Tag Archives: Emilie Raymond

Beyond “I Have a Dream”: Reading for MLK Week

As we head into the national Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday and African American History Month, we are rounding up a selection of readings from the archives which celebrate the vital and varied contributions of black Americans today and throughout US history. These guest posts and books address social justice organizing and activism around issues of race, gender, sexuality, and difference in keeping with Dr. King’s life, work, and lasting legacy.

Stars for Selma (Guest post from Emilie Raymond, author of Stars for Freedom: Hollywood, Black Celebrities, and the Civil Rights Movement | Read an excerpt)

Before #BlackLivesMatter: A History Lesson from the Black Panther Party (Guest post from Craig J. Peariso, author of Radical Theatrics: Put-Ons, Politics, and the Sixties)

Talking about Critical Mixed Race Studies in the Wake of Ferguson (Guest post from Laura Kina, coeditor of War Baby / Love Child: Mixed Race Asian American Art)

Uncovering African American History in the Pacific Northwest (Guest post from Lorraine McConaghy and Judy Bentley, authors of Free Boy: A True Story of Slave and Master)


Other books of note:

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If you are located in Seattle, Bothell, or Tacoma, don’t miss the MLK Week 2016 calendar of events and social media tool-kit. This year, the Samuel E. Kelly Ethnic Cultural Center, the Center for Communication, Difference, and Equity, and the Carlson Leadership & Public Service Center at the University of Washington have partnered on this suite of collaborative events inspired by past and current social justice work in the UW community around the MLK Day holiday (#UWMLKWeek).

“An Evening with Harry Belafonte” and Emilie Raymond’s “Stars for Freedom” Write On! Northwest African American Museum event

Earlier this week UW Press co-sponsored two special Seattle events: The inaugural Equity and Difference Series lecture, An Evening with Harry Belafonte, co-sponsored with the UW Graduate School and the UW Alumni Association, and a Write On! book event with Emilie Raymond, author of Stars for Freedom: Hollywood, Black Celebrities, and the Civil Rights Movement, co-sponsored with the Northwest African American Museum.

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With 2015 marking the 50th anniversary of several key Civil Rights moments, including the march from Selma to Montgomery and the passage of the Voting Rights Act, Stars for Freedom by Emilie Raymond reminds us that the movement was not entirely just a “bottom up” grassroots effort. At the highest levels of American society, a handful of A-list Hollywood celebrities from both sides of the color line put their careers and lives on the line to raise awareness—and money—for the cause. Raymond sheds new light on how stars such as Harry Belafonte made it easier for mainstream Americans to understand the need for racial equality while also setting an example for celebrity political activism that, a half century later, is now considered the norm.

The publication of Stars for Freedom was made possible through two endowments, generously created by Virginia and Dee Wyman and Peter and Linda Capell. In 2004 the Wymans established the V Ethel Willis White Endowment to support books on African American history and culture. In 2008 the Capells created the Capell Family Endowed Book Fund to support the publication of books designed to deepen our understanding of social justice through historical, cultural, and environmental studies. We are grateful to Peter and Linda Capell and Virginia and Dee Wyman for giving us the vision that led to these events.