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 On Thursday, June 5, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.,
Lincoln Home National Historic Site will host a panel discussion of
highly regarded scholars from a variety of academic specialties who
will bring their perspectives on the importance of the Civil Rights
act and its connections to the earlier Civil War and Reconstruction
eras. Panelists include Matthew Holden, Jr., the Wepner
Distinguished Professor in Political Science at the University of
Illinois Springfield, and author of The White Man’s Burden; David
Joens, Director of the Illinois State Archives and author of From
Slave to State Legislator: John W. E. Thomas, Illinois' First
African American Legislator; and, Angela Winand, Curatorial
Assistant at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum who
is also working on a study of representations of race and gender in
the virtual world of Second Life. Samuel P. Wheeler, Historian at
the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, will serve as
moderator.
 On Thursday, June 12, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., Lincoln
Home National Historic Site will host acclaimed Civil Rights scholar
and author Yohuru Williams who will present “In the Shadow of
Lincoln: The Civil War and the Long Civil Rights Movement.” Dr.
Williams is the History Department Chair and the Director of Black
Studies at Fairfield University in Fairfield, Connecticut and is
also Chief Historian for the Jackie Robinson Foundation and Museum
in New York, New York. Professor Williams is the author of Black
Politics/White Power: Civil Rights, Black Power; Black Panthers in
New Haven; and, Teaching U.S. History Beyond the Textbook: Six
Investigative Strategies, Grades 5-12. Dr. Williams is also a
founder of Yohuru Williams & Associates, a consulting firm
specializing in strategic research, dynamic support and tactical
assistance for non-profit, for-profit and educational organizations.
On Thursday, June 19, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., Lincoln
Home National Historic Site will host author Clay Risen. Mr. Risen
is the author of the recently published and acclaimed The Bill of
the Century: The Epic Battle for the Civil Rights Act. He is also an
editor at The New York Times op-ed section. Prior to that Mr. Risen
was an assistant editor at The New Republic and the founding
managing editor of the noted quarterly Democracy: A Journal of
Ideas. His recent freelance work has appeared in such journals as
The Atlantic, Smithsonian, and The Washington Post. Mr. Risen is
also the author of A Nation on Fire: America in the Wake of the King
Assassination and American Whiskey, Bourbon and Rye: A Guide to the
Nation’s Favorite Spirit.
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 On Thursday, June 26, from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m., the Old
State Capitol State Historic Site will be the venue for a
dramatic portrayal of the Civil War to Civil Rights struggle as
actors present the story of freedom through the perspectives of
Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King, Jr. Acclaimed Lincoln
actor Fritz Klein will portray Abraham Lincoln and tell the
story of the struggle to bring freedom to a nation torn apart by
Civil War. Celebrated King actor Jim Lucas will pick up the
drama as he presents an impactful powerful portrayal of Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. and conveys King’s dedication to
continue the nation’s fight for freedom through the powerful
words of King’s speeches.
On Wednesday, July 2, from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m., the 50th
anniversary date of the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of
1964, the Old State Capitol State Historic Site will host a
program that will commemorate the historic legislation. A
variety of special guests and dignitaries will reflect on the
landmark legislation and will recount their personal stories in
their fight for Civil Rights, including United States Attorney
James A. Lewis. The program will also include musical
presentations inspired by the long Civil War to Civil Rights
struggles.
[Text received; CHRIS WILLIS,
ILLINOIS HISTORIC PRESERVATION AGENCY]
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