Includes nighthawks, doctor kings refrigerator, dreamer, facing a good thing and Middle Passage for which he won the National Book award in 25 years ago now. 1990. Wow. In 2002 he received the arthur letters award in literature from the American Academy of arts and letters. In the format tonight will beam remarks by Clifford Thompson and a conversation by doctor johnson and mr. Thompson and then we have time for your questions. Without further ado, help me welcome Clifford Thompson. [applause] thank you, thank you all for coming. And thanks to the library for hosting this, its great to appear with doctor johnson. I thought what i would do is read the first few pages of the introduction to my book what it is and then lay out the way the rest of the book is set up. Put on my old man specs so i can see. This is from the introduction. I am a black man, brooklynbased, 54 years old as i write this, for many years as i can remember there has been at the core of my being making me who i am or
Host so they introduce us and they told him that we are. So we can just Start Talking about your wonderful new book. Think of us we do that is to talk about its author because its a book that makes an argument that depends on the life of the author and so we need to look at but who you are. Just in case, lets talk about that. You might want to talk about how you think of your own life. Lets start with you grew up in new jersey and you grew up how did your parents get to new jersey and who were the traffic on the sun of a black man from the segregated south. My father is 82 82 who was born 1937 1937 in longview texas and raised in galveston under jim crow. He moved to the west as soon as he could and was running war on Poverty Programs under Lyndon Johnsons Great Society initiative. He met my mother who was nine years his junior in san diego where he was heading up war on Poverty Program and she was fresh out of college. She is the daughter of evangelical christians. Her father was a mi
Good morning and. Wanted im Harold Holzer and i have the privilege of serving as director roosevelt house and speaking for anne kershner, the president of Hunter College. I want to welcome all of you to this Historic Place for this amazing convening that were having. Greetings also to the audience, which will also be privileged to see the event. We have to bring you this morning. And its a truly. One, not only a chance to black history month, not only an opportunity to honor the unsung Billie Holiday, but to do so in the long time home of her favorite america and president franklin d roosevelt. And we have evidence of that, which you may hear along the way today. I havent seen pauls book, but i will find validation, his brand new book. And by the way the brand new book by our convener host Paul Alexander is really what brings us together today. So i am going to hold up better crop his extraordinary new account of Billie Holidays fine final year doesnt that look like an album cover when
But you can make a change. So the book is more than just a reflection of kent state. Its a hope for the future students in generations to you knowgood morning, everyone. Good morning and. Wanted im Harold Holzer and i have the privilege of serving as director roosevelt house and speaking for anne kershner, the president of Hunter College. I want to welcome all of you to this Historic Place for this amazing convening that were having. Greetings also to the audience, which will also be privileged to see the event. We have to bring you this morning. And its a truly. One, not only a chance to black history month, not only an opportunity to honor the unsung Billie Holiday, but to do so in the long time home of her favorite america and president franklin d roosevelt. And we have evidence of that, which you may hear along the way today. I havent seen pauls book, but i will find validation, his brand new book. And by the way the brand new book by our convener host Paul Alexander is really what
Knowgood morning, everyone. Good morning and. Wanted im Harold Holzer and i have the privilege of serving as director roosevelt house and speaking for anne kershner, the president of Hunter College. I want to welcome all of you to this Historic Place for this amazing convening that were having. Greetings also to the audience, which will also be privileged to see the event. We have to bring you this morning. And its a truly. One, not only a chance to black history month, not only an opportunity to honor the unsung Billie Holiday, but to do so in the long time home of her favorite america and president franklin d roosevelt. And we have evidence of that, which you may hear along the way today. I havent seen pauls book, but i will find validation, his brand new book. And by the way the brand new book by our convener host Paul Alexander is really what brings us together today. So i am going to hold up better crop his extraordinary new account of Billie Holidays fine final year doesnt that l