Hasan Jeffries grew up in Brooklyn in the 1980s. His childhood experiences of inequality inspired him to stand up for the rights of all.
“The interest is partly personal,” said Jeffries, an associate history professor at Ohio State University, who will host a virtual lecture on the civil rights movement at the Senator John Heinz History Center for Black History Month. “Seeing what was around me, and the levels of differences, I was trying to make sense of it at the time. That eventually led me to explore the civil rights movement and the Black power movement.”
Jeffries will discuss misconceptions about the civil rights movement at “(Re)making History: Memory, Mythmaking, and the Civil Rights Movement” from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Friday.
“It is critically important to have a thorough understanding of civil rights,” said Jeffries. “We also need to better understand American History when it comes to equality, and what the problems are, because if we don’t, we wind up with what happened on Jan. 6,” referring to the attack on the U.S. Capitol.
This Friday, Feb. 12, hear from @ProfJeffries during our seventh annual #BlackHistoryMonth lecture. Register today for this free virtual program: https://t.co/KIEC7OQ8qY pic.twitter.com/pMGFBU41ka
Jeffries has chronicled the civil rights movement in an Audible Original series, “Great Figures of the Civil Rights Movement.” He served as the lead scholar and primary scriptwriter for the $27 million renovation of the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Hotel in Memphis, the site of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. He’s contributed to a PBS documentary “Black America Since MLK: And Still I Rise.”
Jeffries helps school districts develop anti-racism programming and conducts workshops for teachers and administrators.
When he talks to students, he tells them that he isn’t here to change their mind but to open it.
“We have come a long way as a nation but we need to pick up the pace,” he said. “We need to explore the civil rights movement in order to make change. I am hopeful for change. I want to shine a light on ordinary people making a difference. And this is the perfect time to be talking about all of this — during Black History Month.”
Register for the free event here.
