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History Book Festival presents Bettye Kearse | The Other Madisons

History Book Festival presents Bettye Kearse | The Other Madisons

Online

In collaboration with the History Book Festival, join us to talk with Bettye Kearse, author of The Other Madisons: The Lost History of a President’s Black Family, one of the books featured at the 2020 virtual History Book Festival.

For thousands of years, West African griots (men) and griottes (women) have recited the stories of their people. Without this tradition Bettye Kearse would not have known that she is a descendant of President James Madison and his slave, and half-sister, Coreen. Her family’s credo — “Always remember you’re a Madison. You come from African slaves and a president”—was intended to be a source of pride, but for her, it echoed with abuses of slavery, including rape and incest. Embarking on a journey of discovery, Kearse tried to confirm the information her ancestors had passed down, but she encountered obstacles at every turn.

Bettye Kearse is a retired pediatrician and geneticist. Her essay “Mammy Warriors” is included in the anthology Black Lives Have Always Mattered. Adenike Marie Davidson will interview Kearse during the event. Davidson is a professor of Literature and Gender Studies at Delaware State University and author of The Black Nation Novel: Imagining Homeplaces in Early African-American Literature.

We invite you to support the author by purchasing a copy of her book from the Festival's official bookseller, Browseabout Books, by clicking HERE. 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. You also may purchase a copy at biblion in Lewes. Each copy purchased comes with a signed archival 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.

This is an online event. Event URL will be sent via registration email.
Date:
Thursday, September 17, 2020
Time:
5:00pm - 6:00pm Eastern Time
Library:
Lewes Public Library
Audience:
  Adults     Older Adults  
Categories:
  Book Discussions  
Registration has closed.