Following Courage: William Wells Brown

“People don’t follow titles, they follow courage.” – William Wells Brown

In celebration of Washington University Libraries’ recent acquisition of a first British edition of Narrative of William W. Brown, an American slave, written by himself, Gregory Carr, Assistant Professor of Theater at Harris-Stowe State University, will lecture on Brown’s literary works. In addition to the lecture, the first edition and related materials from the Julian Edison Department of Special Collections will be on display before and after the lecture. Attendees are also encouraged to visit the Slavery in St. Louis traveling exhibition on view in Olin Library. Refreshments will be served after the lecture. Recommended for ages high school and up. Free and open to all, registration requested.

Schedule of Events:

5:00 pm - Exhibition viewing and items on display

5:30 pm – 6:30 pm: Lecture in Olin Library, Room 142

6:30 pm – 7:00 pm: Refreshments in the Ginkgo Reading Room and additional viewing time

Bio for Gregory S. Carr

Gregory S. Carr, is an Assistant Professor of Theatre in Communication Studies at Harris-Stowe State University. Gregory is an accomplished director, playwright, actor, essayist, and public historian. His work has appeared in Theatre Symposium, Routledge Companion to African American Theatre and Performance, Humanities Magazine for the National Endowment for the Humanities, and Cosmic Underground: A Grimoire of Black Speculative Discontent. He is a 2019 Regional Arts Council Fellow, a Tennessee Williams Scholar with the Tennessee Williams Theater Festival, and serves on the MLK Advisory Board with the Creative Exchange Lab.

Sponsored by the WashU & Slavery Project, Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity, and Equity (CRE2), and University Libraries.

This event is part of a series hosted in conjunction with the Slavery in St. Louis Exhibit on display at Olin Library in February 2024.

Click here to register