Feb. 21, 2023 at Noon at Lunch With Books at the Ohio County Public Library, Wheeling, WV.

For the Ann Thomas Memorial Lecture (also dedicated in 2023 to Wheeling educator Eileen Miller), part of its Lunch With Books Program series, the Ohio County Public Library in Wheeling will host Michelle Duster, author, speaker, public historian, professor, and champion of racial and gender equity on Tuesday, February 21 at noon in the Library’s auditorium.

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Michelle is the great-granddaughter of Civil Rights pioneer, journalist, and suffragist, Ida B. Wells. She has written, edited, or contributed to several dozen articles and over 20 books, including IDA B THE QUEEN:  THE EXTRAORDINARY LIFE AND LEGACY OF IDA B WELLS and the children’s book, Ida B. Wells, Voice of Truth:Educator, Feminist, and Anti-Lynching Civil Rights Leader. The event itself is free. Both books will be available for purchase and signing at the Library event. (RSVP & Hold books)

Ms. Duster’s presentation is called: “Separate and Unequal Education: From Ida B. Wells’ Time to the Present.” African Americans have faced barriers in obtaining equal educational resources since the end of the Civil War. Ida B. Wells was formally educated and worked as a teacher in separate and unequal schools. She exposed the inequality and lost her job. Expanding on her article, “My great-grandmother Ida B. Wells left a legacy of activism in education. We need that now”, Michelle will discuss the realities that African Americans have faced in their quest for education, why they built their own institutions, and how equality is still elusive.

Michelle Duster co-wrote the popular children’s history book, Tate and His Historic Dream; co-edited Impact: Personal Portraits of Activism; Shifts: An Anthology of Women’s Growth Through Change; Michelle Obama’s Impact on African American Women and Girls; and edited two books that include the writings of her paternal great-grandmother, Ida B. Wells. She has contributed to several anthologies and written articles for Ms. Magazine,TIME, Essence, HuffPost, Teen Vogue, Refinery29, The Hill, Daily Beast, and The North Star. She also was involved in the development of the Ida B. Wells doll, released January 2022, which is part of Mattel’s Inspiring Women Barbie doll series. She has appeared on television programs on MSNBC, CNN, WTTW, CBS & CW as well as numerous radio shows.

Her advocacy has led to multiple public history projects that include street names, monuments, historical markers, murals, and documentary films that highlight women and African Americans, including Wells.

Her many awards include the 2022 Ripple Effect Award from Public Narratives, 2019 Multi-Generational Activist Award from the Illinois Human Rights Commission, and the 2019 Martin Luther King Jr. Social Justice Award from Dartmouth College.

She is a native Chicagoan who earned her B.A. in Psychology from Dartmouth College, and M.A. in Media Studies from The New School in New York City. She also completed MFA coursework in film and video production at Columbia College Chicago. As a creative outlet, Michelle makes beaded jewelry. 

To watch the program on the Library’s livestream, find Lunch With Books on Facebook or Youtube.

Learn more about Ann Thomas: https://bit.ly/3h75ACx

Learn more about Eileen Miller: https://bit.ly/3FBl5fh 

Learn about the Library’s Civic Empathy Through History Project: https://bit.ly/3Y7ry91

RSVP and Hold Books for this FREE event.

For more information, call the library at 304-232-0244 or visit www.ohiocountylibrary.org.

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