Written Then, Spoken Now: Freedom Was In Sight!
February 7, 2025
7 p.m.
Free | General Admission Tickets Required
Accessible
In celebration of her book Freedom Was in Sight: A Graphic History of Reconstruction in the Washington, D.C., Region, Ford’s Theatre is proud to present an elevated book talk with acclaimed Reconstruction scholar Dr. Kate Masur and dramaturg Faedra C. Carpenter on February 7, 2025. Blended with their conversation, we will showcase vibrant illustrations by Liz Clarke, and feature letters and excerpts of the books read aloud by actors, followed by a book signing.
Experience the convergence of history and theatre, as we bring to life stories of Black Americans in Washington, D.C., and its surrounding region, who bravely worked to reunite their families, build their communities, and claim rights long denied them.
“This tale of America’s second founding in the capital city as thousands of freedmen found new homes and lives is withering, visually stunning, and good history all at once.“—David W. Blight, author of Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom.
“Freedom Was in Sight is a revelation. Kate Masur’s exceptional scholarship combined with Liz Clarke’s virtuosic illustrations bring the history of Reconstruction to life with color, texture, and humanity. Never has Reconstruction been rendered in such a dynamic way. No longer is the history an abstraction. Here it leaps from the page. It breathes. It speaks. It haunts. It quakes. I can’t stop thinking about this book.“—Clint Smith, author of How the Word Is Passed
Featured Guests
Kate Masur Kate Masur is a professor at Northwestern University who specializes in the history of race, politics, and law in the United States. She’s the author of Until Justice Be Done: America’s First Civil Rights Movement, from the Revolution to Reconstruction, a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in History and a New York Times “critics’ pick” for 2021.
Kate led a team of students and staff at Northwestern in the creation of Black Organizing in Pre-Civil War Illinois: Creating Community, Demanding Justice, a web exhibit associated with the Colored Conventions Project.
She regularly collaborates with museums and other nonprofits, including the National Park Service, the National Constitution Center, the Newberry Library, and the Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture. She was a key consultant for the 2019 documentary, Reconstruction: America after the Civil War and appeared in the 2021 CNN film, Lincoln: Divided We Stand.
Faedra Chatard Carpenter, recipient of the American Theatre and Drama Society’s Betty Jean Jones Award for Outstanding Teacher of American Theatre and Drama (2019), was also honored with the Anne Warren Leadership Award (2018) from the School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies, and the University of Maryland’s Graduate Faculty Mentor of the Year Award (2016). Dr. Carpenter is a theatre and performance studies scholar, professional dramaturg, and cultural critic. Her research, writing, public speaking, and creative activities are grounded in her advocacy for diversity, inclusion, and cultural fluency within a wide-range of institutional spheres.
Dr. Carpenter’s book, Coloring Whiteness: Acts of Critique in Black Performance (University of Michigan Press), received the Honorable Mention for ATDS’ John W. Frick Book Award for the best book in American theatre and drama in 2014 as well as the Honorable Mention for ASTR’s 2015 Errol Hill Award for outstanding scholarship in African American theater, drama, and/or performance studies.