Working Towards Social Justice.