PSB x GrubStreet: Gloria Browne-Marshall, author of A Protest History of the United States, in conversation with Tochukwu Okafor

Event Description

PSB: Boston Edition and GrubStreet are excited to welcome Gloria Browne-Marshall to celebrate the release of her book, A Protest History of the United States. Tochukwu Okafor will join Browne-Marshall in conversation. This event will take place on Tuesday, May 20 at 7pm at PSB: Boston Edition (50 Liberty Drive, Boston, MA 02210).

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ABOUT A PROTEST HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES

In this timely new book in Beacon’s successful ReVisioning History series, professor Gloria Browne-Marshall delves into the history of protest movements and rebellion in the United States. Beginning with Indigenous peoples’ resistance to European colonization and continuing through to today’s climate change demonstrations, Browne-Marshall expands how to think about protest through sharing select historical moments and revealing the role of key players involved in those efforts.

Drawing upon legal documents, archival material, government documents and secondary sources, A Protest History of the United States gives voice to those who pushed back against the mistreatment of others, themselves, and in some instances planet Earth. Browne-Marshall highlights stories of individuals from all walks of life, backgrounds, and time periods who helped bring strong attention to their causes. Those examples of protest include those of Wahunsenacock, more commonly known to history as Chief Powhatan, who took on English invaders in pre-colonial America in 1607; legendary boxer Muhammad Ali's refusal to fight in Vietnam and appealed all the way to the US Supreme Court; and David Buckel, LGBTQ+ rights lawyer and environmental activist who protested against fossil fuels by committing self-immolation in 2018.

Regardless of whether these protests accomplished their end goals, Browne-Marshall reminds us that not only is dissent meaningful and impactful but is an essential tool for eliciting long lasting change.

PRAISE FOR A PROTEST HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES

“To Gloria Browne-Marshall, protest is primal and a prism through which she has exhaustively examined its resonance in American history. Her broad and insightful discussion of protest, from its most violent expression to the mere thrusting of one’s fist in the air, shows how it has been persistently at the core of the nation’s existence. She thoughtfully demonstrates that protest is essential to the origins of the US, an unbroken thread from the Powhatan to George Floyd.”
—Herb Boyd, American Book Award recipient and author of Black Detroit: A People’s History of Self-Determination

“We don’t often read history seeking hope, but in Gloria Browne-Marshall’s A Protest History of the United States, we find it in every exquisitely written chapter. Browne-Marshall’s extraordinary book chronicles the marginalized American heroes who, through overt and covert acts of rebellion, protested systemic injustice, cruelty, and greed. Through careful research, attentive examination, and innovative vision, Browne-Marshall has uncovered a national legacy of resistance and resilience we can believe in.”
—Erika Krouse, author of Tell Me Everything: The Story of a Private Investigation

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Gloria J. Browne-Marshall is a writer, an educator, a legal advocate, and a playwright. She is a professor of Constitutional Law and African Studies at John Jay College (CUNY), was a Resident Fellow at the Institute of Politics at the Harvard Kennedy School, as well as a Visiting Professor at the Harvard Kennedy School. She won the 2024 American Bar Association Silver Gavel Award. Her books include She Took Justice: The Black Woman, Law, and Power, The Voting Rights War, and Race, Law, and American Society.

Tochukwu Okafor holds a master’s degree from Carnegie Mellon University and is completing a Creative Writing MFA at Emerson College. He is a 2024 Disquiet Prize for Fiction finalist, a 2023 Kimbilio Fellow, a 2023 Oxbelly Fellow, a 2022 Kurt Brown Prize Winner for Fiction, and a 2018 Rhodes Scholar finalist. His work has appeared in Electric Literature, the 2019 Best Small Fictions, the 2018 Best of the Net, and Harvard University’s Transition Magazine. He has received support from the Elizabeth George Foundation, Massachusetts Cultural Council, Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, Ucross Foundation, James Merrill House, Iceland Writers Retreat, and the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Arts (MASS MoCA). He is at work on a novel and a story collection.